Vigilantes is becoming an official spin-off and expansion of the My Hero Academia franchise. Crunchyroll just released the first season this April, and people are sharing their opinions on it. Vigilantes manga was created by a friend of Horikoshi’s, named Hideyuki Furuhashi. It is a prequel to the events of MHA.
My Hero Academia is very popular. Fans are sad to see it go as the manga ended a while ago and the anime will catch up soon. Many fanfictions are being made in honor of it, either extending the story or imagining the characters in different situations. I wonder, will more story ideas get approved as spin-offs after this? Should the MHA franchise expand and become like the Marvel and DC superhero franchises?
MHA Vigilantes centers around Koichi, a college student who uses his free time to be a vigilante in the city of Naruhata. He joins forces with a freelance idol and an older man named Knuckleduster, who trains them to be his apprentices in heroism. This takes place about five years before Deku attends UA. We see the backstories of many well-known adult characters from My Hero Academia, such as Aizawa and Hero Killer Stain.
Backstory
If you don’t know already, My Hero Academia is a superhero anime based on the manga written by Kohei Horikoshi. It’s got really popular over the past decade, becoming well-known in the shonen genre. There are alot of deep, fascinating characters that fans obsess over and want to know more about. The immersive world-building concepts also have alot of potential to be expanded on to explore different types of stories.
This world-building expansion is where Vigilantes comes in. In MHA, the heroes are licensed and employed by the government to keep superpowered society in check. But the government is somewhat corrupt, heroes can’t be everywhere, and some aspiring heroes can’t get licensed. Yet, this does not stop them. Doing their jobs illegally and for free, vigilantes showcase true heroism.
Yet, as shown in MHA, heroism is a very dangerous job. On top of that, they are also wanted by the government for being unlicensed. This makes the stakes in Vigilantes seem to be a lot higher than in MHA.
Anticipation
Reactions to the Vigilantes trailer are mainly positive. Many people who read the manga say the story is very good or even better than the original story of MHA. Their comments help ramp up the excitement for the new show.
The trailer shows that certain pro-hero characters which are fan favorites will star in the anime. This creates more excitement for fans who’ll love more content about them. The animation quality looks good, so people put their faith in the animation studio to do the story well.
Beginning Impressions
When I watched the first three episodes of the series, I was very entertained. The opening song and animation are great! I love the silly parts and the serious parts; I feel they are in a good balance. The characters are all very interesting and seem well fleshed out. The story is deeper and more serious than MHA’s plot, which fascinates me. I love stories that have idealist themes but are firmly rooted in realistic situations.
I was not expecting Aizawa to appear so quickly in the anime! But I guess they really are setting him up to be a major side character. So far, I feel that the story is living up to the hype it’s been given!
Fan Reactions
Fans are loving everything about the anime so far. People are saying that it’s a nice break from MHA’s depressing last season. Manga readers appreciate how faithful the storyline is to the original book series and does not change too much. The animation just enhances the scenes!
Fans like the smaller cast because it is easier to follow the characters and relate to them. In MHA, we’re forced to care about alot of side characters that don’t get enough screen time to matter anyway. Vigilantes is more of a normal show in how it sticks with the main characters the most. Some fans believe it balances seriousness and comedy very well even with the darker plotline.
On the other hand, some fans show annoyance with the slow pacing of the first few episodes. They say Koichi is really lame and dumb and do not see his potential. There haven’t been any exciting fight scenes yet, but manga readers defend the show saying the plot picks up later and gets way cooler. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!
Comparison to Mainline Story
This story takes a few small concepts from MHA and expands on them. For example, whereas MHA is a broad story about a superpowered society and the journeys of various people into becoming a pro hero or villain, Vigilantes focuses on a specific part of the consequences of that society. It delves deeper into the concept of Trigger drug trafficking and heroes not being able to save everyone or be everywhere. This is what makes it have a more serious and dangerous mood than MHA.
Fans say that the story’s slower pacing provides better character development. Also, less characters are given the spotlight to have a backstory and personality arc like in the original series. Although there are alot of interesting characters in this anime as well, they aren’t competing for attention too much. This also means there is no constant switching between subplots that sometimes rush to an unsatisfying ending.
People say Koichi’s progress throughout the story is smoother than Deku’s. We get to see him grow from having a weak, average quirk to using it in increasingly more powerful ways against enemies. His development makes sense and is not rushed. I think it’s also convenient that he’s a little older because he matches fans who may have grown up watching MHA and are now living young adult lives themselves! Or who are just young adult fans.
I recommend Vigilantes
In conclusion, My Hero Academia gets a spin-off anime that will expand its world and franchise. Expect merch for these guys soon! It focuses on the serious complicated issues in their society such as illegal heroes, drug trafficking, and child villains. The story focuses more on the small main cast and the plot of their development. Because of this, the anime is easier to follow and keeps you hooked in on the suspense. Many fans love the new characters and look foward to seeing future plotlines animated. It may take awhile since the story starts off slow, but manga readers promise that it’s worth it at the end. Therefore, go ahead and give the show a watch if you haven’t already!
