My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 1x06 "Crossing Lines" - reaction & review
Added 2025-05-17 18:11:21 +0000 UTCHey everyone! Here it is - my reaction to episode 6 of Vigilantes! WOW you guys! Ok first off, what the heck happened there at the end?! Did he actually do what I think he did?! Cause I've been saying this whole time he gives Stain vibes but....like I'd be legit surprised if they let a spinoff series do a backstory for Stain, honestly! Anyway Knuckleduster was great in this one, the whole thing with the lines was amazing and also kinda hilarious! What's the deal with Spiky guy? Is he gonna really end up being not that bad? Who knows!! Great ep! Enjoy! ~ MH
Comments
I love this episode. I like how this show goes into the topic of yakuza gangs being labeled as villain groups because it was a big plot point in S4 with Overhaul. I love that all of the members of this gang we see are inspired by Avengers characters but knockoff versions LOL. I like how both moving & still shots were used to make Stendhal taking this gang out look great especially how the slashes are shown. I love how for those who were suspicious of Stendhal & those who were not the narration from present Mic say the gang members froze for some reason to make the reveal stay a surprise/be still interesting that this is Stain but I will say the red flash as they got paralyzed is the same effect as the 1 used during the Stain part of S2 of the main show. I can’t know for sure since I read the manga but if I was watching for the 1st time I might have guessed this was Stain based on the paralysis & his voice because it’s the same VA. I love the conversation he & Kuin have after she helped get him blood because it tells you a lot about his mindset. It’s interesting to see what Stain was like in the past when he still was all about the idea of judgment but only focused on the villains instead of villains & false heroes as we saw in the main show because it shows he was still trying to be a hero and had not become fully disillusioned with the hero system which changes things because he still wants to serve the heroic ideal instead of being a necessary evil like his appearances in the main show. I love that the conversation involves his obsession/idolization of All Might because his idea of AM as a superhuman, perfect hero who can get out of anything inspired him to create the character of Stendhal an invincible personification of his idea of Justice that deeply involves blood & death which is why he made his outfit red & black and it’s a twisted version of how Izuku & Bakugo saw the number 1 hero. I like how he talks about why he’s working with Kuin which is that he’s fine using villains against other villains for the time being because he knows he will take her down one day. Also I forgot but someone pointed out that Stendhal having a very pronounced pointed chin is another hint that he is Stain. I think it’s interesting for Kuin’s character that she isn’t bothered by his wild ramblings just mostly annoyed that isn’t he isn’t being taken in by her attempts to manipulate him & maybe weirded out by his intensity since strangely enough she’s laid-back/chill while doing messed up stuff. I like that we got to see the more human side of Soga & his friends similarly during daytime when we saw their dark sides at night. It’s hard to forget what they did to Koichi & Pop but seeing how Soga & his friends talk & interact showing a genuine friendship makes them likable. I enjoyed how the guy with the lizard quirk Rapt talked about how he doesn’t want anything to do with drugs now because it almost got him killed. Although I agree flying sounds amazing it’s a superpower most people would want to have. Also when he said his friend’s enhanced fire quirk was like Endeavor I was like no one wants to be compared to Endeavor in this timeframe even if they don’t know it LOL. I really admire that once Soga realizes his friends are not interested in more action he decides to protect them by not telling them about Kuin wanting to meet up & goes by himself which wasn’t the Smartest idea but makes sense for his character. I like how Soga can see through Kuin’s cutesy act pretending like she cares I think even she knows she was exaggerating the act with her smile after. It’s creepy how she talks to herself about the best traits in people that would work well for her human drug tests. And we get to see the actual admirable side of Soga right before he gets forcibly drugged with his resolve/determination to not use the drug to fight & not wanting to allow some actual monsters to do what ever they want. It’s terrifying that Stendhal just shows up & it seems like what’s going on is that he’s fine going after people Kuin uses the drug on because it’s easier to justify killing them because & I’m just guessing to him if they are willing to use the drug & unleash a monstrous side they are already on the path to villainy which Is a flawed idea but it’s not new for Stain because while he is a great/interesting character that shines a light on the problems in Hero society in the main snow he isn’t known for logical arguments. And for Kuin she gets to test how people on Trigger with her enhancements to it fare in a fight against a strong & deadly opponent/enemy giving her good data for her boss. The idea/theme of wanting to use your own strength & not a drug to fight in a story is something that makes it easy for me to respect a character like Soga here and yeah Kuin was probably shocked mostly because that was a lot of expensive merchandise he just destroyed. I think it’s great from a writing standpoint that we get to see why Soga is such a thug currently basically the same old story we have seen multiple times in MHA characters being treated like a villain simply because of how they look/act and the quirk they have. And with this simple but impactful back story it tells us that he was a guy who did stand up against wrongdoing because of how it shows him getting angry at people who discriminated against others influenced by how he was treated differently because he was rougher growing up. It’s just unfortunate that the more he experienced this kind of treatment the angrier, more violent/bitter he became with his personality twisting to the point of seeing everyone the same as those that treated him badly which explains how he became a bully/thug in the present and also confused Pop & Koichi for those who hurt him in the past. It doesn’t make what he did something easily forgivable that was still terrible but it helps us understand him & makes it so you can see how he could become a better person. His Trigger form being monstrous reflects his character as it was but also how the drug is vile. I love Koichi’s role in this altercation doing the rescue side of hero work. It’s interesting how Koichi reacts at 1st having what he thought was a reasonable conversation about how Soga maybe a bad guy but doesn’t deserve to die which quickly turns to shock because he thought Stendhal was a vigilante like him but learns that can’t be so there from the truth. I love how fast Koichi jumps into action as soon as he realizes what’s going on using what he just learned about braking from Tensei to push Stendhal back & I like to think a big trigger was seeing Soga scared & in pain while trying to back away from this killer. I love how we get to see Koichi’s strength doing his best to carry a heavy and spiky guy to safety even if Sogi is doing his best to walk it’s still impressive especially when we get to see his resolve when even after he’s injured he still pushes himself even to the point of hurting his leg in his attempt to save Soga. And then we get to the most terrifying aspect of being hunted by Stain which is how once you are paralyzed by his quirk you are most likely alone with no Hope of help. His dialogue is very dark about how a person like Soga should die in a Place like this & how no one will hear them although I have to say judgment has come for you or what ever he said exactly is an awesome line. I love how Knuckleduster enters the scene only seeing his silhouette jumping down from a building & the animation of Stendhal barely dodging Knuckle’s dropkick is amazing. I think the way Knuckle is drawn in the shot of him after landing with his fists up is so badass I especially love how he is shown with both shadows & light it looks great reflecting off his weapons I love how his duster moves in the Shot as well as him using the I am here line again. I find it interesting that Stendhal genuinely seemed to want Knuckleduster to understand & work with him while also being ready to take Knuckle down showing a large amount of pragmatism & it makes sense since we saw a similar thing with how Stain was like around the league of villains in S2. I like how Knuckleduster describes himself as a badass hero of justice in comparison to Stendhal a killer & it is true after all although a rough one LOL. It’s very confident behavior to give your enemy the extent of your range/reach like Knuckle does here with the wire or “line” as he puts it while taunting your enemy about his own weapon. Knuckle being called an iron wall is an awesome thing to be known as I love how he is strong enough to give someone like Stendhal who isn’t on the same level as we saw him in the main show but is still strong pause. I think Knuckleduster basically saying leave or catch these hands is so damn cool. I can respect Stendhal going on the offensive when at a disadvantage believing in his own strengths because of how it connects to his idea of the best heroes being able to overcome any obstacles I like that he is thinking about All Might in this moment. It’s wild behavior for Knuckle to step over his own line to beat down Stendhal in a surprise attack with his only reasoning being well of course he has to follow those rules but obviously I don’t have to which is really funny. I think the punch being really brutal to the point where you can almost feel it with the sound design & animation makes the moment more impactful. I really like what Knuckle talks about when it comes to how some people when they put on a mask feel they are invincible & end up forgetting that they are normal people at the end of the day making them more fragile and indicating a lack of resolve which is interesting considering when we saw Stain having a similar but different conversation with All Might when he had lost his resolve thinking himself useless and Stain helped AM get his Drive back with what I interpreted as him saying AM’s inherent humanity is what allowed him to do all those great things & become like a God but that not having that kind of power doesn’t mean he can’t fight which probably partially inspired the idea for the Iron Might suit. It’s honestly crazy that Knuckleduster had a big part in Stain’s origin really changing up his philosophy ironically creating a better character but bigger monster than Stendhal. The animation of Stendhal going wild after this revelation is fantastic I love how it’s the audience getting a taste of what Stain’s agility/speed is going to be like in the future with his wild movements between buildings & the unpredictable way he was attacking Knuckle. I love the focus & detail the animators gave to Stendhal’s facial expressions in this moment especially his eyes. Also it’s very impressive to see Knuckle blocking knives with his brass knuckles especially against someone moving very fast. I love the focus on his blood hitting the ground as he leaves right after delivering a speech about going after sham heroes because it’s Stain. I think it’s really sweet that Pop is completely focused on & worried about Knuckle when she 1st shows up because she heard he got hurt. The injury might not be bad & he might not look very heroic not dealing with the pain well but it doesn’t take away from how admirable & heroic Koichi being willing to get hurt to save Soga. Kazuho having a shocked but negative reaction to seeing Soga again is valid I don’t when her but because of who she is of course Pop would treat him although I appreciate how she makes it clear she doesn’t like him which is fair her facial expression & growl is hilarious. I like how confused Soga is with his observation that even though he just went through a life or death situation now he is all cheerful because it’s an aspect of Koichi that is interesting & I like it. Also I just want to point out that besides his friends Soga probably hasn’t had a lot of kindness in his life so if Koichi might be part of his life now it would probably be a good influence on Soga. I love how Soga is actually observant & is able to notice Pop’s crush because of her VA’s frankly adorable delivery of the he’s an idiot line it’s also kind of funny. I love the entire scene of Stain fully cementing his ideology we saw in MHA S2 it’s just so well done & the gross/disturbing parts of it really fits his character. It’s cool to learn that while he was training in this time period the intensive training we heard about in S2 only started because he got his ass kicked by Knuckleduster which included making his body stronger, faster & have more stamina while also mastering & getting as many weapons as possible. I love that what he focused on the most in terms of needing improvement the most is resolve since that is a big & striking part of his content in S2 showing off his tenacity & extremely menacing resolve. It was shocking to see Stain throw a knife right into Kuin’s eye when I 1st read the manga and I honestly can’t remember if I thought about her being alive because that was her “bad eye” so good on you for thinking about that before the reveal. And yeah her taking the knife definitely gives the Ick & it’s unsettling that she just talks about how she finds Stain being crazy hilarious as she does it. It’s crazy that this is how we get the wild origin of why Stain didn’t have a nose in the main show. It’s obviously insane to cut off your nose as a physical sign of your resolve but it’s a metal thing for a villain to do & it makes sense from his perspective having the idea to become a faceless ideology through disfigurement not Chizome Akaguro not Stendhal but Stain also the sound effect & the onomatapeia really adds to the brutality of this moment. I appreciate how bloody this all is compared to MHA & the reason there is a difference in amount of censorship I think is because MHA airs on TV in Japan earlier & Vigilantes airs later. I love how the name Stain comes from how Stain thinks of the blood he sheds in his Crusade Is very important & a path to follow indelible bloodstains as he put it. It’s awesome that this back story is completely approved by Horikoshi it’s great to know how much the MHA author supported Vigilantes. Don’t feel bad about not realizing this was Stain since you basically talked your self out of it being possible. I love how much you love Knuckleduster as a character. Also I like your thoughts after the episode about Soga & how it relates to some of the problems in hero society. Awesome reaction & thoughts. Keep up the great work. :-) <3
Supermonaman
2025-06-18 03:06:07 +0000 UTCYup, say hello to Stain, wow! He def leveled up. HAHAHAHA omg the thought of Knuckle Duster and Joseph in the same room just sends me into.....well....overdrive :P And yeah, their methods aren't that dissimilar in some ways haha!
Melissa Moore
2025-05-22 16:28:02 +0000 UTCWell that was short lived... Good-bye DeathPoolMan... And good-bye Stendhal! Say 'Happy Birthday' to that jerk known as Stain! It's always real scary when villains hit that 'protagonist' kind of level up. T oT He found a mask that nobody could take from him. Knuckle Duster apparently took lessons from Joseph Joestar in the art of War. If your tactics can't be compared to some Looney Tune gag, it's just not worth doing.
Senpai
2025-05-21 03:27:35 +0000 UTC
