My Hero Academia Star Celebrates the Manga's Finale: "You Saved Me" (2025)

Now that My Hero Academia has officially ended, many of the voice actors and other creators involved have begun voicing their opinions on the conclusion of the decades-long series. The acclaimed shonen had an incredible impact not just on the fanbase, but on the voice actors themselves, with Bakugo Katsuki's voice actor being one of the first to speak out with praise for his character and the anime as a whole.

Nobuhiko Okamoto is best known for his acting as Bakugo in My Hero Academia, but he has also voice acted as Marze in Wistoria: Wand and Sword and Garfiel in Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World, to name a few. However, as he stated in a recent post on X, Bakugo is the role that has changed him the most and had a long-lasting impact on his career and entire life.

Nobuhiko Okamoto Stated That Acting as My Hero Academia’s Bakugo “Saved” Him

The Voice Actor for the Iconic Character Has Expressed How Much the Character Changed His Life

Nobuhiko Okamoto's post was in response to a popularity poll of the My Hero Academia characters, which Bakugo won. The #3 hero chosen was Shoto Todoroki, the #2 hero chosen was Izuku Midoriya, the protagonist, and the #1 hero, unsurprisingly, was Bakugo Katsuki. Bakugo often does remarkably well in fan polls, but this was his most exciting victory yet. As a result of winning this Plus Ultra Stage World's Best Hero Poll, a bronze statue will be built in Bakugo's honor in Japan, set to be displayed in a special exhibit in 2025 honoring "The My Hero Academia."

Okamoto attached the video announcing Bakugo's success in the poll and added the commentary: "Thank you to all of you who voted for the three of us. You saved me. I'm alive thanks to you. I promise I'll keep screaming until this voice is no longer there." These touching words signify just how pivotal of an experience portraying Bakugo was to Okamoto. To see the character he has brought to life for so many years receive the title of the series' best hero, even more so than the main character, and a statue as well, is a dream few actors have seen come true.

Bakugo Has Always Been My Hero Academia’s Fan-Favorite Character

Constantly Winning in Popularity Polls, Bakugo Being Selected as #1 Hero Is No Real Surprise

Over the years of My Hero Academia's manga and anime, Bakugo has earned the hearts of a majority of the fanbase. Although he was a blunt, rude bully character in his early days, antagonizing Deku and acting arrogant, his character arc was one of the series' most complex and interesting to watch unfold. Over time, he confronted his own insecurities and inadequacies in a refreshing and honest way, helping fans see he does have what it takes to be a hero and help others, he just needed to be accountable for his mistakes and vow to be a better person.

For eight years in a row, Bakugo has been the winner of Japan's My Hero Academia best hero popularity poll, as well as a number of smaller polls throughout the world. In this most recent global contest, Bakugo won by a landslide with 1,647,611 million votes, beating Deku's 400,000 votes by an impressive margin. The entire world has spoken: the fanbase loves Bakugo the most out of every character in the show, despite his shortcomings and past errors. Nobuhiko Okamoto should certainly be proud of his voice acting work that breathes such life and fiery personality into this My Hero Academia character.

Source: @ok_nobuhiko on X

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My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is a multimedia franchise that follows a young boy named Izuku Midoriya, who dreams of becoming a hero despite being born without superpowers. These superpowers, known as "Quirks" are found in most people after birth, but Izuku wasn't so lucky - until a fateful encounter with All Might, Japan's greatest hero, Izuku inherits his Quirk and enrolls in U.A. High School to learn the true meaning of heroism. Alongside his classmates, each endowed with unique abilities, Izuku faces rigorous training and lethal threats from villainous forces.

Movie(s)

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes (2018) , My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (2019) , My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission (2021)

Cast

Daiki Yamashita , Kenta Miyake , Nobuhiko Okamoto , Ayane Sakura , Yûki Kaji , Aoi Yuki , Kaito Ishikawa , Toshiki Masuda , Marina Inoue , Yoshimasa Hosoya

TV Show(s)

My Hero Academia

Character(s)

Izuku Midoriya , All Might , Katsuki Bakugo , Ochaco Uraraka , Shoto Todoroki , Tsuyu Asui , Tenya Iida , Eijiro Kirishima , Momo Yaoyorozu , Fumikage Tokoyami