My Hero Academia Creator Gives ‘Vigilantes’ a Special Makeover

My Hero Academia is preparing for the final moments of the shonen franchise in the pages of its manga, with the Final Arc pitting the heroes of UA Academy against the villains under the thrall of All For One and Shigaraki. Earlier this year, however, fans of Kohei Horikoshi’s franchise said a very different goodbye to the heroes of Vigilantes, with the story of Crawler, Pop Step, and Knuckle Duster also drawing to a close, with the mangaka responsible for the main series taking on the heroes operating outside of the law.

The final chapter of Vigilantes took the opportunity to show the future of the main characters of the spin-off, with Crawler becoming a major new hero in the United States, Pop Step returning to a more normal life, and Knuckle Duster returning to his original method of brutally fighting crime from the shadows. The series took the opportunity to not just study these heroes operating outside of the law but would show the past stories that involved some major heroes of the main series, including the likes of Eraserhead, Present Mic, Midnight, Mirko, Fat Gum, All Might, and more. 

The art from Kohei Horikoshi shows how the creator of My Hero Academia was to handle some of the biggest characters of Vigilantes, trying his hand at depicting Crawler, Pop Step, and Knuckle Duster who were the “holy trinity” of the spin-off series that would often see several heroes and villains reveal more of their backstory:

Koichi and the gang by Horikoshi
byu/The-cycle-continues inBokuNoHeroAcademia

Currently, Vigilantes has not been confirmed to be receiving an anime adaptation, though fans of the Shonen franchise have been crossing their fingers for years that we’ll one day get the chance to see Crawler on the small screen. One of the reasons why Vigilantes should hit television screens is that there are several plot elements that directly influence the main series, with the flashback following Eraserhead for example giving us a much better look into his friendship with Oboro, Present Mic, and Midnight.

With My Hero Academia bringing its main series to a close as well with its final arc in the manga, it seems as though fans of the Shonen franchise will truly bid a fond farewell to Deku and company. 

What do you think of Horikoshi’s take on the vigilantes of his universe? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of UA Academy.