In My Hero Academia, one of the most exciting things that has always captivated us readers is the Pro Hero Billboard Chart of Japan. The Pro Hero Rankings showcase whom the public sees as the best heroes among the current active fighters. With that being said, Pro Hero Rankings aren’t exactly strength-based. While power definitely matters, personality and charisma are also essential.
All Might stood as the Number One Hero of Japan for decades, and his colleagues made up the rest of the top 5. But now, a new ranking has emerged with the most recent August 2026 release of My Hero Academia in the latest special, I Am a Hero Too. This special confirms the rise of powerful Heroes like Mirio Togata and Shoto Todoroki, along with many other surprises, including the shocking rise of the protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, despite being Quirkless.
My Hero Academia Unveils New Top 5 In Special “I Am a Hero Too” Release
When My Hero Academia started, the Pro Hero ranking system was unveiled by Kohei Horikoshi in chapter 96. Even before that, we had an idea of Hero rankings, but from here onwards, these rankings became essential to the plot. From the first chapter all the way to My Hero Academia Chapter 183, the initial Top 5 Heroes of Japan were made up of:
- All Might
- Endeavor
- Hawks
- Best Jeanist
- Edgeshot
The Hero rankings then went on to change when the system was fully unveiled to us in Chapter 184, released in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #26 on May 28, 2018. Here, All Might, after retiring, relinquished his top spot to the Number 2 Hero, Endeavor. For a majority of the story, this ranking remained consistent. But eventually, a new era in the world of My Hero Academia officially began. Overall, the Hero Ranking experienced a major shift upon the ending of the story.
The first change was unveiled to us in the extra My Hero Academia Chapter 431, which was added by Kohei Horikoshi as a bonus alongside the release of the last volume. However, immediately after, the rankings would be shuffled once more on May 2, 2025, in the final guidebook featuring a special one-shot. This new ranking received even more attention when Studio Bones finally brought the special chapter to life as a new episode titled “I Am a Hero Too,” first released on August 2, 2026. On top of updating the rankings, Horikoshi also went on to fix one major issue faced in the previous one, which was the exclusion of the main character Deku and his rival, Bakugo.
The new Top 5 Hero ranking, officially as of today, is:
- Mirio Togata
- Shoto Todoroki
- Mt. Lady
- Izuku Midoriya
- Katsuki Bakugo
Until a future My Hero Academia project is announced by Kohei Horikoshi, this is the final ranking. With that being said, we’re eventually expecting a big update to this ranking, which will see our protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, finally recognized as the Number 1 Hero and achieving his dream of becoming the greatest Hero there is. There is definitely a strong chance of that happening, as a new project is in the works. Last year, Jump Festa 2026 teased new MHA projects. This year, My Hero Academia is also featured heavily at Jump Festa 2027, specifically in its main show, Super Stage Red. My Hero Academia will steal the spotlight on December 19, with big news to come fans’ way.
How The New Hero Rankings Differ From The Previous Top 5
The Hero Billboard Chart of Japan in My Hero Academia has gone through a lot of changes, especially towards the end of My Hero Academia, where huge timeskips took place and positions shifted. The biggest difference between the latest hero ranking revealed on August 2, 2026, and the one before it is the positions taken up by the Number 4 and Number 5 Heroes. Previously, in the post-timeskip ranking, which was first revealed in chapter 431 of the manga on December 4, 2024, we saw that the Number 4 and Number 5 positions were taken by Kamui Woods and Best Jeanist. This ranking initially came as a shocker to many fans, as it blatantly excludes the two highlights of the show: Izuku Midoriya and Bakugo Katsuki.
For Izuku Midoriya, his absence made sense, as he had lost his Quirk and could no longer act as a Pro Hero of Japan. For Bakugo, however, he started his run as Number 4, but due to his terrible personality, his ranking was pushed down to 15. This, however, has now drastically changed. Kamui Woods and Best Jeanist are no longer in the Top 5 of Japan, and their spots have been taken by Izuku Midoriya with his Hero Armor and Bakugo with his Explosion Quirk.
This big shift was made possible mainly thanks to Izuku Midoriya gaining a new power-up in the form of a Hero Armor. This armor was gifted to Izuku Midoriya by All Might and was funded by Class 1-A, especially Bakugo Katsuki. This Armor suit is able to replicate the powers of his lost Quirk, One For All, and eventually pushed him into the Top 5. At the same time, Deku’s success greatly influenced Bakugo. As their heated rivalry was revived, Bakugo was pushed to be the best version of himself to compete with Deku for the position of Number 1. This took him from Number 15 to Number 5.
How The New Ranking Affects the Other Heroes
The new Hero Billboard Ranking radically changed the top 5 upon the release of Horikoshi’s extra chapter in the latest guidebook. However, unlike previous Hero rankings, Horikoshi never gave us the full top ten, let alone the top 15 or top 20. Since the new reveal, we have all been wondering about the reattributed ranks of the other characters, as the rise of both Deku and Bakugo into the Top 5 changes everything. For one, the previous Number 4 Hero, Kamui Woods, has likely just dropped down to Number 6. He has definitely established himself as a worthy hero, and he shouldn’t be too far behind Mt. Lady, his usual partner.
For other characters, however, it is definitely hard to guess where they fall now, and Horikoshi could surprise us with many of them, just like he previously has with Mt. Lady. It’s possible that Best Jeanist and Mirko, two of the former generation of Pro Heroes, have dropped down in ranking to leave space for the new generation to rise. On the flip side, characters like Nejire, with her Wave Motion Quirk, could have risen higher, with power upgrades and new developments. There is also Monoma, with his Copy quirk and massive charisma, who could have risen in the ranks.
In general, many of the former students of UA High School Class 1-A should have gotten stronger and distinguished themselves in the country as incredible Pro Heroes. This includes the likes of Ochaco Uraraka, who could have joined the Top 20, Kirishima, who recently went Solo, and even Tokoyami, who might have grabbed a spot in the Top 15. Either way, we’re hoping to see a new updated hero ranking chart encompassing at least the Top 20 of Japan’s best Heroes eventually. It’s unclear if we will ever get this, but a new movie following Deku’s Pro Hero career would definitely shed light on a new ranking.