My Hero Academiahas paid homage to many series and movies which have influenced its story, fromStar WarstoSpider-Man. This time, prequel seriesMy Hero Academia Vigilantesis paying tribute to one of anime’s greatest films with an easter egg that any fan ofAkirais sure to notice.
My Hero Academia Vigilantesis a spinoff of the main series, based on a manga of the same name which ran from 2016 to 2022. It is considered completely canonical toMy Hero Academia, and features many returning characters, such as Aizawa, as well as new heroes who the story will predominantly follow, like Koichi “the Crawler” Haimawari. Koichi’s Quirk is the not-particularly-powerful Slide and Glide, which allows him to move along frictionlessly by sliding around. For balance reasons, Koichi typically engages this power while leaning over with at least one hand on the ground.
Koichi’s Quirk is the Perfect Choice for an Akira Reference
The Slide and Glide Quirk Emulates an Iconic Akira Moment
One of the most influential anime of all time,Akirais known for its iconic “Akira Slide,” where a character, typically on a motorcycle, turns hard and slides away from the camera, often with light trailing behind them. This usually brings the character to a dramatic stop to deal with something behind them. In theMy Hero Academia Vigilantestrailer, as noted byX (formerly Twitter) user Rukasu, Koichi performs the iconic slide, although instead of using a motorcycle or bike, he’s using his Quirk to slowly slide to a halt and turn to face the threat behind him. The slide is even complete with the iconic light trails.
Koichi’s Slide and Glide is the perfect Quirk for pulling off the classic moment, as he must naturally slide to a stop in order to turn around anyway due to the way his Quirk works. The effect of the moment is that Koichi still manages to look pretty tough, despite being down on all fours, as if he’s about to charge and tackle his opponent. It’s far fromthe firstAkirareference in the franchise; Shigaraki’s red cloak, seen after the Paranormal Liberation War, is a direct reference to Tetsuo’s own red cloak seen in the movie. Even the mutation scenes on characters like All for One draw from the classic anime film.
The Akira Slide is a Common Anime Reference, Though Rarely On Foot
The Akira Slide is Referenced in Many Anime Series
References to the Akira Slide are extremely common, although the character executing the slide is almost always in a vehicle, so Koichi’s unaided execution of the slide is pretty impressive and unique. Given thatMy Hero Academia Vigilantesis slightly more mature than the parent series due to its characters being older, one could take the reference toAkiraas an affirmation that this is going to be a darker story, even compared to the depths ofMy Hero Academia’s darker arcs. Fortunately, withVigilantesdue to premiere on July 16, 2025, fans don’t have long to wait.
