My Hero Academia Vigilantes creates a different tale from the timeline the original series follows, depicting heroes who have not been licensed by law. While the main series follows Izuku Midoriya's journey of rising through U.A. High School, Vigilantes focuses on another side of heroism courtesy of Koichi Haimawari, a street-level hero without a license.
The series goes into the lives of vigilantes who exist underground, their struggles, and battles against bio-engineered villains. Events in Vigilantes happen to slightly cross over with events in the main storyline of My Hero Academia, forming one big universe that plays off of the overall storyline.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the writer's opinion and includes spoilers from the manga.
How My Hero Academia and My Hero Academia Vigilantes are connected, explained
My Hero Academia and My Hero Academia Vigilantes have overlapping timelines and character interactions, but the theme of each series remains different. While the main storyline of My Hero Academia follows Izuku Midoriya through a world ruled by licensed heroes, Vigilantes offers underground heroism where unlicensed individuals fight villains on the fringes of society.
My Hero Academia Vigilantes happen about 4-6 years before the main My Hero Academia timeline. That is an approximation based on important chronological appearances and interactions of the main series characters that happen throughout the series.
For example, Mirko is an already established Pro Hero during the events of Vigilantes, and later in My Hero Academia, it is shown that she is one of the best heroes. So, at approximately 18-20 years old in Vigilantes, that means that this storyline predates her high-profile career.
Another notable connection is the cameo of Inko Midoriya in Vigilantes, where she finds Koichi. Inko's appearance suggests that it happens after Izuku Midoriya has been revealed to be Quirkless but still before the main series starts. By looking at her physical appearance in the cameo, one can estimate Izuku's fall between 8 and 12 years old, further connecting the two.
Moreover, the absence of Hawks, who was 22 years old when introduced in My Hero Academia, would mean that the events of Vigilantes occur before he becomes a well-known hero since, at that time, he would have turned 14-17 years old.
Incorporating younger heroes such as Mirko and Fat Gum, among others, allows Vigilantes to fill in gaps and add a more depthful prequel that accents the main timeline of My Hero Academia.
Final thoughts
My Hero Academia Vigilantes is a rich and complementary tale to the My Hero Academia series since it develops an underground world of unlicensed heroes like Koichi and further builds the universe beyond the pro-hero scene.
My Hero Academia timelines and character cameos, like the early days of Mirko as a hero or even Inko Midoriya, keep both the series connected yet maintain a separate theme. Vigilantes serves as the prequel, fills several important gaps, adds depth to the backstory for many major characters, and develops the lore for the overall My Hero Academia universe.
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