Anime Review: 'My Hero Academia: Vigilantes' - Episodes 1 & 2 (Spoiler Free)
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a spinoff/prequel anime of the My Hero Academia series created by Kohei Horikoshi, and is produced by TOHO and Bones Film. It is based on the Manga written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Betten Court, originally published and serialized in Shueisha's Jump Giga in August 2016.
Set before the events of the main series, a.k.a. before Izuku Midoriya came into the picture, A college student named Koichi Haimawari, who also aspires to be a hero, but then realizes he's not cut out for it. While most of the world's population has superpowers or Quirks, only a few are chosen to become heroes.
All that changed when Koichi and Pop Step were saved by a vigilante named Knuckleduster and were eventually recruited to become vigilantes.
The main character is obviously no Izuku Midoriya. Koichi was born with a Quirk, an unusual one, but the only thing he has in common with Deku/Izuku Midoriya is that he also idolized Earth's number one hero, All Might.
Although his dream of becoming a full-fledged hero like All Might may no longer be in his sights, he did some small hero work before getting recruited to become a vigilante. Becoming a vigilante is perhaps the closest he could be as a hero.
Knuckleduster seems to be a poor man's version of Batman. Despite that, he's a very strong-willed character and has his way of getting the job done, although Koichi is still not keen on his approach to handling situations.
Meanwhile, there's a lot to learn about Pop Step's character. She's obviously a pop idol with a Quirk, but she does take her job as a vigilante seriously. Perhaps in the latter episodes, Pop Step shows more of her personality outside of being a pop idol and a vigilante.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes still has the same charm as the main My Hero Academia series. Adding some sound effects in the anime, like in American comics, is a nice touch. This anime is also a good starting point for anyone who hasn't watched the My Hero Academia series.
Despite the title, it's not as dark as some would expect. Visually, it's very colorful, and the action scenes are smooth. TOHO and Bones Film did a wonderful anime adaptation of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. Overall, it's a very quirky and fun anime to watch.
