My Hero Academia’s replacement is currently airing, and this season has repeatedly improved on elements of the original series. In its latest episode, it perfectly employs the element the original lacked, highlighting a missed opportunity. There is no doubt that My Hero Academia is one of the best shonen series ever created, as it fully embodies the mold of the genre fans are accustomed to. However, it is also a series that closely follows the shonen formula, neglecting several elements that could have elevated it further.
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One of those elements is romance. The series laid the foundation for it across multiple threads but ultimately failed to fully utilize it to give its characters deeper meaning, as it could have played a defining role for Deku and Uraraka. While it did touch on it through La Brava and Gentle Criminal, their bond was rooted more in shared trauma than love as a central foundation. As such, it is refreshing that My Hero Academia’s replacement, Vigilantes, uses this element as one of its key aspects, effectively highlighting how love can be meaningfully incorporated into a shonen series.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Season 2 Perfectly Delivers the Shonen Genre’s Most Overlooked Element
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 11, titled “Ballon Soul,” sees Captain Celebrity continue to defend the Sky Egg from falling, even as the enhanced users relentlessly attack him. Pushed to his limits, CC begins to lose consciousness and reflects on his past. Through these moments, the episode reveals that his foundation as a great hero was not shaped by trauma or a grand, world-saving ambition, as one might expect from powerful figures. Instead, it shows that while he was always celebrated by the masses, his true understanding of being both a hero and a human came from his wife, Pamela, beginning with their very first meeting. The episode firmly establishes that CC’s strength has always been rooted in his romantic connection with Pamela.
The episode reinforces this through subtle yet meaningful romantic nuances, most notably a scene of CC floating in the air with Pamela, an homage to iconic moments from Superman, where Clark Kent carries Lois Lane through the sky. This parallel beautifully encapsulates how romance stands as one of the most vital aspects of his life. While this element in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes may seem easy to overlook, it effectively demonstrates how romance can meaningfully exist within the shonen genre, proving that not every compelling character requires a tragic foundation.
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