Summary
The new year has begun and though the final season ofMy Hero Academiais ten months away, there is another story to be told, one whose anime adaptation fans have expected for a while now.My Hero Academia: Vigilantesis a prequel series about - as the title suggests - vigilantes operating outside the system and its director alone is cause for excitement.
Based on the manga by Hideyuki Furuhashi, with art by Betten Court,Vigilantesisone of the first major projects by Bones Film, the recently founded spinoff of anime production powerhouse Studio Bones. Among a slew of returning credits from the original series, director Kenichi Suzuki stands out, with a career notable for his work on another iconic shōnen series.
From JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure to Vigilantes
Kenichi Suzuki has served as a director across David Production’s adaptation ofJoJo’s Bizarre AdventurefromPart 1: Phantom Bloodin 2012 toPart 6: Stone Oceana decade later. He has worked alongside the anime’s other key directors, such as Naokatsu Tsuda, who directedJoJoParts 1-5, and Toshiyuki Katou, who directed Parts 4 and 6. Suzuki himself has directed every part save forPart 4: Diamond Is Unbreakable, andPart 5: Golden Wind.
Suzuki’s earliest anime credit isGundam Evolve, a series of 15 promotional shorts released between 2001-2007, of which he directed two of them (#8, #14). Across the board, the shorts feature varied animation styles, with Suzuki’s being animated in 3D and though the animation hasn’t aged the best, the ambition on display is quite admirable. It wouldn’t be Suzuki’s last time directing forGundameither. He would direct 2010’sGundam Sangoku Den Brave Battle Warriorsand a few episodes ofGundam AGEin 2011.
Hellsing, Drifters, and Beyond
JoJo isn’t the only big name Suzuki had a hand in directing. In 2012, he directed the final two episodes ofHellsing Ultimate, one of the most acclaimed anime OVAs of all time, at Studio Graphinica, the third studio to produce the OVA after Satelight and Madhouse. Suzuki must have gottena taste for the works ofHellsingauthorKouta Hirano because just a few years later, he would direct one of his most anticipated and sorely unfinished stories.
In a time before the Isekai genre became as oversaturated as it is now,Driftersmade big waves in the anime community. This gritty spin on the formula saw historical figures plucked from the places of their deaths and thrown into a fantasy world. Combined with Hirano’s signature art style - made even more popular by theHellsinganime - Suzuki’s adaptation was a sensation, which makes its subsequent obscurity today all the more tragic.
Suzuki returned to work on twoDriftersOVAs, as well as writing and directing 2018’sCells at Work, also at David Production. Next up was 2019’sFairy Gone, a 24-episode fantasy action series from P.A. Works that was met with mixed reception on account of its uneven presentation and bloated narrative. Finally, Suzuki’s most recent work was directingJoJo Part 6alongside Toshiyuki Katou.
Who Will Suzuki Be Working With?
AsMy Hero Academia’s anime comes to a close,Vigilantessees the return of notable staff members from its parent story to lend their talents to this new spinoff.Chief among them is Yuki Hayashi, whose distinct sound is at the very heart of the franchise’s storytelling. Similarly, screenwriter Yosuke Kuroda is on board to compose the anime’s scripts. What’s even more exciting, however, are the new additions to the staff.
Hayashi is not alone in composing the music. He is joined by Yuki Furuhashi and Shogo Yamashiro, the latter of whom Hayashi has collaborated with in the past on the 2020 albumImmersive Theatre “Sakura-hime” from “Sakura-hime Azuma Bunsho”. Finally,Vigilantes' character designs are being done by Takahiko Yoshida, the designer behind the anime forYowamushi Pedal,Cells at Work, andWelcome to the NHK.
What it Means to Direct My Hero Academia
Following up a story likeMy Hero Academiabrings with it high expectations, something even more daunting when considering the heights of its anime adaptation. Director Kenji Nagasaki received much after helming the first three seasons. It was the perceived loss of his creative touch in later seasons - where he assumed the role of “Chief Director” - which is often cited as a reason for an arguable downgrade in later seasons.
Of course, Nagasaki never truly left. Furthermore, Masahiro Mukai’s run as director across Seasons 4-6 was no less capable of delivering powerful storytelling, and Naomi Nakayama’s work on Season 7 was breathtaking. All this is to say that this series has been blessed with talented directors, among whom hopefully Suzuki will fit in nicely, having proven himself as a storyteller.The answer will come whenMy Hero Academia: Vigilantespremieres in April.
