My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 - Koichi starts his heroic journey by becoming Knuckleduster's apprentice

Modified Apr 07, 2025 22:00 GMT

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 - Koichi yearns to become a hero as Knuckleduster makes him his apprentice — Koichi as seen in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 (Image via Bones Film)

With the release of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1, the anime finally introduced fans to the protagonist Koichi Haimawari. While he wished to become a hero like All Might, his quirk was unsuited to become a hero. That's when a surprise encounter with Knuckleduster saw him learn about an odd take on justice.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a spinoff prequel to the original My Hero Academia series. This series effectively follows vigilantes trying to become heroes even before Izuku Midoriya went to the U.A. High School. Fortunately, fans will still get to see a few familiar faces in action.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 - Knuckleduster rescues Koichi and Pop☆Step

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

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1, titled I'm Here, opened with the series protagonist Koichi Haimawari seeing All Might in action as the Hero defeated a villain causing a menace in the society.

Moments later, Koichi remembered he was getting late for work. Hence, he started hurrying when he accidentally bumped into three "villains." The villains wanted to bully Koichi, however, he managed to get away from them using his Slide and Glide Quirk.

The Side and Glide Quirk allowed Koichi to slide on any surface as long as three of his limbs were in contact with the surface. While the quirk sounds useful, it only allows him to move as fast as a slow bike.

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

Later, Koichi spotted Pop☆Step performing another one of her impromptu concerts in the streets. Koichi envied Pop☆Step's Leap Quirk but did not wait for long and left for work. Moments after he started his shift, the three villains from earlier entered the department store. Upon identifying Koichi from before, they beat him up in the back alley. This incident left Koichi livid and he decided to take out his frustration by doing good deeds for the people in his society while donning his "Nice Guy" persona.

During this, he met Pop☆Step, who had spotted him earlier while he left her concert area using his Quirk. Unfortunately, Koichi did not catch a break as the villains from before again confronted him. Unfortunately, they targeted Pop☆Step, threatening to expose her identity on the internet. Koichi tried to fight back but was powerless against the villains. That's when vigilante Knuckleduster made his "superhero landing."

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

Knuckleduster immediately knocked down the three villains and started checking their tongues, Koichi was scared of Knuckleduster and was trying to run away when the vigilante proposed that he become his apprentice. While Koichi believed he could not become a hero with his quirk, Knuckleduster believed otherwise. Amidst this, one of the villains caught hold of Pop☆Step. He was just about to disfigure her face when Koichi rescued her. This was followed by Knuckleduster defeating him with his punch.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 later saw Knuckleduster at Koichi's place as he casually entered his life and proposed that he call him master. With that, Knuckleduster also informed Koichi what he was investigating. A drug called Trigger was making rounds in the city. This drug was capable of turning a villain into a supervillain. While Koichi proposed they allow the heroes to take charge in the investigation, Knuckleduster believed that the authorities would always be a step behind.

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

Elsewhere, around the same time, a mysterious man gave the drug to the three villains from earlier, allowing them to use enhanced versions of their quirks.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 1 later saw Koichi following Knuckleduster during his investigation. He believed the vigilante would end up harassing innocent people, and rightfully so, Knuckleduster was not holding back. This was also the case after Pop☆Step joined them. That's when Eraser Head arrived to stop him.