My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

On paper, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes was a sure-fire success. Despite a lot of the criticism that the series faces from the general public, My Hero Academia‘s worldwide success is an undeniable fact. It has carved out a spot as one of the most popular shonen series of the modern era, and with the original show looking to end its run in the near future, there was no better time for a spin-off to swoop in and ride the franchise’s thunder – enter My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. However, it’s not looking like this show lived up to the expectations that Studio Bones had set for it – but why?

Today, we’re diving into our review of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. If you haven’t seen the show, then fear not! We won’t be covering any serious spoiler content in this review, so feel free to read ahead and figure out if this is the show for you. With that being said, let’s get into the review!

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My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Review

Image by Bones Film

The concept behind My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is pretty genius – like in all good superhero universes, there’s a small percentage of the population that don’t seek to use their powers for good through the traditional, governmentally-approved channels. Especially in a story like My Hero Academia‘s, where Quirks are bestowed upon people at birth, it’s foolish to assume that every single person with these powers would follow system laid out in the original series. A spin-off focused on those who use their powers for good outside of the confines of the law was the perfect set-up, and a worthy side-story that didn’t feel like unnecessary filler or shameless cash-grabbing.

However, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes runs into an issue straight from the jump by using this concept as the basis for its story. The story of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes takes place only 5 years before the main series, and unfortunately, the events of this series make it seem like the superhero system underwent some serious renovations in that time-gap, because wow – the authorised heroes in the show feel like they’re barely competent. Based on how strong the system works in the main series, vigilantes wouldn’t be needed in this universe, but this show leans so strongly in the direction of the public relying on vigilantes, that it makes the characters from the main series seem useless. This problem could have been counteracted by having My Hero Academia: Vigilantes take place in a desolate town, one that the government don’t care enough to interfere in, which could have led to some very interesting political commentary in this series. However, it seems that author Hideyuki Furuhashi didn’t think ahead that far, which is pretty disappointing.

Concept aside, the series itself doesn’t get off to a very strong start – in fact, the opening episodes of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes are extremely slow, and at times, borderline boring. For fans of the original series, the first handful of episodes of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes feel like the very worst of the main show. Comparisons are inevitable when it comes to spin-offs, but this sort of comparison is particularly disappointing. Things don’t get much better as the show goes on, as the series becomes a pattern of underwhelming, sudden attacks on the city, while a much more compelling, main villain story lurks beneath, with scenes scattered throughout the mundanity. If you enjoy ‘villain of the week’ storytelling, you may be fine with My Hero Academia: Vigilantes‘ pacing, but for me, I couldn’t wait to leave the random monsters behind, and get back to the main storyline.

Image by Bones Film

The characters of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes are ultimately a mixed bag. Koichi is a far more enjoyable protagonist to me than Deku, so that’s a big win for the series. However, when it comes to the side characters, things are a little more rough. Pop-Step shows signs of being a compelling character, but ultimately loses steam in the show’s second half. Knuckleduster is a hilariously underwhelming take on a vigilante leader, and the peanut gallery of Makoto and the detective force leave little impact on the series overall. Stendhal is by far the most compelling part of the show, especially considering his true identity, but he practically disappears in the later stages of the season. I’m sure we’ll come to love these characters as the show goes on, but as of finishing this first season, I’m not feeling their absence at all.

Then comes the visuals – the character designs in this series are pretty mediocre. Koichi, Pop-Step, Knuckleduster, and especially Kuin Hachisuka are all very forgettable visually, especially considering character design was actually one of the original series’ greatest strengths. As far as animation goes, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes looks good when it needs to. In some of the more intense fight scenes, you can definitely see more effort being put in, and I enjoy how the animators combine animation and humour when it comes to the early scenes of Koichi’s Quirk. However, to be blunt, the animation is ultimately nothing to write home about.

To give My Hero Academia: Vigilantes some credit, its overarching story is actually quite gritty. Compared to the main series, the show seems to have a darker edge to it, and a more nuanced approach to the concepts of good and evil, even if it squanders the opportunity to explore these nuances further by writing-out key characters. To tie-in with this surprisingly dark story, the show is also surprisingly gory, with some of the earlier episodes containing some genuinely spine-tingling violence and body horror. My Hero Academia definitely had its moments in this vein, mainly when it came to Himiko Toga, but My Hero Academia: Vigilantes actually ups the ante even further – a risk that I ultimately respect.

Image by Bones Film

Without going into spoilers, the final episodes of the show also reveal a plot twist, and overall, it’s fairly underwhelming. There’s not nearly enough build-up to draw the viewer into the emotional pay-off it leans on, and it also involves some of the show’s most uninteresting characters. If anything, the show’s ‘big’ plot-twist actually undercuts the more enjoyable parts of the earlier episodes in the season. I tried my best to enjoy the final stretch of the season, but I couldn’t get myself on-board with the twist’s inherent weakness.

The final episode itself is also pretty underwhelming, and the last episode of the season just kind of cuts off, without setting up much else for the future. It’s almost like Bones knows that the viewers are going to return, so they don’t need to give you anything to look forward to. Maybe this works for some people, but for me, it puts me off returning to the show completely. So, ultimately, not the most glowing review for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. To be fair, I’m not a huge fan of the original My Hero Academia series, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

If you’re a fan of My Hero Academia, and want to see more from this world, then I suggest you give My Hero Academia: Vigilantes a try. However, if you don’t love the main series, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is not a new, revolutionary take on the series that’s going to win you over. I hope Season 2 will kick the series into a new gear, but I’m doubtful based on this first season, which was practically average in every single way. What did you think of the first season of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes? Be sure to let us know!

See also: Top 10 Shonen Anime, Ranked

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Where to Watch My Hero Academia: Vigilantes?

Image by Bones Film

You can catch all episodes of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes streaming now on Crunchyroll, alongside all seasons of the original My Hero Academia series. In select regions, both of these shows can also be streamed on Netflix. There’s no official release date for a second season of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes as of yet, but we’ll keep you posted with any news!

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