My Hero Academia’s Deku Tries Mirko’s Outfit in Official New Years Art
New Year’s artwork from My Hero Academia’s Kohei Horikoshi celebrates the year of the rabbit by having Deku dress up like the Rabbit Hero, Mirko.
Creator of My Hero Academia Kohei Horikoshi is ringing in the new year (and the upcoming Year of the Rabbit) with a fresh piece of holiday artwork which features some students, including Deku, trying the Rabbit Hero’s costume on for size.
It’s fair to say that the world’s most popular super hero manga has had its up and downs in 2022, especially considering fans were told My Hero Academia might end in 2022. As the final battle continues to rage on, fans are certainly getting more excited to see how it all ends, but the holidays should be a time when everyone can get a little rest, and that includes mangaka like Horikoshi. Horikoshi has used a little of his downtime to sketch up this art to welcome in 2023.
The art posted to Twitter from Horikoshi’s Twitter account, depicts Mirko most prominently, standing up front in a yukata themed after her hero costume, ironically making her the only character in the image not wearing her usual leotard. She’s joined by Ochako Uraraka, who is quite enjoying the new look, and Kyoka Jiro, who agreed to join in because of Uraraka, but is feeling rather shy now that she’s actually wearing it. In front of them is Midoriya, who seems to be oddly comfortable, throwing in an action pose for good measure. In the background, one can also see a small Kirishima and Todoroki, also wearing Mirko’s My Hero Academia costume, as well as Bakugo, who isn’t participating and seems to disapprove of the whole thing.
2023 is the Year of the Rabbit Hero
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, so as My Hero Academia’s Rabbit Hero, Mirko is a perfectly logical choice to feature in such a sketch. Mirko’s costume is a bit revealing, so putting other characters into it definitely qualifies as fan service–even Deku, as many of the reactions to the post on Twitter will attest. Deku in Mirko’s outfit actually resembles the character of Tiger a fair bit. Tiger, a member of the Wild Wild Pussycats hero team, is a muscular man who wears a similarly skimpy outfit to his female coworkers, as well as some headgear that resembles ears, sticking up like Mirko’s. Tiger, however, has a skirt, something that Deku here doesn’t. The Japanese text near Deku seems to indicate that he’s worried about a “wardrobe malfunction,” so maybe he’d be better off with a skirt.
Given the serious nature of the final arc of My Hero Academia, it’s nice to still get some silly moments via this artwork, even if it is just a context-free drawing.
Source: Kohei Horikoshi’s Twitter
