My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Vol 1 Review: Street Level Justice PLUS ULTRA

My Hero Academica is easily one of the most popular manga and anime series out right now. The story of young Deku on his journey at the most prestigious hero academy with hopes of becoming the world’s greatest hero has captivated audiences across the globe. But with this manga spin-off from Shonen Jump, Vigilantes, we see those who don’t go the academic route, yet serve their own brand of justice.

By Hideyuki Furuhashi with art by Betten Court, the story follows Koichi Haimawari, a young guy who didn’t make the cut to become a hero. So in his spare time between his mundane job, he uses his quirk to help around the city. His quirk being “slide and glide” which allows him to glide on any surface as long as he has three points on contact. Yeah, it looks as worthless as it sounds, leaving him to pick up recyclables and help when someone loses an item, all while rocking his “stylish” All Might hoodie. After coming into contact with the popular reality up and coming star Pop Step and the janitor of the fist, Knuckleduster, Koichi sees a different side to heroes.

I think this is such a great idea: we get to see the underbelly of a world full of glamorous heroes and notorious villains. Koichi, or The Crawler as he goes by, is the flip side of Deku from My Hero Academia. He wanted to be a hero, but failed, and is now operating outside of the law as a vigilante. Knuckleduster is the opposite of All Might: All Might being the most powerful hero with a power passed on through the years, where Knuckleduster is quirkless and transformed himself into an instrument of justice with no powers at all. Like Batman/Superman, Knuckleduster is exactly what this world needed. Thrown in Pop Step trying to be a teen idol and learning along the way, and you have an amazing cast of heroes. We even see an appearance from one of my favorite heroes from My Hero Academia, Eraser Head, in a pretty epic battle.

I am totally on board with Vigilantes, and if we happen to get an animated spin-off from it, I would be on board with that too. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes shows that you don’t need to be at the top of the mountain to make a difference.

Rating: 10 out of 10.