It has been announced that the second season of the TV anime "Vigilante: My Hero Academia ILLEGALS," an official spin-off of Kohei Horikoshi's popular manga "My Hero Academia (Hiroaka)," will begin airing on TOKYO MX, BS Nippon TV, and Yomiuri TV from January 5, 2026. It has also been revealed that Kana Ueda will play Monica Kaniyashiki.
A key visual featuring the main character Koichi and all the characters appearing in the second season has also been released. In addition to the illegal hero Vigilante, the visual features the scarred man who is the main villain of the second season, familiar figures from My Hero Academia such as All Might, Shota Aizawa, Fat Gum, Best Jeanist, and Edgeshot, as well as the back view of Shirakumo Oboro, a high school classmate of Shota Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada.
The official promotional video, which features the opening theme "CATCH!!!" by Surii, has also been released on YouTube. It features scenes of a grown-up Koichi skating, Fat Gum, and the first appearance of Kaniyashiki Monica. At the end, a scene from Aizawa Shota, Shirakumo Oboro, and Yamada Hizashira's school days was shown for the first time. It was also announced that the band "Scheiderp" will be performing the ending theme "Miss You."
Ueda commented, "I had read the original novel for a while, so when I heard I'd been cast in Vigilante, I grinned and thought, 'Oh, I'm going to play the crab' (laughs). I go to the Sea of Japan every year to eat crab, so I'm confident in my skills at filleting crab!!! My partner and I are dubbing the film with the full Kansai spirit, so please look forward to my appearance!"
Kazuyuki Okitsu, who plays Fat Gum, said, "The second season of 'Vigilante' is about to begin!!! What a surprise! It starts with the Osaka arc! The story takes place a little earlier than the main story of 'My Hero Academia', so you'll get to meet Fat when he was a hardcore fighter! I'm really looking forward to it! I'm also looking forward to the sharp jokes of his partner, Monica Kaniyashiki, also known as 'Kani-ko'! So!! I'll be playing Fat Gum in 'Vigilante' again! Look forward to it!!!"
"Vigilante" is a manga written by Hideyuki Furuhashi and illustrated by Arata Betsuki, which was serialized in "Shonen Jump+" from 2017 to 2022. It is an official spin-off of "My Hero Academia" and is gaining popularity overseas.
Set in Japan several years before the events of the main story of "My Hero Academia," the series depicts the drama of illegal heroes known as vigilantes who, while not being "chosen," cannot help but save those in front of them, and who are the "chosen" heroes who protect people from villains who abuse their "quirks." The first season of the TV anime aired from April to June.
