Top Runner is the fourth episode of the My Hero Academia: Vigilantes anime.
Summary#
Late at a night, a trio of Villains called the Three Sturm und Drang Brothers are sliding around the streets and upskirting several young women. The men's celebration of their lecherous crime spree is put to a stop by Knuckleduster, who knocks all three of the criminals out with a few swift punches. Accompanying him is The Crawler and Pop☆Step, with the boy checking and disconfirming any signs of Trigger usage, and the girl asking the saved bystanders to call the police so they can arrest the defeated evildoers.
Knuckleduster is oddly quiet and serious throughout the ordeal and simply tells his three teammates to keep moving now that the fight is over, which The Crawler presumes is due to his previous, sudden hunt for a person with a "Bee Quirk" during the spontaneous outbreak of Instant Villains from before.
The man's attitude problem carries over the next morning, while he and his protege are doing boxing training. After Koichi has some issues with the fact that his combat style doesn't mesh very well with Knuckleduster's training methods, the Vigilante coldly tells the student to find some other way to keep himself alive during a fight. The two then switch off with Knuckleduster on the offense and Koichi on defense, with the boy easily being overwhelmed and soon gets knocked to the ground.
While Pop has some concerns that Koichi might sustain lethal injuries during training, the young man says his master is actually holding back a lot when they spar or when he fights Villains, as he knows Knuckleduster he could easily kill someone if he punched with full force. While he thinks it's no big deal, Pop thinks the old man is still going too far.
Elsewhere in the city, Kuin is walking around while conversing with her boss on the phone. The man criticizes her previous usage of Trigger that caused the swarm Instant Villains from a few days ago, saying that the drug is costly and she should be more conservative and tactful about how she distributes it. The girl doesn't understand since she was tasked with gathering combat data using the narcotic, and the man clarifies that they need to focus on people that possess a strong will and powerful Quirks.
While Kuin thinks it's a pain seeking people out like that, she takes her boss's advice and finds a person who she feels fits the bill later that night: a random street junkie, whose anger is starting to boil over from the girl talking to him. She then pulls three vials of Trigger out her jacket and stabs it into his neck, as she tells the guy to funnel all that rage in power so he can tell society what he truly feels.
The drug immediately takes effect, as the man's muscles begin to swell and his forearm enlarges and turns reddish-purple. Angry, the new Instant Villain uses his Trigger-enhanced might to smash her into the ground but she dodges with ease. Kuin takes her leave and tells him to take her advice or do whatever he feels, as the man's body fully transforms and he begins terrorizing the inner city.
The junkie runs towards The Crawler and tries to take a swing at him, with the Vigilante barely managing to dodge. Per his advice, Pop☆Step begins leading the civilians away from the Instant Villain, while the young man tries to stall him while saving another person in the process. Before the Villain can harm The Crawler and the civilian, Knuckleduster swings in and kicks the criminal in the face, which sends him crashing into a nearby building.
The Villain pops out of the structure angrier than ever, as he channels some sparking energy into his arm and swings at the pair of Vigilantes. The Crawler suggests keeping distance since the guy's boosted Quirk is too powerful to fight head on, but Knuckleduster prefers the opposite and starts engaging the Villain in close combat.
While the man manages to get some light hits in on the Villain, the damage from him barely dodging the criminal's attacks is started to add up. The junkie soon gets greedy as he stops to power up another punch for a potential finishing move, which gives Knuckleduster enough time and spacing to dodge the incoming hit and knock the Instant Villain out cold with a clean hit to the face.
Knuckleduster notes the Villain's cockiness, and how dangerous he was due his speed, power, and temperament; he seemingly laments on this being the state of those they will have to face, only to then cheer in excitement from the prospect of fighting opponents on same tier of strength as this guy.
The next morning, his mood and energy returns back to normal during sparring, as he tells the students that he was just getting bored beating up street thugs that barely put up a fight. Koichi is glad his teacher is feeling himself again, but Pop still thinks he's going overboard in combat training.
In a cafe, Kuin is once again talking with her boss, this time complaining that the Instant Villain she made last night was intercepted by the Naruhata Vigilantes and tells her superior that Knuckleduster is becoming a huge problem for them. He argues that it's beneficial to keep them around, as it allows them to gather data without the intervention of Heroes or the police. While Kuin rightfully points out that the trio of impromptu Heroes are intent on taking down their operation, the man just asks her to work around it.
Kuin is then approached by a nervous, blushing salaryman asking if she's the "Honey" he's supposed to meet up with here. The high schooler eagerly confirms her identity and begins walking with him out of the establishment, as she's excited to cut loose and get to whatever they have planned together.
Later that night, a sharp-toothed Villain is shown running on the highway and weaving through traffic at high speeds. After surveying the area and confirming that there are no nearby civilians, Ingenium is deployed from his team's truck and pursues the offender. The Hero moves in for a grab, but the Villain dodges and gloats that the man needs to run like his life is on the line if he wants to catch him. The criminal kicks Ingenium in the head and takes off, as the Hero crashes into a nearby wall and his airbags deploy. Although their target escaped, Ingenium is glad he and his team installed those airbags into his costume.
Early next morning, Koichi is out for a jog and takes the lack of civilians around him as an opportunity to practice his usage of Slide and Glide, primarily in figuring out how to brake properly. He then spots a jogger and accelerates to pass him but is careful not to go too fast due to his braking difficulties. While Koichi wonders how he could solve that issue, the jogger catches him up, which shocks him and makes him lose control. Fortunately, the man saves him from a nasty crash.
After resting at a nearby park, the man apologizes for startling him and introduces himself to Koichi as Tensei Ida, the Turbo Hero: Ingenium. Koichi is surprised and fells fortunate that he is speaking to a real Hero in person. Tensei then asks Koichi about the tumble he was about to take earlier and inquires about his Quirk.
Koichi explains that Slide and Glide uses a repellent force he expels from his limbs to propel his movement. He adds that he has no issue moving in different directions, which impresses the Hero as he and his little brother always struggle with turning at high speeds with their Engine Quirks. Koichi tells Tensei about his issues with braking and says that he's unable to slow down naturally if he's moving too fast.
Tensei quickly finds a solution to the student's issue, by advising him to propel Slide and Glide's force in the opposite direction if he wants to manually decelerate. Koichi applies his solution and is grateful that such a quick fix has eliminated a problem he had for years when it came to using his Quirk. As the young man shows off more, Tensei commends how flexible his Quirk is for advanced movement, though Koichi doubts that an increase in speed matters much.
The Hero heavily disagrees and asks Koichi about the people caught in Villain attacks or disasters, and what they might be thinking during those times. The student assumes they're asking to be saved, but Tensei believes it's more specific than that: they're asking to be saved fast. The Hero believes speed is most important when helping someone, as it not only gets them to safety, but it also gives them a constant sense of hope that they'll be saved no matter what.
Tensei offers Koichi his business card and a place at his Agency after he graduates, as he thinks Slide and Glide is a Quirk that can be well suited for Hero work. Koichi tells him that he doesn't have a hero license, but the man says that he can slowly work his way up to proper certifications if he takes the job on his support staff. Tensei says the student would fit right in, as Team Idaten prides itself in taking up people who wish to use their Quirks to help others and giving them a specialized place on the team to bring out the best in their abilities and their drive to save people. As Tensei speeds off, Koichi looks at the card with an ecstatic grin on his face.
That same night, Ingenium is once again chasing the Villain fleeing on the highway from before. The Hero is running a lot faster than yesterday, as he removed the airbags from his suit to reduce weight, despite his team's warnings. The Villain is gleeful that the Hero took his comment about risking his life for extra speed to heart, but Ingenium says otherwise. Up ahead, a padded roadblock was set up on the street by his team, as he overtakes the criminal and flies into it. As Ingenium turns to pin down the Villain, the speeder unfurls his bat wings and flies off into the night and towards the eastern part of Naruhata.
Despite their best efforts to corner and track him, the Villain easily evades Team Idaten and uses the maze-like layout of the ward and the lack of light to mask his trail. As he gloats once again about his speed, Koichi slides in and trips the Villain, before being knocked unconscious by Knuckleduster. Ingenium and one of his teammates eventually find the Villain restrained and look up to see the trio of Vigilantes looking down at them.
Koichi and Knuckleduster tell the Heroes that catching Villains here is easier for them since they're used to the poor lighting and the haphazard layout of the area, and state that they're here to lend a hand to messes the Heroes are unable to deal with. As the three take off, Koichi introduces themselves as The Crawler and Knuckleduster, with Pop☆Step quickly declaring that she has nothing do with her teammates' actions, and Ingenium realizing The Crawler's true identity.
The next morning, Tensei tries to thank Koichi directly for his work by catching up to him on his jog. The student tries to deny his secret identity to the Hero, but Tensei is thankfully understanding of his keeping his status as a Vigilante away from potential exposure. The Hero then politely asks Koichi for his business card back, as he believes the student has already found a place to belong to and doesn't feel like getting in the way of it.
Despite the man's mindful intentions, Koichi is still severely disappointed about the request for his business card to be returned. Tensei tries to cheer him up with a race to the next corner on their jogging path. The Hero runs off, with Koichi desperately trying to catch up to him in their spontaneous race.
Characters in Order of Appearance#
Three Sturm und Drang Brothers Knuckleduster The Crawler Pop☆Step Ichimoku Samazu Jube Namimaru Soga Kugisaki Rapt Tokage Moyuru Tochi Kuin Hachisuka Villain Factory Boss (Voice) Chuma Yakumaru Bat Villain Ingenium Tenya Ida Bigshot Watchbird Onemu Shinya Tough Grab
Quirks#
Locations#
Battles & Events#
- Knuckleduster vs. Junkie Villain
- Ingenium vs. Bat Villain
- Team Idaten & Naruhata Vigilantes vs. Bat Villain
Anime & Manga Differences#
- The Three Sturm Ung Drang Brothers sequence is significantly trimmed down in the anime, only including the Brothers' first attack, immediately followed by Knuckleduster taking them down.
- The manga also had the Brothers targeting more victims and going into detail about their attack methods, Koichi being attacked by the women who believed he was one of them, Koichi talking to the Brothers about their similar Quirks, and the Brothers explaining their ideology.
- The Brothers' attack methods were toned down in the anime, making them skirt flippers rather than panty thieves.
- Jube telling Koichi about Knuckleduster's mention of a "Bee User" is shown in the anime, while it was just mentioned in the manga.
- While his exact identity still remains a mystery in the anime, the voice acting reveals the Villain Factory Boss to be All For One significantly earlier than it is in the manga.
- When Kuin orders a crepe while taking to her boss, the anime shows her taking a picture of her food.
- The encounter between Kuin and the Junkie Villain is altered in the anime. In the manga, Kuin shows him a briefcase containing several samples of Trigger, which the Junkie grabs some of them and injects himself with. In the anime, there is no briefcase, and it is Kuin who injects him with Trigger.
- In the manga, Kuin leaps away after she tells the Junkie to do whatever he wants with his powered-up Quirk. In the anime, she leaps and walks way before telling him that.
- The Junkie Villain curses several censored expletives in the manga.
- When Koichi saves the bystander from the Junkie's attack, they both tumble to the ground in the anime. In the manga, they're both on their feet before the Instant Villain tries to attack a second time.
- Ingenium's proper introduction is slightly extended in the anime.
- The anime excludes Ingenium listing off the accidents the Bat Villain caused on the highway, and wondering about the area he typically operates in.
- The anime excludes Koichi's explanation as to why Naruhata is so quiet and became a perfect place to train his Quirk early in the morning.
- In the anime, Koichi does not apologize to Tensei for using his Quirk without permission shortly after they met.
- Tenya Ida's cameo is slightly extended in the anime.
- The flashback of Ingenium saving the girl from a burning building is slightly extended in the anime.
- In the manga, when explaining Team Idaten's philosophy to Koichi, Tensei adds that people with mobility Quirks don't get many chances to use them openly, and says that people with powerful, strength-based Quirks like All Might are better suited for training under proper Hero schooling.
- Koichi cooking for Knuckleduster and Pop in his Penthouse and gushing to them over Ingenium's business card is omitted in the anime.
- Team Idaten's pursuit of the Bat Villain is extended in the anime.
- The anime cuts Ingenium's joke about the Bat Villain's sudden escape, and his team telling him to focus.
- The anime shows Ingenium stopping and apologizing to the driver he intercepted on his run, instead of just maneuvering around him in the manga.
- When the Naruhata Vigilantes take off, the manga shows one of Ingenium's teammates asking if they should pursue them and man telling them to stand down, while that's only heard in the anime.