My Hero Academia Mangaka Kohei Horikoshi Shares Two Pieces of New Fan Art In Celebration Of Final Fantasy IX Anime Announcement

Spencer Baculi |

Jun 25, 2021

Source: Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008), Square Enix

Noted Final Fantasy IX fan and My Hero Academia mangaka Kohei Horikoshi recently shared two original pieces of fan art, inspired by the classic entry in the long-running JRPG franchise, in celebration of the recent announcement that the game would be receiving an anime adaptation.

As announced on June 21st by children’s entertainment trade publication Kidscreen, Square Enix and Paris-based animation studio Cyber Group Studios (Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe, Les Chroniques de Zorro) have officially inked a deal to co-develop and co-produce an animated series based on the ninth numbered Final Fantasy entry.

Set to be developed for a target 8-to-13-year old demographic, Cyber Group Studios’ announcement also noted that the series is currently very early in development, with the studio preparing to shop the series around to broadcasters in the coming months.

Following the announcement of the series’ production, Horikoshi took to his personal Twitter account to share two pieces of Final Fantasy IX fan art through the social media platform’s ‘Fleet’ feature.

In the first piece, Vivi and Garnett can be seen listening on as Zidane recounts what appears to be a tall ‘tail.’

According to noted translator and Aitai Japan founder Audrey Lamsam, alongside the image, Horikoshi wrote, “I’m so happy about the FF9 anime”!

In the second, again as translated by Lamsam, Horikoshi drew a solitary image of the game’s Dragon Knight, Freya Crescent, and exclaimed “FF9 is my most cherished game in my life, so when I heard news of the anime adaptation, my heart soared.”

“I want to see Freya’s quirky dance in anime form.,” the mangaka added. “I’m so happy!”

These two pieces are not the first time Horikoshi has used his talents to pay tribute to his favorite game. In 2013, the famed mangaka shared a beautifully detailed and fully colored piece depicting the game’s full playable cast to his personal Pixiv account.

What do you make of Horikoshi’s FFIX fanart? Are you excited for the anime adaptation? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!