My Hero Academia has always been a franchise that has worn its love of superheroes on its sleeve. In the past even, creator Kohei Horikoshi hasn’t been shy when it comes to sharing his admiration for the likes of Marvel and DC comics. With the long-awaited arrival of the spin-off anime series, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Studio BONES has taken things up a notch when it comes to conveying the world of UA Academy. Thanks to its stylish aesthetic and willingness to lean into the manga’s wild visuals, the side story is giving Western animation a run for its money, especially in the superhero department.
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Despite Vigilantes taking place in the same universe as Deku, Shoto Todoroki, Bakugo, and their allies, and even brought to life by the same production house that creates the main anime series, Crawler’s story looks far different. The original manga for the spin-off wasn’t created by creator Kohei Horikoshi but rather, was made thanks to writer Hideyuki Furuhashi and artist Betten Court. Thanks to this new team, Vigilantes is a My Hero Academia spin-off that has its own identity and it’s one that leans far further into some familiar superhero tropes than the main battle between All For One and One For All.
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Boom! Pow! Kersplunk!
One of the biggest visual changes when it comes to the UA Academy spin-off is the fact that the story will routinely animate the sound effects as characters deliver blows. This harkens back to the original live-action Batman television series starring Adam West, wherein the Dark Knight was routinely bonking villains while major SFX popped off the screen. There’s a sense of fun and whimsy that is seen in the first episode of Vigilantes that many might have been missing in the main My Hero Academia thanks to the rising stakes of the final battle. There’s something to be said for smaller stories that can hit just as emotionally hard as the universe-shaking events in superhero stories.
On top of the inclusion of animated sound effects, Crawler, Pop Step, and Knuckleduster’s story feels far more like an adventure that Spider-Man, Batman, or Daredevil is more used to. Instead of battling world-ending threats and legions of supervillains, the trio’s early story almost feels quaint in comparison as they take on young thugs and attempt to get to the bottom of a drug-running operation. It’s a far more street level story than what we might be used to in recent My Hero Academia’s anime and it’s a welcome change as the main story approaches its grand finale.
Vigilantes’ Animated Future
As of the writing of this article, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has yet to be confirmed for a second season though we would imagine that in order to translate all the events of the manga, it will be necessary. For the most part, the spin-off series sticks to lower stakes, even when it explores the past of major characters such as All Might, Eraserhead, Present Mic, and more. This isn’t to necessarily knock My Hero Academia’s current arc, but it’s a welcome change of pace to see more grounded, mundane events in this superhero world.
Luckily, even though Vigilantes’ manga ended in 2022, the series is making a comeback later this month with a new chapter by its original creative team. While the new installment remains a mystery in terms of what story it is going to tell, there is plenty of territory to explore. Without going too deep into spoiler territory, the spin-off series ends by promising bright futures for many of its characters while also showing that for some heroes, they’ll never truly break of their mold, nor do they want to. There is also the possibility that we might finally receive the long-awaited meeting of the vigilantes and Class 1-A, something that we’ve never seen in either story to this day, in part thanks to the spin-off series taking place five years prior to Deku joining UA.
Want to see where Crawler, Knuckleduster, and Pop Step end up? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on the Vigilantes and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
