Kohei Horikoshi, the creator of popular manga My Hero Academia, revealed he will change the controversial name "Maruta Shiga" when the manga is eventually collected into paperbacks.Shiga, who had previously been operating under the pseudonym of Dr. Daruma Ujiko, recently had his identity revealed during Chapter 259 of the manga. His real first name "Maruta," however, is the Japanese name used to reference victims of human experimentation during World War II. Rather pointedly, Shiga himself is not only a follower of All For One but he also conducts experiments on human beings. Unsurprisingly, many took issue with Horikoshiâs decision to name the character in such a way, believing it to be purposeful and insensitive. Addressing the issue on Twitter, Hirokoshi said, "Many have pointed out that the character name âShiga Marutaâ in this weekâs Jump chapter has brought up recollections of acts done in the past. I did not intend for that name to be associated as such. I take this matter very seriously and will change the name."
The magazine that prints My Hero Academia, Shonen Jump, has also provided an official statement: "[readers] pointed out in the latest My Hero Academia chapter that the character âMarutaâ had a name that recalled âpast historical factsâ. There was no intention behind the naming from the author or editorial department. However, since itâs not our intention to overlap work with unrelated historical facts, after consulting with the author, we have decided to change the name when chapters are compiled in future volumes."
(via Polygon)