Every Manga Cover of My Hero Academia, Ranked Worst to Best (2024)

My Hero Academia recently 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 entire My Hero Academia story 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 of My Hero Academia has 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, some My Hero Academia covers that are better than others, and there’s plenty of merit in seeing how they compare to one another.

42 My Hero Academia Volume 15, “Fighting Fate”

First Published September 4, 2017

On a technical level, there’s nothing wrong with My Hero Academia volume #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 of My Hero Academia do illustrations of a single character better than My Hero Academia volume #15, and because of that, it’s hard to see it as anything other than the weakest cover for the manga.

41 My Hero Academia Volume 35, “Battle Flame”

First Published July 4, 2022

The unique way in which Izuku and Shigaraki are contrasted on My Hero Academia volume #35’s cover makes for an engaging image, but the problem is that My Hero Academia volume #35’s cover is lifted directly from the cover art for an issue of Weekly 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.

40 My Hero Academia Volume 2, “Rage, You Damned Nerd”

First Published January 5, 2015

With the red and black coloring and the framing of Izuku and Bakugo, My Hero Academia volume 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, so My Hero Academia volume #2’s cover lacks the refinement to fully convey its illustration, especially when compared to similar covers in the years to follow.

39 My Hero Academia Volume 14, “Overhaul”

First Published June 2, 2017

My Hero Academia volume #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 on My Hero Academia volume #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.

38 My Hero Academia Volume 3, “All Might”

First Published April 3, 2015

As the conclusion to the USJ arc, My Hero Academia volume #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, so My Hero Academia volume #3 ultimately falls short of other volumes highlighting the conflict between heroes and villains.

37 My Hero Academia Volume 4, “The Boy Born With Everything”

First Published June 4, 2015

As another early volume, My Hero Academia volume #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 Academia volume #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.

36 My Hero Academia Volume 26, “The High, Deep Blue Sky”

First Published March 4, 2020

My Hero Academia volume #26 certainly stands out on a technical level, as the 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.

35 My Hero Academia Volume 23, “Our Brawl”

First Published May 2, 2019

On the surface, My Hero Academia volume #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 to My Hero Academia volume #23’s cover, so even if it doesn’t have a lot going for it, it’s still plenty fun to look at.

34 My Hero Academia Volume 22, “That Which Is Inherited”

First Published February 4, 2019

The sharp green color palette of My Hero Academia volume #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 Academia volume #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.

33 My Hero Academia Volume 16, “Red Riot”

First Published November 2, 2017

My Hero Academia volume #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 Academia volume #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.

32 My Hero Academia Volume 18, “Bright Future”

First Published April 4, 2018

My Hero Academia volume #18 closes out the Shie Hassaikai arc with Izuku and Overhaul’s final fight, and sure enough, the dynamic angles of Izuku and Overhaul on My Hero Academia volume #18’s cover do a lot to emphasize the intensity of their final battle. The blank background does bring down the quality of the cover a bit, but overall, it’s a strong cover that brought the arc to a perfect close.

31 My Hero Academia Volume 8, “Yaoyorozu Rising”

First Published April 4, 2016

My Hero Academia volume #8 is another early volume trying for a group shot, but unlike volume #4, the use of paneling, combined with more dynamic poses and expressions, makes My Hero Academia volume #8 great at showing off a larger group of characters. This is also when Kohei Horikoshi’s art started slowly evolving, and that slight change went a long way toward selling the overall quality of the cover.

30 My Hero Academia Volume 32, “Your Turn”

The odd, blocky framing of My Hero Academia volume #32, combined with some of the thick outlines for Lady Nagant, make it a bit of an odd cover, not to mention how it doesn’t give nearly as good a look at Dark Deku as it should. That being said, the detail in Lady Nagant’s expression, combined with the strong coloring and using a thunderbolt for framing, all do wonders to make My Hero Academia volume #32 stand out, even if it’s still not one of the strongest covers the series has to offer.

29 My Hero Academia Volume 34, “United States Of America”

First Published May 2, 2022

My Hero Academia volume #34 is all about Star and Stripe’s short story arc, and with the serene background of a blue sky combined with the gorgeous detail put into Star’s illustration, My Hero Academia volume #34’s cover art perfectly highlights how great a character Star and Stripe was in what little screen time she was allotted in the manga. It’s one of the best covers with a single character on it, and with the content of the book, itself, that’s all it needed.

28 My Hero Academia Volume 17, “Lemillion”

First Published February 2, 2018

My Hero Academia volume #17 is the first and only time Mirio takes center stage on a cover, and with his solemn expression, combined with the gorgeous coloring of the yellow surroundings, My Hero Academia volume #17 was the perfect cover for highlighting Mirio’s last stand against Overhaul and why he’s a true hero. This ultimately wasn’t the end of Mirio’s time as a hero, but it still highlighted how great a sendoff it was, if only temporarily.

27 My Hero Academia Volume 41, “Overlay”

First Published August 2, 2024

Despite being the penultimate volume, My Hero Academia volume #41’s cover is surprisingly lowkey, with the simple illustration of Izuku and Shigaraki grappling not doing much compared to some of its predecessors. That being said, the detail in Kohei Horikoshi’s artwork allows My Hero Academia volume #41’s cover to perfectly capture the intensity of Izuku and Shigaraki’s fight, so it still works as a great cover as the story heads toward its finale.

26 My Hero Academia Volume 1, “Izuku Midoriya: Origin”

First Published November 4, 2014

While volume #1 might not be as flashy as the covers to follow, My Hero Academia volume #1’s imagery of the normal Izuku contrasted with the almost godlike All Might and other heroes perfectly captures what kind of story this is, and it makes for a perfect way of enticing someone to read it. Even if it’s not the best cover the series has to offer, there was no better way to kick off such an iconic story.

25 My Hero Academia Volume 33, “From Class A To One For All”

First Published February 4, 2022

The final volume in the short-lived Dark Hero arc, My Hero Academia volume #33’s cover does a perfect job of capturing the seriousness of Izuku’s transformation and the desperation his friends feel while trying to save him through some of Kohei Horikoshi’s strongest artwork to date. It’s also a major step up from volume #32’s comparatively lackluster art for the arc, and overall, it was a great cover to close out the arc with.

24 My Hero Academia Volume 5, “Shoto Todoroki: Origin”

First Published August 4, 2015

My Hero Academia volume #5 is all about kickstarting Todoroki’s character arc, and going right along with that, My Hero Academia volume #5’s cover art of Todoroki looking somberly at his left arm as his left side is bathed with light perfectly captures the growth he goes through in the Sports Festival. This was the first volume cover to only feature a single character, and that makes it even more impressive that it’s as strong as it is.

23 My Hero Academia Volume 13, “A Talk About Your Quirk”

First Published April 4, 2017

In addition to how well it highlights the end of the Provisional License Exam arc, My Hero Academia volume #13’s cover is another cover to perfectly capture the rivalry between Izuku and Bakugo and how the then-recent events have made it far more complicated than ever. It’s one of the manga’s simpler covers, but it’s very effective at getting the point across, regardless.