One of the biggest titles in shonen anime right now is none other than My Hero Academia, the superhero anime that pays all kinds of loving homage to American comics and classic manga titles alike. The hero may be Izuku Midoriya/Deku, but he's in an entire school of trainee heroes, and they're all remarkable characters in their own ways.
Hero class 1-A gets the lion's share of the attention (and for a reason), but UA has more to offer. Aside from the rival hero classes 1-A and 1-B, there's also the research department, home of the upbeat inventor Mei Hatsume. She is eccentric but brilliant, and her many gadgets (she calls them "babies") are vital equipment for any hero. Mei is a lovable and cool character, so naturally, the fans made some art that put her front and center. Let's check out the results.
10 Workshop Apartment
The gallery is off to a fine start. Many pieces of fan art for Mei Hatsume involve her inventions, since she uses her Zoom quirk to see tiny details and thus build gadgets with ease. This is how she ended up in the research department of UA.
3four's fan art is a warmly lit image of Mei artwork in an apartment, where gadgets and toys take precedence over silly things like furniture or decoration. It's a sunny day out, but Mei has work left to do, and she's having so much fun with it.
9 Mega-Mei
Mei Hatsume is brilliant, but she's also petite, being among the shortest students at UA. That's OK, since she's assigned to invent things, not beat up villains. But suppose she got tired of people literally looking down on her?
Artist giantwaifus imagined Mei inventing the mother of all growth rays, and her first test subject is herself! Now, not even the famously huge Mt. Lady can compete, and Mei is having such a great time being the world's tallest woman.
8 Mei Aran
Now it's time for crossover art, and nearly any gamer alive will recognize the blonde heroine of the Metroid games: Samus Aran. This brave, beautiful woman will venture to far-off worlds and destroy the forces of evil with that high-tech suit of hers.
But who built that suit? According to artist Omiza-Zu, Samus and Mei Hatsume are one and the same, and she invented the suit herself. It's the ultimate "baby," and Mei acts as the support division and the hero at the same time. She can have it all!
7 Mei Rustic
Mei is back in full inventor mode, and like the first entry in this gallery, Mei is surrounded by her high-tech toys in a lovely piece of art with orange and rusty orange hues. All of this gives Mei a rather futuristic, grimy look, but she doesn't seem to mind. It just adds atmosphere.
Artist krishnadukariya allowed the rusty colors to dominate this piece, but visual relief is provided by that charming purple sky and the green glow of those robots' eyes and faces. And, of course, Mei's distinctive pink hair.
6 Gear Girl
It is time for some physical art, and markers, pencils, and colored pencils can really bring an anime character to life in a unique way. This time around, artist EmiAlves decided to draw Mei Hatsume, and the results are stunning.
Mei appears from the waist up, and she has a charming wink complete with an eye glowing with a red computer light. She's also got a coy smile on her face, to contrast with the cold metal gears clanking around her. Cross-hatching helps fill up the negative space nicely in this drawing.
5 Finally Done
Some fan art pieces are a standard portrayal of the character, like a poster, while others seem to tell a story or convey a certain mood. For example, artist ComicReliefAki wanted to show Mei Hatsume in a moment of quiet triumph.
What is happening in this scene? In the privacy of her workshop, Mei has finally finished a project (who knows what it is), and she raises her wrench to declare "I did it!" Not only that, but the artist made Mei look worn-out and tired, but in a good way. She's certainly been busy.
4 Poster Girl
A scene can be great fun for fan art, but a poster-style piece of art also has its merits. In this case, artist Lauren Lapierre Armande used digital art to make this inspiring and charming bit of Mei Hatsume art.
This piece may call the "We can do it!" WWII poster to mind, but with a certain My Hero Academia flair. This piece uses steely gray and dark bronze colors for a dieselpunk vibe, but Mei's red toolbox and her pink hair provide some color to balance things out and make her stand out a bit more.
3 Gamer Mei
This colorful piece of digital fan art, which was painstakingly drawn by artist Unforgotten Kai, adds even more color to Mei Hatsume's life. This time, instead of being surrounded by cyberpunk or dieselpunk inventions, she's more of a gamer girl.
Mei looks ready to party, and her goggles and gloves allude to her workshop career while her new hairstyle, clothes, and accessories add a whole new dimension to the character. She's in the mood to visit the arcade, and most likely, she'll volunteer to fix the out-of-order machines!
2 Taking A Break
The second-to-last entry on this list shows Mei in her workshop, surrounded by her gadgets, but this time, she is in between projects. After all, she may be a busy bee, but even Mei has to stop and catch her breath sometimes.
Most likely, Mei just finished an excellent and groundbreaking project, and it's her new pride and joy. She looks pretty worn out, but after a hard day's work, it's worth it, as artist ayemkonfyoozed shows us.
1 Not Ready Yet
It's awesome to see Mei working happily in her garage and taking pride in the finished projects (and she has many). Still, it's important to remember that no project is perfect the first time around, and some inventions need a lot of prototypes first.
So, artist Frederico Segovia used what looks like a photo of a car garage as the background, then added Mei Hatsume to the shot. Based on her expression, this new baby of hers isn't yet ready for mass production, and there must be some kinks to work out first. Well, that's just a day in the life!