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AsMy Hero Academiaprepares for season 8, which is set to debut towards the end of 2025, the franchise is keeping itself busy by taking a trip to the past. Launching in 2016,My Hero Academia: Vigilantesis a spin-off and prequel set a few years before the start of the main story, and it follows three characters who want to do good but lack a powerful enough quirk to serve as Pro Heroes.
Hideyuki Furuhashi’s manga ended in 2022 after 15 volumes, and it amassed a fairly dedicated fanbase during that period. An anime took a while to materialize, but Studio Bones finally launched the adaptation as part of theSpring 2025 season.
Although primarily forMHAfans,Vigilantescan be enjoyed even if somebody is not a big fan of the original series. While a few characters overlap between the two stories, they are largely given proper introductions in the spin-off, so newcomers should not hesitate to give the show a try if they are interested. AsMHA Vigilantes' main characters, the Naruhata Vigilantes, are the story’s selling point, let’s spotlight them, answering questions like “How tall is Pop Step?” and “How old is Knuckleduster?”
The focus is on the anime and not the manga, so spoilers for the latter will be avoided as much as possible. Consequently,Vigilantes’characters who have yet to be introduced will not be highlighted for now.
Spoilers for theMHA Vigilantesmanga (and later anime episodes) will be written within “Warning” boxes.
Updated on June 10, 2025, by Mark Sammut:My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is almost halfway through its first season, and it has been pretty decent so far. Sure, the spin-off has not taken the world by storm to the same degree as the main series, but it has done a solid job of introducing the main characters and setting them apart from traditional heroes. Things are also starting to pick up momentum thanks to the Queen Bee arc. On that note, Kuin Hachisuka has been added as a character.
Nice Guy And The Crawler
19
5'77" / 172cm
Not Stated, But Probably Between 13-15
5'22" / 158cm
45
6'1" / 185cm
20
5'11" / 182cm
6'0" / 183cm
Kuin Hachisuka
N/A (Villain)
Not Stated, Looks Like The Teenager (But Isn’t Necessarily That Age)
5'4" / 162cm
Koichi Haimawari (The Crawler)
Quirk: Slide and Glide
MHA Vigilantes' protagonist,Koichi, is a pretty ordinary college student in the grand scheme of things. Like so many people his age, he worships All Might as his ultimate role model, and he tries to replicate the great hero’s altruistic qualities. Unfortunately, Koichi kind of drew the short straw when it came to Quirks, as Slide and Glide just lets him move along the ground when he has three points of contact. He does not even glide all that fast. While kind of useful for everyday life, it hardly screams “Pro Hero.”
When not working a tireless job, Koichi puts on a makeshift costume and hits the street, searching for people to help. He knows his limitations, so he sticks to kind gestures and leaves the actual heroism to the professional. However, likeMHA’s Deku, Koichi cannot ignore someone in trouble, and he is willing and ready to get hurt to help them. Eventually, he ends up befriending Kazuho and also, technically, Iwao, a partnership that sets the stage for the formation of theNaruhata Vigilantes.
Initially, Koichi goes by “Nice Guy” for his vigilante name; however,he is eventually convinced to change it to “The Crawler"after he becomes part of the Naruhata Vigilantes. Although he is not exactly a fighter and has yet to master his quirk, Koichi is just plain old brave and wants to make a positive impact on his community, and he is a fairly quick thinker as well. He also knows the streets well, allowing him to work more efficiently than some Pro Heroes.
Kazuho Haneyama (Pop Step)
Quirk: Leap
Kazuhois a teenager who, like Koichi, loves to use her Quirk to bring some joy to people’s lives. Rather than helping out directly, she uses her Leap ability to stage street idol performances under the pseudonym of Pop Step, an act that is 100% illegal inMHA’s universe. So, technically, she starts as a criminal, although she quickly transitions into a vigilante when she meets Koichi.
At a glance, Kazuho might seem like she is roughly the same age as Koichi. However, the latter is a few years older. When he was a teenager, Koichi saved Kazuho while she was still a child.
Although she is not much of a fighter,Kazuho shows her bravery almost immediately. She stands up to Soga and his minions despite knowing they are very dangerous, and she does not hesitate to help Koichi and Knuckleduster investigate the origins of a new drug that is spreading across the city. That said, she cannot quite decide if she wants to associate with the other Naruhata Vigilantes or not, and the same can be said for her street idol persona. Kazuho seems to want to both be in the spotlight and keep a low profile.
Iwao Oguro (Knuckleduster)
Quirk: None
Arriving on the scene like a force of nature,Iwao, aka Knuckleduster, makes a pretty memorable first impression in both the anime and manga. All about that vigilante life, he can more than hold his own in fights, largely thanks to his strong physique and years of hard practice.
Admittedly, Knuckleduster comes across as a bit of an idiot at times, but everything he does is in pursuit of his ideals. He believes in justice, and he knows that Pro Heroes cannot be everywhere all at once. More importantly, they are restricted by laws, unlike vigilantes. Due to his age, experience, and expertise, Iwao tries to fulfill amentor roleas part of the trio that makes upMy Hero Academia’s main characters. Without him, this group would not exist, but he also relies on both Kazuho and Koichi.
Iwao is entertaining and funny, but he is also quite violent and more than capable of holding his own in battles. He particularly enjoys going up against strong opponents, just because it allows him not to hold back.
Iwao was not always a vigilante or Quirkless, and he has a fairly tragic backstory that ties into another relatively big character introduced early on in the anime and manga.
Soga Kugisaki
Quirk: Spike
Sogais introduced asMHA Vigilantes’first villain, although his contributions to the story will go well beyond that of a throwaway antagonist. Still, for now, he is the definition of a bully who targets people he sees as weaker than himself. That said, he does have strong friendships with Rapt and Moyuru, who are effectively introduced as his minions.
Soga’s behavior primarily stems from low self-esteem and a belief that other people not only look down upon him but have already decided that he is a villain waiting to happen. Consequently, he has a habit of proving them right and becomes immediately aggressive toward anyone he feels might be disrespecting him.
Shota Aizawa (Eraser Head)
Quirk: Erasure
One of manyMHAcharacters who are part ofVigilantes,Eraser Headplays a more significant role than most of his contemporaries. That said, he is still very much a supporting character who gets occasional moments to shine, so he is not going to be as present as Koichi, Kazuho, Iwao, or even Soga. Still, Shota’s early presence helps create a link between the two anime, even more so than All Might’s brief appearances inVigilantes. Due to being set about half a decade beforeMHA,Eraser Headis still an active Pro Hero inVigilantes, and he has yet to make his way to U.A. High School. While he demonstrates his skills as a fighter in the main show, the spin-off highlights Eraser Head in his prime.
Quirk: Queen Bee
Putting aside Soga,Kuin HachisukaisMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes' real first major villain, and she is a fairly intimidating one at that. She also serves as the introductory point to the Villain Factory, a group that has a presence throughout the manga. Kuin’s backstory has only been slightly touched upon in the anime, and she is meant to be a mysterious figure, albeit one who also has a pretty big personality. Like the main series,Vigilantesis only as good as its antagonists, and Kuin gets the ball rolling in a big way.
To avoid going into major spoilers, Kuin’s main quirk revolves around using bees to take control of other people, along with even injecting stuff like poison into targets. For the first big bad, she has a pretty incredible ability that should pave the way to some interesting fights.
Kuin isn’t really a majorMHA Vigilantescharacter as she does not stick around for too long, but she is still important for the early parts of the story.
