My Hero Academia has been a bit of a cultural phenom, bringing new fans into the Anime fold MHA is nearing the end of its run with an eighth and final season currently in the works to be released soon. The first time you watch it’s not hard to see why the fanbase is constantly growing, with slick animation, massive fast paced action set pieces and brilliant voice acting.
Set some time before the main timeline, MHA: Vigilantes aims to expand on the world with the first episode laying a good platform for things to come. Shifting focus away from the bigger more powerful heros within the universe we are introduced first to Koichi. A 19 year old college student who has always dreamed of being a hero, the only problem is his Quirk isn’t doing him any favours. Unfortunately, gliding around at the speed of a slow bicycle doesn’t lend itself to hero work. Koichi shows from the start that he has a big heart and is always trying to do his best to help people by performing small good deeds of a night earning him the moniker “Nice Guy.”
Still young and aware of his limitations when confronted with a dire situation, Koichi tries his best to stand up to some villainous individuals who are threatening fellow student Pop Step. It is here we are introduced to Knuckleduster. A mysterious brute of a man living the Vigilante lifestyle, he quickly steps in and saves Koichi and Pop Step from a horrible fate. Knuckleduster sees something in Koichi and recruits him to be his apprentice and after much back and forth Koichi agrees, if only to stop Knuckleduster from hurting innocent people.
Vigilantes works on the premise that the main heroes cannot be everywhere at once and the police are not always available to look after the small crimes plaguing the city. The solution in Knuckledusters view is to stop crime before it happens, seek out those known to taunt the law and beating them to a pulp before they can become a problem. A new designer drug doing the rounds is making it harder to deal with these small-time crooks.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, in its first episode at least, does well to set itself apart from its larger sibling offering a smaller, gritty view of the MHA world and a new self-contained story for it to grow with. Art style is, as you would expect, smooth and vibrant capturing the artistry of the comics and bringing it to the screen. We have been given a simple hero for us to root for, surrounded by new yet well-developed characters that will ultimately help him grow into the hero he has always wanted to be.
After the first episode I am hooked, and I am not one to enjoy newer anime titles. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is available exclusively on Crunchyroll with episodes releasing each week.
