A prequel to popular anime franchise “My Hero Academia” is coming exclusively to Sony’s Crunchyroll streaming service outside of Asia next month.
Japanese entertainment studio Toho Co. unveiled a new trailer, key art and opening theme artist for “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes,” an animated spinoff series that takes place before the events of the main “My Hero Academia” anime, based on the original manga created by Kohei Horikoshi. The new series premieres Monday, April 7, exclusively on Crunchyroll worldwide excluding Asia, with new episodes premiering weekly, same-day as Japan.
Here’s the official logline for “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes”: Koichi Haimawari is a dull college student who aspires to be a hero but has given up on his dream. Although 80% of the world’s population has superhuman powers called Quirks, few are chosen to become heroes and protect people. Everything changes for Koichi when he and Pop☆Step are saved by the vigilante Knuckleduster and get recruited to become vigilantes themselves!
The new trailer (watch below) reveals the opening theme song “Kekka Orai,” performed by Kocchi no Kento, best known for his viral song ”Hai Yorokonde.”
“’My Hero Academia’ has captivated fans worldwide for nearly a decade, and now ‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ offers an exciting new perspective on the world this franchise loves,” said Asa Suehira, Crunchyroll’s chief content officer. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Toho and bring this highly anticipated spinoff to audiences around the globe.”
“My Hero Academia: Vigilantes” is directed by Kenichi Suzuki (“JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders,” “Cells at Work!”). The series composition and script were written by Yosuke Kuroda (“My Hero Academia,” “Trigun”). The animation is being produced by Bones Film (“Gachiakuta”).
Additional credits include character design by Takahiko Yoshida (“Cells at Work!”); art director Yukihiro Watanabe (“SSSS.Gridman”); color design by Haruko Nobori (“The Faraway Paladin”); director of photography Yingying Zhang (“The Case Study of Vanitas”); 3DCG director Mizuki Sasaki (“My Hero Academia”); editing by Kiyoshi Hirose (“Fire Force”); music composed by Yuki Hayashi (“My Hero Academia; Haikyu!!”) Shogo Yamashiro and Yuki Furuhashi; and sound director Masafumi Mima (“My Hero Academia,” “Attack on Titan”).
“My Hero Academia” will release its eighth and final season in the fall of 2025.
Last summer, Sony announced that Crunchyroll had topped 15 million monthly subscribers. Crunchyroll is a joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group.
Watch the trailer for “My Hero Academia: Vigilantes”:
