When does My Hero Academia: Vigilantes take place? Timeline explained

While the main series showcases the polished lives of official heroes, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes pulls back the curtain on the unsanctioned struggles within society’s darker corners. This, while set in the same universe, pursues unsanctioned heroes who fight in the shadows. These vigilantes aren't attending hero schools or achieving top hero rankings — they are just trying to make their city safer, even if that means breaking a few rules. As such, one question remains: When precisely does My Hero Academia: Vigilantes take place?

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is positioned about five years before the start of My Hero Academia. That’s long before Izuku Midoriya accepts One For All or even aims to attend U.A. High. All Might continues to operate at full strength during this era, firmly holding his place as the beacon of justice across the nation. It is a time when villains are becoming more daring, and the hero society is still blundering with the flaws in its system.

The world of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is usual, but the tone is grittier and more strained. This prequel timeline lets the story troll what was happening behind the scenes before the rise of Deku and his classmates.

At this point in time, Koichi Haimawari, who leads the story in Vigilantes, quietly carries out heroic deeds away from the spotlight. He is not the kind of person one would expect to witness in the headlines. He is a college student with a simple quirk — Sliding Glide — that wouldn't even entitle him for hero training at U.A. Yet, via a mix of chance and conviction, Koichi ends up patrolling the streets of Naruhata to help people.

He is not alone in his crusade of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. Alongside him are Pop☆Step, a street performer with a jumping quirk, and Knuckleduster, a former pro-hero turned rugged vigilante. They work together to battle low-level criminals, illegal drug traffickers, and villain-enhancing substances like Trigger.

Key figures from the main story, such as Eraser Head and Present Mic, appear not as the polished educators of Class 1-A but as younger, still-developing heroes grappling with their roles. One can also see the early development of ideas and events that become critical in My Hero Academia, such as the underground villain networks and experimental quirk drugs.

Timeline indicator and hints in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes

Several key elements within the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes series help establish its temporal placement. All Might's condition serves as a crucial timeline marker, showing him at the height of his popularity while secretly dealing with the long-term effects of his injuries. His time limit for using One for All becomes more apparent, foreshadowing his eventual decline.

Eraserhead appears as an active pro hero without his later teaching responsibilities at U.A. His character development and tragic backstory involving his friend Oboro Shirakumo occur during the vigilantes' timeline, providing crucial context for his personality in the main series.

Midnight similarly appears in her younger hero days, not yet having transitioned to her educational role. These character appearances help fans understand the progression of the hero society between the two series, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes and My Hero Academia.

The series uses an After Quirks (AQ) dating system to establish chronology. Set roughly around the year 195 AQ, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes unfolds over a multi-year arc, charting a hidden history that predates the main storyline. This system helps fans understand the broader timeline of the quirk-filled world's history.

The first Quirk user, known as the Luminescent Baby, marks the beginning of this new era. From this point, society gradually adapted to the existence of superpowers, leading to the establishment of professional heroes and the legal framework surrounding quirk usage.

Trending

The vigilantes' actions and the consequences of their unauthorized heroic activities influence the regulatory environment that Deku and his classmates later navigate. This connection makes the prequel essential viewing to understand the complete picture of the My Hero Academia universe.

In summary, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes timeline isn’t just about when it happens — it is about what it reveals. It expands the universe, deepens character lore, and adds nuance to the seemingly flawless structure of licensed heroism. If you're looking to see what came before Deku's time and how the world he inherits was shaped, Vigilantes offers a vital chapter in the saga.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback