Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals

In a world filled with superpowered Quirk users, college student Kouichi Haimawari's dream is to become a hero just like the ones he so admires. Unfortunately for him, he finds out that there is only so much he can do with a sliding ability that gives him about as much speed as a bicycle. Thus, he is drawn to extra-legal, simpler work and takes on various local tasks beyond the grasp of the police and licensed heroes.

However, a chance encounter with two misfits, a brash brawler vigilante who goes by Knuckleduster and the online sensation Pop☆Step, gives Kouichi the opportunity he has always dreamed about. With a dangerous new Quirk-enhancing drug turning ordinary people into instant villains, Kouichi finds himself accompanying the two in a quest to stop the drug from spreading. As the trio tries to get to the bottom of the case, the chaotic team looks to put a stop to wrongdoers that go overlooked by the law.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Haimawari, Kouichi Main

Umeda, Shuuichirou Japanese

Knuckleduster Main

Mamiya, Yasuhiro Japanese

Haneyama, Kazuho Main

Hasegawa, Ikumi Japanese

Midoriya, Izuku Supporting

Yamashita, Daiki Japanese

All Might Supporting

Miyake, Kenta Japanese

Aizawa, Shouta Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Iida, Tenya Supporting

Todoroki, Enji Supporting

Inada, Tetsu Japanese

Akaguro, Chizome Supporting

Inoue, Gou Japanese

Yamada, Hizashi Supporting

Yoshino, Hiroyuki Japanese

Suzuki, Kenichi Director

Mima, Masafumi Sound Director

Kuroda, Yousuke Script, Series Composition

Kocchi no Kento Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Aug 16, 2025

JJMFREAP

Recommended

This anime really was a nice pleasant surprise. Now, I'm probably in a big minority here because I've never actually engaged with the parents story. I know what it's about, but I've never watched or read it. So why did I watch this? Well, first of all my best friend offered to watch it together. Second of all it seemed quite interesting and also separated enough that I could just enjoy it for what it is. I also hope that this way I can offer a different perspective to most out there. TLDR: I think this is a really fun anime that delivers well on ... many fronts and is well worth a shot regardless if you're into MHA or not. Actually, if you don't like the main story, this might be more your speed.

What really got me into it was when I read the premise. For me, I really like stories about ordinary people struggling against the odds and through willpower and perseverance achieving extraordinary things. Having ultra-amazing superpowers is cool and all, but there's something really satisfying about watching characters with really weak powers trying their best to make a difference in the world. It shows that even in a world where humans can have world altering abilities, any average joe can still have an impact on the world one way or another. It's genuinely inspirational honestly. Plus, it fleshes out the universe quite a bit too, showing just how many people are "blessed" with absolutely useless quirks. On the other hand, vigilante justice is also thoroughly engaging, so watching these characters not have to stick to the law as strictly and using any and all means at their disposal to take down evildoers. Being a full on goody two shoes can sometimes be boring, so skirting the law can work in your favour.

A huge strength of this anime are the characters and their interactions. Each one had a lot of depth, nuance and intrigue. Everybody had a personal goal to follow, their own backstory and agenda, their own place within the greater world. That last one really is a huge boon to the story too. The cast of characters wasn't particularly large, but they were all used to their fullest. Nobody is some one off appearance, almost every character had some kind of complex web of connections and relationships and it felt like an integral part of the greater tapestry. Recurring characters just kept building the overall narrative and it really felt like a small town with a tightly knit community. It was just a really good use of all the characters and I feel like almost all of them were fleshed out really well and were made that much more interesting from all the unique ways they interacted with everybody else. When you take a large cast of rich, engaging characters and give them amazing chemistry with almost every other character, that's how you make every interaction exciting.

To me the biggest standout though has to be Knuckleduster. I was already firmly behind him from episode one, just because the idea of this crazy man going out on his own to fight villains, stop illegal drug trade and make his community a better place. All without any superpowers! Instead, he relies on brute force, gadgets and incredibly stupid yet shockingly effective tactics. He's basically the broke crackhead version of Batman who has no qualms killing anybody. I was already enthralled with this Alex Jones-type schizo and all of his antics, but by the end of the series, he had a lot of depth added to his character and when his motivations were revealed, it hit really hard. He is the embodiment of the average man struggling against adversity and trying to make the world a better place by any means he can get his hands on. His methods can be a bit dubious, but you can't question his grit and determination.

With such an engaging story, all you need is some great execution and the series definitely shines here too! The animation was incredibly crisp and smooth all throughout. The use of colour was also done really well and helped enhance every scene's ambiance and mood while also making everything just really pleasant to look at. Regardless if it's an intense action scene or comic relief, everything was done to an exceptional degree of quality and was a pure feast for the eyes. The sound design, music and voice acting were absolutely stellar as well and enriched everything to send it to that next level. One other unique thing about the visuals was the use of Western comic-style onomatopoeia across a lot of scenes. This, combined with the visual style of the opening, the eye catches and the various transitions really gave the whole anime a unique feel, a strong nod to the comic books that inspired the source material. Really, I'm shocked that the mainline anime never did this, it fits really well and it's super fun!

Overall, I found Vigilantes to be a really fun anime to watch. It had some awesome action, great comedy, an interesting story with an unexpected conclusion and a lot of solid worldbuilding. All of this was carried by a cast of engaging characters, all of which had a lot of nuance and intrigue to sink your teeth into and the complex network of relationships they had with each other helped make this a really engaging setting to be in and one that felt alive and real. The story also felt very complete and wrapped up well in these 13 episodes, but to know we already have a second season confirmed is even better! Can't wait to see where we go from here!

I firmly believe that regardless if you've engaged with or enjoyed MHA, you should check this one out. In fact, if you didn't like the mainline story, this one changes many of those core aspects, so it may end up addressing the issues you have with it and be the superhero story you've always been looking for. Either way, give it a shot, you won't regret it!

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Aug 16, 2025

Otaku_Senpai

Mixed Feelings

the show has potential. The main characters have all have limited power and will have to use them efficiently. They don't have the training from a proper school like Hero Academia. So it would make sense if they are not that good at fighting as pro heros.
The vigilantes are not that strong and take on smaller villains. I like that. My favorite character is the buffed dude who doesn't have any quirk but is so tough he is the strongest of the Vigilantes. He has Batman vibes, maybe he was inspired by Batman?
One of my minor gripes with the show is this. {Spoilers} ... During the concert I thought one of the blue haired girls sprained her ankle and was suppose to take the center position as she wouldn't have to move then. Yet at when the concert was live all that plan was forgotten? Did the writer forget?

I am looking forward to more seasons. What I like most about the show is our protagonists are often weaker than the villain's and often need help of pro hero's to save them. They are nowhere near as strong as Deku or Midoriya.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jul 12, 2025

MrPositron

Not Recommended

What a let down.

In a series that has had a serious rollercoaster in quality every season, Vigilantes is a chapter that is a low point in a completely different way than the main series.

The idea behind the show is a good one. A chance to have a hero plot like the main series, but lower stakes in small city. But instead it gets distracted constantly. The main plot was supposed to be the instant villains popping up and finding who's behind the distribution of the drug trigger, but it quickly shoved that to the side. It focused much more on the other characters and ... the little subplots they were involved with for an episode. Another issue carried over from the main show where the side characters get way too much time in the plot.

This is exacerbated by the fact that the main character basically does nothing the entire season. They throw in minor developments to how his powers could develop, but after teasing it a couple episodes it swings to the next distraction. He's constantly just being dragged around to help out various characters, but never actually seems to make an impact, or even defeat a villain in a way that feels earned. Even in the final major fight of the season he's not present, or even aware that it was going on, instead being involved with another side plot. Even Midoriya was somewhat involved with each season's major confrontations. Kouichi is basically invisible.

And perhaps most annoying of all is the frequent dropping of characters from the main series into the plot out of nowhere. It's as if they thought you would forget it was a MHA spinoff unless they added one of the teachers into an episode fighting a villain. And an origin story for why a particular character looks the way they do is hilariously added as if you need an explanation for a minor detail.

The show ends up feeling like a waste of time and neither separates it from MHA in a way that's interesting or supplements the main series in a satisfying way. It just ends up falling flat and doesn't give enough interesting directions the plot can go that can justify a person watching the second season.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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