My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5 - Koichi and Pop's past is revealed as Stendhal makes his debut

With the release of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5, the anime revealed Koichi Haimawari's shared past with Pop☆Step. Elsewhere, the Instant Villain with the Hardening Quirk from the previous episode got out of prison. However, with Knuckleduster away, Stendhal put a stop to him.

The previous episode saw Knuckleduster defeat an Instant Villain with Hardening Quirk all by himself. The anime later saw Koichi having a chance encounter with Ingenium. Although Ingenium wished to recruit Koichi, he withdrew his offer upon learning that Koichi was already part of a team.

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My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5 - Koichi's past is revealed

Koichi Haimawari as seen in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5 (Image via Bones Film)

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5, titled Judgment, first revealed why Koichi Haimawari was going through a lonesome college life. While he had made a few friends on the first day, given his home's eerie location, they believed he was shady, causing people to avoid him altogether. Nevertheless, he was now happy that he had Knuckleduster and Pop to keep him company.

Later in the anime episode, Pop met Koichi alone at his place. During this, Koichi explained how he had all All Might merch except for the one hoodie he gave to someone. In the past, Koichi had enrolled and was heading for a hero course entrance test during which he saw a "boy" drowning in the water. After rescuing the boy, he covered him with his hoodie and left for his exam. Unfortunately, Koichi missed his exam, following which, "he lost his hero spirit."

Pop☆Step as seen in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5 (Image via Bones Film)

Pop☆Step got noticeably angry at Koichi and left for her home. Apparently, the "boy" Koichi saved was none other than Pop☆Step. She admired him and wished to return his hoodie, but could not bring up the courage to do the same. While she does make an effort, a surprise appearance by Knuckleduster ruined her plan.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5 then switched to Akira, the Instant Villain from the previous episode. After he got out of prison, Kuin Hachisuka again injected him with the Ideo Trigger drug, causing him to go berserk again.

Koichi tried to stop the villain while Pop tried contacting the heroes. Unfortunately, none of them showed up on time, which is when another vigilante called Stendhal made his debut.

Stendhal as seen in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5 (Image via Bones Film)

Stendhal had cornered the Instant Villain when the police started showing up. With the Instant Villain starting to flee, Stendhal greeted Koichi and Pop and vanished, possibly trying to track the fleeing Instant Villain.

My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 5 later saw Ichimoku Samazu contact Pop, hoping to have her and the Crawler speak with their senior about the recent incidents. While Knuckleduster was doubtful about the source, Koichi and Pop decided to go.

To their surprise, Samazu's senior was none other than Souga Kugizaki. While Souga wished to speak with them, he only wanted to share the information in Knuckleduster's presence.

The anime episode ended with Stendhal killing the Instant Villain from before while Kuin Hachisuka looked on from above.

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