RJ Writing Ink

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Ep 10

Plenty of people want to be famous for something, but few ever do. They might not have the talent they need to stand out, or they don’t get the right chances to stand out.  Pop☆Step has had plenty of chances to stand out and she has the talent, but she can’t keep doing street performances forever. So when an opportunity to build her reputation comes her way, she’s facing her biggest hurdle yet: her own insecurities.

Knuckleduster Has a Soft Side

This episode of Vigilantes doesn’t focus on one plot, but two, each one taking up half of the episode as a whole. And both plots are focused on the other two members of the Naruhata Vigilantes, Knuckleduster and Pop☆Step. In the first half of the episode, Knuckle, through the now-reformed Soga, is continuing his search for Kuin Hachisuka, AKA Queen Bee, AKA the girl with the bee quirk. His search almost gets him killed, though, when a student under her control sics her bees on him. It’s a moment made scarier considering how the bees come out from underneath the girl’s skirt. The implications of where they were hiding are very unsettling!

Knuckleduster is Closing in on Queen Bee

The experience isn’t a total loss, though. Knuckleduster is able to use the information to help his investigation of Hachisuka, who he’s shown to be very focused on tracking down. At the same time, though, we see that there is a softer side to him: he has a wife. She’s in the hospital and left in a catatonic state, courtesy of Queen Bee, but he’s still there for her. Showing that he’s caring enough to have a wife demonstrates that he is, in fact, more than the trigger-happy vigilante he tends to be. He’s like a version of Batman that’s fallen on hard times, but strives to keep doing the right thing.

As if to emphasize that point further, we get a scene of him training, and it feels like it was taken straight from Batman’s own training montage from Batman vs. Superman. Say what you want about that film, but that moment showed why Batman is the peak of human physical strength. Unfortunately, we don’t see his confrontation with Queen Bee until the next episode.

The real focus, though, is on Pop☆Step, who might be getting her big break.

Pop☆Step Gets her Big Break

During Captain Celebrity’s fight with that Kaiju-sized villain, several buildings in Naruhata got damaged. One of them, the Marukane Department Store, is undergoing renovations before reopening, and theyre promoting it by hiring new talent to perform. And Pop☆Step has been invited to do just that.

Despite how used Pop☆Step is to performing in front of crowds, this marks the first time she’ll be performing in front of a large group. In addition, she’ll be performing alongside other people. With how insecure she is, this is her toughest battle yet. And since Koichi is lacking in the ability to provide emotional support, he calls in someone who can actually help her: Makoto!

After the incident with the cat bus exposed Koichi’s secret identity to her, it didn’t take long for Makoto to figure out that Kazuho is Pop☆Step. Despite her jealousy over seeing the older woman as competition for Koichi, though, Pop☆Step can’t afford to let this help go to waste. And not only is Makoto a good choice due to her organizational skills, she also agrees to keep Kazuho’s vigilantism a secret. Pop may not like Makoto, but there can be no denying that she’s trustworthy.

Go, Pop☆Step!

So, thanks to Makoto, Pop☆Step is able to move forward with participating in the upcoming Narufest. She’ll go out there and sing the Marukane Department Store’s theme song alongside some other artists, and Makoto even got Captain Celebrity to make an appearance. All told, this looks like it could be Pop’s big break!

Assuming that the Bee Girl doesn’t show up to wreck everything. Which we know she will try to do!

This was a quiet episode overall, but not every episode needs to be a banger. Pop☆Step, knock them dead!

I Give “Event Announcement”

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My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Ep 9

For most people, getting a visit from their mom would be a cause for celebration. After all, people should normally have a good relationship with their parents. However, there are also the parents that are, simply put, the worst. There are women like Cersei Lannister and Odalia Blight, who see their kids as extensions of themselves. There’s women like Lois Griffin, who belittle their children and spouses to feed their egos. Then we have the overbearing parent that never supports your dreams and always criticizes you for everything you do. And unfortunately for Koichi, his visiting Mom is very much that kind of parent. Just…awful.

Koichi has a Terrible Mom…

Picking up where the post-credits scene for the last episode left off, Koichi’s mom drops in for an unexpected visit, much to his dismay. His mom is…not a good mom, to be honest. When she sees right through his attempts to claim Makoto is his girlfriend, she uses her Quirk to slap him multiple times. Then she denigrates Koichi further by saying that someone like Makoto is out of his league, all the while saying that his dream of being a hero is a foolish notion.

To recap, Koichi has a mother who is physically and verbally abusive with him, has no confidence in his ability to do anything right, and doesn’t even have the courtesy of supporting his wants and needs. It’s sad to think that there are parents out there who act like this and genuinely think that they’re doing their kids a favor. In truth, all this does is hinder the amazing potential that they might have deep inside them. Sadder still, though, is the fact that Koichi doesn’t even try to defend himself to his mom. Instead, it’s Pop in her civilian identity that tries to stand up.

Emphasis on tries, as she gets so flustered she storms off, and Koichi drops the ball by unintentionally insulting her attire.

On a lighter note, though, this episode officially gives us the real names of Pop☆Step and Knuckleduster: Kazuho Haneyama and Iwao Oguro. Bonus points for Knuckle managing to pass off their vigilantism as community service to Makoto and Koichi’s mom.

Thankfully, though, Koichi gets a chance to put his Mom in his place and show his true potential.

But he Puts her in her Place

While Koichi, his Mom, and Makoto are on a tour of Tokyo, their bus turns into a cat monster thanks to an Instant Villain. Ingenium arrives and manages to get almost everyone off in time, but Makoto is stuck on the bus as it’s careening to a broken bridge. With the Hero running low on fuel, his team begs someone to help, and Koichi happily steps up…only for his mom to try to browbeat him into quit “playing hero.” And while he doesn’t say the exact words, his rebuttal has the same meaning as “SHUT THE HECK UP, MOM, AND LET ME LIVE MY LIFE!”  

What happens next pretty much proves that Koichi’s mom was a bad parent. When push comes to shove, Koichi forces himself to move through the air…by pressing on it. He flies!

As it turns out, Koichi could do this the whole time, doing it regularly as a baby. However, his mom overreacted and kept swatting him to keep him on the ground.

You see the issue? Koichi has always had the potential to be an amazing hero, but his Mom’s paranoia has left him with low self-esteem and helped to surpress his natural talent. That’s called bad parenting, and it’s something no parent should ever do to their kid. Thankfully, Koichi standing up to her is enough to make her realize her mistakes. It’s not a parent’s place to keep their kid tied down forever.

May we Never See His Mom Again

In the end, Koichi saves Makoto (and exposes his secret identity), and his Mom leaves. Good riddance, if you ask me. If she had done better, Koichi could’ve gotten his hero license by now. At least now he knows that his Quirk is cooler than others give him credit for, though.

I Give “Mom Descends” a 4.5/5

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My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Ep 5 Review

When most people think of anti-heroes, they think of someone edgy, cynical, and willing to do morally grey acts. However, this wasn’t always the case. Before the modern version, the anti-hero was usually someone not that confident and plagued by insecurities holding them back. Deku counts as a prime example due to his nervousness and initial lack of self-confidence. However, an even stronger example of a classical anti-hero might be that of Koichi…and Pop☆Step.

Koichi and Pop☆Step are the Classical Anti-Hero

Koichi is, by the judgment of his peers, a creep and a loser. Despite wanting to enjoy his college life, due to a misunderstanding, he botched his big debut. Though, to be fair, he should have better explained that the abandoned building he was bringing people back to for drinks was where his “penthouse” is located. As a result, he got stuck with an undeserved reputation that he desperately wants to shake off.

Like Deku years from now, Koichi is very much a classical anti-hero. He’s a genuinely good guy, but his lack of self-confidence means that he doesn’t give himself the credit he deserves. For example, he tells Pop☆Step the story of how he failed his hero entrance test due to being late. However, the only reason he was late was because he saved a child from drowning. In an ideal world, that kind of act would be enough to give him a pass. Since he has no self-confidence, though, he never fought this decision and laughs it off, much to Pop☆Step’s irritation.

Pop☆Step has even more reason to be mad about Koichi giving up on his dream so easily. The reveal that she was the kid he saved was a nice twist that reframes her relationship with Koichi. It also shows that, despite her outward confidence as an idol, she remains deeply insecure about herself. When she tries to bring herself to tell Koichi, she’s so flustered by Knuckleduster’s presence that she can’t bring herself to do it.

Meet a Modern Anti-Hero

In essence, each of the trio of vigilantes can be considered an anti-hero. Koichi and Pop☆Step serve as more classical anti-heroes due to their flaws, while Knuckleduster represents a more modern take on the archetype. However, they all get eclipsed in terms of being an anti-hero by a newcomer onto the scene.

When Knuckleduster is unable to help them out on patrol one night, Pop and Crawler are met by the Hardening Instant Villain they previously defeated. Hopelessly outmatched, the pair end up getting saved by someone new, a katana-wielding vigilante named Stendhal. After seeing how effortlessly he drove off the Instant Villain, Koichi thinks that Stendhal is amazing. As the audience comes to see, though, Stendhal is even more violent than the likes of Knuckleduster, as he later chooses to kill the villain rather than leave him for the police.

Those who have seen the main series should recognize who this character is by voice alone and know how dangerous he is. However, that will have to wait until the next episode. Stendhal is going to return, and his next target happens to be someone that the trio are familiar with: the guy with the spike Quirk they fought before. To make matters worse, that man turns out to be a potential lead on who is distributing Trigger, so they have to protect him!

The irony is palpable!

I Give “Judgment” a 4/5

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