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My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi is celebrating the Chinese New Year with a fun sketch featuring Mirko and Class 1-A. Based on a 12-year cycle, the Chinese Zodiac assigns several animals to different years, all within a particular order. The year 2023 hopes to bring peace and prosperity with the Year of the Rabbit. As such, My Hero Academia could definitely use some of the luck after the events of the Paranormal Liberation War.
Every now and then, Horikoshi likes to display his drawings via his official Twitter account. It's only fitting that he welcomes the Year of the Rabbit with none other than Mirko. His latest sketch involves Class 1-A students wearing her iconic leotard outfit, which has already been viewed by over three million people.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the writer's personal views.
"Sorry for the late greeting!": Horikoshi enters the new year with a sketch that has everybody talking about Mirko and Class 1-A in My Hero Academia
Horikoshi's sketch celebrates the Year of the Rabbit by featuring Rumi Usagiyama, better known as the Rabbit Hero: Mirko. To illustrate this point, Horikoshi drew a bunny next to her. She is seen wearing a white kimono with purple and gold colors, rather than her traditional getup in My Hero Academia.
Meanwhile, a select few Class 1-A students are featured in her outfit, which is made complete with bunny ears and a fluffy tail. Izuku Midoriya, Kyoka Jiro, and Ochako Uraraka are front and center of the official art, and Shoto Todoroki, Eijiro Kirishima, and Katsuki Bakugo are shown in the background.
Unlike the rest of his classmates in the My Hero Academia sketch, Bakugo is not seen wearing Mirko's usual hero costume as he looks confused about what's going on. At the same time, Midoriya, Ochako, and Kirishima are seen having fun in their new getup, while Jiro and Shoto are seen as more reserved.
Twitteratis share their excitement on seeing Bunny Deku posing alongside his female classmates
A lot has been going on in the world of My Hero Academia. Studio Bones is nearly halfway done with season 6 of the anime, while the final arc is still underway in the manga. Without spoiling anything, several major events have taken place in the series, shaking the series to its very core.
Horikoshi's recent sketch is a lighthearted breather from all the seriousness of the heroes versus villains. He doesn't post on Twitter very often. However, when he does, My Hero Academia fans look forward to it since they never know what they're going to get from the popular artist. As it happens, when the mangaka posted the above picture, fans expressed their joy on social media. Most of the reactions were directed to Midoriya and Mirko in particular.
Horikoshi defies gender conventions in his latest sketch. Unsurprisingly, the sketch was met with a positive reception on Twitter. Some fans may feel vindicated now that "bunny Deku" is canon in My Hero Academia, with the belief that it represents a positive form of masculinity in a shonen manga series.
On a related note, this isn't the first time Horikoshi drew a male student in a typically female outfit. Several years ago, he drew Katsuki Bakugo wearing the hero costume of Momo Yaoyorozu. Hence, fans shouldn't be surprised to see him do something similar with Izuku Midoriya and others in the future.
