The franchise of “My Hero Academia” has been a global phenomenon since its debut in 2014. Created by Kohei Horikoshi, this series stood out for its rich storytelling, character development, and unique focus on the superhero genre in the realm of manga and anime. With over a decade of serialization, the story of Izuku Midoriya and his fellow superheroes UA Academy captivated millions of followers around the world.

Today, The franchise had promised a major announcement as part of multiple projects planned to celebrate the manga's conclusion.. These projects include the final volume of the compilation, a fanbook and an artbook scheduled for 2025, as well as a special exhibition that promises to be an unmissable event for fans.

Although, The “secret project” revealed today proved to be a disappointment to many. While the manga's ending left a mixed impression between those who found it "adequate" and others who found it "a disappointment," there seems to be general agreement in considering today's announcement to be truly disappointing.

The announcement in question was divided into two parts:

• The first and most criticized was an upcoming advertisement in the popular American newspaper New York Times. Many fans expected something more significant and directly related to the history or future of the franchise.
• The second part of the announcement is a character popularity poll, open to fans from all over the world. Followers can vote on the official survey website among dozens of characters divided into ten different categories, daily until September 30th. The results of this survey will be published on December 3rd.

While this survey demonstrates the franchise's global reach, it's not what fans expected., especially considering the promise of an “important announcement after the end of the original work.” Fans were hoping for a more substantial reveal, such as a new anime project, a movie, or even a new spin-off series that would continue exploring the “My Hero Academia” universe.

Over the years, “My Hero Academia” has released several anime adaptations, films, video games, and a wide range of related merchandise. Each new project and release was received with enthusiasm by its fan base, who faithfully followed each chapter and episode. The series has been praised for its ability to tackle complex themes such as justice, sacrifice, and personal growth, all set in a world where superheroes are the norm and villains pose constant challenges.

With the manga completed and these projects underway “My Hero Academia” fans continue to eagerly await new developments that do justice to a series that left an indelible mark on the world of manga and anime, despite its controversial ending.

• «Perhaps the real heroes were the research we did along the way.».
• «Apparently there will be two voting stages, the preliminary 'Main Stage' and then the PLUS ULTRA Stage. The first place winner of the 'Main Stage' will receive a special video about that character. The top three characters from the Main Stage will compete in the 'PLUS ULTRA Stage'. Whoever wins the character popularity poll on the 'PLUS ULTRA Stage' will win a special new illustration of Horikoshi and also a bronze statue of the winner. I received this from aitaikimochi on Twitter. It's pretty obvious who will be in the Top 3 and ESPECIALLY the Top 1.».
• «Why would they say it's great advertising if it's a popularity poll?».
• «Talk about a huge disappointment, hahaha».
• «No, the real big announcement is yet to come, trust me (very self-deceiving)».
• «I had low, very low expectations, and I'm still disappointed. This didn't need to be hyped so much, they could have announced it along with the final chapter».
• «Wow, what a huge disappointment.».
• «I WOKE UP EARLY FOR THIS?!».
• «One thing no one mentions is that it says the winning character will get a 'special movie', but I'm not sure if that means something animated about them or just some manga issue with their highlights.».
• «Imagine announcing three final popularity polls for three consecutive years.».

Source: WSJ Manga | Link to My Hero Academia's worldwide popularity poll: Link