All Might is the creation of Kohei Horikoshi, and one of the fan-favorite characters of the hit Manga and Anime, My Hero Academia. Being the super strong and ultra powerful symbol of peace, All Might is the mentor of protagonist Izuku Midoriya, a quirkless boy who wishes to become the world's greatest hero, much like All Might himself.
All Might has, since his first appearance in the manga, become a focal point for many fans, either drawing inspiration from him or wisdom in his teachings to young Midoriya. While All Might is an often recurring character in the series, there remains still a mostly untouched area in who he is and where he's from. In light of that, here are 7 facts about All Might you ought to know.
7 He's Based On American Superheroes
As one might be able to tell from their first glance at the stunning hero, All Might stands out from the rest of the characters in My Hero Academia. With a strong pose, chiseled jaw, and sporting the colors red, white, and blue, it's easy to see that All Might is based upon classic American superheroes.
When creating All Might, Kohei Horikoshi drew inspiration from the superheroes found in the West, most notably Superman. The little similarities these two can be seen in their large figures and tenure to always sport a bright smile. His American ties don't end there. All Might as a student studied abroad in America, has super moves based upon American states/cities, and is even rumored to be part American himself.
6 Was the 8th user of One-For-All
All Might originally was a quirkless boy but was given the quirk of One For All by his mentor Nana Shimura, who had been the 7th user of One For All. This made Toshinori Yagi the 8th user, which is fitting as one of the Kanji's for his name is 八 which means “Eight”.
One For All is, of course, the most powerful quirk, and grants the user the accumulated power of the previous holders of the quirk, making it stronger with each generation. All Might was the most notable and known user of the quirk, using it to become the Symbol Of Peace.
5 Partly Inspired By Goku
When coming up for the character of All Might, Kohei Horikoshi took inspiration from many places. Of course, there was the Superman influence, but in his place in the series and as a plot device, Horikoshi turned to another famous manga, Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama. When Horikoshi saw how Goku, the main protagonist and strongest character in the manga, usually would come in at the end of an arc to help save the day, he wanted All Might to serve a similar purpose. Horikoshi liked the idea of having All Might being a guaranteed save for our heroes, stirring up excitement, and having the mystery being how, not if, he would save the day. This sense of All Might being the one to save everyone is actually the origin of his famous saying “I Am Here!” Now we wonder, who would win in a fight, Goku or All Might?
4 Can Be Beaten By Superman
My Hero Academia creator, Kohei Horikoshi has said he's often been asked on who he thinks would win in a fight, All Might or Superman. Now, most creators would bank on their own work and say that their character would win for this or that reason, but a comic book fan himself, Horikoshi didn't want to mince words. He has admitted that Superman could indeed beat All Might in a fight.
It's not known by which parameters this fight would take place, but one would have to assume that the results would stay the same in any arena. Horikoshi reasons that, because Superman has the ability of heat vision, he can not only take on Toshinori head-on, but also from a distance. This gives Superman the edge to take out All Might. Although, one would hope that they wouldn't fight, and instead become fierce friends, both Symbols of Peace in their own right.
3 Wasn't Liked By Creator's Friends
When Horikoshi was first conceptualizing My Hero Academia, he benefited off of feedback from his fellow Manga creator friends. It seems to reason that they would all get together and throw around ideas in order to have a nice peer-based filter system of ideas. However, many My Hero fans would be shocked to hear that many of his friends did not like All Might.
When he first presented the ideas to his peers, they mocked the character of All Might, saying how he's lame and that no one will like this huge smiling figure. They even suggested that Horikoshi change All Might into a pretty boy. Thankfully, Horikoshi ignored these critiques and used their disdain for the character as fuel to go even further with the All Might we all know and love.
2 All Might Has Steadily Declined In Popularity
Most mangas include popularity rankings at the end of their comic books, so, after a certain amount of time, fans could vote on who they deemed the best character. All Might has always been a fan favorite, yet his placing in these polls are steadily getting lower and lower.
In the first popularity poll, All Might came in at a 5th place, which isn't too bad. He was the highest rated UA teacher, which gave him a unique title. However, by the second popularity poll, All Might had dropped to 6th place, coming in behind Shota Aizawa and losing the most popular UA teacher title. Now with having lost the One For All ability, it's reasonable to say that his place on the popularity poll will drop even further. Oh how quickly we forget our heroes.
1 He is Voiced By Vegeta
All Might is well known for his booming and inspiring tone of voice in the English dub of My Hero Academia, produced by Funimation. Some fans with a careful ear might be able to pick up something familiar in that strong voice. The same man who voices All Might also famously voices Vegeta from Dragon Ball.
From going to one of the most popular animes of all time to the most popular one as of now, Christopher Sabat has had an amazing and inspiring career in the voice acting business. With All Might slowly but surely one of Saibot's most famous and often clipped roles, the impact of All Might in Sabat's career is becoming apparent in his con appearances, fan appreciation, and even Sabat himself that All Might is one of his favorite voices to do. Plus Ultra!