My Hero Academia's New Anime Needs to Give 1 Hero Way More Focus If It Wants to Succeed
One of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes' new main characters not only deserves more airtime, but the series should make him the actual protagonist. Knuckleduster has already received quite a bit of attention ever since his debut in episode #1 because of his obvious ties to Batman, and although this correct categorization of Knuckleduster has helped him gain popularity among fans, the true reason why Vigilantes should put more emphasis on him derives from the less appealing characterization of the series' obvious protagonist, Koichi.
Together, Koichi and Knuckleduster complement each other very well. Koichi is very timid and realistic about his own limitations and, as a result, doesn't take initiative without having to receive some forcible coaxing on the part of Knuckleduster. By comparison, Knuckleduster is the complete opposite. He's much too aggressive and, arguably, isn't grounded enough in reality, which has resulted in him taking on the serum Trigger epidemic all on his own up to this point. Although great together, it's a problem that Koichi's status as protagonist dominates Knuckleduster's screen time.
Vigilantes Should Make Knuckleduster The Protagonist, Not Koichi
Koichi Is Too Similar to My Hero Academia's Deku
Vigilantes needs to put less focus on Koichi because he's essentially too similar to My Hero Academia's Izuku Midoriya aka Deku. While Koichi is older, they are both fairly young, which Vigilantes revealed is the case with Koichi, since the legal drinking age in Japan is 20 and Knuckleduster confiscates Koichi's beer because he's underage. By that comparison alone, Knuckleduster is very different from both Deku and Koichi. Vigilantes would have greatly benefited from Knuckleduster being the protagonist since it would feel less like a diluted version of My Hero Academia, which is what Vigilantes suffers from.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Starts With a Controversial Scene, But It's Actually a Callback to the Original Anime
My Hero Academia Vigilantes got off to a far darker start than the main anime did, but its opening episode has some distinct similarities.
The significant age gap between Knuckleduster and the younger heroes of Vigilantes and My Hero Academia also diminishes the negative effect that comes from the one similarity that Knuckleduster shares with Deku, a similarity that Koichi also shares, but for the worse. Even though Koichi and Knuckleduster were born with a quirk unlike Deku, all three of them are stigmatized because of their powers or lack thereof at the start of their respective stories. It's more forgivable that Knuckleduster is like Deku in that regard because of this notable age difference. The same can't be said of Koichi.
Koichi Diluates Knuckleduster's Batman Appeal
Pop Step Will Only Make This Worse
The focus on Koichi at the expense of Knuckleduster's face time is also problematic for Vigilantes because, so far, their shtick involves Koichi reigning in Knuckleduster when he goes too far. In fact, that's Koichi's explanation to Vigilantes' other main character, Pop Step, when she asks Koichi why he's spending so much time with Knuckleduster. If Vigilantes put more of an emphasis on Knuckleduster, it would have naturally minimized this dynamic, naturally yielding more time to explore Knuckleduster's deviant and questionable behavior.
It's safe to say that more people like Batman than Deku, so why make another series about Deku, especially when it's at the expense of Batman? Moreover, it's clear that Pop Step will become the third member of Knuckleduster's team, which will only serve to dilute Knuckleduster's character even more to accommodate face time with her. It's also likely that she will try to reign Knuckleduster in, similar to Koichi, an endeavor that will be much easier to achieve with two.
Although Knuckleduster helps My Hero Academia: Vigilantes stand out, his presence also unintentionally reveals how great it could have been. This underscores its status as a less appealing version of My Hero Academia.
