Long time no see! Show Down is back, and hopefully, better than ever. This week, I will be checking out “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes,” the highly anticipated spin-off from the world of “My Hero Academia.” The first episode was released Monday, April 7 on Crunchyroll, and comes before the final season of “MHA,” which returns to us this fall.
As an avid “MHA” fan, I’ve been looking forward to analyzing something tied into the original body of work. “Vigilantes” is both a prequel and a spin off: it takes place five years before the events of the main series but features characters the audience is already familiar with. For example, Shota Aizawa (Eraserhead) is a featured and important character, and we get more insight into his background that we didn’t have before.
In Show Down, I break down a show and talk you through whether I think it will get cancelled, or if there’s hope for another season. Cancellation criteria measure the show’s premise, cast, promotion, fan reaction and if available, viewership data. And it might be too early for a bad joke, but I really can’t help it: Let’s get into the analysis! Plus Ultra!
“Vigilantes” follows Koichi Haimawari, a young university student who despite not being a licensed hero uses his quirk to help others. In “MHA,” 80% of the world has powers (referred to as quirks) but few are chosen to become heroes. Haimawari was starting to give up on his dream until he and Kazuho Haneyama, a freelance idol known as Pop Step, are saved by the vigilante Knuckleduster and get recruited to be Vigilantes themselves.
Now to the more technical side of things. “Vigilantes” was written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Betten Court. The manga was first published in August 2016 by Jump GIGA but transferred to online imprint Shonen Jump+ later that year. It is still available on Shonen Jump+ and the series spanned 15 volumes before its conclusion in May 2022. The director is Kenichi Suzuki, and composition comes from the screenwriter Yosuke Kuroda.
The cast stars Shûichirô Umeda (as Haimawari), Kôsuke Toriumi (Soga Kugisaki) and Ikumi Hasegawa (Kazuho Haneyama, also known as Pop Step). More about the cast can be found on Crunchyroll news.
The voice acting is wonderful, and I watched both the dub and the sub to make sure I understood both. There was a lot of effort put in by the cast, and when the dub was announced, I saw a video from the English voice actor of Aizawa, Christopher R. Sabat, emphasizing exactly how excited he is to be back.
Voice acting is an art; it takes immense skill to breathe life into characters using your voice alone, and the cast of Vigilantes succeeded in bringing their characters from page to screen. The original essence of the characters feels maintained, and I enjoyed both the dub and the sub; both casts are talented and dedicated, which becomes clear when you watch the show.
The narrator is Daiki Yamashita, the voice actor of Izuku Midoriya in “MHA.” In the dub, Justin Briner reprised his role as Midoriya as well. The returning cast was a surprise, but one that makes sense: Midoriya is the narrator in “My Hero,” and having him narrate “Vigilantes” makes for a cool transition and something to connect fans between shows.
The promotion for “Vigilantes” goes crazy. On all official accounts, trailers dropped and promotional stills were released. The Japanese voice actors of Midoriya and Haimawari spoke about both shows in a panel, and there was even a visual combining the promotion for vigilantes and the fall premiere of the final season of “MHA.”
Fans have been excited; I’ve scoured the internet for fan reactions and saw that there is a lot of discussion on X, formerly known as Twitter, and other social media platforms. Of course, it can’t all be positive, and there are a lot of complaints that the protagonist is nothing like Midoriya, the protagonist of “MHA.”
There are threads, YouTube videos and much more available with the release of the new episode. All in all, people seem excited. Vigilantes has an interesting new animation style and it’s not afraid to show it.
Vigilantes offers fans a different look at a universe they’ve gotten so familiar with. This is not a show about the characters you know or a situation you are already familiar with. Here, we are getting a closer look at everyday heroes, vigilantes, and the everyday people that are a part of society.
The characters are interesting and the animation is exquisite; I like the comic book manga aesthetic of it all, and I think they did a great job translating the manga into an animated medium. The fight sounds, like “bam!” are shown on screen too, which is a cool touch.
Overall, “Vigilantes” is a thrilling anime that brings a new take on the “MHA” universe, and I sincerely hope it gets adapted the whole way through. This is, without a doubt, not a show down.