Interview: My Hero Academia: All's Justice Producer Aoba Miyazaki on Creating More than a Sequel

With My Hero Academia heading into its final season and the battle between series protagonist Izuku “Deku” Midoriya and villain Tomura Shigaraki heating up, it's only natural for fans of the series to want to do more than just watch the action. They want to participate in it as well. And fans will have that chance with the forthcoming My Hero Academia: All's Justice. However, they won't just be able to play through the events of the anime series. They'll also get to play through an original story in the Teamwork Mission mode. But what can we expect from the story of My Hero Academia: All's Justice, how will it play, and will there be any seasonal content? ANN got to sit down with the game's producer, Aoba Miyazaki, at Tokyo Game Show 2025 to find out more about it.

What sort of advice did you receive from Kōhei Horikoshi [the author of My Hero Academia] when crafting the game's exclusive stories?

AOBA MIYAZAKI: The story mode is not an original story, but rather a faithful reproduction of the original work that allows players to experience it. The Teamwork Mission mode you played today is an original story, and I think you'll be able to see the students' growth as it leads to the final battle, so I hope you'll look forward to it.

Horikoshi-sensei has offered us many enthusiastic comments, which we've incorporated into this title, and we hope you'll experience it for yourselves. We're focusing our efforts on how faithfully we can recreate the world of My Hero Academia.

Kōhei Horikoshi noted that all of Class 1-A are playable characters. Including the villains, how did you design a large cast of characters to feel distinct when playing the game?

MIYAZAKI: First, it's an action game—a fighting action game—so we've designed the moves so we can accurately reproduce the quirks of the characters from the anime and manga series. The game features the largest number of characters of any console game [in the series], so we've been working hard on balancing it out. We're still not quite at the final product yet—we're still making adjustments.

I saw Izuku use his Blackwhip when playing the demo. What were some of the gameplay inspirations behind it?

MIYAZAKI: When watching the original manga or anime, battle scenes naturally dominate the visuals. But when it comes to movement or maneuvering as other characters, we discussed details like “this is how they'd spin” within the development team. We strived to create character expressions and move sets that truly capture the quirks in the world of My Hero Academia.

I think if you've read My Hero Academia, when you control Izuku you'll be impressed and think, "Yeah, that's how the Blackwhip moves!"

My Hero Academia: All's Justice is set to feature a new “Rising” system. Will you elaborate a little more on what the Rising system is?

MIYAZAKI: As you played earlier, you trigger “Rising” by pressing the joystick, and by filling up the rising gauge during battle, you can use at any point. These include rising abilities, improved technique performance, and depending on the character, they can undergo form changes just like in the original work—and each character has their own unique rising. In a 3-on-3 battle, the last character will undergo an "Ultimate Rising," a very powerful “Rising” and their final form. These are some of the exciting battle transitions you'll want to see, so please look forward to it.

Will there be special or final moves when using the “Rising” system?

MIYAZAKI: When it comes to special moves, the "Plus Ultra" moves have been carried over from the previous [One's Justice] series.

Also, if you activate "Plus Ultra" while “Rising” is active, a different visual may occur, so be sure to check that out as well.

What other new and returning gameplay features can fans expect from My Hero Academia: All's Justice?

MIYAZAKI: We've kept the parts that received a good reaction from fans and made changes where there were requests for improvement—or where there we saw a sense of new gameplay. This time it's All Justice, not One's Justice 3. So, while there's a base or lineage to it, we're not just making [One's Justice 3]; as a team we said, "We're going to make a new, even more fun game," so we've drastically redesigned the inside of the game.

So, where previously you could just battle and watch the story, we've added new things like the team-up missions, where you can control characters and go to all kinds of places. Of course, the battles have also evolved a lot too.

Several games now implement a seasonal progression system. What, if any, progression systems can players expect from My Hero Academia: All's Justice?

MIYAZAKI: There's still a lot I can't say right now, but we want to create an enjoyable environment so players who buy and play our games can enjoy them for a long time. So, please look forward to future information on that.

The new trailer hints at a My Hero Academia: All's Justice season system. Will this include new characters or different character costume options?

MIYAZAKI: The current season pass is for characters—including playable characters. There are also other items such as costumes, so I hope you will check those out as well.

What sort of balance between playable characters can players expect for online play? Can players expect regular balance updates?

MIYAZAKI: This time, for the 3v3 battle action, we recognize that poor balance among players would put them at a disadvantage. Therefore, we're putting significant effort into balancing adjustments for both our current online battles and single-player modes. Of course, we're building the foundation to ensure everything is in a complete state at launch. However, when new characters are introduced, we'll address any necessary issues head-on. We want to provide an environment where players can enjoy the game for a long time, so we've been continuously adjusting the balance for quite some time now.

Competitive gaming has grown in popularity over the last 20 years. What plans, if any, is My Hero Academia: All's Justice implementing to court the competitive scene?

MIYAZAKI: It would be great if we could hold a tournament. If there are people who would like to participate in one the future, or if they contact us, our staff would be more than happy to provide something suitable for them.

Do you have any messages for the fans of My Hero Academia?

MIYAZAKI: The final season of the anime will begin in October of this year. We would love to share the excitement that has built up during the final season of the anime with everyone through this game. All our staff are fans of My Hero Academia, and we are creating a game fans of My Hero Academia will surely enjoy. So, we hope you will enjoy playing it and becoming heroes.