For context. I have watched MHA through season 6. and it's one of my favorite anime of all time, so far. I'm waiting to watch the last two seasons until my husband has caught up with me. I also have not read the manga for either show.
I'll start off by saying this show is good. At moments even great. There's a lot that I like about what's going on here. The idea of vigilantes in general, and specifically in the MHA universe, is an interesting concept to explore. Some of the new characters are real stand outs. (Knuckleduster is a personal favorite.) It's cool to see what the returning characters were up to before the events of MHA. I like the idea of this show being more "small scale", and exploring how living in a superhero society affects the average person in a day-to-day sense.I also personally like the art style and animation a lot. It's more comic-booky with dark lines and bold, colorful sound effects. The opening song is also a real banger. Not that that matters. But it's been stuck in my head for days, so I figure it's worth mentioning.
Buuuuuut (and it's a big but), I feel like vigilantes falls short of MHA when it comes to themes, world building, and character motivation. If you're just interested in a more casual watch, with cool action scenes and funny situations, this might not matter much to you. However, I feel like it is a bit of a let down, for me, after coming from MHA.
This leads me to my second major complaint about the show. Koichi, in my opinion, is a weak Protagonist. Like, narratively weak. (His character arc so far, in a nutshell.) He wanted to be a hero when he was a kid but gave up because he missed the test to apply for a hero program. After high school he's ok with just being a "nice guy" who uses his power to pick up trash and help people with small problems. Then after he meets Knuckleduster and saves Pop Step, he decides to be a vigilante because there's something inside him that still wants to be a hero. I think?
I have problems and questions with this character arc.
Final spoiler. Ingenium is cool, hot as hell, and got done dirty. That's all.
Despite all my complaints though, I think it's a good show that is worth watching. If you like MHA, you'll probably like this. It's fun, and entertaining, with some really great fights and character moments. I do want to see how things evolve and I hope some of my issues get resolved as the show continues.
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