Following a decade-long run of heroism that saw Izuku Midoriya and the students of UA Academy battle the forces of evil, Studio BONES has officially wrapped up the My Hero Academia anime adaptation. As fans eagerly speculate about when the beloved superhero franchise might eventually return, ComicBook.com caught up with Studio BONES president Masahiko Minami to discuss the studio’s future plans. Given BONES’ history of revisiting and reimagining past material—most notably with the acclaimed remake series Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood—Minami shared insights on whether the studio has any intentions of dusting off its older catalog.
While anime reboots and revivals are currently all the rage across the industry, BONES has no intention of following the crowd. Speaking at this year’s Otakon convention, Minami firmly stated that the production company currently has zero plans to remake any of its previous titles. “We’re more interested in creating new works in the future and aren’t that interested in reboots,” Minami explained. He noted that Fullmetal Alchemist was an entirely exceptional scenario because the original manga was still ongoing when the initial anime adaptation was produced. Brotherhood was created specifically to bring the true, completed manga narrative to the screen, making it a unique exception rather than the studio’s standard operating procedure.
Linking Daemons and Alchemy
Though a My Hero Academia remake isn’t happening anytime soon, Studio BONES remains busier than ever. One of their most exciting upcoming projects is an anime adaptation of Daemons of the Shadow Realm, penned by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa. During the interview, Minami touched upon the unique challenges of adapting Arakawa’s latest work and whether their previous history with the Elric brothers made the transition smoother.
“I do strongly believe there is a relationship that we have built with Arakawa-sensei, though Daemons of the Shadow Realm is so different from Fullmetal Alchemist,” Minami shared. “I sometimes wonder if the original author made it so different intentionally. These differences have made creating this series that much more difficult, but I feel that we’ve been able to accomplish bringing the story to life as a team.”
Currently, aside from recent cinematic releases, there are no further animated projects mapped out for Kohei Horikoshi’s superhero universe. Even so, Horikoshi continues to flex his creative muscles in Weekly Shonen Jump. The mangaka is slated to launch a brand-new “boy-meets-girl” horror story titled Don’t Laugh, Shijima-San. Minami has already expressed enthusiasm to ComicBook.com, noting that he would gladly consider adapting the spooky short-form project if the right opportunity presented itself.