My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has officially kicked off its first season! The premiere episode wastes no time diving into interesting storylines that promise an action-packed season ahead. During the episode, we get a look at the three main characters and what drives them. The series itself also leans more into a comic book aesthetic, using comic book panels as scene transitions and onomatopoeia words for sound effects.
MHA Vigilantes Premiere
The series kicks off with the main protagonist, Izuku Midoriya, narrating the history of Quirks and the rise of the hero industry before pivoting towards vigilantes. It does a good job setting up the exploration of the dark side of hero work and how those who work without a license operate.
The episode draws a few parallels between Vigilantes protagonist, Koichi Haimawari, and Izuku Midoriya. Like Izuku, we are introduced to Koichi while he watches a fight between All Might and a villain. It shows how Koichi longs to be a hero, but has a more downtrodden outlook on his future. He doesn’t view his Quirk as something a hero would possess. Like Izuku, he admires All Might and does small but helpful tasks around his town.
The parallels continue with the introduction of Knuckleduster as Koichi’s future mentor. While Koichi is with Pop Step, they’re confronted by a thug named Sota and his gang. Unlike Izuku, Koichi is more hesitant to help someone in danger, but he ultimately steps in. Knuckleduster then appears, quickly takes control of the situation, and declares Koichi his apprentice. Whereas All Might offered Izuku a meaningful and inspiring opportunity, Knuckleduster is much more blunt and unrefined. Koichi doesn’t want to work in the shadows like Knuckleduster, but eventually gives in.
The episode then ends with the teaser of a fight between Knuckleduster and Shota Aizawa in the midst of Knuckleduster poorly teaching Koichi and Pop Step, who has tagged along, how to be a hero.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the episode does a good job setting up who the main characters are, the types of problems they face, and setting up how Vigilantes is connected to the main series. It didn’t rely too much on main series references outside of small appearances by All Might and Aizawa. The darker issues each character faced just in the first episode alone did a good job of setting itself apart from its main series counterpart’s early days. The series using a comic book style, as well as the overall art style in general, did give it its own identity while also keeping the art style familiar.
You can stream My Hero Academia: Vigilantes on Crunchyroll.
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