The My Hero Academia soundtrack had an incredibly high affinity between the anime and its music. Because there are so many cool scenes, there are also many cool, exhilarating tracks bursting with speed, and above all, a tension that makes it impossible to take your eyes (ears?) off the screen. The degree of those tracks' popularity is proven by how composer Yuki Hayashi's stage at the soundtrack festivals held in Kyoto and Tokyo had the crowd roaring. The sense of unity in the venue, the blood-boiling fervor, the fists you can't help wanting to throw into the air. Yuki Hayashi's music undeniably has that power. But even that wildly popular anime, MHA, is in its final stretch. The original manga has even reached its final chapter. The loneliness of it is such that there's even an episode in "Me & Roboco," another popular manga in the main Jump magazine, where the ordinary-person protagonist falls into post-MHA depression and loses his composure.
But MHA has a spin-off so hot-blooded it doesn't lose to the main series at all. That's Vigilantes, the anime I'm covering this time.
Being an official MHA spin-off, both characters and soundtrack make free reappearances!
From that unmistakable masterpiece MHA, popular characters like All Might and Eraser Head appear, and on top of that, the way All Might's theme song reappears as part of the soundtrack is hugely gratifying as a fan. The Vigilantes protagonist, Koichi Haimawari, is, like the main protagonist Izuku Midoriya, a huge All Might fan. And since this is a story told in a timeline a little before MHA's story begins, the fact that you get to see an All Might who hasn't yet lost his power makes All Might's theme sound all the more powerful, which is moving in its own way.
And of course, soundtrack cues debuting in Vigilantes too...
Just because it's an MHA spin-off doesn't mean MHA's characters show up as the main cast. This story is apparently also written under the concept of "Izuku Midoriya if he'd never met All Might," and the protagonist Koichi Haimawari is, at first, indeed just an ordinary guy with a Quirk that isn't very combat-suited and doesn't seem all that strong. And while he admires pro heroes, a certain incident kept him from taking the hero course, and he's a protagonist with a slightly more grown-up outlook than Midoriya, having resigned himself to the idea that he'll never become a pro. But his true nature, contrary to that unremarkable Quirk, is that he reflexively saves others, meaning he possesses the "qualities of a hero" spoken of in the main MHA story.
There's no way Yuki Hayashi wouldn't make the soundtrack for a story where such a hero shines look cool. Unlike Midoriya's theme song YOU SAY RUN!, what is (probably) Koichi's theme starts with a heavy, slow-tempo guitar riff and drums, gradually shifting from a bass-drum-centered sound to lighter, more exhilarating snares and toms, with the guitar riff little by little weaving out a melody within the relaxed rhythm. It's a dull yet powerful glow, a quietly cool track that radiates strong resolve. And combined with Koichi's character, it's incredibly cool.
Will we get to hear these masterpieces live at a soundtrack festival again?
When I'm enjoying anime at home, I've come to listen carefully to the soundtrack. It's because I've been captivated by these tracks that blend into the visuals as sound, sometimes eloquent, sometimes supporting from behind the scenes. And I came to feel that all the more strongly after experiencing, live, the music of Hayashi and other first-rate soundtrack composers at the Kyo-ban Festival I had the chance to cover in Kyoto.
Vigilantes' music is every bit as cool as MHA's. And of course, the story's appeal doesn't lose to the main series either. Listening to this work's soundtrack, I felt strongly that I'd be delighted to be blessed with a chance to hear masterpieces like these live again.
Quoted from the official site https://vigilante-anime.com/
