Unexpected fan art shared by My Hero Academia creator Kohei Horikoshi celebrates Komi from the popular rom-com series Komi Can't Communicate, delighting fans of the two series on social media.
After overcoming recent health concerns that caused delays in My Hero Academia's scheduling in early fall, Horikoshi has been hard at work on the new reveal of the long-awaited U.A traitor. The series latest movie, My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission, was released in Japan in early August and the US in late October. Around the same time, Horikoshi also made a connection to the 2018 movie My Hero Academia: Two Heroes with the manga introduction of America's number one hero, Star and Stripe. And yet despite all that work, it seems Horikoshi has found time to create some art on the side.
Fans were surprised when Kohei Horikoshi shared adorable fan art of Komi on his personal Twitter account with a fun caption recognizing the series' most recent anime. Based on the original manga by Tomohito Oda, which follows high school student Shoko Komi and her journey towards making 100 friends while overcoming her communication issues. The manga is currently being translated and published by Viz Media, with Vol. 16 releasing on December 14. The Netflix anime adaption is also ongoing with new weekly episodes.
The fan art features Komi in her school uniform, with her hands pressed nervously against her stomach to represent her battles with social anxiety. Her classmates readily mistake her anxiousness for a stoic temperament, which causes hilarious moments of both sadism and idle worship of Komi. Despite struggled to communicate with others, Komi's desire to make 100 friends began after meeting new student Hitohito Tadano - a pun on the Japanese translation of "just some guy" - who becomes Komi's first official friend, acting as a "translator." The two strengthen their friendship while working together to form new connections with the students at their school.
The fan art also caught the eye of the official Twitter account for Komi Can't Communicate, which thanked the mangaka for his appreciation of the series. The manga is currently on volume 23 in Japan, which released on October 18. Viz Media also announced new dates for Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 17 and Vol. 18 releasing next year on February 8 and April 12. The My Hero Academia mangaka's surprise sketch of Komi truly captured the character's essence and left fans excited to see future sketches from this or other franchises.
Source: Kohei Horikoshi