Crabtastic Rampage! is the fifteenth episode of the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes anime and the second episode of the second season.
Summary#
When holding a meeting the night before the drug smuggling operation, Naomasa tells his crew about its workings that based on the info they've gathered. Their suspected group allegedly operates by infiltrating supply chains that handle other products, package the drugs with the regular items, and send their contraband to the customers during the regular chain's normal deliveries, allowing them to send their product through legal channels.
Fat Gum notes the obvious on how hard it would be to sniff out any trails, but says that the group would be operating at a massive loss if they do it through that method, which doesn't make sense to him. The detective then thinks to an earlier conversation he had with Eizo about the case, with the man believing this operation is much deeper than it seems on the surface.
Naomasa agrees with Fat Gum's comment while citing Eizo's words, which causes the Hero to worry since without money being the main motive, their operation becomes significantly more unpredictable. Monika then chimes in and says that she and Fat Gum were brought in to help shed some light on this case. Naomasa adds they still have a case since they have a good grasp on how they run their business, and if caught in the act, it can offer a sizable lead on uncovering what they are now dubbing as the "Villain Factory".
In the present, after making it to the warehouse, Monika reports what she sees to Naomasa, Fat Gum, and the other members of the Police Force: two Kanidoge trucks full of goods, two of the crab mechs piloted by workers who are putting them out on the floor, and an additional worker. After confirming the information, Naomasa tells the officer to proceed as planned, as Monika checks her gun and heads towards the two workers using the mechs.
Slipping back into her regular demeanor, Monika merrily greets the staff and "informs" them of an apparent tracking error related to the shipments and says she's here to set things straight. The men ask if it's still okay to unload the goods, but she says it's okay to keep going and asks for the tablet they're using to work with. From the makeshift surveillance room, Naomasa admires how easily Monika can blend into her environment, with Fat Gum adding that it's one of her best talents, since being a charming goofball can allow one to easily slip into most places.
Although Monika has successfully infiltrated her potential crime scene, now she has to handle the hard part of gathering evidence. While Kanidoge sells a variety of crab-based products, they're all packed in the exact same type of box and are done so tightly due to being refrigerated, so the woman can't guess on her own if any of the boxes contains drugs. She then starts going over the boxes' barcodes with a scanner, before landing on one that makes the device beep several times instead of once.
Monika then checks the tablet, which shows that the package is a "super assortment D". She then sets the box on the ground, noting that the vendor's super assortment boxes are only sold in varieties A - C, meaning this one is a special order for a "V.I.P.". She then opens the box but is disappointed to find that it only contains a variety of crabs. However, she notices that the box has a larger number of cooling packs, with some of them being black and bigger than the others. She takes one of each cooling pack and compares the two before instantly realizing what's going on.
Monika is then interrupted by an unmounted worker, asking about the tracking issue, and complaining that the package she tampered with can't be sold now. The woman tells the man to stop nagging her while she's trying the work, before switching her tone on a dime and aiming her gun right at his face. The officer tells the staff member to identify himself and to start talking, with the man nervously saying he's just a part-timer at the shipping department.
Monika calls out his lie, since she personally knows all the part-time staff and doesn't recognize him. The woman alerts her team of a possible suspect, and that the drugs are located in the cooling packs instead of the food. Naomasa states that the rest of the team is proceeding to her location. With a witness at gunpoint, plenty of evidence, and additionally finding the address of the buyer on the tablet, Monika openly declares this case closed.
Suddenly, the worker's face and attitude suddenly changes, as the part-timer is revealed to be the Scarred Man, who commends Monika for her slick deductive skills. The officer threatens to shoot the man if he moves, but her threat means nothing, as the Scarred Man activates his Quirk and speeds off in the blink of an eye. He then makes it outside with the tablet and Monika's gun, as he points it at the woman and she ducks for cover. The woman alerts her team of the situation, and that they're dealing with a Villain instead of a normal criminal.
Thankfully, Fat Gum, Naomasa and the others burst into the area and tell everyone to stop what they're doing and put their hands up. Fat Gum tells the Scarred Man to do the same and says if he's going to try anything with his new weapon then he's down to take him head on.
The Villain then raises his hands but tells Fat Gum that he's not really up to fight him. The Scarred Man says he's only here to get rid of this exposed Trigger distribution route before the entire network gets compromised. He then uses his Quirk on his right arm and speedily reprograms the C.R.A.B. system that the shipping mechs run on. This causes them to start moving their claws on their own and their lights to glow bright purple before they rush Fat Gum and push the Hero to the back of the warehouse.
Meanwhile, Kanidoge's segment for the idol carnival is taking place, though it only frustrates the audience and embarrasses Pop, since it's being treated less like an idol act and more like a straight advertisement with the manager being onstage and talking about the company. As Pop wishes she can go home, her mech starts to go haywire, while Koichi hears her panic.
Back at the warehouse, Fat Gum successfully pushes the mechs back and gets ready to retaliate. Monika tells him do so without hurting anybody, since the mechs are still harboring innocent civilians. Fat Gum successfully restrains the two mechs buy the claws, as Monika jumps on the man's head and hops into the air. She then extends her middle and index fingers before sending them downward, cutting the restraints loose with her Snip Clip Quirk, freeing the hostages. With the civilians secured, Fat Gum makes quick work of the mechs, though one of them suddenly starts flashing red lights instead of purple.
While the Scarred Man is impressed, Naomasa still has his eyes on him and fires a warning shot near his foot. Monika informs the detective of the Villain's speed Quirk, prompting him to always keep his eyes on the suspect. Naomasa tells him to get on the ground slowly but is interrupted by the mechs suddenly getting up and moving towards the shipping trucks. It then stop at the trailer as their lights start blinking rapidly, before leading out a loud buzz and exploding, taking one of the trucks down with it.
However, Naomasa and most of the other officers stand their ground and keep their eyes on the Scarred Man. The detective asks if he's destroying evidence and briefly looks at the wreckage, which the gives the Villain an opening to speed off to the middle of the parking lot.
The officers pursue him, and at the same time, Fat Gum and Monika hear a commotion in the mall. The woman realizes that the mech she was using to advertise with is still in the building, so it's up to them to stop it from potentially blowing up in the middle of the crowd. Fat Gum gets the memo and scoops the officer into his arms before runs back to the venue, telling Naomasa to focus on the Villain.
Back on the floor, the crab mech tears through the stalls as Pop screams hysterically. Koichi is caught in the tumble and gets buried in a tower of boxes. The student wishes he brought his All Might hoodie with him so he can assist his teammate, but as luck would have it, one of a series of them has popped out of the boxes and landed on him in the commotion.
Just then, Fat Gum and Monika rush in and start pursuing the rogue mech, with the woman saying it might blow up if it makes it to the Kanidoge stall. Although the Hero is running as fast as he can, his massive weight is preventing him from making any tangible progress. The two are then blindsided by Koichi sliding past them at top speed towards the mech, as he hops off the ground and spins into the air before clinging to the back of the mech.
Pop is glad to see Koichi, with the young man smugly saying he owes it all to his All Might hoodie. The girl asks if it's his usual hoodie since she didn't think he brought with him, but Koichi claims he's not the same version of The Crawler that she's familiar with - announcing his new "form" thanks to the super rare All Might hoodie he found and purchased when he fell on the floor: "The Crawler: Tower to Heaven Edition". Pop just scowls at his idiocy and yells for him to set her free, but the student nervously says he has no idea how and tries to farm suggestions from her.
Outside, the Police Force are still having trouble with the Scarred Man, as he's using his Quirk to zip around and evade their lines of fire. Eventually, after the Villain stops to gloat, Naomasa manages to get a clean shot and hits the criminal in his left thigh, sending him tumbling. Since the man wasn't immediately fleeing the scene, Naomasa was able to figure out that their suspect is stalling for time and assumed that his Quirk comes with a cooldown period after each use, making him vulnerable and wide open if timed properly.
With no time to waste, the rest of the officers pin the Scarred Man on the ground. However, the man just simply praises Naomasa for his skills, just like with Monika and Fat Gum, before activating his Quirk again, which now shows that it augments his bodily speed so much, that the world around him appears nearly frozen.
The Villain gets up but winces as he notices the gunshot wound Naomasa inflicted on him, though it appears to just be external damage. He then takes the gun from one of the other officers, and realizes they were using rubber bullets instead of regular ammunition, explaining why the task force wasn't very hesitant in shooting at him. He still complains about being hurt and decides to enact some payback. The Scarred Man proceeds to take some of the other guns and fire bullets back towards the officers while aiming specifically at their body armor, since he's not too big violence, which he tells Naomasa while doing the same to him. He then devilishly tells the detective that if he still dies despite his restraint, then it's his bad.
The world "unfreezes" as the Scarred Man zips past the toll booth, while the men are showered by a hailstorm of rubber bullets sent by their own weapons. With the rest of the opposition dealt with, the Scarred Man connivingly bids farewell to Naomasa while limping away.
At the same time, Koichi still hasn't found a way to stop the hijacked mech. While trying to fidget with a lever that refuses to respond, Monika tells Fat Gum that they're almost at the stall. With them being short on time, Monika tells the Hero that they have to do "the thing".
Fat Gum then screeches to halt and tosses his ally down the corridor, as the woman extends her legs. She dives in and slices off the legs of the mech with a Rocket Crab Clip, before hitting the floor. The mech starts spinning on the ground, as Monika recognizes Koichi and tells her about the potential detonation. Eventually, the mech stops, and the woman cuts Pop out of the device and tells everyone to evacuate as the device starts blinking in red in preparation to explode. Koichi tells Pop to Leap away from the blast zone, but she accidentally slips on a poster and faceplants on the tile. The young man then slides forward and grabs Pop, but he inadvertently moves closer to the mech just as it gets ready to explode.
Fat Gum then leaps from behind and body slams the mech just as it bursts to pieces, uses his fat to absorb the shock of the explosion. He tells the two to keep running, as the explosion was too strong for him to fully absorb, so he has to release all the energy. Once the two get to safety, Fat Gum expels the energy and explodes, but he gets out of it while only suffering from some scratches and torn clothing, and almost all of the fat in his body being burned off.
With the situation mostly dealt with, Monika and Fat Gum run back to the storage room to assist Naomasa. The Kanidoge manager asks his saleswoman about what's going on, with Monika just saying she'll explain everything in a bit. Pop and Koichi then wonder what they should do now, since they might want her testimonies, but they need to make it their train back home, and they don't want to tell their parents why they'd be unexpectedly late arriving home. The pair then looks at Monika's handler, who asks if something's wrong.
After some time passing, the man then tells the Police that he let Pop and Koichi go home, since he felt responsible for the dragging the two into this mess, and it felt wrong asking them to stick around. This leaves Fat Gum and Monika frustrated, since the duo wasn't in any actual trouble and they were key witnesses to their investigation. It's not totally fruitless, as the man hands Naomasa a business card they left behind to get in contact with them. The detective then grimaces as he realizes it's his little sister's business card.
With a long, stressful day behind them, Koichi slides through the city with Kazuho on his back, saying that he had fun despite the events that transpired. As the girl is bewildered about her friend easily brushing off the bombing, he then remembers that he almost forgot to buy some souvenirs.
Koichi and Kazuho are riding their train through the night, as the girl blushes from the memory of the college student coming to her rescue, and his earlier comment about him admiring the fact that she doesn't know how to back down from a fight. She then nervously looks to Koichi to try and thank him for helping her, but finds him passed on his seat after eating another boxed lunch. Kazuho then says it's no big deal and returns to staring out the window, softly calling her friend an idiot.
Characters in Order of Appearance#
- Naomasa Tsukauchi
- Monika Kaniyashiki
- Fat Gum
- Eizo Tanuma
- The Scarred Man
- Pop☆Step
- The Crawler
- Makoto Tsukauchi (Fantasy)
- All Might (Pictured, flashback)
Quirks#
Locations#
- Naniwa, Osaka
- SS Mall in Super Minami
Battles & Events#
Anime & Manga Differences#
- When Naomasa talks about Eizo's opinion on the smuggling operation, the anime depicts it as a short flashback instead of just a speech bubble with the man's face.
- In the manga, Monika says assortments A - C are listed on both the website and the catalog, instead of just the former.
- The anime extends the Scarred Man's retaliation against the Police Force, by showing him shooting at more officers and adding closeups during the attack's aftermath.
- In the anime, Pop is shown slipping on a loose poster when running from the exploding crab mech. In the manga, it isn't shown what she slips on.
- The anime includes a new ending where Pop on the train reminisces about Koichi saving her, thanking him, only to see him fast asleep from eating, causing her to be embarrassingly annoyed. In the manga, the two are both sleeping on the train together.
Trivia#
- In the English dub, Fat Gum makes two references to the Marvel superheroes Spider-Man and The Thing when he says "Your friendly neighborhood Fat Gum is on the scene." and "It's clobbering time!" respectively.