Summary
- “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes” is set to begin airing on April 7th, 2025, as a spin-off and prequel.
- Five original series voice actors will reprise their roles in “Vigilantes,” reassuring fans.
- The new series will feature a mix of new and familiar characters, adding depth to the storyline.
This April, the extremely popular anime series My Hero Academia is returning with an all-new series called My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (herein Vigilantes). This new series is scheduled to begin airing on April 7th, 2025, as part of the Spring Anime Season. Visuals are already being released, and fans are getting excited about the new series. Vigilantes is both a spin-off series and a prequel to the original My Hero Academia series.
As news continues to drop for Vigilantes, more information was released on Wednesday regarding the cast. The official website for Vigilantes, along with the Japanese news site Comic Natalie, confirmed that five voice actors from the original series would be coming back to their roles in Vigilantes. This is great news for fans who may have been worried that, with Vigilantes being its own series, these characters’ recognizable voices might have been changed. The news that these voice actors will return to their previous roles will be welcome in the fandom.
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Five Cast Members Return for Vigilantes
Who Are They?
The news on Wednesday announced five voice actors from My Hero Academia who are returning for Vigilantes. They are Kenta Miyake (All Might/Toshinori Yagi), Junichi Suwabe (Eraser Head/Shota Aizawa), Hiroyuki Yoshino (Present Mic/Hizashi Yamada), Akeno Watanabe (Midnight/Nemuri Kayama), and Kaito Ishikawa (Ingenium/Tensei Ida). Of course, the announcement of these voice actors reprising their roles also confirms that these characters will be in the new series, though the main character of the series will be new.
The announcement also included comments from each of the voice actors. Most are expressing their excitement about returning to their characters, and sharing hopes for Vigilante‘s success. Junichi Suwabe, the actor who brought Eraser Head to life, admitted to checking the manga for Vigilantes in hopes of seeing his character there, and celebrating when he saw that he would likely return. Akeno Watanabe, who voices Midnight, said that she was happy to return to her character as a younger woman and see how she has changed.
Because the news about the Japanese cast was just released, there is no information yet about whether these characters’ English dub actors will reprise their roles as well. For fans who have enjoyed watching the English dub of My Hero Academia, fingers are crossed that the same news will be coming for them soon as well. Considering how popular the series is and how anticipated this new spin-off already is, there is a good chance that even the big-name voice actors will come back to their roles.
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What is Vigilantes?
Both a Spin-Off and a Prequel
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes (in Japanese, Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals) is a manga series written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Betten Court, which serves as both a spin-off of and a prequel to the main series My Hero Academia by Kōhei Horikoshi. It is set five years before the events of the original manga series. Because of the time frame, it has many original characters, but also has some familiar ones as well.
The manga for Vigilantes has been published since 2017, and the anime adaptation will begin airing on April 7th, 2025. MyAnimeList describes the plot as,
Living in a superhuman society, it is hard to feel special. Even more so when the spotlight only shines on professional heroes, those legally authorized to use their special powers known as Quirks in public for the greater good.
Kouichi Haimawari grew up aspiring to be a hero, but with a mediocre Quirk like “sliding” that ties him to the ground, he soon came to the conclusion that he could only ever admire them from below. Despite this, Kouichi finds contentment in using his Quirk to carry out day-to-day good deeds, such as returning lost items and helping the elderly cross the street.
However, Kouichi’s tame life takes a swing into the turbulent when he is rescued from a back alley brawl by Vigilante, or illegal hero, Knuckleduster. Seeing hero potential in Kouichi, Knuckleduster enlists his help in tracking down the source of a dangerous drug known as Trigger that boosts the user’s Quirk at the expense of their rationality.
Set in a time before the events of the original story, Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals follows Kouichi as he chooses to don the reputation of a villain and become a Vigilante, operating in the shadow of the law to prevent crimes from taking to the surface.
The main character, Kouichi, will be a new character for fans of the original My Hero Academia series. And while it is exciting to get a new character’s story, fans will also enjoy welcoming back some of the iconic characters they already know and love from the existing series. Much like how many fans enjoy seeing cameos of their favorite characters in series like those made by Marvel, they can enjoy seeing some already established characters interacting with new characters and in a new story.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will air from April 7th, 2025. Catch up on the original series now on Crunchyroll while you wait.
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My Hero Academia
In My Hero Academia, Young Deku is born into a world where people commonly have something called quirks, also known as superpowers. He himself is born without any, but circumstances lead to that changing. He enrolls at the UA High School, a prestigious academy where the worlds future heroes learn how to use their powers.
Sources: Official Website, Comic Natalie