My Hero Academiarecently ended its ten-year run, and now, the final volume is set to be released in Japan in early December 2024. The anime should have at least one more season left set to air in 2025, but this still marks the end of an era for one of the most iconic stories in modern anime.
The entireMy Hero Academiastory will be collected in 42 volumes, each featuring a different illustration for their covers courtesy of series creator Kohei Horikoshi. Thanks to Horikoshi’s art style and how much it’s evolved over the past decade,nearly every volume ofMy Hero Academiahas a great cover to the point that it becomes just as big a draw as the content inside, if not bigger. With so many volumes, there are, naturally, someMy Hero Academiacoversthat are better than others, and there’s plenty of merit in seeing how they compare to one another.
42My Hero Academia Volume 15, “Fighting Fate”
First Published August 05, 2025
On a technical level, there’s nothing wrong withMy Hero Academiavolume #15, as its illustration of Izuku looks great, especially when contrasted with the somber color palette of the background. The problem, however, is that there’s nothing to the cover beyond a picture of Izuku looking sad;other volumes ofMy Hero Academiado illustrations of a single character better thanMy Hero Academiavolume #15, and because of that, it’s hard to see it as anything other than the weakest cover for the manga.
41My Hero Academia Volume 35, “Battle Flame”
First Published June 26, 2025
The unique way in which Izuku and Shigaraki are contrasted onMy Hero Academiavolume #35’s cover makes for an engaging image, but the problem is thatMy Hero Academiavolume #35’s cover is lifted directly from the cover art for an issue ofWeekly Shonen Jump. Some manga reuse cover art like that, but it still makes the cover less interesting than it should have been, especially since volume #35 is supposed to kick off the final arc.
40My Hero Academia Volume 2, “Rage, You Damned Nerd”
First Published June 22, 2025
With the red and black coloring and the framing of Izuku and Bakugo,My Hero Academiavolume 2 does a good job of highlighting their initial rivalry, which was the focus of volume #2’s story. However, thanks to being such an old volume, Kohei Horikoshi’s art style was still somewhat unrefined, soMy Hero Academiavolume #2’s cover lacks the refinement to fully convey its illustration, especially when compared to similar covers in the years to follow.
39My Hero Academia Volume 14, “Overhaul”
First Published August 12, 2025
My Hero Academiavolume #14 is the first cover for the Shie Hassaikai arc, the first villain arc following the major shift in the status quo of All Might’s retirement and All For One’s arrest, and the large image of Overhaul contrasted with the small image of Izuku does sell how big a deal that is. Unfortunately,the images of Izuku and Overhaul onMy Hero Academiavolume #14’s cover are very simplistic and largely undersell the conflict between them, and it makes for a somewhat uninspired entry into what’s supposed to be a big arc.
38My Hero Academia Volume 3, “All Might”
First Published July 07, 2025
As the conclusion to the USJ arc,My Hero Academiavolume #3’s cover mostly does a good job of highlighting the struggle between Class 1-A and the League of Villains, especially with how creepy Shigaraki is made out to be. However, the way the main characters’ outlines are drawn makes the heroes look noticeably odd, especially when combined with Kohei Horikoshi’s early artwork, soMy Hero Academiavolume #3 ultimately falls short of other volumes highlighting the conflict between heroes and villains.
37My Hero Academia Volume 4, “The Boy Born With Everything”
First Published Jun 09, 2025
As another early volume,My Hero Academiavolume #4 is held back by the slight roughness of Kohei Horikoshi’s early artwork, as the cover doesn’t do as good a job of conveying a group shot as some of the later covers in the series. That being said,My Hero Academiavolume #4’s cover does a great job of conveying the emotions and personalities of every character featured on it, and with how few characters were developed at that point, it makes it even more impressive to look at.
36My Hero Academia Volume 26, “The High, Deep Blue Sky”
First Published July 13, 2025
My Hero Academiavolume #26 certainly stands out on a technical level, asthe contrast between the dark background and the bright coloring for Izuku, Bakugo, and Todoroki makes for truly striking imagery. However, the posing and overall composition are both rather basic by the manga’s standards, so while it’s far from the worst cover, it doesn’t do as much to grab someone’s attention as it feasibly should.
35My Hero Academia Volume 23, “Our Brawl”
First Published August 09, 2025
On the surface,My Hero Academiavolume #23 appears to have very simple cover art, and sure enough, the posing of the various characters lacks a lot of the dynamic structure of covers before and after its release. However,using Shinso’s capture tape to create frames for everyone adds a lot of creativity toMy Hero Academiavolume #23’s cover, so even if it doesn’t have a lot going for it, it’s still plenty fun to look at.
34My Hero Academia Volume 22, “That Which Is Inherited”
First Published August 01, 2025
The sharp green color palette ofMy Hero Academiavolume #22 does a lot to help it stand out from other covers, and it’s nice that it highlights numerous characters the series tends to ignore, which fits the intention of the Joint Training arc the volume covers. Unfortunately,My Hero Academiavolume #22’s cover positions its characters in a way that feels more cluttered than anything, and there ends up being too much going on for the artwork to work as well as it should.
33My Hero Academia Volume 16, “Red Riot”
First Published June 20, 2025
My Hero Academiavolume #16 is all about Kirishima’s struggles in both the past and the present, and with the detail put into his transformed state and the damage he’s already had to put up with,My Hero Academiavolume #16 perfectly highlights how great a job it does of finally putting Kirishima in the spotlight. Add in the great art for Tamaki and Fat Gum, and volume #16 has plenty going on for it.
