A Dark New Superhero Anime Might Take My Hero Academia’s Place

January 10, 2026, 2:59pm

There’s a superhero-sized hole in the anime world these days, as Deku and UA Academy have exited the scene via My Hero Academia’s series finale. While the anime still has one more special installment that will hit the airwaves later this year, and has a spin-off that just kicked off its second season, Kohei Horikoshi’s biggest franchise has created a power vacuum. Luckily, the superhero genre has just released the first episode of a new series that might be able to follow in Class 1-A’s footsteps, as a new generation of crime fighters is taking center stage.

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While Izuku Midoriya’s journey involved most of the general population receiving the super-powered abilities known as Quirks, things work a little differently in the new superhero anime, Scum of the Brave. The latest anime adaptation from OLM focuses on a world where the mafia has gained the ability to transform into “dark lords,” and super-powered bounty hunters are tasked with defeating them. The new anime series might not focus on a school in a similar vein to UA Academy, but it does feature younger super-powered individuals who are looking to learn more to fight against the mob. Luckily, they have an adept teacher, as one of the most powerful “braves” is willing to take on a new apprentice. You can check out a trailer for this new anime adaptation below, with the first episode now available to stream on Crunchyroll.

The Mob Vs. Super Heroes

While My Hero Academia and Scum of the Brave are two very different anime projects, they do share the mafia aspect in common in several ways. The biggest similarity in this regard was the villain of UA Academy’s fourth season with the villain Overhaul. Unlike the major villains of All Might and Shigaraki, Overhaul was an antagonist who was part of the Japanese mafia, attempting to build an empire by taking the power of the young girl Eri. in an attempt to create a weapon that could erase Quirks, Overhaul became a threat to be reckoned with who briefly rivaled the strongest members of the League of Villains.

If you want more incentive to check out Scum of the Brave, here’s how Crunchyroll describes the series: “In the mid-21st century, Tokyo’s mafia can turn into ether-enhanced Demon Lords, and Braves hunt them down. Yashiro, the Grim Reaper, reluctantly takes a new apprentice named Aki Jogamine, a high school girl training to become a Brave. He soon finds himself dragged into one troublesome case after another. The supernatural story of a scumbag master and his self-proclaimed apprentice begins!”

Scum of the Brave first got its start as a novel series from creator Rocket Shokai in 2016, and in a twist of fate, the superhero story is the second big anime adaptation from the mangaka this month. Shokai also created the series, Sentenced to be a Hero, which is gaining serious groundswell with a near-perfect rating from fans.

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