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My Hero Academia: Vigilantesexcellently followed up its premiere with episode #2, and because of that, there’s plenty to be excited about for episode #3 and beyond. The series continues to excel at offering a great alternative to the originalMy Hero Academiaanime, and it will be great to see how much further it can take things, going forward.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #2 continued whereMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #1 left off, with Knuckleduster’s violent brand of heroism attracting the unwanted attention ofrecurringMy Hero Academiacharacter Aizawa. As Knuckleduster fought with Eraserhead, Koichi and Pop got a definitive lead on Trigger, and the second they followed up on it,Koichi and his group were quickly thrown into the center of a major conflict with a berserk villain. Episode #2 did a great job of fully setting up the new story, and there’s no telling how things will progress from here.
What Time My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Episode 3 Releases
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes' Release Schedule
My Hero Academia: Vigilantesstreams new episodes weekly on Crunchyroll, which can be accessed through the app, its website, or third-party websites like Amazon Prime. Assuming there are no delays,My Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #2 will premiere on Tuesday, April 21 at 8:15 AM Pacific Standard Time (PST), 11:15 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST), and 4:15 PM British Summer Time (BST), with the English dub premiering at the same time and dubs in other languages releasing later throughout the day.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Episode 1 Review: The Perfect Anime For My Hero Fans
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Episode 1 In Review
Even after a single episode,My Hero Academia: Vigilantesis off to a great start. The series respects the tone and general aesthetic of the originalMy Hero Academiaanime while still taking things in a unique direction, so overall,My Hero Academia: Vigilanteswill be great for how much it plays into the original anime while still being its own thing. Even people who haven’t watched anything from the franchise before can get something out of it, and that’s the best someone can hope for out of any sort of spinoff.
Vigilantesis especially a great series to watch for older fans. Over the years, many fans of theMy Hero Academiaanime have criticized it for its inconsistent visuals and its often repetitive story, but between the major uptick in art and animation and having a story removed from what Izuku is doing,My Hero Academia: Vigilanteshas the potential to satisfy anyone who’s grown critical of the main series.My Hero Academia: Vigilantesis one of themost hotly-anticipated anime of spring 2025for a reason, and fortunately, episode #2 does an excellent job of keeping that going.
What Happened In My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Episode 2?
Produced By Bones Film; Directed By Sayaka Morikawa
My Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #2, “Takeoff”, continued where episode #1 left off, with Aizawa trying to arrestthe vigilante hero Knuckledusterfor assaulting a man in the park. With Knuckleduster’s strength and agility, Aizawa was forced to use his Erasure Quirk to shut down what he assumed to be a strength-enhancement Quirk so he could put him down for good. In a surprise twist, however,Knuckleduster was revealed to be Quirkless, with his abilities stemming from raw physical power, and so Aizawa left him off with a warning, as it wasn’t his jurisdiction to arrest people without Quirks.
While that was happening, Pop realized that the man Knuckleduster had assaulted was at the scene of multiple Trigger-related incidents, making him a prime suspect in the Trigger dealings. Koichi and Pop chased him for questioning, only to run into Soga’s gang looking for revenge for the other day. It took all of Koichi and Pop’s effort just to run away from them until Knuckleduster and Aizawa arrived to apprehend them, but before anyone could celebrate,the man Koichi and Pop were chasing was revealed to be a Trigger dealer and used it to turn into a four-armed, berserking giant.
In his rampage, the berserking Trigger dealer swatted Knuckleduster aside when he tried to fight him and threw Pop through the air, meaning she couldn’t use her Leap Quirk to save herself. Despite how afraid he was,Koichi steeled himself and used his Quirk to scale the side of a building to save Pop Step, with him then using it against the Trigger dealer to save himself from falling to his death. Aizawa then used his Quirk to depower and apprehend the dealer, and with that, Koichi and Pop decided to work with Knuckleduster in earnest.
Sometime later,Koichi adopted a new identity as The Crawler as he, Knuckleduster, and Pop Step continued looking for Trigger and stopping crime whenever they came across it, although people either kept calling him Nice Guy or mispronounced Crawler in some way. In one instance of their vigilante work, the trio broke up a fight between two delinquent students before encountering someone using Trigger, which was now dubbed an “instant villain”. Koichi and Knuckleduster worked together to defeat the instant villain, and the episode ended with them being recognized for their efforts, albeit with people still getting their names wrong.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Finally Makes Its Protagonist A True Hero
Vigilantes' Protagonist Is Finally Coming Into His Own
As was to be expected, the big standout inMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #2 was its protagonist, Koichi Haimawari. While Koichi initially drew some criticism for his meek personality, episode #2 does a much better job of firmly establishing him as a true hero deep down through both the creativity of his Quirk and, most importantly, his daring rescue of Pop in the first half.My Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #2 perfectly illustrated that Koichi does have the makings of a true hero underneath it all, and it will be great to watch that grow in the coming weeks.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Continues To Have Plenty Of Life In Its Second Episode
What Makes My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Episode 2 So Great
My Hero Academia: Vigilantescame out with a fantastic premiere, and episode #2 was even better. Not only is the art, animation, and overall direction still great to see and a welcome change of pace from the original anime, but between Koichi’s development and the revelation of Knuckleduster being Quirkless,My Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #2 is already pushing the series visually and narratively in ways the franchise has been missing out on for years. TheMy Hero Academiafranchise has never felt so fresh, and hopefully,theMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesanimewill continue to deliver on that front.
Be sure to watchMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesepisode #3 when it releases on Monday, April 21.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
Cast
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, released in 2025, follows Koichi Haimawari, an aspiring hero using his modest Quirk for good deeds. Teaming up with two unlikely allies after a chance encounter with local thugs, they navigate the challenges of combating evil without formal superhero training.
