My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has been a manga series since 2016, but the anime adaptation by Bones Film only just came out in April 2025. As a spin-off, it’s gained a lot of attention for being unique and independent from the main story of My Hero Academia.
The main advantage of Vigilantes is that it doesn’t reuse or rely on the iconic heroes we met in My Hero Academia. It focuses on an entirely different protagonist, too. It made its own name and has immense potential to be better.
However, some aspects fall short. While fans are loving My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, they can’t say for certain that it’s better than My Hero Academia. It has its strengths, but the main story had much more going for it.
Vigilantes could’ve been a superior storyline to My Hero Academia
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes might feel different from the main story, considering it has less to do with classic heroes and is more grounded, but it could’ve had some great villains. Every antagonist seems to be working behind the scenes for All For One rather than doing anything to progress the story.
The reason why Horikoshi’s series is so interesting is the antagonists, but Vigilantes doesn’t deliver on terrifying villains like Shigaraki or Overhaul. Both of them and more have remained iconic in the My Hero Academia community to this day. The spin-off, however, doesn’t have any antagonist that stands out. The sense of danger isn’t present.
Then comes the main characters themselves. Koichi Haimawari, the main protagonist, follows a very different path from Izuku Midoriya. He carves his own rather than being chosen by All Might. However, it’s still quite disappointing how he’s another fan of the hero rather than his own origin story.
Another complaint, or rather a nitpick, is that his costume isn’t that great, which is a constant in My Hero Academia. The protagonists might be cursed with terrible outfits.
One of the biggest and most valid complaints for Vigilantes, however, is something we’ve seen in My Hero Academia itself. It’s not a surprise to see this continue in the spin-off.
Pop Step, a protagonist of Vigilantes alongside Koichi and Knuckleduster, is reduced to fan service and the love interest. The s*xualization of her character isn’t something new. The series often forgets that its female characters and their development, despite showing promise.
Does Vigilantes have a chance against My Hero Academia?
While the spin-off could have involved better villains, All For One is being set up to give us that connection we need to the main story. He’s not overutilized, and his presence being felt is ominous. However, no danger means zero stakes.
What My Hero Academia did was also make us feel connected to the characters, including the villains. Shoto Todoroki saving his family against Dabi, who he knows is his long-lost brother, was an incredibly emotional and nuanced moment. Vigilantes won’t have that.
One advantage Vigilantes has is that it’s a much shorter story compared to My Hero Academia, and therefore, it doesn’t have that many low points. The ending of the latter disappointed fans beyond belief and dropped in quality during many arcs. It also doesn’t have Mineta in it, which gives it a big win.
Overall, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes had many chances to be an improved version of the main story, but it’s ultimately a generic plot with not enough development.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes and My Hero Academia can currently be streamed on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
