My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 features Deku in a way fans never expected

Modified Apr 08, 2025 16:00 GMT

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 features Deku in a way fans never expected — Deku as seen in My Hero Academia (Image via Bones)

With the release of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1, fans were finally introduced to the spinoff prequel story for Mangaka Kohei Horikoshi's original series My Hero Academia.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a story that centers on vigilantes trying to become real heroes long before Deku started attending U.A. High School. Therefore, the original series' protagonist should have had no role to play in the new anime. Nevertheless, Bones Film decided to treat fans with a Deku feature in the most unexpected way.

While fans were expecting to hear Shuuichirou Umeda's voice for the prologue, Daiki Yamashita took over the narrator role.

Deku's VA makes a surprising feature in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1

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Just as My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 began, fans hoped to hear the new protagonist Koichi Haimawari's voice actor Shuuichirou Umeda's voice for the prologue. However, Bones Film had other plans as they had Izuku Midoriya's voice actor Daiki Yamashita do the narration.

Similar to the original anime, Daiki Yamashita explained how Quirks originated and the roles of heroes in the society. Amidst this, the voice actor introduced fans to a new concept, vigilantes, also known as illegal heroes.

Pop☆Step as seen in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 (Image via Bones Film)

Considering that the Deku voice actor had been doing the narration for the original series, it made sense for him to be doing the same for the spinoff prequel. Nevertheless, it was a surprising feature for the fans.

Fans' reaction to Deku's surprise feature in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1

While most fans were thrilled to hear Deku's voice in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1, many fans were left confused whether that was really the case.

Koichi Haimawari as seen in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 (Image via Bones Film)

Many fans thought that the prologue was being narrated by Koichi Haimawari voice actor Shuuichirou Umeda. However, Izuku Midoriya's voice actor Daiki Yamashita was indeed the one who narrated the new anime's prologue.

"That gave me chills," one fan said.

"Isn’t Koichi’s voice?," another fan questioned.

"This ep got me SO HOOKED," another fan said.

"Deku from the future, narrating a story from the past. lol," other fan said.

Meanwhile, other fans expressed how hooked they got to the show after watching its first episode. This reaction suggested that the new anime had the potential to become a success like its predecesor. That said, only time will tell how the anime will be received.

Also read: This aspect of My Hero Academia's fourth movie should've been canon (& it's not Dark Might)

Lastly, some fans found it funny that Izuku Midoriya from the future was narrating a story that began much before the original series began. This means that, during the time of the prequel anime, Deku had neither started attening the U.A. High School, nor did he meet All Might and inherit the One For All Quirk. Hence, fans found the sequence of events funny.

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About the author

Gokul has been an anime writer in Pop Culture division at Sportskeeda since 2022. His love for watching anime and his interest in the ever-growing anime industry inspire Gokul to produce insightful content about the genre on a daily basis. He holds a Master's degree in Communication & Journalism, and has worked for close to 3.5 years in the field.

Gokul likes to thoroughly research about the anime he is writing about and only credits a source after verifying its credibility. He loves the popular Shonen anime, Black Clover, for its memorable characters and their development throughout the story.

When not racking his brain behind his next anime story, Gokul likes to play video games, read manga, and play football.

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Edited by Gokul Chettiyar