Just a few days ago, several outlets on social media declared that My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, the prequel series to the main manga run, would be receiving an anime adaptation. In recent years, the superhero trope has evolved considerably, crossing over into various genres, such as action-adventure, horror, comedy, and more. Even some of the most famous anime titles, i.e. One Piece and Demon Slayer, incorporate some form of heroism within their respective universes.
Critics have long considered Vigilantes to be even better than the My Hero Academia manga itself, so it’s understandable that excitement is through the roof. However, there are a lot of conflicting reports and nothing entirely concrete as of yet, so we’re left asking ourselves whether this rumor has some foundations in actuality, or if some individual decided to stir the pot. We will say with absolute certainty that there aren’t any news outlets at this time with a concrete source; even tweets taken from Twitter or posts on Reddit don’t necessary verify a source, so we’re left to assume that this is mere rumor.
While it would be incredible if the rumor were true, let’s not be so hasty as to put all our eggs in one basket now.
Vigilantes was conceived by Tetsuya Sato, an editor for My Hero Academia, who wanted to make a spin-off of the main series. It ran from 2016 to 2022, and follows the story of a young boy named Koichi Haimawari, who, despite not being a licensed hero, uses his Quirk to help others. In a twist of fate, Koichi and a street performer, Kazuho Haneyama, are saved from menacing street thugs by the vigilante known as Knuckleduster, who recruits Koichi to become a vigilante himself.
The My Hero Academia manga began publication in 2014 and continues to run to this day, whereas the anime adaptation started in 2016 and last aired its sixth season in March 2023 with a seventh announced and on the way.
We won’t shut down a Vigilantes adaptation altogether, but we’ll remain ‘vigilant’ as to how truthful these rumors are until we hear some confirmation from one of the manga’s frontrunners or another reputable source.