Vigilante: My Hero Academia Illegals

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (2025-) is the prequel series to the popular anime My Hero Academia (2016-) and it was awesome.

Positives for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (2025-): I like the idea of seeing what the world was like before we had the heroes of the main series and seeing a group of people who aren't licensed heroes do with their quirks. I like seeing these vigilantes go out and do their thing to protect people from criminals and other individuals with quirks. This show plays it out like the original series, but there are differences between these two shows that make them stand out from one another without having to constantly compare them. The animation looks just as good as it did in the original series. You get some awesome action sequences that are just as good as the original. I also like the interactions with these new characters as you get to spend time to care about them. And finally, this show doesn't do the prequel thing which is answering questions I was asking and giving me answers I don't like, but instead explores the possibilities of what these individuals can do with their quirks and how they want to shape the world in their own ways.

Overall, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (2025-) is an awesome continuation of the My Hero Academia franchise that gives you everything you loved from the original anime while also setting itself apart of the original anime with its own identity and I can't wait for Season 2.

Vigilantes Season 1 was honestly way better than I expected. It's a My Hero Academia spin-off and it's actually really good. The animation is solid and the story is pretty interesting too. Sometimes the villains felt a little repetitive but it's not a big deal. There are some awesome characters in it and I literally binged the whole thing in one go. It's definitely worth watching and I'd for sure recommend it. Now I just need them to drop Season 2 as soon as possible.

I'm writing a review in advance because I doubt it will improve.

This spinoff rests almost entirely on the success of Boko no Hero. Neither the story, the fights, the characters, and certainly not the animation (more on that later) come close to the original.

The first few episodes should be particularly compelling, but they're almost boring. The music plods along, the character introductions are amateurish, and the villain designs are questionable and, above all, generic.

The worst part, though, is the animation. Bland backgrounds, no sharpness, continuity errors, sometimes too garish, sometimes too dark-to avoid having to animate details. Sometimes even the animations are repetitive. The only positive thing is the facial expressions.

The voice actors do their best, and I'll keep watching, but I can't recommend it in its current state.

Just so you know this is a good start for a studio doing a prequel of a popular series, just because the animation isn't top tier doesn't mean it sucks, the studio is juggling a couple big projects. It's like the studio for That one time I got reincarnated as a slime and blue lock where they had two HUGE projects to work on, one needing way higher detail (That One Tine I Got Reincarnated as A Slime) and one who doesn't need much but it's expectations were set SUPER high (Blue Lock S2 and Episode Nagi). They are trying there best like all studios and don't set your expectations at the level One Piece is at, Toei is one of the bigger anime studios and have a lot more workers, besides not all anime's need a glorious fall or some other stuff.-me.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes isn't just another superhero anime-it's a relatable story set in a fantasy world. Unlike typical heroes, the protagonist is ordinary-no grand destiny or overwhelming power, just heart and determination. His mentor is equally grounded, relying on experience and conviction rather than special abilities.

Beautifully animated and emotionally resonant, the series reminds us that heroism isn't about strength or chosen-one narratives. It's about showing up, helping, and trying your best-even if you feel ordinary in an extraordinary world. Heroes aren't born, they're made.