The following article contains spoilers forMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes, especially the first arc of the story.
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My Hero Academia Vigilantes, a prequel story to the mainMy Hero Academiaanime, will debut in just a few weeks. It will be released on July 26, 2025, and will be streamed internationally by Crunchyroll.
Although not officially confirmed, rumors suggest that the first season will be 12 episodes long. Linked to My Hero Academia, the protagonist is a new character,Koichi Haimawari, a vigilante who mostly acts in Naruhata, a district of Tokyo.
Koichi, The “Nice Guy”
Koichi is the main character ofMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes. He is a college student and works in a convenience store (a part-time job, it seems). He lives in a rented, beat-up penthouse at the top of an old (and, frankly, seemingly abandoned) building.
He is a freshman at college and had high expectations for his college life, but at a party he approached a girl in a weird way (though unintentional), and when she finds out where he lives, she accuses him of being a creep.
As the news about his rented penthouse spreads through college, he becomes an outcast. It is not stated, but implied, that the fact that he appears to be poor, given where he lives, is part of the reason he is excluded (and not only the fact that he could indeed be mistaken for a creep on that occasion).
Despite his lack of social skills, Koichi is a good guy who has always dreamed of becoming a Pro Hero. Just like Deku,he is a fan of All Mightand wears All Might-themed clothing. However, years before,he arrived late for the entrance exam to UA High School because he stopped to save a boy (or so he thinks) who was drowning.
Koichi’s Quirk is Slide and Glide and, despite being illegal, he actually uses it to help the people nearby. He does it under the name “Nice Guy”, but he is not a Vigilante yet — the tasks he performs are everyday things, like helping an old lady cross the street.
Koichi And The Naruhata Vigilantes
The Crawler Or The Hauler
One day, Koichi accidentally gets into trouble with some local thugs. That’s when Knuckleduster is introduced, and saves him. Knuckleduster is the one who tells Koichi about Vigilantes and, despite Koichi hesitating at first,they quickly become the Naruhata Vigilantes. Koichi acts under the name “The Crawler”, but there is a running joke that others get it wrong and call him “The Hauler”.
The team is actually formed by three people:Koichi, Knuckleduster and Pop Step, a local street performer/idol that ends up joining them. Theirinitial activities follow a “monster of the week” formula, but Knuckleduster is trying to track down criminals who are distributing a new drug, Trigger, which induces and enhances Quirks, turning ordinary citizens into Villains and causing a lot of trouble in town.
As this is acomplicated situation for Pro Heroes, as it involves normal civilians being turned into Villains against their will, Vigilantes become important in dealing with the crisis.
As Koichi trains his Quirk as a Vigilante, he is able to improve and will later use his Glide ability to fly (actually, he unconsciously suppressed his real Quirk due to childhood trauma).
Koichi’s Relationship With Pop Step
While Koichi doesn’t have a clue about it, he has actually met Pop Step before the story begins. She is the “boy” he rescued when he was going to the entrance exam. Since then, Pop Step has been a fan of his and has been quietly following him. However, as she’s not very good with words, she doesn’t mention it at first and acts a bit rude around him.
What Are Vigilantes And Is This Series Canon?
Vigilantes arepeople who use their Quirks to fight crime outside the limits of the law. Since Quirks are strictly regulated, people can’t use them in public, unless they are licensed Heroes. This means thatVigilantes are also criminals, in a legal sense, despite helping Heroes.
MHA Vigilanteswas not written by Kohei Horikoshi, but it is canon to the series and the official prequel toMy Hero Academia. Actually,Koichi briefly appears inMy Hero Academia, during the final arc, leaving no doubt that his story iscanon to the main plot.
My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 1will be released onCrunchyrollon June 17, 2025.
