My Hero Academia caused the current anime boom, says Toho exec

My Hero Academia is about to launch into Season 7, and Toho has commented on the show’s ongoing relevance, crediting it with allowing Jujutsu Kaisen and other franchises to find a larger audience.

My Hero Academia truly helped spearhead the current wave of popularity in anime. Deku and friends arriving in 2016, on the heels of One-Punch Man‘s premiere in 2015, spurred a resurgence in mainstream popularity for anime shows.

A number of tectonic properties have hit the stratosphere since, most prominently Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. As those and others continue to draw in viewers, Toho states that without Deku and Class 1-A, they might have struggled a bit more.

“[Global distrubution companies] desperately wanted to get their hands on My Hero Academia,” Hiroyasu Matsuoka, CEO of Toho, tells VIPO. “We noticed distributors were raising their offers even when their previous ones were still under review. Plus, rival companies were also entering the market and driving up the price further with impressive numbers.”

According to Hiroyasu, My Hero Academia allowed Toho to see the potential of their franchises having global fanbases, pushing them toward new opportunities.

“Of course, we needed to still address the domestic market, so given how motivated we were about expanding anime overseas, we didn’t miss out on the current anime boom,” he states. “We already had built a network, so we were able to oversee titles such as Jujutsu Kaisen, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, and The Apothecary Diaries.”

Now, Megan Thee Stallion is attending the Crunchyroll Anime Awards cosplaying as a Jujutsu Kaisen character. It truly seems like the sky’s the limit for anime on the world’s stage, as new series such as Solo Leveling swiftly become successful, and The First Slam Dunk and Haikyuu!! proving there’s huge interest in anime movies as well.

Long may it continue! Class 1-A is pulling double duty this year too, with My Hero Academia: You’re Next coming to the big screen this summer. Check out our upcoming anime list for more of what’s coming soon.