With My Hero Academia: Vigilantes finally making its anime debut on April 7, fans were already excited. But what really took over social media? A younger version of Inko Midoriya looking almost unrecognizable from how we usually see her in the main series.
This spinoff, set five years before Izuku’s story begins, follows a trio of underground heroes who tackle problems that don’t make the headlines. While the focus is on Koichi Haimawari (aka The Crawler), Pop☆Step, and Knuckleduster, it was Inko’s brief appearance that sparked the most discussion.
Fans Can’t Stop Talking About Inko
In the main My Hero Academia story, Inko is best known for her kind and overprotective nature. She’s been portrayed as emotionally overwhelmed, with visible signs of stress, especially surrounding Izuku’s lack of a quirk.
But in Vigilantes, she appears relaxed and radiant. Viewers were quick to react, calling her “beautiful” and “completely different” from how she’s usually presented. Some comments even said they couldn’t believe it was the same character, considering how much she changes just five years later.
There’s a fan theory going around that links this shift in appearance to the emotional strain Inko faced raising a child in a society where quirks are everything. The guilt and anxiety over Izuku being born quirkless may have weighed heavily on her, affecting not just her mood, but her health as well.
What Vigilantes Brings to the Table
Set in a time before pro heroes like Deku and Bakugo took the stage, Vigilantes focuses on Koichi, a college student with the “Slide and Glide” quirk. It lets him move fast as long as three limbs stay connected to a surface. He uses his ability to help people in small, often unnoticed ways.
He eventually teams up with Knuckleduster, a former pro hero who lost his quirk during a fight with All For One. Despite having no powers, he’s a skilled fighter with a strong moral code. They’re joined by Pop☆Step, a high schooler with powerful jumping skills who’s trying to make it as an idol. Together, they handle the crimes that fall through the cracks of the official hero system.
The anime has already been praised for its animation quality and striking comic book-inspired visuals. Even the opening theme has gotten attention, with fans saying it sets the tone perfectly for these low-profile heroes working outside the law.
Trigger: The New Threat
Alongside the introduction of these underground heroes, the show reveals a new danger, Trigger. It’s an illegal drug that boosts quirks temporarily but causes serious side effects.
It also seems to be addictive. In episode 1, we see the drug cause twisted physical mutations, like unnatural spikes growing from a user’s body. It’s clear that this storyline is going to become central to the plot as our vigilantes try to track down the people behind it.
All Might, Aizawa, and More Familiar Faces
Episode 1 also gives us a few nods to established characters. All Might appears in his prime, already a well-known symbol of justice. Koichi, like Izuku, idolizes him. It helps show that All Might’s influence had already started spreading years before Deku ever picked up a notebook.
There’s also a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of someone who looks like a young Eraser Head, suggesting more connections between this prequel and the original series might surface in future episodes.
Vigilantes is off to a strong start. It has a slightly older cast, a more grounded tone, and enough early mystery to keep people watching. But it’s Inko’s reappearance that really caught people off guard. She’s confident, calm, and almost glowing, a far cry from the worried mom we know in the present-day story.
