No need to embellish here – that was a banger of an episode. Vigilante has certainly been on a great run, but the truth of it is this is nothing unusual. It’s just really, really good (and seriously underrated). The manga is a great addition to the mythology but there’s no question, the anime is even better. Call it the Bones effect if you like, though there are other studios capable of delivering it. This is HeroAca on a leaner, more human scale. It’s easiest to digest, smaller in its scope but relentlessly on-point.
Kouichi’s mom is certainly a lot to take. If any quirk ever suited a personality her “Fly Swatter” does, but you have to feel for Kouichi growing up with it. Mom is no fool – she doesn’t buy the whole Makoto fabrication for a second. But she does like Makoto – who wouldn’t – and segues into matchmaking mode (albeit somewhat apologetically). When one steps back and looks at it objectively, Makoto is a more realistic partner for Kouichi in a lot of ways, though at this point in time he’s not punching in the same weight class she is. That doesn’t stop Pop (Kazuho) from stressing about it, though.
It’s all about the real names here. Kazuho immediately introduces herself to Mom as such (Kouichi had no idea). Mom’s puzzlement over why a girl her age would hang at Kouichi’s pad is understandable. For her part Pop is adorably nervous around her. Then Knuckleduster shows up, and while one might reasonably expected him to finish blowing this whole thing up, he does an admirable job on Kouichi’s behalf. He introduces himself (we finally get the name – Kuroiwa), and presents a business card in proper fashion. He works for an NPO, he says, whose function he describes in great detail. Kuroiwa even establishes a narrative for his and Kazuho’s role in Kouichi’s life.
This sort of banter is something Illegals really excels at – I’m always impressed with how natural it is. The funniest line of the episode is Mom telling Makoto “You’re young, look for a guy your own age”. Needless to say, Kuroiwa is a big hit. But it’s all a bit too much for Pop, who flees in a tangle of adolescent angst. Makoto urges Kouichi to follow and compliment her. But alas he proves much better at the first than the second. Hopefully he’s taking notes here – “you look like you put that together in a hurry” is not the right way to address a girl’s choice of wardrobe.
At this point Mom, Makoto, and Kouichi head off on a bus tour (gag) of Tokyo, on which Makoto continues to win Mom’s heart. She’s pretty mean about her son, that’s for sure – she could do a lot better job selling him. Soon enough events intervene, as Hachisuka stages a disturbance which seems very much targeted at Kouichi, using a cat. Thanks to Trigger it’s soon a catbus, thanks a quirk called “Monster Cat”. And this seems like a sneaky significant moment, because as far as I know this is the first time we’ve ever seen a non-human animal use a quirk.
After this it’s a rousing “Speed”-esque chase through the streets of Tokyo, as catbus goes out of control and Ingenium joins the pursuit. Knuckle had intended to leave this one to the licensed heroes but having spotted Kouichi on-board, he calls Pop and intervenes. Kuroiwa is not all muscles, he’s razor-sharp too – using a makeshift giant cat toy to lure catbus away from the center of town and onto the expressway. But that expressway has an overpass out thanks to the kaijuu incident last week, and Ingenium only has five minutes to rescue the passengers and prevent a disaster. Crawler, this is your moment…
Kouichi acquits himself extremely well here – notably, it’s Knuckle’s lessons on how to fall which wind up saving him after he saves Makoto. But the headline is The Crawler becoming The Flyer – and it turns out, Kouichi could use Slide and Glide to hover and more when he was a baby, before Mom slapped it out of him. It seems to have been the moment that brought it all back, be it adrenaline (nature’s Trigger) or something else. But he can’t reproduce it once the crisis is past, only getting about 30cm off the ground. Still, this has to be a game changer – and not only that, Makoto now knows his secret identity (which means she knows Kuroiwa and Kazuho’s, too).
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