Who is Pop☆Step in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes? Everything you need to know

Pop☆Step from Studio Bones' My Hero Academia: Vigilantes series has grown to become one of the most popular characters among the fandom. She is part of the main trio of the series alongside Koichi Haimawari, also known as The Crawler, and Iwao Oguro, also known as Knuckleduster.

Kazuho Haneyama (Hero name: Pop☆Step) was featured from the first episode of the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes series as a vigilant pop idol performing openly on the streets. At the time of the writing of this article, the series has released only two episodes, with many fans still asking to know more about Pop☆Step.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes anime/manga.

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Pop☆Step's role in the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes series, explored

Pop☆Step, Kazuho Haneyama, is one of the protagonists of the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes series. She was a former vigilante and a part-time idol. In the anime series, while performing on a light post, she notices Koichi Haimawari among the crowd, and later meets up with him in an alley. While they were talking, Soga appeared with his troops and started harassing them.

While the altercation was going on, Knuckleduster appeared, and the three of them fought off Soga and his group. Later, while Knuckleduster and Koichi were investigating the drug users, Kazuho reappeared and stuck around with the group. While a few more instances of her assisting the group are shown in the second episode, her involvement is yet to be explored further in the anime series.

In terms of her personality, Kazuho has a very intellectual and logical personality, which she utilizes by being the brains of the Naruhata Vigilantes, a ragtag trio of vigilante group consisting of Koichi, Iwao, and Kazuho. She also has a habit of denying her involvement with them in front of the police several times, despite her actively partaking in the group's activities.

In the manga, Kazuho was also seen developing a crush on Koichi, feeling jealous whenever other girls talk to or show interest in him. However, Koichi is unaware of her feelings and treats her more like a valued friend. In the end, after Koichi fulfils his dream of becoming a hero and joining Captain Celebrity as a sidekick, Kazuho also gets over her feelings for him and proceeds with her own life.

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Pop☆Step's quirks and abilities in the series

Pop☆Step from My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has the quirk Leap. Her quirk allows her to leap very high in the air and stay there for a long time. However, the efficiency of her quirk depends on the takeoff surface being solid to give her more airtime; if not, the quirk's effectiveness is heavily decreased. While she can cushion a fall if she leaps, her quirk does not allow her to cushion a normal fall, as seen in episode 2 of the anime, where Koichi had to save her from falling.

In the manga, while under the possession of the Queen Bee, Kazuho became Bee☆Pop, granting her the ability to control a large swarm of bees. The bees grow more hostile the more she sings. In the manga chapters, while all the bees were eradicated by Koichi and Endeavor, the Queen Bee was removed from Kazuho's body at the hospital.

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Final thoughts

Pop☆Step and the rest of the Narahata Vigilantes as shown in the anime (Image via Bones)

Kazuho's character is still to be explored in the anime as the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes series progresses. While her character cannot be fully explored in this article, a brief summary of her appearances, personality, role, and quirk has been provided to sum up her character.

While this article reflects Pop☆Step's character from both the anime so far and the manga, changes could be seen in the adaptation, as it is a recurrent theme and not completely out of the question in the anime industry. The only way to know for sure is to tune in and enjoy Studio Bones' latest series, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes.

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