The My Hero Academia: Vigilantes anime debuted on April 7, 2025, continuing the story of the franchise as the original anime is set to reach its conclusion this fall. Its first episode, "I'm Here," was a major success, capturing the attention of fans worldwide.

The official X for the Vigilantes anime has posted a teaser of one of the series' most popular Pro Heroes, hinting at his return in the prequel anime. Shota Aizawa, also known as Eraserhead, is a true fan-favorite, and Vigilantes is set to reveal more details of his intriguing past before the original series.

Shota Aizawa is Returning to My Hero Academia Soon

The Vigilantes X Has Teased Aizawa's Return in a Future Episode of the Anime

The post on the Vigilantes X increased fans' excitement about the second episode of the anime, set to release on Monday, April 14th. The images attached to the post featured Koichi Haimawari, the series' protagonist, using his Slide and Glide Quirk to move across a surface on his hands and feet, Knuckleduster staring off into the distance pensively, Koichi and Pop Step with jaws agape and looking stunned, and finally, a shot of Shota Aizawa making eye with the camera. Based on this teaser, Aizawa's first major appearance in Vigilantes will occur next week.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is a prequel anime that goes beyond the world of Deku and U.A. High depicted in the original anime, and instead delves into the darker, secret side of Hero Society. Koichi, Pop Step, Knuckleduster, and many others work as vigilantes rather than as ed Pro Heroes, fighting crime secretly. These heroes' reasons for working alone are all different, and even though they are not official Pro Heroes, they still make a major difference in their world by stopping the villains that the official Pro Heroes are not able to get to.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes Explores Shota Aizawa's Past Before U.A. High

Aizawa’s Days as a U.A. High Student Will Be Shown in the Vigilantes Prequel

Shota Aizawa is the U.A. High homeroom teacher for Class 1-A, and earned a reputation for his stern, matter-of-fact style of teaching and constant tendency to fall asleep while working. He quickly became an ired hero among fans of My Hero Academia, who were disappointed that his on-screen scenes were few and far between. Thankfully, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has arisen to rectify Eraserhead's lack of screentime by unpacking his past and revealing how he became the accomplished Pro Hero he is in the original My Hero Academia anime series.

Many aspects of Aizawa's character arc before My Hero Academia were explored in the Vigilantes manga, including his time at U.A. High himself as a student. He is more complex than some viewers may realize, and after watching My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, many people will likely develop a new appreciation for Eraserhead on an even deeper level than before. Aizawa's is not the only backstory that will be explored by Vigilantes; All Might and Midnight are among the other familiar My Hero Academia Pro Heroes who will appear in future episodes of the prequel anime too, connecting both series together.

Source: @vigilante_mha on X