The My Hero Academia prequel, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, is finally getting an anime, and its premiere is almost here. Based on the trailers alone, Vigilantes seems like just the kind of revamp the franchise needed, both visually and narratively, and given the success of the original anime, there's every reason for Vigilantes to be just as exciting, if not more so.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will stream new episodes weekly on Crunchyroll, which can be accessed through the app, its website, or third-party sites like Amazon Prime. While no exact streaming time has been provided, Episode 1 will premiere in Japan on Monday, April 7 at 11:00 PM JST. Depending on the time zone, this means that Episode 1 of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will premiere on Monday, April 5, at approximately 7:00 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST), 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and 3:00 PM British Summer Time (BST).
Creators: Hideyuki Furuhashi, Kôhei Horikoshi
Stars: Jun'ichi Suwabe, Kenta Miyake, Yasuhiro Mamiya
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes takes place several years before the anime and stars Koichi Haimawari, a young man who failed to get into a hero school and now lives as an ordinary college student. Koichi tries to fulfill his lost dreams by doing good deeds in his neighborhood, but with a Quirk that only allows him to glide across the ground at the speed of a bicycle, he can't do much yet. However, Koichi ends up getting into a dangerous situation to save someone, which leads to his rescue by the Quirkless vigilante, Knuckleduster.
As gruff as Knuckleduster was, he admired Koichi's bravery, telling him he had the makings of a hero, even if his Quirk wasn't conventionally powerful. From there, Knuckleduster decides to take Koichi under his wing, and with the added help of underground idol Pop Step, they form a vigilante group that protects Naruhata from trouble when the usual heroes aren't available. At first, they only deal with the occasional mundane crime, but soon, Koichi and his friends find themselves embroiled in a vast conspiracy involving a Quirk-enhancing drug called Trigger.
Since My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a prequel to My Hero Academia, that, of course, raises the question of how many years before the story takes place. Although the chronology is never explicitly stated, a flashback in the final arc of the manga establishes that Mirko is 23 or 24 years old at the time, which occurs three in-universe years after the start of the manga. Based on this, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes begins six years before Izuku and his friends entered U.A., at the most, and ends a few years before the start of the original story.
All of this can be seen, of course, in the handling of the returning characters. Not only have All Might's injuries not affected him as much as they did when he first met Izuku, but Aizawa has yet to become a teacher, and Endeavor is in much worse shape than in the main story, as he hasn't yet experienced the character development he experienced there. Everything about the presentation of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes perfectly establishes it as a prequel story, even though nothing is ever explicitly stated, and overall, it's great to see how everything unfolds.
Despite the popularity of the My Hero Academia franchise, many fans of both the anime and manga have criticized it for being somewhat repetitive and for not exploring the world enough beyond what's relevant to Izuku and his friends, making what should be a large and vibrant world feel small. Because of this, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes offers a fresh perspective on the world of My Hero Academia, allowing for a story that goes beyond what the main series offers, which is great for both longtime and new fans.
There's also the visual component to consider. My Hero Academia has been criticized for its inconsistent and often mediocre art and animation in recent years, but the trailers for Vigilantes show not only an improved animation style but also a much more vibrant color palette. Therefore, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will be a hit because of how much it changes the original series, both visually and narratively. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is very exciting for both longtime and new My Hero Academia fans, and we hope it lives up to expectations.
Be sure to check out My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Episode #1 when it releases on Monday, April 7.
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