My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Episode 5

This episode is divided into two halves. The first gives us some much-needed context that I would've liked earlier, while the second progresses the narrative. I like the slice-of-life parts of the show more than the overarching narrative. The show hasn't done anything before this episode to grip me with its plot. Now we have the irony of this episode, where we have some good story hooks to keep me invested alongside some questionable character stuff.

The show clarifies a few things about Koichi. He's alone all the time because he screwed up his early college life due to a misunderstanding. We also learned through a flashback that he planned to become a hero and would take the hero exam. However, he missed the exam after trying to save somebody in a river. That person ended up becoming Pop Step, which explains why she's so attached to him. She likes him and is incredibly thankful for what he did. I like the dramatic irony that he is her hero, but he isn't aware of it, because we have to keep up the tsundere antics.

Are you only allowed to take the hero exam once? I know Koichi missed the exam, but couldn't he take another one down the road, or are they strict about it? Also, there were witnesses, so I don't see why Koichi couldn't just give the excuse that he had to save somebody, which contributed to why he missed the exam. That being said, I do understand his listlessness, and it is refreshing to have a main character need to refind his desire to be a hero after missing out on what he originally thought was his golden opportunity. I understand the theme, but I just don't think it was set up properly.

I don't think Pop's monologue about Koichi is that strong. She said she's frustrated with him because he's already given up on being a hero, even though she knows he is one deep down. She says that he's always been there for her, which is nice, but then we also get flashbacks to the first episode where Koichi was going to run away from a bunch of thugs attacking her in an alley. Again, if Knuckleduster didn't get involved, there's a good chance that that situation would've ended a lot worse. This is made worse by the fact that one of those guys from episode one shows up again at the end of this episode. It sucks, because this could've easily been resolved if Koichi tried to save Pop only for Knuckleduster to get involved, but by explicitly having him try to run away from this situation, it retroactively takes away from this dramatic beat. It feels like an oversight, or the show is gaslighting me into thinking something else happened in episode one.

Speaking of later on the episode, hi, Stain! I'm glad I'm watching the dub because I immediately recognized Robert McCollum's voice as this masked samurai. What I find interesting is that his build seems completely different here, so I wonder if we're gonna get the origins of how Stain ended up looking as scary and twisted as he would later on. It makes sense for Stain to be here, considering that it was implied he was attacking heroes and villains for a while in the main series. What I'm curious about, though, is what role he's going to play in the show. We also get more buildup with the drug and how different concoctions are being worked on to test out different results. There's a lot of stuff bubbling here, and I'm waiting for the shoe to drop.

Rating: