My Hero Academia is, like many shonen anime and manga series, heavily influenced by the behemoth that is Dragon Ball. Series creator Kohei Horikoshi acknowledged this influence in a piece from a year back, although everyone seems to have missed the reference.

The art in question comes from a color page spread for Chapter 419, which first released in April 2024. The color spread depicts Class 1-A, along with several other heroes such as Hawks, up in the sky, riding on smaller dragons while a massive green dragon fills the background behind them. Fans assumed this was just the latest in a series of fantasy-inspired color page spreads that Horikoshi had created over the years, and didn't think too hard about it. However, as it's now been revealed, the intention behind this color spread was always to honor Dragon Ball.

My Hero Academia's Obvious Dragon Ball Reference Went Unnoticed

The Reference to Dragon Ball Was Largely Overlooked

In a message on pay respects to Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, who would've ed away just over a month before this image was released. According to @aitaikimochi, Horikoshi decided he wanted to draw his characters in the sky, going on an adventure with dragons. Looking at the image with Dragon Ball in mind, the reference is obvious: the dragon in the background is green, and appears to be serpentine, much like Shenron of Dragon Ball.

The image, which also accompanied the popularity poll results, features quite a lot of interesting detail. While most characters are riding on smaller red dragons, Hawks appears to be the only one flying using another method, but instead of his iconic wings, he has a steampunk-looking jetpack contraption. Uraraka appears to be using her Quirk to float, while Endeavor is riding on a larger dragon, with Dabi surprisingly riding behind him. The dragons in the image cover many different styles, from Iida's friendlier-looking ride to the one Midoriya is riding on, which looks to have axolotl-style gills.

Horikoshi's Dragon Ball Reference Honors a Great

Horikoshi Paid Tribute to Akira Toriyama in the Best Way

It's only natural for an artist to pay tribute to their influences, and the best way to do that is often by making your own art your way, rather than imitating the influence. Horikoshi's art certainly looks very much like his own style, but the image of a dragon in the sky will always call to mind Goku and Shenron, especially if that dragon happens to be green. Apparently, the image was a subtle enough tribute that many fans didn't catch it at all, prompting Horikoshi to reveal the inspiration for the piece so that it might be better appreciated as a tribute to Toriyama.

My Hero Academia certainly does owe a lot to Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball pioneered many of the elements that My Hero Academia would go on to use so effectively, like tournament arcs. Deku's crackling green energy when using One for All is clearly inspired by the energy which surrounds Super Saiyan 2, for example. While My Hero Academia wears its Western influences on its sleeve, it still has plenty of Japanese influences, like Dragon Ball, though they may be a little less obvious than most.

As someone who paved the way for all the mangaka that came after, it's only natural that Horikoshi would want to pay tribute to Toriyama, as many manga artists did following his death. While it's a bit of a mystery why he didn't make the reference more explicit at the time, at least fans of My Hero Academia can finally appreciate this art as it was intended: as a tribute to Toriyama.