Heroes and Vigilantes, assemble! While this year’s Jump Festa, as always, held a treasure-trove full of announcements, perhaps none were bigger than the dual-reveal from Studio Bones that not only have they been given the activation orders for the My Hero Academia anime’s eighth and final season, but also the green-light to begin work on the long–awaited anime adaptation of Hideyuki Furuhashi and Betten Court’s beloved spin-off manga My Hero Academia: Vigilantes.
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As presented on the event’s Red Stage on December 22nd by series voice actors Daiki Yamashita (CV: Izuku Midoriya), Nobuhiko Okamoto (CV:Katsuki Bakugo), Yuki Kaji (CV: Yuki Kaji) and Kenta Miyake (CV: All Might) , the two heroic missions were launched courtesy of a key art reveal for MHA proper and a trailer premiere for Vigilantes.
In terms of Kohei Horikoshi’s original story, the final season of My Hero Academia will adapt Volumes 40-42 of his popular manga and is set to depict the epic final clashes between both Deku and Shigaraki (as teased in its key visual) as well as All Might and All For One.
But prior to gearing up for MHA‘s final season release in Fall 2025, Shueisha and Studio Bones’ film division will introduce fans to the streets of Naruhata with an anime adapataion of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes,
Set prior to the events of the main series, Vigilantes delves into the shadows of the world’s superhuman society and centers on the concept of ‘vigilantes’, the colloquial name given to those unlicensed heroes who illegally use their quirks for the greater good.
Leading viewers on this journey will be none other than Kouichi Haimwari, a young boy who aspires to be a hero but due to arriving late to his UA High entrance exam has had to settle for watching their exploits from afar and only using his sliding quirk for such mundane tasks as picking up trash, finding lost items, and helping old ladies cross the street.
However, after being rescued from a back alley brawl by the quirkless vigilante Knuckle Duster, Koichi finds his dormant heroic spark reawakened.
Proceeding to take up the superhero name of The Crawler, Koichi teams up with Knuckle Duster and the Pop-Idol vigilante known as Pop Step to investigate the production and sale of a new quirk-boosting drug named Trigger that seems to be turning civilians into outright villains.
Set to be produced by Bones Film and helmed by JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s overall series director Kenichi Suzuki, the series will also feature a script from My Hero Academia anime writer Yousuke Kuroda and character design work by Cells at Work chief animation director and character designer Takahiko Yoshida.
Following the trailer, the panel revealed comments from My Hero Academia: Vigilantes mangakas Furuhashi and Court (as machine translated by DeepL), commemorating the announcement.
“While the main story of My Hero Academia is a story of intense light and shadow, Vigilante is a serialized story that depicts the gray area within that worldview,” Furuhashi acknowledged. “This time around, it feels like the vague shadows have suddenly come to the forefront, and I am anxious to see how things unfold. Horikoshi-sensei, all My Hero Academia fans, all the readers of Vigilante, and everyone involved, please continue to support us!”
Alongside an original illustration depicting the Naruhata vigilante trio, Court commented “What a surprise! This is a great surprise! This anime adaptation was made possible thanks to the original author, Horikoshi-sensei, as well as everyone involved, everyone who has read Vigilante, and everyone who has supported My Hero Academia up until now! Thank you so much! Thank you so much!”
Barring any unforeseen delays or villainous schemes, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is slated to premiere in April 2025 with My Hero Academia: Final Season set to follow it in Fall 2025.