My Hero Academia: Vigilantes offers a fresh take on the superhero world by focusing on the darker underbelly of the hero society. The story gets a lot of things right and has broken a lot of overused and boring stereotypes so far. In case the showrunners were wondering what stereotype they should break next, we have a suggestion.
The show can ascend to the next level by breaking one of anime’s most tiresome clichés: the love rival trope. We are tired of watching women being pitted against each other in petty romantic competitions, and My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has an opportunity to sidestep this pitfall through Pop Step’s development. The new dynamic she is sharing with Makoto can emphasize collaboration over rivalry and redefine female relationships in anime.
Pop Step finds Makoto reliable in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
Makoto Tsukauchi has been one of the most interesting characters in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes so far. She is a smart and intelligent woman who uses her talents to get what she wants. She’s a great character whom we are genuinely interested in. The anime is currently trying to position her as a love rival to Pop Step, and we hate this move. We prayed for it not to happen, and it seems like our prayers were answered.
In Episode 10 of My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, Makoto emerges as a pivotal figure in Pop Step’s journey, not as a rival but as a capable ally (are we dreaming?). The episode saw Pop being invited to a public event (her VA sounds like an actual singer), which is a critical moment for her. She has always been a street performer, and having to perform in a well-organized public event stresses her out.
She turns to Koichi for help, who, in turn, brings on Makoto for guidance, and we are not understating this, but if Koichi hadn’t done that, then the whole plan would have been a disaster. Being the savvy and organized manager that she is, Makoto steps in to handle the event’s promotion and crowd management. She even convinces Captain Celebrity (the most heinous villain in the show) to support the event.
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This role of Makoto as a facilitator rather than a competitor was a breath of fresh air. Just when we were worried about the anime resorting to the love rival trope, this collaboration showed us a contrast from the trope where women are pitted against each other. Perhaps this relationship, built on mutual respect, can be developed further.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes can ascend by breaking the love rival trope
Everyone hates the love rival trope. What used to be a cute trope used for comedic relief has not devolved into an overused and irritating gimmick. It insults characters by reducing them from awesome people to dumbasses who qualler over romantic interests. This trope kills the depth and agency of a female character, and the anime fandom has had enough of this (Pop is already oversexualized. She doesn’t need this).
The dynamic between Pop and Makoto in My Hero Academia: Vigilantes could easily have fallen into this trope, with both characters vying for Koichi’s affection. However, the series can avoid this by leaning into the foundation laid in Episode 10. Just imagine a team-up between the hopping Pop Step and Makoto. They don’t need to feel jealous of each other because both of them are equally great characters.
By viewing Makoto as a partner, Pop can mature beyond her insecurities. This is how women are in real life. They form supportive networks rather than dumb rivalries. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes doesn’t need to rely on overused tropes, and can use this relationship to explore themes of camaraderie. We need some girl power in the series, and this relationship can offer that to us.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes has the chance to rise above one of anime’s most frustrating tropes. By redefining the relationship between Pop and Makoto, the anime can help both of them shine while avoiding the lazy love rival trope. Several outdated stereotypes plague anime, and offering a more authentic depiction of female relationships can be My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ way of overcoming these tropes.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
