Manga Review: My Hero Academia Vigilantes Vol 4

Hey all, Dani here.

Look, two manga reviews today. How about that? Damian finally started working on his rather large stack of manga to review. So you’ll be able to look forward to reviews from him as well every few days over the next few weeks. I have to say that it’s nice to be able to share the blogging experience with someone else. Not that you all aren’t wonderful blogging companions, but it’s a smidge different when it’s someone you are around in your day-to-day life. I’m so glad that I have a partner-in-crime to help out with this and to share in all the geekery that is our lives.

That sort of segues into today’s review, because it is about heroes and villains and mostly vigilantes, and honestly most of these people team up because it’s easier to not work alone. Right? Anyway, let’s jump into the review.

Book Details

Story: Hideyuki Furuhashi

Art: Betten Court

Idea: Kohei Horikoshi

Summary

Not everyone needs a license to fight for justice!

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 sinister Hachisuka continues to haunt the Naruhata district, distributing the Quirk-boosting drug Trigger. Knuckleduster continues to track her and is closing in. Meanwhile, Pop Step receives an unexpected invitation to perform at the Marukane department store’s grand reopening. With Makoto helping out, it’s going to be nothing less than an all-out entertainment extravaganza! But that’s only if she can organize a disorganized group of performers in time for the show!

My Thoughts

Rating: 4 stars

This was a good installment. Not necessarily my favorite, but it continues to be a decently solid series. I like that we keep expanding more on the backstories of the main characters, and I especially love all of the inclusion of heroes and such from the main series; it really helps to tie everything together. Obviously though, this series takes place several years before Midoriya and all of them go to U.A. Also, the more I read about Aizawa, the more I think he’s becoming my favorite character.

Honestly this series is quite a bit more predictable when it comes to plot and character development. I like the story and the concept but it’s just okay overall. It feels like most of the surprises or twists are telegraphed rather obviously a few chapters before they are explicitly revealed, which makes the shock or surprise of it all not really all that exciting.

I don’t know. Am I the only one feeling this way when it comes to this series? I still plan to continue following it. The connections with the main series, and some of the added details we get to learn about the world and the heroes make it worthwhile, but I don’t find myself immediately reaching for the next volume as soon as I get it from the store. I’ve already had a couple times with Vigilantes that I’ve waited a month or two after buying the new release to pick it up…and we’re only on volume 4.

Where to Buy

You can pick up this volume from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore.