Are the frequent breaks due to nearing the story’s end in My Hero Academia?

Unprecedented breaks have now become a part of the release schedule of My Hero Academia manga. The manga started its run in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in 2014. Close to completing a decade, the manga started going on short one or two-week-long breaks after entering its final stage. In the year 2023, the release schedule became even more erratic. 

Nowadays fans don’t get fazed by a piece of news that says ‘My Hero Academia goes on a break’. This wasn’t always the case, it seems like the creator has fallen prey to the dire state of the anime-manga industry. Moreover, the manga is currently in its final stage, and ending such a long story satisfactorily isn’t an easy task. So are the frequent breaks due to the manga nearing its end? Let’s find out. 

What could be the reason behind the frequent breaks?

Every time the manga goes on a break, production issues or the mangaka’s poor health are cited as the reasons. The anime industry is renowned for its terrible working conditions. Most renowned mangaka suffer from poor health after working for unimaginable working hours to keep up with the weekly schedule.

As for Kohei Horikoshi, there aren’t any chronic illnesses that have been made public by the author, but the years of exhaustion might be dragging him down as well. With so many breaks, fans have been asking why Kohei Horikoshi isn’t taking a long break to recover. 

• There are other authors in Weekly Shonen Jump like Eiichiro Oda, who takes regular scheduled breaks, and Yuki Tabata, who has changed the schedule of his manga. 
• Kohei Horikoshi might be unwilling to opt for any of these options. Considering the fact that My Hero Academia is in its final stage, the author probably wants to finish the manga and then take a proper break. This might be a result of fear originating from two of his other manga getting axed previously. 

It’s safe to assume that My Hero Academia nearing its end is not a significant reason behind the frequent breaks. Although it might be a reason behind the creator feeling additional pressure, as wrapping something up which has been going on for almost a decade sounds quite intimidating. 

The current state of My Hero Academia Manga

Besides the break, the quality of the manga has been affected in other ways as well. Some time back the page count went significantly lower to 11 pages per chapter. This affected the pacing of the manga as there was barely any progression. With the last few chapters, the page count has gotten slightly better to 15 pages per chapter. If the manga continues at this pace, the anime will also catch up the manga as there are very few un-adapted chapters left. 

Conclusion 

With the current state of the manga and the author’s health, it’ll be better if the manga ends within the next few months. Pushing the human body to such lengths isn’t justified no matter what is at stake. Hopefully, the author will find a healthier way to persevere while bringing an end to his creation the way he has always wanted to. 

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