Miscounting votes for My Hero Academia popularity poll 2024 might force Bakugo off his throne

Modified Apr 09, 2024 01:56 GMT

Bakugo could lose his reign of terror on the My Hero Academia popularity poll in the ninth's looming recount (Image via BONES)

One of the most beloved fan-centric events, which author and illustrator Kohei Horikoshi's original My Hero Academia manga series does regularly, is the fan popularity poll. Essentially, Japanese readers are given the opportunity to mail in votes to Shueisha for each poll selecting who their favorite character overall is and submitting the vote accordingly.

However, the My Hero Academia fandom has run into something of a recurring trend in the last eight of the nine total currently released popularity polls, including the latest one revealed alongside chapter 419. In each of these eight polls, Katsuki Bakugo has taken first place by a wide margin, with his one loss in the first-ever poll being to protagonist Izuku Midoriya.

While some My Hero Academia fans take grievance with Bakugo's constant first-place results, others are satisfied with the results, considering it an accurate representation of his status in the fandom. Yet the latest ninth popularity polls have seemingly been released with an asterisk, setting up Bakugo's reign as coming crumbling down in this ninth poll.

My Hero Academia manga's latest popularity poll could be the first in years where Bakugo isn't the victor

The latest poll's issues explained

Expand Tweet

With My Hero Academia's ninth popularity poll officially released alongside chapter 419, fans have a clear look at the latest results and rankings. The most significant relevance to this conversation is that the usual top three trio of Bakugo in first, Deku in second, and Shoto Todoroki in third has repeated yet again. Bakugo won with 23,441 votes, while Deku got second with 18,488 votes, and Todoroki third with 13,478 votes.

However, X (formerly Twitter) user and reputable series leaker @DabisPoleDance (Ever) recently put out shocking news regarding the latest ninth popularity poll. Per Ever, it has been confirmed that errors arose in counting the votes of the recent popularity poll. Likewise, it has already been confirmed that a recounting and a re-release of poll results will take place.

One of the biggest concerns from fans regarding the recount is that Horikoshi may need to redraw the celebratory artwork for the results and the illustrations in the results themselves. While seemingly a minor issue, Horikoshi's health issues over recent months arose from overwork, hence fans' concerns that he may need to cram even more work into his schedule.

Expand Tweet

However, a few aspects of the current results suggest that the recount may not have such catastrophic results. A major one is that the predictable top three claimed their usual spots. While second and third have at times switched between Deku and Todoroki, the duo and Bakugo almost always make up to top three in some combination, as is the case in current results for the ninth poll.

Likewise, it is expected that the miscount won't be as big a deal as fans feared, especially given the relatively large distance in vote counts for each of the top seven spots. While the gap narrows beyond this point, the potential redrawing consequences also become less impactful. As a result, it's expected that any recount won't be as disastrously impactful as fans are currently worried it will be.