REVIEW: ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Season 2 Episode 9 – “Farewell Party!”

Well, that was a whole lot of nothing, huh? In defense of My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 9, it’s dealing with the mini-arc detailing the devastation of Eraser Head’s (Junichi Suwabe) youth, a clear standout story for both the spinoff/prequel series and the original show. But did it have to be so dull? 

“Farewell Party!” settles in an awkward place in terms of the narrative. It’s acting as a setup for the next big arc while also reintroducing a character we haven’t seen since Season 1. A character who both gets something of a personality update while also being plagued by numerous death flags, all of which amount to very little. And, again, it’s trying to seamlessly transition back into the main story where, for the most part, our two leads – Koichi (Shūichirō Umeda) and Pop (Ikumi Hasegawa) – have had very little to do for nine out of the thirteen episodes of the second season. 

All of which is to say that there’s nothing the series can do, will do, to make me care about the bargain bin All Might,  Captain Celebrity (Toshiyuki Morikawa) My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 8 is clearly unbothered by this as so much of the story revolves around his impending departure back to the U.S. where his pregnant wife is waiting for him to prove himself improved. He no longer needs to rebuild his tarnished image – if it were ever that banged up to begin with, by all current accounts. 

There’s nothing that will make Captain Celebrity an interesting character. 

Instead, because of the love of his future family and a lot of scenes showing his ease around children, he’s now solely a good guy. Squeaky clean and dull as a brick. 

The most significant part of his story is us learning the flaws of his Quirk and, then, The Scarred Man (Taku Yashiro) learning them too. He plans to strike Captain Celebrity, knowing now that despite all appearances, the pro-hero isn’t infallible. It just takes the right kind of coordinated attack to take him down. 

The attack also proves to better Captain Celebrity’s image, as he’s seen in public defending the three girls despite bearing the brunt of the explosive attack. Bruised, bloodied, and looking clearly worse for wear, he’s the most human he’s ever appeared in public, the sparkle and artifice dimmed. And it sells. 

So much so that Makoto (Asami Seto) can profit off it, leading her to stage a farewell party for him, inviting other more notable, pro-heroes. This allows us to see a gallery of some of the series’ more notable pros, from those who’ve already infiltrated the story, such as Eraser Head and Midnight (Akeno Watanabe), to those who’ve yet to appear, like Best Jeanist (Hikaru Midorikawa) and Mirko (Sayaka Kinoshita). 

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 9 is a major downgrade after the Eraser Head arc.

There’s even a moment in My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 9 where all of these elements come together due to the ongoing investigation regarding the Scarred Man. Koichi and Pop can provide information to Eraser Head and Midnight about their vigilantism, since there’s greater leniency when they’re the ones informed rather than official law enforcement. Tsukuachi (Tokuyoshi Kawashima) obviously knows about it, but working with someone like Midnight instead provides Koichi and Pop with a level of protection and anonymity they might not otherwise have. 

But again, it’s all set up. So much set up. So much boring setup that goes absolutely nowhere while focusing on characters that we don’t care about at all (Captain Celebrity) or characters who are likable enough but don’t provide anything exciting to the story or emotional investment (Tsukuachi and Makoto). Considering adaptations capability to play with narratives by piecing them together to make for more cohesive viewing experiences, opposed to reading, the series needs to remember that if they’re going to have such a listless, nothing episode, they should at least put our main characters at the forefront. 

Ultimately, My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 9 is a dud. There’s simply nothing here to make us care, and, in many ways, it is an easy skip without missing out on anything truly vital. Despite clearly paving the way for a major showdown, “Farewell Party!” contains zero tension, anticipation, or engagement. Some components might matter to the overall story, but you wouldn’t get that sense through watching this episode alone. 

My Hero Academia Vigilantes Season 2 Episode 9 is out now on Crunchyroll. 

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