My Hero Academia‘s latest Chapter 368 featured a color page illustrated by the manga author, Kohei Horikoshi. He had drawn Toru Hagakure, an invisible female character in the series, naked. Her revealing body parts were censored by the “KEEP OUT” tapes. It is similar to what you would see in a crime investigation scene.
This illustration reflects Toku Hagakure’s abilities in My Hero Academia. Quirk is the right term for it. It is the unique supernatural skills a fortunate character may have in the series. Hagakure’s Quirk is she is literally invisible. Only her clothes and the objects she is holding are visible to everyone. This is why when she’s going to use her Quirk in its fullness, she should remove all her clothing and equipment. This is advantageous when she’s going on stealth mode, evading attacks, and sneaking up on opponents. Her uniform only consists of gloves and boots, as seen in the illustration.
Hence, Horikoshi drew Hagakure in her full appearance with no clothes on except for her gloves and boots. But this did not escape controversy on Twitter.
Hagakure Illustration Community Reaction
This was not well received by a lot of netizens. Here are some of their reactions on Twitter:
Overall, some fans are finding the new illustration uncomfortable, because Hagakure is 16 years old. They believed that sexualizing Hagakure is wrong because she is a minor. They think that it was unnecessary, and wonder what Horikoshi was thinking upon drawing it.
But there are also fans who defended it. These are the reactions:
The defenders thought that that the criticisms are not valid because Hagakure has always been naked. They thought that Horikoshi is just drawing Hagakure’s costume, so it should not come as a surprise. They also wonder why some fans are just getting upset now, when My Hero Academia has had characters with revealing outfits or has been naked in the past.
Discussions: My Hero Academia’s Sexualization of Female Characters
The last tweet can lead to a discussion about My Hero Academia’s tendency to sexualize its female characters. There have been Reddit discussions about this, where fans share their opinions about it. They usually cite Momo and Nemuri as the most sexualized characters.
There are also Reddit discussions in which some people thought that Momo’s revealing outfit is unnecessary. There are also opinions that Momo’s revealing outfit is not necessarily sexual, but Nemuri is the one being sexualized. This is because there are zoom-ins with her butt and breasts. They also stated that there are male characters being shirtless like Kirishima, yet no one comments on it. Fan service is also mentioned as the reason for the sexualization as well.
YouTube videos are also plenty discussing My Hero Academia‘s handling of its female characters. It also cites the sexualization of them.
Considering the issues fans are having with the series in the past years, it is no wonder they did not like the Hagakure illustration. It is natural to feel uncomfortable, as anyone is free to feel whatever they want to feel. Most especially that this was the first time that Hagakure was drawn in her full appearance and she was naked. People can feel queasy about a naked teenaged girl drawn by a grown man, regardless if it is has always been her costume.
Read More: Who Is the Traitor in My Hero Academia?
