Extra pages from Volume 4 (Vigilantes).
About Hachisuka#
My early concept notes for Hachisuka were things like "high school girl who’s a villain on the side” and "always shrewd and competent—as a villain she’s a smooth operator who clearly shows how hollow she is inside." Afterwards, I added elements like “eeriness about her that's hard to pin down" and "familial connection to Master.” The point that really defines her as a prototypical Vigilantes villain is how she acts on whims and doesn't have much of a pro mind-set. I often had her eating and drinking when she first showed up, as a way of emphasizing that she's committing evil in the midst of her everyday life.
-Furuhashi
Koichi and Pop in Street Clothes#
The Rough Design#
Sand
10%
40%
30%
90%
90%
10%
Gradation
Behind the Scenes#
The outfits they wore when tailing C.C. in the previous volume. When Pop is in street clothes she's usually walking around with Koichi. It's charming how much they look like close siblings.
-Furuhashi
Koichi's casual style is the ultimate in safe, inoffensive choices. (LOL) Pop's style isnt lame, per se, but it's hardly sophisticated. I struggled with her.
-Betten
Feathers#
The Rough Design#
Feathers
Yu Miu
Fundamentally the same face, since they're twins, but Miu has sharper expressions.
Electropop motif
Behind the Scenes#
The twins, Miu and Yu. Personality-wise, Miu is the...less pleasant of the two, but since they're dividing the twin labor, Yu also asserts herself to an extent.
As far as their background, I pictured them less as indie idols and more like girls who got thrown up onstage when some family member was putting on a live event. They're not too different from Pop, honestly...
-Furuhashi
The concept here was that you need both of them for that left-right symmetry.
Thinking back, I had wings in mind when designing them, rather than feathers. I wish I'd given them slightly softer-looking edges.
-Betten
Electric Eel Villain / Teruo Unagisawa#
The Rough Design#
Electric Eel Villain,
Unao
When on Trigger drug
Behind the Scenes#
Little Teruo went missing back in volume 1, and and now he's back with a bang. Clearly, strengthening the Eel Quirk results in Electric Eel. I also wanted his very body structure to undergo massive changes and get a big power-up...
-Furuhashi
When designing villains, my drive to make them visually distinct is always at odds with my desire to make them fun to draw. (LOL)
-Betten
High Dance Squad and Mad Hatters Profile#
The Rough Design#
East Naruhata High School Dance Squad
President
Glasses, freckles, braids, hair band
Thick eyebrows
Fingerless gloves
Only shows her eyes when she's in dreamy mode.
Post-haircut
Other squad members
Everyone has the same body type, roughly
Ponytail
Short hair
Bobcut
Mad Hatters
Guitarist/Vocalist
Rickenbacker or Telecaster
UK look
Bassist
American
Keyboardist
Suit
Drummer
Favors a simple set
Outfits are maybe a little too varied...?
Behind the Scenes#
The ensemble members who all burst onto the scene in chapter 21. There are a lot of characters here (four in each group), but only the squad president and the guitarist actually get fleshed out, with the others just sort of being there. Actually, though, I put a lot of thought into the band members.
-Furuhashi
I remember it being tough to come up with these designs all at once.
Dance squads are kind of totalitarian, right? So none of them stand out too much. Rock bands emphasize idiosyncrasy, though? Those were my thoughts as I struggled with these designs. I ended up going with my first impressions.
Only the dance squad president had those specific design points, which gives me an idea about Furuhashi-san's preferences. (LOL)
-Betten
Featherhat Stage Costumes#
The Rough Design#
Pop's costume
Heart-shaped hole on back
President
Other members are the same
Feathers
Behind the Scenes#
Pop, the twins, the dance squad and the band come together to form the FeatherHATS, and these are their costumes. Each member basically gets his or her original costume, in addition to the hat with a feather on it.
The band members just got a feather on their preexisting hats. How slapdash! (LOL)
-Furuhashi
Given my tight schedule, I mostly just made minor adjustments while working on the actual draft (hah).
Out of all of this, the decision to have Pop's wings coming out of the heart-shaped hole is what I'm most proud of.
-Betten
Message from Kohei Horikoshi#
Congratulations on Volume 4!
Knuckleduster really is the greatest ·
-Kohei Horikoshi
Explanation#
The following Episode Zero ran in Jump GIGA 2016, vol. 2. It's a special chapter that's like a movie trailer.
In order, to emphasize the connection to My Hero Academia as much as possible, we have guest appearances by various pro heroes and U.A. students. However, in the actual continuity, Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods hadn't made their debuts yet, and Deku and friends would've still been in elementary school.
Just think of it as a non-canon feature!
-Furuhashi