REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Episode 5 – “Judgment”

One of the most significant hurdles that My Hero Academia: Vigilantes faces is the steep hill it scales to achieve the same charm and recognition as its predecessor. The most important difference is My Hero Academia’s expansive ensemble and how much we care about those characters. Koichi (Shuichiro Umeda), Knuckleduster (Yasuhiro Mamiya), and Pop Step (Ikumi Hasegawa) are all likable and interesting enough. Still, none have yet to reach the same level as the characters we’ve met in this world. There’s a reason why Eraserhead’s appearance in Episode 2 was so noteworthy. However, My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 5 seeks to change this.

And it largely succeeds as we learn more about Pop and Koichi. Koichi is such a reactive character who so infrequently gets to take control of his destiny. Or, instead, he refuses to do so due to a lack of confidence in his ability. The opening shows him being ostracized on campus due to a misunderstanding about his living conditions, and he is dubbed a social pariah. It makes his connection with Knuckleduster and Pop all the more poignant.

It’s been suggested that he’s lonely and in need of friendship and community, and, for all of their antics, Knuckleduster and Pop fit the bill. Pop even has a key to his apartment that she uses liberally, voicing her shock at Koichi being home despite the apartment being his. Her and Knuckleduster’s inability to respect each other’s space is an ongoing, hilarious gag that suggests how easily they are in each other’s company. However, that comfort leads Pop to a major roadblock when she wishes to come clean to Koichi about their shared past.

Pop offers insight into Koichi’s backstory in My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 5. 

We learn that Koichi used to be much more serious about his desire to become a hero. So much so that he had been signed up for the entrance exam years prior. However, on the exam day, he ran into someone he believed to be a little boy who had fallen into the river and jumped to his rescue. Leaving the boy with his prized All Might hoodie, he raced away and ultimately missed the exam. Now, Koichi hopes that the boy he saves turns out to be a hero and is impacted by Koichi’s actions that day.

This story infuriates Pop while demonstrating Koichi’s inherent goodness and desire to do good to the audience. He sacrificed his future to save this boy and holds zero resentment over it. All of which makes the reveal that the ‘boy’ was Pop all the more impactful. Chill-inducing, even, in how well the reveal is crafted. Because it shows the direct effect that Koichi’s kindness had on someone. Add to that the fact that, in her own right, Pop has become something of a hero despite her refusal to lump herself in with their vigilante antics, and the moment soars.

The sequence is given an even greater boost due to the visuals as Pop soars through the skies, backed by the oversized full moon. She’s already happy to have met Koichi. Happier still to have befriended him. Now, she simply needs to tell him how they met and how he impacted her life.

A new vigilante arrives on the scene. 

However, she never gets the chance. My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 5 moves forward with Queen Bee/Kuin’s plot when she gives the Hardening Instant Villain another dose of Trigger. Setting off on another rampage through the city, Koichi is helped by a katana-wielding vigilante, Stendhal. Koichi is thrilled to meet another vigilante, though Stendhal doesn’t take the same virtuous approach to saving the day as Koichi does. Nor does he seem to have a mission like Knuckleduster. Instead, he sees his role as judge and executioner.

In a grizzly scene, we watch Stendhal kill the Hardening villain, Akira. Blood-soaked and grim, it’s a reminder that not every vigilante holds the same values. And, more than anything, not every vigilante wants to be a hero. This gray area and questions of morality seep into the rest of My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 5 with the reintroduction of Soga, who terrorized Pop and Koichi in Episode 1. Soga has information for them, but the two are rightfully hostile towards the idea. But it will be interesting to see if they attempt some redemption for the character, as he seems to be next on Stendhal’s kill list.

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 5 ups the ante simply by adding depth to the characters, recontextualizing what we know about them. As the threats continue to mount, and as people aren’t as they appear to be, “Judgement” brings greater urgency and darkness to the story.

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Episode 5 is out now on Crunchyroll. 

Previous Episode | Next Episode