My Hero Academia: Vigilantes 1×6 Review: “Crossing Lines”

My Hero Academia Vigilantes anime season one episode 6, titled ‘Crossing Lines’, had Koichi come face to face with Stendhal’s notion of justice as the narrative continued to grow darker.

With Stendhal being introduced in the previous episode and him being more than okay with killing villains to enact his sense of justice, I was waiting for the two distinct philosophies about vigilantism to clash. And clash they did as Koichi had to step in to rescue Soga from being slashed to death by Stendhal.

Most of the episode focused on allowing viewers to learn more about Stendhal. He’s responsible for killing a bunch of powerful Quirk-having yakuza lieutenants. Not only did Stendhal exhibit supernatural reflexes and katana-wielding prowess during the attack, but it’s revealed that his Quirk, called ‘Bloodcurdle’, allowed Stendhal to paralyze anyone by licking their blood. I don’t know how many people Stendhal can paralyze simultaneously, but it’s definitely more than one. It’s a very dangerous ability to fight against. I’m looking forward to seeing if our leads can figure out a counter to ‘Bloodcurdle’ because Stendhal’s definitely coming for them after what transpired in ‘Crossing Lines’.

It turns out that Stendhal got the blood samples of the lieutenants from Kuin. At first, I was surprised to see Stendhal working with her. However, upon further thought, I got why he did so. Stendhal was okay receiving aid from the villainous Kuin to kill other, bigger villains. As Stendhal put it, Kuin’s time to be judged will come soon.

Shifting his focus to Soga, we got to see the young man trapped after being contacted by Kuin. I liked how Soga and his friends weren’t interested in using Trigger anymore. However, Kuin’s someone you don’t say no to. Of course, she was going to take care of such loose ends. Not only that, but a Trigger-enhanced Soga vs Stendhal would make for very valuable battle data. Kuin forcibly administering numerous doses of Trigger and making Soga go berserk made a lot of sense for her character.

According to Soga’s backstory, his Quirk had made others around him treat him as a villain since he was a kid. I mean, I get it. The dude protruded sharp spikes from his skin. That’s quite the stereotypical bad guy Quirk. In a way, Soga being treated as an outcast and also pushed to do bad things because that’s what was expected from him related to how certain people in the real world can sometimes feel included to step over the bad side because society has deemed them to be “bad” due to a particular behavior they exhibited, usually due to a misunderstanding. Meeting the “bad” expectations set by society, in a way, provided such people with a sense of acceptance they hadn’t experienced before.

Koichi tried to calm the situation down, but he realized very quickly that Stendhal wanted Soga dead. Even though our lead tried to glide away with Soga toward the crowded street, it was obvious he wasn’t going to make it. Stendhal easily paralyzed Koichi by licking his blood.

The young men were saved by Knuckleduster, who arrived on the scene ready to beat the heck out of Stendhal. I liked how Knuckleduster made Stendhal rethink his battle plan after explaining the “reach” Knuckleduster had against Stendhal’s katana. I really want to learn more about Knuckleduster. Where the heck did he learn to fight in such a way? He’s supposed to be Quirk-less, but I’m sure there’s something up with him.

According to Knuckleduster, he and Stendhal couldn’t be more different. Even though Stendhal was going around killing villains, he was able to separate his Stendhal persona from his non-vigilante persona as a coping mechanism. In Knuckleduster’s opinion, that made Stendhal very dangerous because it provided him with an excuse not to take responsibility for his actions. Non-vigilante Stendhal didn’t feel bad about the killings because, in his mind, it wasn’t him doing all the murders per se. It was the masked version of Stendhal who wanted to get rid of villains from the city.

It was similar to how even heroes showcased a different persona after wearing their superhero suit, allowing them to separate their “ordinary” and “hero” sides as they went about their lives.

Getting punched in the face and having his mask cracked by Knuckleduster forced Stendhal to have an identity crisis. I liked seeing Stendhal experience a crashout as his brain tried to come up with another version of vigilantism that would allow him to target Knuckleduster. Apparently, now Stendhal thought that the people who lacked real conviction were “false heroes” aka the vigilantes like Knuckleduster. And they needed to be judged.      

While I appreciated the anime raising questions about vigilantism and how easily it can get out of hand, I do feel that making Stendhal go over the edge and completely lose it was an easy route to take so early after introducing such a character. Now, Stendhal is nothing more than your run-of-the-mill villain, still thinking he’s the good-ish guy meant to judge others. I think that Stendhal would have come across as more of a threat if he maintained a sane composure and was willing to have a discussion with Koichi about the “right” way of being a vigilante to protect their city. With Stendhal having cut off his nose as a way to not wear any more “masks” at the end of ‘Crossing Lines’, there’s no way anything he will say now will be able to influence Koichi.

A sane Stendhal could have forced Koichi to feel he was stuck choosing between Stendhal and Knuckleduster’s philosophies. It could have allowed Koichi to undergo a level of character development as he continued to cement his idea of heroism. Can killing a villain ever be justified if they had and continued to cause the loss of innocent lives while avoiding legal consequences? I want Koichi to face such questions going forward.

As for Pop Step arriving after the battle to administer first aid, she was understandably not a fan of helping Soga after how he and his minions had threatened her. However, her still being willing to treat Soga’s wounds showed her heroic heart. As for Soga ever apologizing to Pop Step. I don’t think that’s ever happening. Sometimes people try to change for the better without outright apologizing for their past mistakes. It’s not the best way to turn a new leaf, but it does happen a lot. And I think Soga’s an example of that. 

What did you think of MHA Vigilantes season one episode 6, ‘Crossing Lines’?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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