TV Review | My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (Episode 1)

“My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is off to a great start. The first episode is fun and action-packed with a heartfelt story and endearing characters.”

My Hero Academia returns with a new spinoff Vigilantes, offering a new perspective on this beloved franchise. This one is based on the manga of the same name created by Hideyuki Furuhashi, Betten Court, and Kohei Horikoshi. The first episode is now streaming on Crunchyroll, episodes release weekly on Mondays.

THE VIGILANTES

The story takes place before Izuku Midoriya joins U.A. High School. As the title indicates, this series focuses on vigilantes. These are people who are not officially registered heroes and do justice on their own. The main character here is Koichi Haimawari. He is a student who aspires to become a hero but because of his powers which are slide and glide, he has given up on his dream and has settled on doing little acts of kindness as Nice Guy. Undeniably, Koichi is a sweet and big-hearted character. At the same time, he’s has zero confidence in himself, which makes you want to root for him, you want to see him succeed. He’s the type of loveable main character you can’t get enough of.

His life changes when he and Pop☆Step (her power is jumping) are saved by the vigilante Knuckleduster who then recruits them as vigilantes on his quest to stop villains. These three characters are endearing and each bring something for the dynamic of the group. It’s the unlikeliness of them coming together that makes their strength and their likeability.

STORY

Moreover, the first episode takes its time to introduces the characters, their motives and what they’re up against. It’s an absolute joy to go back into this world. This series expands it with vigilantes. It both feels familiar and new. Undoubtedly, Vigilantes is off to a great start. When an episode is over you just want to watch the next one, it’s addictive. The first episode has everything you look for in a My Hero Academia series. It’s action-packed and fun while the story is also heartfelt. There’s the right balance of humour and action.

VISUALS

Finally, Vigilantes has the same animation quality as My Hero Academia. Indeed, it’s visually beautiful with a faithful representation of Japan’s big city landscape and Japanese’s everyday life. Even though, it’s a science fiction story with people having superpowers, it’s still anchored in our world. Konbinis are an essential part of people’s life there. You get to see that in the series too. That desire of realism makes the series even more immersive. On top of that, the character designs have simple shapes, the animation puts the focus on their facial expressions.

VERDICT

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is off to a great start. The series captures what makes this world so compelling and successfully expands on it. The first episode is fun and action-packed with a heartfelt story and endearing characters.