My Hero Academia: Vigilantes – Episode 1

Content Warnings: sexual assault

What’s it about? Haimawari Koichi is a normal college student who operates as a vigilante known as “Nice Guy” and does small tasks for people in need of help.  He’s perfectly happy performing good deeds within his limits until he meets another vigilante named “Knuckleduster,” who wants to recruit Koichi into his team so that they can protect people from villains.  

My Hero Academia is a tough series to discuss, because I personally feel that it ended up becoming a convoluted mess.  The show had plenty of ideas and so much potential, but ultimately it fell short when it came to finding a resolution or at least alternatives on how to deal with the inequalities that exist in a hero-based society.  It became clear that Hirikoshi is much better at telling a smaller story (the Todoroki family) rather than a bigger story with a huge cast of characters.  That’s why I’m coming into My Hero Academia: Vigilantes with much skepticism because I don’t have a lot of faith it’ll be any different from its parent series.  

Aside from my biases, what did I think about this premiere? I’ll admit, I begrudgingly liked this episode and the animation looks really good and fluid.  I am worried that the fighting sequences might become stiff later on, which is something My Hero Academia became known for, but for now it looks promising.  While Koichi doesn’t have that same burning optimism that made Deku extremely likable, it’s the fact that he acknowledges the way things are but still wants to do something, that makes him far more relatable.  What’s admirable about Koichi is that he genuinely loves doing good deeds and doesn’t want any fame for his heroism.  Despite his good intentions, there’s a hint of sadness in his voice for not being able to obtain a hero’s license since his quirk isn’t anything outstanding.  

There’s also a real risk doing vigilante work since he can get arrested for breaking the law and effectively ruin his life.  That happened to “Gentle Criminal” in My Hero Academia, which forced him into becoming a villain since he became disillusioned with hero society.  Basically, there are negative consequences if Koichi gets caught, but he’s willing to take that risk because he’s compelled to do the right thing.  There’s a real chance for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes to do something entirely unique from its parent series.  How do vigilantes operate outside the acceptable norms of a hero based society? It’s unfortunate that this story takes place years before the start of the main story, because there’s a point in the parent series where Deku is forced to operate in secrecy and that could’ve been a perfect opportunity for heroes to learn from vigilantes on how they functioned outside of the law—though on the other hand, that’s a big part of what makes it an accessible jumping-on point for new viewers.  

It seems strange that this story is a prequel, but perhaps there’s value in seeing what a “peaceful” All Might world looked like and where the cracks of a flawed hero society began to emerge.  Unfortunately, the treatment of its only female character is horrible, since she’s immediately almost sexually assaulted by a group of thugs.  Aside from being a popular idol, she isn’t given anything noteworthy to do and to be honest this isn’t a great introduction to her character.  

I have mixed feelings about this one folks.  I used to really like My Hero Academia until its flaws became difficult to ignore.  Since the manga for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is finished, I’m hoping its shorter length will mean a tighter and better story.  Definitely deserves the three episode rule just to see if it’s worth giving a chance. 

Editor’s Note (4/9); This article was edited after publication to correct details about the manga’s author.