My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Vol. 15

ヴィジランテ ―僕のヒーローアカデミアILLEGALS― [Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals] #15

by Kohei Horikoshi, Betten Court (Illustrator), Kohei Horikoshi (Creator)

In a superpowered society, there is nothing ordinary about evil anymore. Heroes, trained and licensed to protect and defend the public against supervillains, stand above all the rest. Not everyone can be a hero, however, and there are those who would use their powers to serve the people without legal sanction. But do they fight for justice in the shadows, or for reasons known only to themselves? Whatever they fight for, they are called…vigilantes.

The final showdown in the streets of Naruhata reaches its climax as the monstrous Number 6 goes all out to destroy Koichi. All his life, Koichi dreamed of being a hero. When he realized that wasn’t going to happen, he moved on. But now, fighting against the terrifying Number 6, his dream is all he’s got to hold on to. If Koichi can tap into the real source of his power, he may at last become the hero he always wanted to be.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Superheroes, Young Adult, Action, Comics Manga, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published July 4, 2022

About the author

HORIKOSHI Kouhei
Name (in native language): 堀越耕平
Associated Names:
Kouhei Horikoshi

Born 1986 in the prefecture Aichi, Horikoshi first attracted attention in the second half of 2006 when he entered Shueisha's 72th Tezuka Award for Newcomers with his one shot "Nukegara" and made it to the final six, where he gained himself an "Honorable Mention".
Various short stories in Shueisha's Akamaru JUMP followed over the years until he published his one shot "Oumagadoki Doubutsuen" in issue #2/2010 of Weekly Shounen JUMP.

Kouhei Horikoshi is a graduate of Nagoya University of Arts. He was previously an assistant to TANAKA Yasuki.

Zodiac: Scorpio

Pixiv: 堀越

Reviews

[Ronald · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a stand alone volume this is not bad and the art is solid.
The problem is this is the final volume, the series has ended.
After starting out as a solid manga following street level unlicensed heroes in the world of My Hero Academia it was fascinating. You could see how the world was not fair and why there were villians and how people just trying to be good people got labeled as evil by the powers that be. All the characters in this story became better and evolved over time. Evolved to the point that Koichi could survive going toe to toe with an early version of a Nomu.
But in the end, Koichi just instantly reverted to the dumb idiot doing whatever he was told. He went from one on one with the giant bomb fire villain to a sidekick. Not just any sidekick but a sidekick to that horrible Captain Celebrity. I mean come on, in the end zero character development or improvement.

So disappointed.
So cringe.

[Blake the Book Eater · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS ENDING! I LOVE THIS SERIES!!

[Kenan Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

My manga brain rot is severe, meaning if it doesn’t catch me within the first 5 chapters I usually drop it. This series felt like a slice of life bore fest for the first 5 volumes, but for some reason I didn’t drop it. Maybe it was the anticipation to see what koichi’s quirk may evolve into or maybe it was the eagerness to see what younger cameos of MHA staples would pop up. Nonetheless, if you can make it past volume 5, 6-15 is worth the read. But due to the fact that 1/3 of the series was so mediocre, I couldn’t give it above a 3.

Once you get past 6, you get an amalgamation of karate kid and a flash villain trying to best each other. Some of the greatest parts of this series is the way fights are broken down. The drawing of the choreography may not be once in a lifetime great but the way they’re approached and the strategy was an addicting read. If the fights were great, the relationships that koichi builds and how they support him are the greatest part of the story. The arcs of koichi fighting villains and later on helping him at pivotal moments. Or koichi and captain celebrity had me shedding a single tear.

The ending was great, about a B+ which is nothing to scoff about compared to many modern manga that have struggled to give their manga a satisfying ending. The only thing I want more of is information about pop and koichi’s relationship, CC’s agency, and the ultimatum given by Makoto. Overall it was a fun and fast read, but I’m not into that slice of life high school stuff at the first third.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so conflicted! I loved the final fight and I really like most characters in this series, but it felt like all the character developments didn't reach their potentials. I was so hoping for Crawler X Pop-Step to be a thing, or even just a confession, but we didn't get that. To begin with I adored the vigilante take and all, especially with the characters being in the grey area with the law but still being morally good, yet Koichi's ending felt...contradictory to the story. It all ended well which I'm glad for, but I'm disappointed it didn't go how I'd hoped. Nonetheless, this spin-off series has definitely been a great read after finishing MHA!

[Gigi ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun series to follow. I loved seeing characters we know and love from MHA here, a past version of themselves. Koichi was an endearing MC and I have fun following him find his way.

The side characters played an awesome part and of course, AOF is the source of literally all their problems. I do wish we got a little more of a clean ending for some of the characters but regardless, still fun! I look forward to the anime!

[Yaiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

SE TERMINÓ.
Me da pena terminar la historia de Koichi, ya que es un personaje muy natural que te roba el corazón.
Si os gusta My Hero Academia, debéis leer este manga porque sales personajes que encontramos en la historia principal y nos aporta mucha información, pero si es verdad que la batalla final se ha hecho muuuuuy larga.. 😜

[Emmmmmmmma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last of this series, it was so good! Sad to finish it but at least it ended well. Loved the parallels to them as kids on the playground and that Koichi gets to keep his personality while moving onto bigger things

[Lyly ꩜ .ᐟ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las tres estrellas que le doy al tomo final, son porque Koichi se las ganó con su heroísmo innato: esas escenas de su infancia, el paralelismo de la batalla entre él y N6 con las del parque, la forma en la que aún cuando tenía el cuerpo lastimado y NINGÚN HÉROE ayudándolo con todo y eso “AÚN ESTABA AHÍ”, son las que le dieron valor al cierre de la historia. Koichi es un gran protagonista y un gran personaje principal… ¿Pero el cierre de la historia? Parece una ironía, una burla en todo lo que trató de contar a lo largo de todo. Pero no sé si catalogarlo como un final mal ejecutado o uno demasiado realista.

1)La duración de la batalla fue demasiado larga, power up tras power up para el villano. Nada de lo que ideaba Koichi y que parecía que iba a tener resultados (porque así lo insinuaba el dibujo y la narrativa) servía de algo al final. Estiraron demasiado la idea.

2)El final de los personajes principales es algo desagradable, especialmente para Pop y para Koichi. La policía LITERALMENTE arruinó la reputación de Pop, una civil inocente, sin antes haber investigado bien las cosas. Criminalizaron a una niña y esa marca tal vez la persiga por el resto de su vida, ¿y todo lo que Pop recibe al despertar del coma es un “Ya sabemos que fuiste la victima” por parte de Tsukauchi? Vamos, que ni una disculpa al menos. Todo el rato estuve esperando que apareciera la mamá de Pop para demandarlos por daño de imagen hacia una menor de edad.

Eso aparte, me parece muy triste que ya no pueda usar su don como antes del secuestro. Estamos hablando de un personaje que nunca hizo nada malo ni tenía enfrentamientos con un rival directo, pero la dañaron. El sistema la dañó por dentro y por fuera y nadie se quejó. Y la narrativa también la dañó.

3)Ahora Koichi: Entiendo la ilegalidad de ser un vigilante y haberse involucrado en toda esta batalla final. Pero, ¿en serio lo criminalizaron a tal punto que no puede poner pie en su propio país por la cantidad de juicios que tiene encima? Para empezar, Koichi no tenía opción al involucrarse en esa pelea, todos los héroes lo dejaron SOLO. Estuvieron fuera de escena haciendo quién sabe qué, pero cuando aparecen es para llevarse la gloria como si fueran celebridades:

-Aizawa diciéndole a Koichi que “gracias por darle la razón cuando le dijo que se involucraba se iba a romper huesos” me parece ridículo, Koichi no se hubiera roto un hueso si no fuera porque los héroes no estaban ahí cuando más los necesitaba, si no se hubieran dormido en la batalla (metafórica y literalmente).

-Jeanist diciendo “Calma, ya llegaron sus amados héroes” es atribuirse todo el trabajo que hizo Koichi para acarrear al monstruo.

-Endeavor más pendiente de que All Might le robó el crédito de la victoria que del bienestar de los civiles.

En este tomo, los héroes profesionales mostraron mucho menos heroísmo del que mostró Koichi, y lo único que los separa es una “licencia”. Así que se me hace una pena que el destino de Koichi haya sido ser tan criminalizado. Nunca nadie habló del verdadero villano de todo el asunto, me hubiera gustado ver a Tsukauchi maldiciendo al villano tanto como despreció a Koichi en los últimos capítulos. Es una persona muy rígida y por ende el sistema también así se vuelve, creando victimas como Pop y Koichi. El gobierno tuvo que haber analizado este caso individualmente y haber entendido las acciones de Koichi, no puedes condenar a todos los vigilantes bajo el mismo sello de “villano”, es insensato eso.

El sistema heroico está tremendamente mal, y ahora entiendo a Stain y Shigaraki.

Siento que la historia hubiera acabado mejor si el gobierno decidía mantener a The Crawler como un héroe anónimo, que Koichi hubiera dejado tanto el heroísmo como el vigilantismo, y que se hubiera vuelto un mito dentro de Naruhata del que no podría obtener gloria, ya que ese tipo de exposición él jamás la buscó. Y se me hace absurdo que ahora sea un sidekick de CC con todo y la parafernalia que eso conlleva, eso vuelve a Koichi parte del sistema que tanto se critica en la obra y siento que da el mensaje equivocado y un mal cierre para este asunto.

Sumado que, al final, los héroes abandonaron Naruhata y quedó Knuckleduster a cargo de proteger la historia, como un All Might no oficial debido a que el real y sus compañeros no aparecerán. Aunque rescato esa pequeña parte del final, ya que condena una vez más el teatro de los héroes y evidencia que los civiles tienen que buscar cómo defenderse solos.

3.5/5 estrellas.

[Dominik N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delikatnie jestem rozczarowany zakończeniem serii. Ogólnie całość wypada znakomicie i jest luźniejszą, bardziej kameralną i osobistą wersją niż główne My Hero Academia. Żal, że to już koniec przygód Koichiego i spółki.

[Nieintererka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Czytanie tej serii było jak zabawa z tym jednym upośledzonym kuzynem do którego zmuszają Cię rodzice. Generalnie nie ma pojęcia jakie są zasady zabawy, ma wszystko gdzieś, a Ty myślisz jedynie o tym by jak najszybciej uciec do pokoju.

A i to, że Koichi po tym wszystkim stał się ultra potężnym herosem, a kara jaką dostał była kompletnie nieadekwatna do tego jak wiele prawa złamał, pokazuje, że autor kompletnie miał gdzieś logikę i prawa rządzące światem MHA. Koichi generalnie w sumie mógł robić co chciał skoro tak mała kara to była i jeszcze mógł zostać już bohaterem na zawsze XDD.

Patrząc na to logicznie, była to wręcz zachęta dla innych osób, by tak samo łamać prawo, skoro taka mała kara, a w gratisie dostajesz zawód o którym każdy marzył. Wiele osób na tym by skorzystało widząc jak to się skończyło z Koichim. Nikt w świecie Mha na to by nie pozwolił, wiedząc jaki chaos mogłoby to spowodować. Ale to pokazuje jedynie to, jak bardzo autor nie myśli szerzej w tej serii, a było to właśnie to, za co pokochałam Mha. Za każdy najmniejszy szczegół przemyślany, opisany głęboko, i przedstawiony w naprawdę logiczny sposób.

Dramat.

[Vail Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

KOHEI HORIKOSHI!
YOU BETTER
AND I MEAN IT
YOU *BETTER*
PUT OUR BOY SKYCRAWLER INTO THE CANON!
After all that happened to him here, the bittersweetness of leaving everything he knows behind and STILL being considered a criminal because he dared to try & stop Nightwing/Flash/Ultraman/Thanos/Knull/Atomic Skull/Blight, THIS HERO BETTER GET INTEGRATED INTO YOUR PRECIOUS CANON!
Overall a satisfying end, a particular scene hitting hard with both opponents of the final clash being portrayed as little kids wanting to play make-believe with heroes, and while not everyone got the BEST closure, it's nice to know that even bit players and background gag proxies got a lil panel to show where they were now. And always good to know that there's a stubborn old man with a beaten & broken body on the lonely & dark streets who's still willing to give crime a dusting...with his knuckles.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy buen final para una gran serie, que no sólo logró superar a la serie madre sino que supo terminar a tiempo antes de volverse inentendible. Este no es su mejor tomo pero como cierre es más que aceptable, con su justa y contradictoria dosis de "quiero un poco más".

[Sunread26 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chronique complète :
https://sunread26.wordpress.com/2025/...

Extrait :
Dernier tome pour le spin off de My hero academia, une série qui aura quand même durée 15 tomes. Une série qui aura su également se démarquer de l’original en proposant une histoire originale et canon, tout aussi intéressante et plaisante à suivre. Les personnages n’étaient pas toujours connus, mais toujours intéressants et bien développés. Certains personnages de l’intrigue principale ont également été plus mis en avant dans ce spin off.

On peut dire que le tome commence assez mal, Pop et Kunckle Duster semblent au bord du gouffre, prêts à franchir une ligne que je ne veux pas voir dépassée. Koichi n’est au courant de rien bien sûr, il continue son combat. Tout comme son ennemi, il a l’impression de voir ses deux camarades qui lui donnent des conseils et l’épaule. Niais comme il est, il n’a sans doute pas deviné dans quelle situation ils se trouvent eux-mêmes. Je tiens aussi à relever un truc surprenant, à savoir qu’il avait une jambe brisé et plus du temps dans le bon sens… pour se retrouver en position normale quelques pages plus loin. Je veux bien que son alter lui permette d’alléger le poids de son corps, mais de là à remettre sa jambe droite, aïe ! Je tiens d’ailleurs à souligner le travail et le soutient de Midnight envers Pop. Un personnage que je ne pensais pas autant apprécier et que ce spin off a bien fait monter en puissance. Elle qui est du genre taquine, elle a été plus sérieuse dans cette série et on comprend mieux son lien avec Eraser Head. La scène de combat finale entre Koichi et numéro six, ramenés tous les deux alors qu’ils sont enfants, comme s’ils partageaient un terrain de jeu… J’ai trouvé ça très beau et j’avais presque espoir que numéro six change de pensée, mais au final, c’est encore pire. Il voit Koichi comme quelqu’un lui ayant tout pris, tout volé, au fond, il n’était vraiment qu’un enfant, même s’il se faisait passer pour un adulte. C’est triste à dire, mais il aura eu le mauvais maître, avec quelqu’un de généreux, il aurait pu devenir ce qu’il voulait tant être : un héros. Au lieu de ça, il sera devenu un super vilain inconnu, puisque personne ne saura son nom ou tout ce qu’il a fait de mal. Pourtant, il en aura fait des choses, bien plus que Stain en plus (même s’il n’a pas tué grand monde de mémoire).

La fin de numéro six est tragique, c’était prévisible, même son choix final d’ailleurs. Par contre, je ne suis pas allée jusqu’à penser qu’il laisserait une marque à Koichi. All for one l’a littéralement abandonné à son sort, l’ayant utilisé que pour diriger les projecteurs vers lui pendant qu’il faisait autre chose. Même s’il aura réussi à rester discret un moment, je trouve étonnant qu’il y soit parvenu si facilement. O’Clock s’est quand même fait voler son alter, comme d’autres civils, mais visiblement All Might n’a pas fait le lien ?? Je veux bien qu’il ne soit pas une lumière, mais il connait son alter tout de même. Il n’est presque jamais présent et vient juste quand la situation part vraiment en sucette, je comprends mieux le ressenti de Stain en vrai… Et encore, il ne voit qu’All Might en vrai héros lui. Pour Endeavor, il ne sera qu’un gros bourrin extrémiste dans ce spin off, au mieux, un vieux grincheux qui n’hésite pas à attaquer des gosses. Eraser Head aussi est bien développé et ouvert d’esprit, j’adore sa remarque comme quoi ses élèves font n’importe quoi et il commence à en avoir l’habitude. Un petit tacle envers la seconde A en toute quiétude qui m’a bien fait rire. Le grand frère d’un certain délégué aussi aura été bien mis en avant, ça fait plaisir de le voir en action, lui qui aura très vite tout perdu en tant que héros. Pour résumer ce spin off, même s’il me donne l’impression de créer des incohérences dans l’univers, aura au moins eu l’avantage de pouvoir être lu en tant qu’histoire à part entière. Ainsi que de permettre plus de développement sur certains personnages, qui permet de les voir autrement.

[...]

[✧･ﾟ: *✧aj✧*:･ﾟ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

overall series rating: 3.75

i like basically everything that has to do with main line my hero. eraser head’s backstory, nameless number 6 being an all for one experiment, oboro, all of that was really well done. the only thing that kind of erk me in relation to main my hero was the background of trigger. i like that vigilantes goes into the backstory of trigger but the way it’s used is really repetitive. basically all of the “instant villains” that are given any time all have gigantification quirks when it’s said, both in the main series and in vigilantes, that gigantification quirks are super rare. also the story structure is really repetitive when it comes to all the small time “instant villains”. of the vigilantes original content, outside of knuckleduster, i feel like everything original to vigilante just lacked development and depth. koichi is a fun mc but he really feels like an airhead version of early series midoriya throughout the entirety of vigilantes. both him and pop don’t really have any true character development from the first volume to the last. knuckleduster is the only of the main three original characters that i feel like really shines throughout the series. i love how he’s tethered to every part of this narrative, even when he’s disappears from koichi and pop’s storyline. his connection to both of the main villains but specifically nameless number 6 is so well done and sets up no.6 to be a really interesting foil to shigaraki. while i don’t love how no.6 just became an all powerful kind of big blob monster at the end, i do love his backstory as a fail safe to shigaraki (much like dabi was meant to be), and being someone who lacks so much individuality that he, for all intensive purposes, completely made himself into o’clock/ knucklesduster. my hero ip will always have top tier sympathetic antagonists for me. all in all, vigilantes was a fun read, i just wish there was more depth and development given to the original characters and plot points.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s done. The first “long-running” manga series I finish. 15 long volumes of enjoyable character development.

Although this story takes place in the same super-powered society as the main story, I find it impossible not to relate to the daily struggles of many of the characters since they are brought to life in a close and personal manner. They are students, parents, employees, and regular people who just want to make it to the end of a happy day. Huge contrast with the main story where almost everybody is destined to grow beyond their limits and are marked by fate to become the new top heroes of the world. In Vigilantes we get to enjoy the small stuff, especially with Koichi, who knows how to laugh off any dire situation.

It’s true, the antagonist is the weakest point of this manga, and it’s also true that “empathizing” and “understanding” No. 6’s ambitions is quite complicated, but in his defence I dare to say Shigaraki doesn’t have much more depth to his own ambitions. Come on, at the end it’s always AFO’s machinations. At least No. 6’s “efforts” resulted in the first Nomu that fought head to head against All Might.

Other more personal stories add quite some value to the main line with the plenty of cameos and background stories of characters like Miruko, Midnight, Rappa, Aizawa, Present Mic, Shirakumo, and more. Surprisingly the Shirakumo story was better done here than in MHA, which leaves me wishing for better connections and references between the two storylines.

I may be a fool with high hopes, but getting an anime adaptation of this cool story or at least letting Koichi make a cameo appearance on the main storyline is the hill I want to die on because I truly enjoyed this ride.

[Martina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me da mucha pena terminar esta serie porque la verdad es que le cogí cariño a los personajes y a la historia en sí.
Koichi se luce pero yo estaba panicando serio porque solo veía la situación empeorar y a Koichi quedándole un suspiro, que agobio. También cuando de repente aparecen Knuckle y Pop yo dije a la mierda están los dos muertos y nos lo van a confirmar cuando termine la pelea, pero gracias a dios que no fue así.
Amé todos los flashbacks de Koichi, me parecieron super tiernos.
Cuando llegan los refuerzos GRACIAS porque a mí me daba algo y no entendía cómo es que todavía no llegaba nadie a ayudar por favor, yyyyy me encanta la dinámica de Koichi y Aizawa.
El momento en el que los edificios empiezan a derrumbarse y Aizawa se acuerda de la muerte de Shirakumo, stop this porque me largo a llorar.
Luego cuando llega All Might y ya soluciona todo pero N6 sigue vivo y se va a buscar a Koichi para matarlo pero al final se acaba matando él WHAAAT o sea me quedé tiesa idk.
Y después que enseñan a Knuckle y Pop despertar GRACIAS porque yo juraba que estaban muertísimos.
Quería ver mucho más de Koichi y Pop pero bueno esto mejor que nada, y pensé que cuando Koichi viera la sudadera se daría cuenta enseguida de porqué la tenía Pop pero nada y ella tampoco le dice nada pero es que necesito ver que se da cuenta de alguna manera por favooooor.
Y bueno ya hablando del final pues yo muy contenta por Koichi y que cumpla su sueño porque me dio miedo de que de verdad iba a abandonar y hacer vida normal, pero que lo sea en Estados Unidos por el lío que tiene que resolver en Japón no me acaba de convencer. Y al trío del principio chao para siempre, no me esperaba que acabasen los tres juntos porque cada uno por su camino yk, pero no me gusta como se quedó la cosa idk.

[daniella ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

final volume!!!
- i like that while koichi fights he sees apparitions (?) of pop and knuckleduster who are cheering him on along with everyone else
- reading this the day after actual mha manha finished cooked me a little i can't believe its over like what am i genuinely supposed to do now that it's done
- this was overall a great spinoff and i enjoyed a lot of it but i definitely think that the resolution could've been a lot better. i don't know exactly what i was expecting as this is kinda more a prequel spinoff but here's what i didn't like so much-- the shounen protagonist empathising with the main villain and wanting to defeat him without killing him but he dies anyways, the fact that after all of this koichi is just still just a bit silly and i maybe wanted a little more substance to his personal resolution
- i loved the panels of young koichi with young no.6
- i felt like the end of the big finale fight was a little lackluster
- im so glad pop and knuckleduster are alive
- i like in general that this obviously takes on an expands a bit more of the concept in mha but on a more everyday scale-- these are regular people doing regular things and trying to make it through the day in a super-powered society (mha is definitely more of a you take what you have and be a part of something bigger for the greater good which i also love)
- although it definitely meandered a lot this story has so much heart and i seriously enjoyed getting to read it, this is a world that i love and a concept that i find fascinating so im happy with it

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure if this review will even be coherent, because I've got a lot of emotions about this series right now, more than ever before.

This was beautiful. From start to finish, this series has had my heart and brought me a lot of joy and delight. This concluding volume was absolutely wonderful, and I'm not even sure I could fully express why if you've not read your way through the entire series. You need to give it a chance if you haven't yet and you're a fan of the main series. The art is fun, the characters are loveable and the writing is fantastic. Perhaps I've got a soft spot but vigilantes existing and mattering in a world where heroism has become formalized and restricted has really allowed for this to be explored in a beautiful and very human way. Not even that, but the way this series addresses misunderstandings that can harm common people and the struggle with human rights in a mostly-superpowered world is one of the writing's greatest strengths.

I love "Vigilantes". Even if it wasn't attached to MHA, I think I can safely say this has become one of my favorite manga series of all time.

[strayduck · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE END 🫶
God this was so good i love this series sm and this volume was a perfect way to wrap up the story!!! Rollercoaster of emotions and at times i was silently cheering and whooping in my head its like how i was when watching avengers in theatres 😭😭😭 god i will be insufferable when the anime comes out
I LOVE KOICHI SO MUCH LIKE HIS DEVELOPMENT WAS JUST INSANE
AND THE ENDING???? knuckleduster u will always be famous (also shoutout to pop for her growth, wished we saw more of her this volume but anyways)
I love love love how this series showcased just how quirks can be so versatile
AND THIS IS SUCH A GOOD SETUP FOR THE MAIN STORY IN MHA like,,,, number 6,,, nomura,,,, nomus,,,, TOMURA SHIGARAKI,,, like im connecting the dots i feel like a genius
Also did anyone else pick up the spiderman parallels for koichi or
Again i love this series sm i hope 2 one day collect the physical volumes

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not going to lie, I started struggling with this series about 50% of the way through. There were a number of things about it that kind of put me off (like Pop befriending the men who tried to rape her, for instance). It also felt like the plot was dragging and repeating itself, like every volume was basically the same plot point, but they just changed the wording to make it seem "different", and inched the plot forward every couple of chapters by spoon feeding new information in now and again.

Well, I finally forced myself back to read the last two books and, well, it's exactly what I expected: an epic final battle, with a lot of overly power-of-ghostly-friendship-tropes, that ends with all character development thrown out of the window for Koichi and no true endings for anyone else. Not even a confession between Koichi and Pop.

2.5/5 stars. It serves it's purpose in it's grand reveal at the very end involving MHA's main villain. But that's about it.

[Jools · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still remember the thrill of devouring the early volumes of Vigilantes back in 2022. It was a fresh, gritty take on the MHA universe that I absolutely loved. I was so invested, I decided to hoard the final three volumes, planning to devour them all at once. My grand plan, however, hit a two-year snag of forgetfulness. Whoops.
Now, having finally caught up, I'm left with a perplexing question: Did I change, or did Vigilantes drop the ball?
The final battle, which should have been a climactic crescendo, felt… underwhelming. The characters, once so vibrant and relatable, seemed to fall flat. The ending wasn't the epic, resonant conclusion a series deserves; it was just a battle. Not the final battle. It left me scratching my head, wondering how a series I once adored could end with such a muted whimper.
Now I just need a spin-off's spin-off on Knuckleduster 'cos that man has me clapping every time.

[Aodhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a fantastic spinoff and the way Koichi and No. 6 mirror Deku and Shigaraki (but in a far better and more satisfying conclusion, in my opinion) is superior in every capacity. The only things i can fault this series on is the sexualisation of teenagers, the fact that soga and his friends are meant to be good guys even though they literally tried to rape pop step the first time we meet them, and the fact pop spent so long beating herself up over never admitting anything to Koichi and she never did do it anyway. That's actually really disappointing cos there was a good setup there for good character development but it was forgotten about or brushed aside after the final fight. I love how Koichi's story ended but everyone else's was unsatisfying tbh and the copout death fakes of knuckleduster and popstep mirrors the same problem my hero has of not committing to deaths. Great series tho

[Sophia · Rating 3 out of 5]

so the climax is like super good, really emotionally compelling. but the ending itself in my opinion feels a little unsatisfactory. i personally wanted more closure between the main character and his friends and mentors. the time jump between him dying(?)/ aizawa finding him and him already being awake in the hospital is a little jarring. i kinda wanted aizawa to talk to him like properly at the end kinda just a discussion even tho it's not really his thing. the parallels between oboro and the mc is something i wanted this book to explore a little farther. espically since the author spent so much time explaining aizawa and present mics past. overall, the book is pretty good but for me it feels like failed potential. i still enjoyed reading tho and it's definitely worth it!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty decent finale, I think. To be honest I don't remember what exactly was going on in the story leading up to this and I don't have a strong emotional attachment to any of the characters, but...it seemed to wrap things up mostly well. I do wish we'd stop getting these shounen protagonists who refuse to kill the villain for moral reasons but then the author just has the villain get killed anyway. Like, what's the point of that? And also, very unoriginal. Everyone does that. Do something different already.

Anyhoo, judging by the latest leaks of MHA's final arc, the ending to Vigilantes is probably going to be the better of the two and while that bums me out, at least it's...something. It would suck if both series ended shittily.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final volume of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes!!! I didn't know this was the final volume until I picked it up and saw it on the back of the book. While I felt the story was ramping up to a conclusion I didn't know how much tread was left on the tire. This is the ending that we deserve more in TV shows and books. I won't give away spoilers but the book truly was enjoyable and it concludes in a very satisfying way. If you haven't been reading My Hero Academia, then this whole series hasn't been as good as it could be with full context, but I feel it told a great story and concluded in a satisfying way. You cannot ask much more of a series spin-off. Worth your time!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't remember the last time I actually finished a manga series. Maybe Attack On Titan? I'm so used to them running for so long that actually getting to the end of a story is almost a foreign concept to me.

That said, this is satisfying. We get to see where everyone ends up, the big villain battle plays out nicely, and there's a good few chapters at the end to serve as an epilogue rather than just an abrupt ending. Vigilantes has been surprisingly good; I think this is also the first time I've read a spin-off manga too (I mean, there's Boruto and Clear Card, but they're sequels so...semantics). Lots of firsts going on here.

[ChelseaFace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit confused on the ending...
My husband and I have been LOVING this series. But that ending left us scratching our heads. Will we ever get a conclusion to the feelings between Koichi and Pop? I'm so upset at that, like that was the point of even having them like each other in that way? Couldn't they have just been good friends? Also, the ending for him was kinda mid...I hope they either make a sequel series or put them on the main series, because we are desperate for any answers. Please give us something solid and comprehensive Horikoshi!!!!😭♥️

[Agent_bugs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading Vigilantes just for something to read while I waited for new chapters of my favourite series. It starts off slow and sort of meanders a lot, but it has an explosive final showdown and then an ending that fits the tone of the series perfectly and left me with a smile on my face :D

Definitely recommend this as a relatively short manga with a satisfying end, especially (but not exclusively) for fans of MHA who want something a little more lighthearted!

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

How is it that the spinoff manga is able to communicate nearly all of the themes the mainline story does, but more efficiently and effectively? I found myself really invested in these characters, their relationships, and the community they've all built together. I'd recommend this to people, even if they don't enjoy My Hero Academia because this has a very distinct identity that's engaging and fun to read.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite disappointing, especially when Master (the OG O'Clock) disappears in 3 manga volumes. There's no real explanation of where he went.

Master was also my favourite character. So, that's why I wasn't enthused when the story focused more on Koichi and Pop.

Though, I have to say that it got very violent and bloody in the last 2 volumes. It seems like it's a rough and more violent version of the beginning of MHA.