Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals continues to carve out a very interesting role in the HeroAca mythology. Bear in mind that as these chapters were published the parent series was still very much ongoing, so – unlike the material surrounding the new main trio – the background stuff had to avoid conflict with official canon. Word is Horikooshi-sensei worked pretty closely with the mangaka to make sure that process went smoothly, and on balance what Vigilante has done has added detail in some interesting ways.
Just on the heels of its most important self-contained ep of the season is a surprising time to veer off into flashback mode, and for the parent series to boot. Aizawa has pretty much always been the most involved of the main heroes in this spinoff, so it’s not surprising that it he who gets the treatment. And a two-episode (at least) treatment to boot. Eraser’s origin story with Yamada and Shirakumo has been touched on, of course, but we’re getting a more extensive look inside Eraser’s psyche here.
What sets that off is Eraser running into The Crawler (amazing how often that happens) protecting a kitten from a big bad wolf – and with Little Red Riding Hood present, to boot. When Kouichi muses that he’ll probably take the kitten home Aizawa lectures him (quite accurately) on the responsibilities involved in caring for a cat, sounding very much like this is an area in which he has some experience. Aizawa also outs himself as a kind-hearted softie, but this is hardly news to us at this stage. He has the tsundere routine down pat, pretty much.
As you would expect, the 16 year-old Aizawa was a pretty morose kid. He, Yamada, and Shirakumo all have yet to secure a work training assignment, and seem generally unclear on their futures. But it’s less of an issue with the other two than the future Eraserhead. Yamada has a quirk with lots of practical applications and a relentless demeanor. As for Shirakuma he is – as we’ve seen before – unfailingly positive and unflappable. Where Aizawa can do no more than leave his umbrella for another abandoned kitten Shirakumo actually rescues it, not worrying about the practical details.
We also get an extended look at Midnight in her pupal stage here, as third-year sempai Kayama-san. And remarkably she was even more daring in her wardrobe choices then (and seems to have been personally responsible for getting a hero dress code initiated). She’s the one who winds up taking the kitten home (after naming it O-Sushi), where she proceeds to video document its sanitary habits. She’s also involved in her work-study already (being a year ahead of the boys) and while future Present Mic has found himself a gig, Aizawa and Shirakumo have not. Kayama-sempai kindly secures permission from her boss for the pair to join at his agency.
And here’s where Illegals takes a pretty big leap, because it introduces a completely original pro hero as being the one responsible for Eraser’s original field training. We’ve had original heroes here to be sure, like Captain Celebrity, but their overlap with the parent story has been minimal. And what’s more, this new character – His Purple Highness – is unabashedly based on Prince. This is the boldest turn of plot Vigilante has taken yet, and it’ll be fascinating both to see this new character in action and how he impacts the development of the man we’ve come to know so well.
