My Hero Academia Vigilantes kicked off this past weekend, introducing anime fans around the world to Koichi Haimawari, AKA the Crawler, for the first time. But the main series' protagonist, Deku, still had a small role to play in Vigilantes' first episode.

My Hero Academia Vigilantes is a prequel series, set several years before the main story of My Hero Academia, meaning that Deku is but a small child during the time in which this story is set. While Deku's mother Inko Midoriya has a little cameo early on, Deku himself doesn't appear in Vigilantes at any point, with the exception of the non-canonical first chapter, which sees Aizawa explaining the concept of vigilantes to class 1-A. Koichi similarly doesn't appear in the main My Hero Academia story, except for a brief cameo after the final battle.

My Hero Academia Vigilantes' Anime Found a Clever Way to Feature Deku

The Anime Incorporated Deku as a Narrator

In the first episode of My Hero Academia Vigilantes, there is a period of narration, explaining how vigilantes work and what makes them different from pro heroes. This narration is very similar to that non-canonical first chapter, and perhaps as a nod to that fact, the information was narrated by the voice actor for Izuku Midoriya. While an English dub of My Hero Academia Vigilantes has yet to be released, one can assume that the dub will pull the same move, having Deku act as the narrator for this exposition and information. After all, who better to convey this info than the series' hero know-it-all?

The narrator having the same voice as Deku helps to tie the two series closer together, so it's a very clever move on the part of Bones, the animation studio. One can almost imagine this as a paper Deku is presenting in class or something, writing about how vigilantes operate and what sets them apart from licensed pro heroes. Learning the difference does seem like an important lesson that might be taught at UA, as the spinoff's non-canonical first chapter did.

Will There Be Any Stronger Connections Between My Hero Academia Vigilantes and Its Parent Series?

Many Characters from My Hero Academia Appear in Vigilantes

While Deku may not appear in Vigilantes, a lot of other characters from the main series do appear in the spinoff. Aizawa himself has the largest role by far, a major character in both Vigilantes and the main series. Many pro heroes appear in Vigilantes as well, including All Might, Endeavor, Best Jeanist, and Iida's older brother, the original Ingenium. Heroes aren't the only ones to appear, however; many villains, including the notorious Stain, also make appearances in Vigilantes.

It remains to be seen if the voice of Deku will be the narrator for all of My Hero Academia Vigilantes, or if it's simply a first-episode teaser to help connect the two series. Either way, Deku's voice does a fantastic job at tying the spinoff series to My Hero Academia more closely, and it was a great move on behalf of the studio.