I was leaning towards using that tagline even if there hadn’t been a sequel announcement alongside this episode of Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals. But there was, so happily it’s a moot point. As leaked and as noted here a couple weeks ago, a second “season” of Illegals is in production. That effectively makes this a split cour, though with an unusually long break as the second isn’t airing until 2026 (I’m guessing winter). The key question of course is whether we’re only getting two cours, or they represent only the first half of the adaptation. It needs four for a full adaptation, and it certainly deserves one. Vigilante is pretty popular, but time will tell if it’s popular enough for that.
I have – in case you couldn’t tell – a real admiration for this series. That applies both to the pitch-perfect (as expected from Bones) adaptation and the manga itself. It just never tries to do too much. The sense of self is very strong with this one. It knows exactly what it is and why it works, and delivers time after time. It’s remarkable for a spinoff to be so different in tone from the parent series and still be totally faithful to the spirit of it. When the topic turns to spinoff animanga, I think this one is on a very short list of contenders for the best ever. It does its just extremely well.
For the most part, this is a quiet wind-down of a finale, with most of the big action having happened last week. The big department store performance went over like gangbusters, and Kazuho is (adorably) over the moon about that. Her presence as Casa Kouichi is as natural as can be at this point, though it’s clear that the two of them view that very differently. Something is conspicuously missing though – of Knuckleduster there’s no sign. There’s just a hint of doubt creeping into Kouichi’s cheerful demeanor about this, but for now he betrays no sense that anything is amiss.
Captain Celebrity has emerged as an interesting story element and character in his own right. For all his ludicrous popinjay tendencies, he actually is quite good at his job. As well (though Makoto no doubt gets some credit) he’s not a snob – he’s happy to help out wherever it’s needed (though he would like more downtime). He’s the hero Kouichi has more interaction with than any other (because he’s usually in the trenches). And his admonition to Kouichi that maybe he should back off the hero stuff is well-intentioned. The truth is, most of the time what Kouichi’s intervention does is wind up putting him in need of rescue – though in the meantime, he’s allowing others to escape to safety themselves.
A new group is brought in for the next Marukane gig, the “Little Sisters“. Miu (or maybe it was Yuu) from FeatherS promises them a hero appearance – which is a problem as C.C. is otherwise engaged shooting a commercial with Ingenium. In a pinch it’s The Crawler who’s roped in, and he decides to greet the audience with a song – unbeknownst to him one Little Sisters sang during the first set. Chris will eventually show up after all – but only to yet again save Kouichi, after the bat villain (under the thumb of the new Bee User) swoops in and kidnaps him.
Upon returning home, Kouichi and Pop are surprised to see Oguro’s knuckles and mask waiting for them. At this point it seems to be several days since they’ve seen him, and it’s rather touching that Kouichi faithfully takes the opportunity to wash said items rather than interpret them as a parting gift. What’s clear here is that Oguro-san has become a big part of these kids’ lives – the “head of household” as Kouichi calls him. Knuckle is a pretty abrasive dude, Kouichi is 19 and has parents, but what this relationship has evolved into is obvious. Mom and Dad are a long way away and 19 is still a kid, and as for Kazuho – she’s truly a child and seems to not be close to her own parents. You get the idea Oguro has no idea how much they’ve come to rely on him.
This whole sequence – along with the scenes of Oguro in the hospital – pack surprising punch in the melancholy department. Understated and low-key, just as Vigilante usually is, but very effective. Tamao has awoken and more important, returned to herself – but she’s clearly damaged in many ways by her trauma. Souga has faithfully kept watch in Oguro’s absence, and on his return his daughter immediately asks where her mother is. “You just missed her”, he says – a line filled with ominous suggestion. Oguro has clearly decided that his family is his sole priority now – but just how much is left of it?
A relatively low-key finish is only fitting for a series as grounded and balanced as Illegals. The best of the story is certainly still to come, though again this really comes down to what the adaptation in full is going to be. With Boku no Hero Academia there was never any question the manga would be adapted in full (though the Haikyuu experience did inject a bit of foreboding that it made be done in movie form). This is HeroAca but it’s also not – Vigilante is very much its own thing. I love that about it but it also makes the adaptation process uncertain. Whatever that turns out to be, the quality of this series has been firmly established to a wider audience now, and that’s something to be celebrated.
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