Vigilantes’ latest trailer reveals a much-anticipated flashback arc

My Hero Academia came to a spectacular end last year, bringing one of the most meaningful shōnen anime ever to a close. But that’s not all: A bonus episode titled “More” has been announced since and will cover the “second ending” of Kohei Horikoshi’s manga, which takes place eight years after the graduation of Class 1-A. The world of My Hero Academia, however, has more to offer in the form of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, the ongoing prequel/spin-off series that premiered in April 2025 and kicked off its second season on Jan. 5. The series follows Koichi Haimawari, who embraces vigilantism and uses his Quirk to aid others after failing to become a licensed hero. While Vigilantes hasn’t enjoyed the overwhelming hype the franchise is usually accustomed to, it’s still a competent, mature narrative that relies very little on the parent series to forge its own unique identity.

As Vigilantes shares the same world as its parent series, returning characters like Shota Aizawa allow the prequel show to explore parts of the manga that the My Hero Academia anime couldn’t due to its ambitious storyline. For example, Aizawa (also dubbed Erasure Hero: Eraser Head), a Pro Hero and the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, crosses paths with Koichi on more than one occasion, offering an intriguing perspective on this beloved character. However, we’re about to learn more about Aizawa in the next Vigilantes episode that airs on Feb. 9, according to a trailer that offers a glimpse into the “Aizawa School Days Arc” from the manga.

[Ed. Note: This article contains spoilers for the “Aizawa School Days Arc” from My Hero Academia: Vigilantes.]

The name Oboro Shirakumo was first mentioned in chapter 216 of the My Hero Academia manga, and also in chapters 253-255, where his friendship with Aizawa was established alongside Hizashi Yamada (best known as Present Mic). The Vigilantes manga expands on Shirakumo, Yamada, and Aizawa’s school days through chapters 59-65, but the anime reorders this to potentially condense the arc into a single episode. In these chapters, the older Aizawa recounts his days at U.A. High School and his close friendship with Shirakumo (whose hero name was Loud Cloud) and Yamada, who planned to open a hero school together. In the meantime, they formed Team Purple Revolution to patrol the streets and confront villains, but Shirakumo is tragically killed during a mission involving a villain attack.

This defining incident shapes Aizawa’s cynical nature, along with his path as a hero and mentor who hides a compassionate side beneath an apathetic exterior. The draw of the manga’s “School Days Arc” is not just the Shirakumo tragedy that casts a bleak shadow over the lives of his friends, but also the quiet, mundane moments that the trio navigate as children.

For example, the flashback introduces Shirakumo on the day Aizawa comes to class soaking wet after leaving his umbrella to protect a kitten, where Shirakumo uses his Cloud Quirk to shelter the same kitten from the rain. This creates a sense of commonality between the two children, and contrasts young Aizawa’s self-deprecating misgivings about being a hero with Shirakumo’s self-assured and carefree attitude towards life.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has done a commendable job of dramatizing an offshoot story that shares a world with its acclaimed sequel and deserves more appreciation for its grounded potential. Koichi Haimawari’s arc is about a vigilante gradually finding his footing, but he’s already quite adept at his Quirk, Slide and Glide, which has been evolving at a steady rate. Koichi’s dreams of becoming a licensed hero are tempered by the altruistic need to help people, which explains the ease with which he adjusts to the reality of being an underground vigilante who tackles street-level threats. The thankless anonymity that comes with being a vigilante is at odds with the publicized fame (and expectations) that come with being a licensed hero, which Vigilantes explores with a lot of nuance.

Vigilantes’ Aizawa flashback episode is the perfect excuse to dive into this overlooked prequel and spin-off, which also embraces a visual identity that grants it a fun, buzzy aesthetic. There’s lots to love in this familiar, fleshed-out world that constantly ups the ante while never losing focus on its memorable cast of characters.

New episodes of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes season 2 release every Monday on Crunchyroll.