Summary

  • Koichi unlocked a new power during a chaotic day, showcasing his potential as a hero.
  • The episode focused on character development and relationships before diving into action.
  • Koichi helped a pro hero save the day during an intense bus incident, setting the stage for potential future collaborations.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes' latest episode initially stepped away from action and helped its fans rediscover their beloved cast of main characters. But peace can't hold forever in a world of heroes and villains, and adversity struck. Koichi stepped up and, in the process, unlocked a greater potential for his quirk.

Koichi's mother's visit gave the 9th episode of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes a peaceful start, but Hachisuka's plans soon brought chaos. Working swiftly with a pro hero, Koichi tried to put an end to the ongoing turmoil. How did the turn of events affect Koichi's pursuit of becoming someone heroic?

picture: koichi and kazuho in the preview of mha vigilantes episode 9.
My Hero Academia Vigilantes: Will Koichi And Pop Step End Up Together?

Pop Step/Kazuho and Koichi's relationship sometimes seems to be setting up for romance, but will they get together in MHAc Vigilantes?

Lies, New Faces, and a Blooming Romance

A New Look at Familiar Faces

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The episode started with Koichi's ongoing dilemma of introducing his non-existent girlfriend to his mother. He calls Makoto over to be his pretend girlfriend, but his mother immediately catches the lie because she refuses to believe someone so beautiful would date him. Shortly after, Pop arrives and introduces herself by her real name, Kazuho Haneyama. As Koichi struggles to explain his connection to Kazuho, Knuckleduster knocks on the door, leaving them worried.

But to their surprise, he arrives looking like a decent man and introduces himself as Takeshi Kuroiwa. He even explains the situation by claiming that he works for an NPO along with Koichi and Kazuho and uses his place for meetings and self-defense training.

Kazuho Steps Up for Koichi

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Makoto starts wondering about Kuroiwa's past and suggests whether he was in the military or the police, or even a hero? Koichi's mother immediately shuts down the hero-talk and starts talking poorly about Koichi's failed aspirations of becoming a hero.

My Koichi was eager to become a hero when he was little.

But maybe he went about it the wrong way...

...I've never been sure whether to describe him as "unreliable" or "unsafe."

- Shoko Haimawari, MHA: Vigilantes, Episode 9

Impulsively, Kazuho yells in disagreement but runs away flustered after being further questioned. Koichi follows her and saves her from a fall. He even tries to compliment her, but fails miserably.

A Relaxing City Tour Gets Interrupted

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Koichi and Makoto accompany Koichi's mother on a city tour. Koichi's mother seems extremely pleased with Makoto's behavior and changes her previous offer of asking her to marry Koichi. She instead wants to trade her with Koichi as her new daughter.

As the three continue to joke around, a cat appears on the roof of the bus and is stung by one of Hachisuka's Trigger bees. This turns the cat into a monster who physically takes control of the bus and starts to cause havoc.

Koichi Helps a Pro Hero to Save The Day

Ingenium Arrives

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After getting hold of the bus, the bus turns into a cat bus. It starts racing at a dangerous speed, almost hitting a group of kindergartners. Knuckleduster notices the bus and calls Pop for assistance. Meanwhile, Ingenium appears and breaks into the storming vehicle to analyze the situation.

He immediately notices Koichi but ignores his presence and gets back to the rescue. Knuckleduster and Pop lure the cat bus onto the empty highway, which gives Ingenium 5 minutes to rescue everyone before the bus reaches a dead end.

The Crawler Rises

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Pit-02 from Team IDATEN arrives, and with the help of a Pro Hero named Enigma, transfers the passengers from the cat bus to Pit-02. But when Hachisuka realizes the situation, she provokes the cat by injecting more Trigger into it. The bus races ahead with Makoto left as the sole passenger.

Ingenium races the bus but slows down as he runs out of fuel. Koichi rises to the occasion as the Crawler but gets scolded and slapped by his mother, who immediately recognizes him. But Koichi disobeys her because saving Makoto is a greater priority.

Teaming Up with a Hero

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Koichi catches up to Ingenium and hands him the fuel, which helps Ingenium get back into action. Koichi further assists Ingenium by acting as a decoy to distract the cat bus, but instead, the cat bus gets excited seeing Koichi's flapping hoodie and races away.

With the dead end only two hundred meters away, Koichi speeds up and enters the bus to rescue Makoto. In the process, his mask gets off, and his identity is exposed. But before they can leave the bus, it reaches the dead end and starts to fall. Ingenium uses his Rocket Charge to grab the two midair, but Koichi fails to hold onto him and starts to fall.

Unleashing a New Power

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On the brink of danger, Koichi unleashes his floating ability to fly high and hands Makoto safely to Ingenium. Koichi's mother recalls that when Koichi was a kid, he used to fly using his quirk, which she used to stop by slapping him. But she realizes that he has flown so far away that she can no longer stop him.

When he was a baby, he'd float through the air before he learned to stand up.

I had no idea where he might fly off to, and I was so worried.

I started using slaps to make him stop.

But it looks like he's gotten to where that's not enough to stop him anymore.

- Shoko Haimawari, MHA: Vigilantes, Episode 9

By this statement, she acknowledges Koichi's desire to do heroic deeds. After the chaotic day ends, Koichi's mother decides to go back home, leaving him in the hands of his friends. The next day, he tries to replicate his floating ability but fails to do it at all. He starts to wonder if it was a one-time miracle caused by the power of his limited-edition All Might hoodie.

Best Villains In My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Ranked
Best Villains In My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Ranked

While their abilities are great, for these villains, it's their human flaws and motivations that leave a lasting impression in MHA: Vigilantes.

With Koichi gaining new powers, it has left room for him to become stronger. He also effectively helped a pro hero. As the show goes on, will we see Koichi collaborate with more heroes? Will he eventually reach a point where he can become one?

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is available to watch on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

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Release Date
April 7, 2025
Network
Tokyo MX, BS Nippon TV
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  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Shuichiro Umeda
    Koichi Haimawari / The Crawler (voice)
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Ikumi Hasegawa
    Kazuho Haneyama / Pop☆Step (voice)
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Creator(s)
Hideyuki Furuhashi