‘My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ Anime Adaptation Censors Pop☆Step’s Idol-Inspired Costume
While Studio Bones’ take on the My Hero Academia spin-off My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is among the most anticipated of the stacked spring anime season, fans of the original manga will no doubt be disappointed to learn that the adaptation has censored the costumed appearance of the series’ female lead, the idol vigilante Pop☆Step.
Based on the manga of the same name by writer Hideyuki Furuhashi and artist Betten Court, Vigilantes is set prior to the events of Kohei Horikoshi’s main My Hero Academia series and follows a trio of unlicensed heroes in Naruhata as they team-up to investigate the underground trade surrounding the quirk-enhancing drug known as Trigger.
Making up this de facto team are series lead Koichi “The Crawler” Haimawari (CV: Shuuichirou Umeda – Hikaru Indou in The Summer Hikaru Died), former-hero-turned-quirkless-vigilante Iwao “Knuckleduster” Oguro (CV: Yasuhiro Mamiya – Gigantomachia in My Hero Academia), and the team’s sole female member, the idol-themed Kazuho “Pop☆Step” Haneyama (CV: Ikumi Hasegawa – Ikuyo Kita in Bocchi the Rock).
Given her motif, it should come as no surprise that Pop☆Step’s costume plays heavily into the propensity for female idols to perform in particularly risqué costumes, with the heroine leaping into battle wearing lifted knee-high boots, heavy make-up, and a black unitard with a “scandalous” rear view.
Unfortunately, while such an outfit is nothing out of the ordinary for both Eastern and Western media (after all, she’s essentially dressed as ‘Psylocke if she were a Sailor Guardian’), it appears that, whether according to their own sensibilities or in deference to puritanical Western audiences, Studio Bones has unfortunately deemed Pop☆Step’s original costume to be ‘too spicy’ for Vigilantes‘ viewers.
RELATED: ‘2.5 Dimensional Seduction’ Anime Censors Risqué Appearance Of Protagonist Lilysa Amano
Concerns regarding the heroine’s potential for censorship first arose on January 22nd when, in reviewing that day’s release of Vigilantes‘ key character visuals, fans noticed that Pop☆Step’s costume had been drastically toned-down compared to its depiction in the original manga, with her ‘cleavage heart’ being moved up and shrunk, her unitard’s bottom half being extended in order to conceal her butt, her legs covered by a pair of grey tights, and her boots replaced with ones that cover up considerably more of her thighs.
In other words, Studio Bones had chosen to intentionally and drastically contradict the in-universe fact that Kazuho created this suit specifically to be as flashy and attention-grabbing as possible as a way to defy her own shy personality.
Given the discrepancy between this censorship and the fact that, in theory, the series had more creative freedom due to airing in a later time slot in Japan, many fans took to hoping that Pop☆Step’s new suit was only meant to appear on the series’ widely-distributed preview visuals.
Sadly, their optimism would ultimately be crushed when, on April 7th, Vigilantes premiered with a covered-up Pop☆Step front and center.
At current, neither Studio Bones nor anyone involved with the anime’s production have offered a public explanation regarding the decision to alter Pop☆Step’s costume.
Further, neither Furuhashi nor Betten Court have offered any public comment on the matter.
For those interested in seeing the world of My Hero Academia from a more street-level angle, same day simulcasts and simuldubs for Vigilantes are currently releasing every Monday via Crunchyroll.
NEXT: Deku Pushes One For All Past Its Limits In New Release Date Trailer ‘My Hero Academia’s Final Season
More About:Anime