Recently, the production of the “My Hero Academia” franchise shared several photos from a special screening of the film “My Hero Academia the Movie: You're Next”which quickly went viral on social media. The event, which allowed participants to “support” with banners, light sticks and live reactions, featured voice actors Daiki Yamashita (voiced by Izuku Midoriya) and Nobuhiko Okamoto (voiced by Katsuki Bakugou), which attracted an enthusiastic audience.

What caught the most attention was that, in the shared photographs, The audience was composed almost exclusively of women and children, with no men visible. This has sparked intense speculation on social media as to whether this is the franchise's core audience, with many netizens suggesting that mostly women attended to see the popular voice actors.

Since the special screenings were announced, it was known that voice actors would be present, which increased public interest, especially among female fans. Many of the online comments point out that many attendees came to the event primarily to see Daiki Yamashita and Nobuhiko Okamoto, rather than to see the film itself. This is not surprising, given that seiyuus (voice actors) in Japan are very popular and have a large number of devoted female followers.

On social media, some users commented:

• «Almost all the women who came came to see the voice actors, haha».
• «It's amazing to be able to see the screening with the voice actors present!».
• «Both the actors' performance and the film were the best, I had a lot of fun!».
• «A boy dressed in the UA Academy uniform! It's so cute, it makes me happy».

These types of events, known as “応援上映” (ouen jōei), are interactive projections where fans can express their emotions in real time and utilize visual elements. such as banners and light sticks to “support” the characters on the screen. The inclusion of voice actors such as Yamashita and Okamoto further increases the interaction, creating a closer and more exciting environment for the participants.

This type of participation reinforces the fact that The franchise has managed to attract a wide and varied audience, from families to young women.who enjoy both the anime content and the closeness with the voice actors.

Source: Otakomu