Warning: Contains spoilers for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode #1.
This article contains a discussion of rape and other sexual themes.
As great a story asMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesis, it isn’t without its controversial moments. Whether it’s how characters old and new are handled or the way its story progresses at certain points, there are plenty of things about it that have elicited negative reactions from fans and critics, and if the new anime isn’t careful, it will only make those points worse with the extra attention.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantesneeds to be careful about how it handles some of its more controversial moments in the anime, and it’s already taken that into account with its premiere. The very first chapter has an incredibly dark moment that’s still largely regarded as the worst scene in the story, but fortunately,theMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesanimehas worked around the manga’s most controversial moment in a surprisingly clever way. All of that will have great payoff depending on the anime’s length, but even if it isn’t a complete adaptation, the decision was still ultimately for the best.
How My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Fixed Its Most Controversial Scene
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Makes A Big Change To The Manga
Of all the controversial moments inMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes, none are worse than a scene in the very first chapter. In chapter #1, not only does Soga threaten Koichi with violence, butSoga and his gang planned on raping Pop Step and posting naked pictures of her to the internet. Even withVigilantesbeing darker than the main series, most people regard the scene as going too far, and it’s been universally hated ever since.
From the momentVigilantes’ anime was announced, fans were wondering how it would fix such a controversial scene, and the solution was very simple. WhileSoga and his gang assaulting Pop Stepwasn’t removed, the anime notably changed the scene so that no one ever says anything about raping her, with the comments about stripping her naked being the furthest they talk about taking things. It’s still a dark scene, butMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesnot having Soga plan on raping Pop Step in the anime keeps it from being too needlessly dark, and overall, that’s a major improvement.
Why My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Needed To Change Its Most Controversial Scene
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Couldn’t Leave Its Story As-Is
In addition to not being needlessly dark, the change to the sexual assault scene also helps with how later arcs will play out. Despite being introduced as antagonists, Soga’s gang gradually becomes good people who help out Koichi and his friends, with Soga, specifically, getting a lot of character development and arguably becoming a main character, as well. That was always hard to accept because of how terrible they were in their debut, and as such,My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ anime making Soga’s gang less horrendous in their debut will make their later character development far more understandable.
Of course, even if Soga and his gang weren’t flat-out threatening to rape Pop Step in the anime, their actions are still nonetheless horrendous, and because of that,Soga and his gang having a change of heart and becoming Koichi’s allies will still be contentious inMy Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ anime because of how terrible they were in their debut. That would have been virtually impossible to accept if the anime hadn’t changed things, of course, soMy Hero Academia: Vigilantesis clearly taking steps to improve its story, and hopefully, this won’t be the last instance of such.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
Cast
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, released in 2025, follows Koichi Haimawari, an aspiring hero using his modest Quirk for good deeds. Teaming up with two unlikely allies after a chance encounter with local thugs, they navigate the challenges of combating evil without formal superhero training.
