My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6 gives Knuckleduster the aura he deserved

With the release of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6 on May 12, 2025, the fandom went to X, formerly known as Twitter, with their reactions on the fight sequence between Knuckleduster and Stendhal. While the key animator, Vincent Chansard, met with several mixed comments from the fans, it was clear that the viewers enjoyed Knuckleduster's fight.

Ever since the beginning of the series, Knukleduster's character has mostly been pushed back by other major characters like Koichi and Kazuho. While he stayed mysterious for most of the series thus far, the latest episode at the time this article was written provided him with the character depth he deserved.

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Knuckleduster's fight leaves the fans thoroughly entertained in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6

To provide context, Iwao Oguro (Hero Name: Knuckleduster) is part of the main protagonist trio in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, along with Koichi Haimawari and Kazuho Haneyama. Despite being one of the major characters, Iwao has mostly remained mysterious, with little to no information provided about him in the anime.

What excited the fans more about his fight in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6 was the fact that Knukleduster is quirkless, going up against one of the most strong villains to ever feature in the series, Stendhal, who will later in the timeline be known as Hero Killer: Stain. Stain will be responsible for the death and permanent injury of many pro heroes, and this was the moment that led to it.

While the fight finally provided the much-needed character depth and aura to Knukleduster, approved in unison by the fandom, the animation has received mixed reactions, shedding positive and negative light on it. While the animator only received praise for his works, it was Studio Bones that the fandom held responsible for the lack of visual enhancement and nerfing of Vincent's work.

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Fans' reaction to the fight scene in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6

With the significance of the fight in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6, between the two already established as the incident that led to the birth of the infamous Hero Killer: Stain, Knuckleduster's character was instantly elevated in status. His being quirkless at the time of the fight also significantly increased his aura, as made clear by the fans' reaction:

"Ep6 Did not expect to get Stain’s origin story!! I like the focus on darker topics and the gritty street level fights. Crazy to think it was Knuckleduster who “pushed” him to become the Hero Killer. Stain throwing the knife into her eye had me freaked out.", said one fan on X

"Welp now i understand why stain doesnt have a nose knuckleduster sucker punched the sh*t out of him HAHDHSHEHSHEHEHESHHSS", said another

"Stendal did all that yapping just for Knuckleduster Hit him with a good old 'Sit Yo A*s Down!'", claimed a third

"Stendhal was really bout to end them both until the goat KnuckleDuster stepped in to help …", said a fourth fan

While the fans' reactions made it clear how much they enjoyed the fight sequence and the pivotal part of the story, the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6 unfolded, they also shared some disappointments about the Studio not giving full liberty to the otherwise amazing capabilities of the key animator, Vincent Chansard:

"poor boy, it's sad to see Vincent animating without so much artistc freedom. It was good, but it doesn't even compare to his work in One Piece", said one fan

While the conflict debate among the fans remains regarding the quality of the animation of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes episode 6, the significance of the fight between Knukleduster and Stendhal is undoubtedly enjoyed by the fans, as well as the aura Knukleduster gained from his showing.

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