The initial spoilers and raw leaks for My Hero Academia 368 have been released, which displayed one of the most controversial drawings Horikoshi has ever published. The color page for this upcoming chapter was going to finally reveal Toru Hagakure’s real appearance in full color. While fans had been asking for such a revelation for months, no one expected it would be given to them in this way.
The drawing depicts Hagakure in her Hero uniform, meaning she is entirely naked, only covered by thin stripes. This caused massive outrage amongst the community, not only due to the fact that the franchise is targeted at a younger audience but also because Toru is a 15-year-old girl.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s opinion. It contains subjects that can be triggering for some readers. Discretion is advised.
Fans on Twitter are losing hope in Horikoshi after his depiction of Hagakure in My Hero Academia 368
Moments after the image of Toru was published on social media, fans began stating how disappointed and confused they were with Horikoshi’s decision. The mangaka has already been criticized in the past for the overtly sensual outfits he makes underage characters wear in his manga. It seems like Toru has joined this group too, as revealed by the color page of My Hero Academia 368.
Instead of showing the character in some casual outfit or her school uniform, Horikoshi opted to depict her wearing only gloves and boots. Canonically, at this point in the manga, Hagakure cannot be older than 16, as she is in either her first or second year of high school. She is far from being an adult, which only adds to the uncomfortable feeling fans get when seeing the drawing.
Why Horikoshi decided to portray one of his characters without any clothes on the color page of My Hero Academia 368 is beyond anyone’s reasoning. According to fans, the fact that he chose an underage girl makes this decision much worse.
While like in Toru’s design as a character and the details shown on her face, the problem seems to be that Horikoshi - a man who more than doubles Hagakure’s age - drew a naked teenager on a page of his manga.
The image feels far worse for many fans because it has nothing to do with the plot of My Hero Academia 368. The chapter is about Deku fighting with AFO for the first time since the war began. Hagakure is nowhere around this fight and has not even appeared in the manga for months.
Some fans decided to give Hagakure some clothes by drawing themselves on top of the color page of My Hero Academia 368. The fact that they could do it so easily only raised more concern in the community, as Horikoshi also had the power to give the underage girl some clothes.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Horikoshi will hear fans’ concerns about this picture. The creator has ignored the constant wave of criticisms about the designs of characters like Momo and Camie.
The story of Toru being naked
Since the manga started, Hagakure has been seen as one of Horikoshi’s most controversial characters due to her design and Hero uniform. Her Quirk, Invisibility, allows her to bend light with her body, which makes her effectively invisible. To make full use of her powers, Toru constantly walks around without any visible clothes, as using them would cause her to be spotted.
The joke that Toru was completely naked during Hero work became something of a meme amongst the community. Many fans believed she only talked about being naked to freak her friends out. We have seen characters like Mirio having costumes that adapt to their Quirks without a problem, so Toru having an invisible outfit was not too crazy to think about.
Sadly, it seems like all the fans who expected to see Hagakure wearing some clothes were mistaken. She is now confirmed to have been naked all of this time.
Final thoughts
In the upcoming volume of his manga, Horikoshi created an alternative universe where we could see what Bakugo, Todoroki, Deku, and All Might would look like as real humans. This once again proves how talented and creative he can be. After so many amazing and stunning art pieces given to us by Horikoshi, many fans are saddened by how he decided to depict Hagakure.