My Hero Academia creator Kōhei Horikoshi marked the franchise's 10th anniversary with a new illustration for the Japanese debut of "My Hero Academia: I am a hero too," a short anime now available on Crunchyroll worldwide outside Japan.

The illustration features a teenage Eri alongside characters Momo Yaoyorozu, Kyoka Jiro, Fumikage Tokoyami, Katsuki Bakugo, and Denki Kaminari, with the caption "Now streaming! Awesome!"

The short adapts a My Hero Academia manga short and centers on Eri as she pursues her dreams in music. It also reveals that series protagonist Izuku Midoriya—known as Deku—has returned to active hero work while taking on teaching responsibilities.

"I am a hero too" first premiered at Anime Expo in July before screening at the "Character Match Up" event in Japan over the weekend. It hit Japanese streaming services on Monday and rolled out to Crunchyroll's international audience immediately after.

This is the second short anime in the franchise's 10th anniversary project. The first, "My Hero Academia: More," aired on May 2 as "episode 170+1" and streams on Crunchyroll everywhere except Asia. Horikoshi released accompanying artwork for that short in May, showing adult Deku with the caption "My Hero Academia coming up at 5:30 p.m."

The timing marks a significant moment for the franchise: the eighth and final season of the main My Hero Academia anime wrapped in December after premiering last October on YTV and NTV affiliate channels. Crunchyroll streamed the series worldwide (excluding Asia) alongside an English dub.

With the anime concluding and these anniversary shorts now in circulation, the franchise is using the occasion to explore where characters stand after the story's end—particularly Deku's dual life as both hero and educator, and Eri's pursuit of passion outside the traditional hero framework.