Earlier this week, Toho Co., Ltd revealed a brand new trailer, key art, and opening theme song for My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, a spin-off series set prior to the timeline of the original My Hero Academia anime, both adapted from the manga made by Kohei Horikoshi. The new series will debut only on Crunchyroll starting April 7th, available to stream worldwide except in Asia. New episodes will release on a weekly basis in sync with Japan’s schedule.

“My Hero Academia has captivated fans worldwide for nearly a decade, and now My Hero Academia: Vigilantes offers an exciting new perspective on the world this franchise loves. We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with TOHO and bring this highly anticipated spinoff to audiences around the globe,” Crunchyroll Chief Content Officer Asa Suehira commented.

As a prequel to Kohei Horikoshi’s manga and anime adaptation, this spin-off series shares the same writer, Hideyuki Furuhashi, and illustrator, Betten Court. The accredited minds of Kenichi Suzuki (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Stardust Crusaders, Cells at Work!) and Yosuke Kuroda (My Hero Academia, Trigun) have come together as director and series composition writer respectively. Kocchi no Kento, most known for the viral “Hai Yorokonde” has performed the opening theme song “Kekka Orai,” which is featured in the latest trailer. Having last worked on Gachiakuta, Studio Bones—the same studio behind My Hero Academia and many other fan favorites—has returned to animate the series as well.

Synopsis

Everyone dreams to be a superhero, especially in a world with 80% of the population having superpowers called Quirks. But Koichi Haimawari laid that ambition to rest like many others. A boring, average college student, he lives his day-to-day life until he and Pop☆Step are rescued by a superhero. Although their savior isn’t officially recognized as a hero but rather as the vigilante Knuckleduster, they’re taken under his wing—not as a shining ideal of justice, but as a fighter for good in a world overrun with villains.