MHA Vigilantes Proves Why We Need More Adult MCs [Video]

MHA Vigilantes may be a spin-off of My Hero Academia, but in just one season it proves its incredible on it’s own. In this video, I explore the portrayals of adulthood in the season and why it matters.

Video Notes:

Please note, these are my rough notes for recording! Grammatical errors will exist!

Cold Open

1. As a fan of My Hero Academia, MHA: Vigilantes was on my radar before the anime aired! Although I’m anime only for both MHA and MHA-V, I knew that Vigilantes would be on my watchlist and that more than likely I would enjoy it, even though I didn’t know much about it. However, I was not expecting that I would like it as much as I did, with it easily being one of my favorite anime of 2025 so far.
2. MHA: Vigilantes explores the world of My Hero in a different light. What happens to those with quirks who don’t go on to become pro heroes, but want to make a difference in some way? What if they aren’t working with law enforcement but actually actively avoiding getting caught up with them? It explores the line between doing what’s right vs doing what’s legal.
3. On it’s own, it’s a great exploration on a world we already know so much about, told from a different perspective. Not only is it the perspective of the vigilantes, those who may or may not be on the “right” side, but it’s also the perspective of adults. Whether it’s Koichi, a new adult on his own, or Knuckle Duster, a rogue vigilante with hidden motives, Vigilantes showcases that stories do not need to just be “coming of age” stories to be meaningful and impactful. The transition from childhood to adulthood isn’t the only time we can transform ourselves and our lives. At any point in time, at any point in our lives, we can decide to chase a dream, accomplish a goal, or completely change course.

About MHA: Vigilantes

1. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a spin-off series born from Tetsuya Sato, an editor of My Hero Academia. It was written by Hideyuki Furuhashi with art by Betten Court.
2. While MHA follows Deku, a quirkless teen’s journey to becoming the number one hero, Vigilantes follows Koichi, a college-aged student who moonlights as a vigilante doing “nice things for people” using his weird quirk. He connects with Knuckle Duster, an older man who is quirkless but fighting crime, and Pop-Step, a high school girl with idol dreams.

Koichi on the “cusp” of adulthood

1. It goes without saying that Koichi is my favorite character of vigilantes. Like many kids of this age and younger, Koichi grew up idolizing All-Might and even though his power seems useless, he still finds a way to use it on his own terms to be fulfilled.
2. at first hesistant to join knuckeduster in these “vigilante” escapades, but soon it becomes something he does with pride and works hard to improve himself along the way.
3. Koichi has become one of my recent favorite depictions of “young adulthood” in anime because it’s all too relatable. At the age most go to college, you start doing the “adult” things- going to college away from home, caring for yourself, getting a job, going to classes. All of this while trying to manage a social life and do things for yourself and for fun. As the season goes on, we see how Koichi’s childhood naivety clashes with his newfound maturity. He’s not that much older than Pop-Step but he does perform an “older peer” role with her. With Makoto and his peers at school , he’s trying to impress them but fails.
4. When Koichi’s mother comes to visit we see him trying to convince her he’s got his life “all together” so that she doesn’t make him come home, but we see how him being raised and his mother setting limits on him has held him back. Luckily he’s able to convince her that he’s capable.
5. Koichi isn’t perfect and he’s not the “ideal” hero, but he’s honest and he is willing to try. While he grapples with his in-between phase of adulthood, he’s also grappling with his role in the hero-scape and how he can contribute to it, on his own terms. Koichi is the perfect depiction of being a “legal” adult but still growing and maturing.

Knuckeduster’s Redemption

1. On the other side of the adulthood spectrum, we have Kuckleduster. At the start of the series, we don’t have much information on who Knuckleduster is and what his motivations are behind his vigilante work.
2. While he takes Koichi under his wings and assist him in training, we don’t learn until much later that these actions are self-motivated. He seems like the typical sensei but really, he has his own goal to accomplish.
3. At the end of the season through Knuckleduster’s fight with [KUIN] we learn that his controlling nature with his daughter over her wanting to do music is what led to her getting taken over by the bee quirk villain.
4. Knuckleduster is trying to atone the past issues with his daughter through this vigilante journey. He doesn’t seem to really care about the villian issues, he just knows his daughter is at the root of it and he will stop at nothing to save her.
5. Knuckledusters story as a father and husband is an important one. As parents, we do what we can to protect our children. We want to guide them but often fall short because while we’re thinking of their future and what’s best for them then, we forget to look at our children NOW and what they need in this moment. In Knuckleduster’s flashbacks we can see he’s a hardworking man trying to make sure his daughter stays on the “right path.” Yet by being strict, he’s pushing her away.
6. In their final battle, Knuckleduster acknowledges he’s been reflecting on their relationship. He acknowledges that she belongs on a stage and that she should do whatever it is that she wants. He tells her he has her back.
7. In Knuckleduster’s portrayel, we are witness to the fact that even “adults” can change. They can take responsibility for the hurt they’ve caused, they can open their eyes to see that their ways need to be changed, and they can take action at anytime. As someone who is quirkless, Knuckleduster could have easily sat back and mourned his daughter. But instead, he took action and fought to get her back. He also reflected on his shortcomings as a father so that when he did “get her back” he could work to repair their relationship.

Conclusion

Both Koichi and Knuckleduster’s stories in season one work to show how complicated adulthood is. You don’t always have the answers, you don’t always know what to do, but you know that you must continue on. They also highlight that transformational moments don’t just occur in “coming of age” teen/high school stories. You can learn new things and change at any time.

MHA: Vigilantes takes an already thought-provoking and complicated story and ups the ante by having it star adults. They’re in the same world but fighting different battles, internally and externally. MHA: Vigilantes does the often impossible: it makes a spin-off just as good as it’s originator. It proves that you can add on to a world in a way that’s thoughtful and not cheap. It also proves that adults are worthy of great, transformational storytelling too.