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We know that My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a brand-new animated spinoff series that takes place before the events of the main My Hero Academia anime, based on the original manga created by Kohei Horikoshi.
Debuting Monday, April 7, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will stream exclusively on Crunchyroll worldwide excluding Asia, with new episodes premiering weekly, same-day as Japan. I remember reading most of the manga and thinking that this series carries a lot of heart and understanding of the original world that we came to love from the original series. In my trailer reaction, I wrote that that fans of MHA would also fall into step with this series as well once it aired.
I mentioned that this series coming to us this Spring feels right. Especially knowing the ending of another Shonen Big Three: the animated adaptation of My Hero Academia has an end in sight. It just feels right knowing that the next chapter of the franchise finally makes it to the animated screen, and this first episode is such fun to watch!
My Hero Academia, back: Vigilante, style! My Hero Academia Vigilantes opens to the kind-hearted and good natured Koichi Haimawari (stop me if you’ve heard this opener before) who is a college student who works part time. In a world of quirk, villains, and heroes that save the people, he’s always wanted to join those in the light. (Again, stop me if you heard this line before). YET, he’s a quiet guy who is of average build and doesn’t stand out too much–he is someone who aspires to be a hero but has given up on his dream. While impressive quirks–special abilities, even superhuman powers seem to have been handed to everyone else at birth, his is objectively standing in the ‘not cool’ category. Nonetheless, at night, he suits up in a face mask and an All Might hoodie (casual cosplay, I’d say) and does good for the people.
Studio Bones Film was cooking with the gas here: seeing the start of Koichi, Pop☆Step, and Knuckleduster ‘s adventures in vigilante nighttime activities is visually thrilling to watch on screen. The animation holds up with mundane scenes of Koichi running to be on time to work as well as the action packed ones where his life and pride is on the line. While we know that My Hero Academia Vigilantes is based on the manga of the same name created by Hideyuki Furuhashi, Betten Court, and Kohei Horikoshi–we also know that the later was partially inspired and loves the superhero genre–partially the comic books of the West. So imagine my joy in seeing this animation studio pop off the over the top sound effects in combat and the striking, split panels–between certain sequences–very much maintaining a comic book–OR manga-page animation?! Chief’s Kiss all around!
Look, My Hero Academia Vigilantes is really just fun to watch. This first episode brings us back to the world of MHA–from a different perspective that has high stakes just like the original series. While audiences see All Might this first episode and promised cameos of all other fave (less problematic) Pro-Heroes and teachers–this series and this episode is focusing on these three alternative heroes and glimpses of their foes. I mean once I learned my beloved Eraser Head was even rumored to pop up, I knew that I was game. Anything for you, Shota Aizawa! Gentle reminder that we won’t see Midoriya and friends in action as this series takes place some five years before MHA–Koichi, Pop☆Step, and Knuckleduster are stars in the making and the ones to follow. Koichi’s quirk helps produce lots of hilarious reactions from people, Pop☆Step’s almost gorilla style/pop up (I apologize) concerts are entertaining, and the older, established vigilante known as Knuckleduster is an impressive figure that guides them.
Absolutely random note of interest: while I am a girl’s girl and actually hated Pop☆Step’s outfit, I hated the fan-servicey look and usage of it in the manga. Bleh. I DO love that consideration was thrown about here in the anime adaptation here with her costume being updated a bit. The My Hero Academia franchise itself has LONG drawn out criticism about the objectification of female characters, teen girls and adult women alike, over the years.
While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict what future episodes will bring, this first episode is a good start in the right direction to making this new chapter in the franchise more thoughtful in its rep of teenage girls and of its female fan-base who love them some Shonen anime. (Fire Force, we’ll talk next, stay in your seat) This feels right to me since Pop☆Step’s character is more of the voice of reason in the trio –Kiochi, the heart, and Knuckleduster…the fists. I desire for audiences to get to know her dreams, her role in the vigilante adventures and NOT be distracted by a gratuitous shot of her hero’ing/idol outfit and dismiss her character altogether.
“My Hero Academia: Vigilantes arrives on the scene, reminding us of why audiences loved the previous series with newer heroes trying to make their mark. In a world of quirks and those trying to exploit and manipulate them, this new series adds to the already colorful and imaginative world of those with dreams of saving others and becoming heroes that that they be proud of. This first episode shows us heroes united in a common goal with all the bells and whistles attached, visually.”
Verdict
For those who love the action, superhero and Shonen fantasy genres, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is one to definitely watch this Anime Spring season. Working to capture the heart of the original series with newer characters who all have something to prove: Koichi, Pop☆Step, and Knuckleduster are our new heroes in training–just with an alternative introduction.
While functioning as both a prequel and a spin-off, this series can be seen as a boon to the already established fanbase while also being inviting and easy to digest for those newer to the fandom. In a world of quirks and those trying to exploit and manipulate them, this new series adds to the already colorful and highly imaginative world of those with dreams of protecting others and working to achieve dreams forgotten. A must watch this Spring Anime Season!
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Monday, April 7 @ TIME TBA
– JAPANESE VOICE CAST / CHARACTERS –
Based on the Original Manga Series Created by
Hideyuki Furuhashi
Betten Court
Kōhei Horikoshi
Directed by
Kenichi Suzuki
Series Composition and Script Written by
Yosuke Kuroda
Character Design
Takahiko Yoshida
Art Director
Yukihiro Watanabe
Color Design by
Haruko Nobori
Director of Photography
Yingying Zhang
3D CG Director
Mizuki Sasaki
Editor
Kiyoshi Hirose
Music Composed by
Yuki Hayashi
Shogo Yamashiro
Yuki Furuhashi
Sound Director
Masafumi Mima
Animation Production by
Bones Film
– SONGS –
Opening Theme Song
TBA
Ending Theme Song
TBA
– JAPANESE VOICE CAST –
Shuichiro Umeda as Koichi Haimawari / The Crawler
Ikumi Hasegawa as Pop☆Step
Yasuhiro Mamiya as Knuckleduster
Junichi Suwabe as Eraserhead
Masamichi Kitada as Ingenium
Hiroyuki Yoshino as Present Mic
Akeno Watanabe as Midnight
Kenta Miyake as All Might
Sayaka Senbongi as Kuin Hachisuka
Kosuke Toriumi as Soga Kugisaki
Tokuyoshi Kawashima as Naomasa Tsukauchi
Spring is here, check out our site’s Crunchyroll 2025 Spring Season Preview!
Love anime? So do we! See what else we have to offer on the site via anime here!
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you?
Sign up here! Follow us on BlueSky , Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram!
The post HEROES UNITE: ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Episode 1 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
We know that My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a brand-new animated spinoff series that takes place before the events of the main My Hero Academia anime, based on the original manga created by Kohei Horikoshi.
Debuting Monday, April 7, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes will stream exclusively on Crunchyroll worldwide excluding Asia, with new episodes premiering weekly, same-day as Japan. I remember reading most of the manga and thinking that this series carries a lot of heart and understanding of the original world that we came to love from the original series. In my trailer reaction, I wrote that that fans of MHA would also fall into step with this series as well once it aired.
I mentioned that this series coming to us this Spring feels right. Especially knowing the ending of another Shonen Big Three: the animated adaptation of My Hero Academia has an end in sight. It just feels right knowing that the next chapter of the franchise finally makes it to the animated screen, and this first episode is such fun to watch!
My Hero Academia, back: Vigilante, style! My Hero Academia Vigilantes opens to the kind-hearted and good natured Koichi Haimawari (stop me if you’ve heard this opener before) who is a college student who works part time. In a world of quirk, villains, and heroes that save the people, he’s always wanted to join those in the light. (Again, stop me if you heard this line before). YET, he’s a quiet guy who is of average build and doesn’t stand out too much–he is someone who aspires to be a hero but has given up on his dream. While impressive quirks–special abilities, even superhuman powers seem to have been handed to everyone else at birth, his is objectively standing in the ‘not cool’ category. Nonetheless, at night, he suits up in a face mask and an All Might hoodie (casual cosplay, I’d say) and does good for the people.
Studio Bones Film was cooking with the gas here: seeing the start of Koichi, Pop☆Step, and Knuckleduster ‘s adventures in vigilante nighttime activities is visually thrilling to watch on screen. The animation holds up with mundane scenes of Koichi running to be on time to work as well as the action packed ones where his life and pride is on the line. While we know that My Hero Academia Vigilantes is based on the manga of the same name created by Hideyuki Furuhashi, Betten Court, and Kohei Horikoshi–we also know that the later was partially inspired and loves the superhero genre–partially the comic books of the West. So imagine my joy in seeing this animation studio pop off the over the top sound effects in combat and the striking, split panels–between certain sequences–very much maintaining a comic book–OR manga-page animation?! Chief’s Kiss all around!
Look, My Hero Academia Vigilantes is really just fun to watch. This first episode brings us back to the world of MHA–from a different perspective that has high stakes just like the original series. While audiences see All Might this first episode and promised cameos of all other fave (less problematic) Pro-Heroes and teachers–this series and this episode is focusing on these three alternative heroes and glimpses of their foes. I mean once I learned my beloved Eraser Head was even rumored to pop up, I knew that I was game. Anything for you, Shota Aizawa! Gentle reminder that we won’t see Midoriya and friends in action as this series takes place some five years before MHA–Koichi, Pop☆Step, and Knuckleduster are stars in the making and the ones to follow. Koichi’s quirk helps produce lots of hilarious reactions from people, Pop☆Step’s almost gorilla style/pop up (I apologize) concerts are entertaining, and the older, established vigilante known as Knuckleduster is an impressive figure that guides them.
Absolutely random note of interest: while I am a girl’s girl and actually hated Pop☆Step’s outfit, I hated the fan-servicey look and usage of it in the manga. Bleh. I DO love that consideration was thrown about here in the anime adaptation here with her costume being updated a bit. The My Hero Academia franchise itself has LONG drawn out criticism about the objectification of female characters, teen girls and adult women alike, over the years.
While I don’t have a crystal ball to predict what future episodes will bring, this first episode is a good start in the right direction to making this new chapter in the franchise more thoughtful in its rep of teenage girls and of its female fan-base who love them some Shonen anime. (Fire Force, we’ll talk next, stay in your seat) This feels right to me since Pop☆Step’s character is more of the voice of reason in the trio –Kiochi, the heart, and Knuckleduster…the fists. I desire for audiences to get to know her dreams, her role in the vigilante adventures and NOT be distracted by a gratuitous shot of her hero’ing/idol outfit and dismiss her character altogether.
“My Hero Academia: Vigilantes arrives on the scene, reminding us of why audiences loved the previous series with newer heroes trying to make their mark. In a world of quirks and those trying to exploit and manipulate them, this new series adds to the already colorful and imaginative world of those with dreams of saving others and becoming heroes that that they be proud of. This first episode shows us heroes united in a common goal with all the bells and whistles attached, visually.”
Verdict
For those who love the action, superhero and Shonen fantasy genres, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is one to definitely watch this Anime Spring season. Working to capture the heart of the original series with newer characters who all have something to prove: Koichi, Pop☆Step, and Knuckleduster are our new heroes in training–just with an alternative introduction.
While functioning as both a prequel and a spin-off, this series can be seen as a boon to the already established fanbase while also being inviting and easy to digest for those newer to the fandom. In a world of quirks and those trying to exploit and manipulate them, this new series adds to the already colorful and highly imaginative world of those with dreams of protecting others and working to achieve dreams forgotten. A must watch this Spring Anime Season!
Streaming on Crunchyroll
Monday, April 7 @ TIME TBA
– JAPANESE VOICE CAST / CHARACTERS –
Based on the Original Manga Series Created by
Hideyuki Furuhashi
Betten Court
Kōhei Horikoshi
Directed by
Kenichi Suzuki
Series Composition and Script Written by
Yosuke Kuroda
Character Design
Takahiko Yoshida
Art Director
Yukihiro Watanabe
Color Design by
Haruko Nobori
Director of Photography
Yingying Zhang
3D CG Director
Mizuki Sasaki
Editor
Kiyoshi Hirose
Music Composed by
Yuki Hayashi
Shogo Yamashiro
Yuki Furuhashi
Sound Director
Masafumi Mima
Animation Production by
Bones Film
– SONGS –
Opening Theme Song
TBA
Ending Theme Song
TBA
– JAPANESE VOICE CAST –
Shuichiro Umeda as Koichi Haimawari / The Crawler
Ikumi Hasegawa as Pop☆Step
Yasuhiro Mamiya as Knuckleduster
Junichi Suwabe as Eraserhead
Masamichi Kitada as Ingenium
Hiroyuki Yoshino as Present Mic
Akeno Watanabe as Midnight
Kenta Miyake as All Might
Sayaka Senbongi as Kuin Hachisuka
Kosuke Toriumi as Soga Kugisaki
Tokuyoshi Kawashima as Naomasa Tsukauchi
Spring is here, check out our site’s Crunchyroll 2025 Spring Season Preview!
Love anime? So do we! See what else we have to offer on the site via anime here!
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you?
Sign up here! Follow us on BlueSky , Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram!
The post HEROES UNITE: ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Episode 1 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Doctor Who season two’s premiere episode, “The Robot Revolution,” introduces us to Belinda Chandra, the latest companion to join the series. Belinda’s origin story is pretty simple so far by Doctor Who standards. She’s a hardworking nurse who becomes the hostage of clunky robots from a planet bearing her name, thanks to an ex-boyfriend. The Doctor works to save Belinda and help liberate the planet from her ex, who is now a massive AI machine. And now she’s a reluctant companion whom he cannot get home for some mysterious reason. So, how did the Doctor and Belinda Chandra meet in the Doctor Who season two premiere?
Towards the beginning of the episode, we see Belinda working her shift at a busy hospital. In the midst of that, the Doctor is walking around the facility and causing chaos. One person even tells Belinda that there’s a doctor looking for her and she cheekily says that there always is. Later that night, robots from Belindachandra destroy her quiet abode and apprehend her. Right when they take off in a retro spaceship, the Doctor comes careening in and screaming her name.
The duo finally meet on Belindachandra. It is where the Doctor has been quietly hanging out and working as the planet’s designated historian for six months waiting for her arrival. He is in the throne room when she arrives, obviously confused about her royal wedding. Who would want to marry an AI bot and turned into a machine?
Their first interaction involves them communicating in code, using every ninth word to have a conversation before chaos breaks out. Later on, Fifteen properly introduces himself, even allowing Belinda to see an X-ray of his two hearts. The Doctor says that someone told him about Belinda Chandra. This person said that her name would be very important, so that’s why he came to save her.
We don’t know who that “he” is yet but surely we will find out this season. The duo cycle between Belinda not trusting him and her following his lead, proving herself to be quite competent in this dangerous situation. So, that’s basically how the Doctor and Belinda Chandra meet each other.
Following their epic adventure, she calls the Doctor out for the many deaths that took place, taking her DNA without permission to draw a conclusion about her familial connection to Mundy Flynn, and for trying to make her into his adventure. She wants to go home but they cannot return to May 24, 2025 for some mysterious reason. We are ready to let the good times roll with Belinda Chandra and the Doctor.
The post How Did the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda Chandra Meet in DOCTOR WHO? appeared first on Nerdist.
Maaaannnnnn, Iyanu is cooking up something cool for Max.
After interviewing the creative team, I thought I was ready for whatever would be thrown my way. I viewed three episodes from different parts of the season, and I was blown away by the two things the team said they focused on. First, Iyanu is as authentic as it can be. Hearing an African voice cast in a Yoruba-based, fantastical setting set my imagination on fire. If you listen closely, you can pick up on some of the language nuances – there’s so much intention in the way the characters speak to one another! Second, Iyanu is bringing Nigerian culture to the global mainstream stage, leaning heavily into narrative inclusivity to bring audiences into the culture.
Iyanu walks the hero’s journey in the vein of some of our favorite animated series. It gets compared to Avatar: The Last Airbender a lot. Which makes perfect sense, seeing as the cultural competency level needed to pull Iyanu off is S-tier. The pacing of this origin story here is more akin to Spider-Man: Homecoming, skipping over a lot of the more obvious or typical tropes and jumping right into the world. What separates Iyanu from the pack is the unfamiliarity of East African culture. American audiences have had access to aspects of Asian culture for so long that the aesthetics of The Last Airbender were easy to read. With Iyanu, many of us are learning about East African culture while we’re watching.
What has me hyped are these very African moments, like the ‘oh’ affirmation at the end of a sentence. Or how Iyanu hits the floor with some Capoeira Angola during the opening credits. Vibrantly colored regional clothing. Touchpoints that make African culture accessible. Bringing in Yoruba and spiritual concepts that aren’t Judeo-Christian, or Greco-Roman, or Norse – ground that is already well traversed in media. We get something that feels new and original – that makes Iyanu worth its weight in gold (or NFTs and user data, these days).
If you haven’t already, go check Iyanu on Cartoon Network and Max. Run these numbers up so we can get more original and cultural animated series on air. If Velma can get a second season, this better get a few arcs.
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The post Indigenous Futurism on Tap: ‘Iyanu’ Season 1 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
The new Apple TV+ series The Studio takes us behind the scenes with Continental Studios. The new head of the movie studio, Matt Remick (Seth Rogan), tries to balance his creative vision with more IP driven properties. One of those being Kool-Aid.
His first project as the head of the studio is find a director for a movie about the Kool-Aid man, á la the Barbie movie. Trying to navigate the success of that movie (thanks to Greta Gerwig’s idea and vision), Matt finds himself torn between doing what his boss wants him to do and also trying to make art. Part of that art is Martin Scorsese’s movie based on the Jonestown Massacre.