It’s funny how different the tone of this series is depending on who’s in focus. As good as the Shirakumo flashback/Eraser origin story was – and it was very good – it felt more like Boku no Hero Academia than Vigilante. If anything that’s a reminder of just how distinct Vigilante is from the parent series. There’s a certain whimsical earnestness to this story and its characters, even when it goes dark. And it’s one the main series doesn’t align with even when it goes “light”. That’s all for the best – it’s much better for the child to establish a distinct identity from the parent.

We haven’t seen much of Chris nee Captain Celebrity this season, but he’s at the center of this new arc. I wasn’t a huge fan of of C nee CC when he debuted but I’ve come to quite like him. Captain Celebrity is kind of an ideal Vigilante hero – he’s goofy and quite different from any of the established hero base from BnHA. There’s also more to him than it initially seemed. One might have dismissed him as a ludicrous popinjay interested more in publicity than protecting anyone. But he’s actually very conscientious – and very good at his job, too. His working relationship with Makoto is a charming addition to the series, and I think it’s fair to say they’re good for each other.

CC is, in fact, getting ready to head back to the States – though he’s surprised when Makoto informs him. She’s sorted most of the nuisance lawsuits and his wife is pregnant (that was also news to him). A big farewell party is planned but the Trigger syndicate – as represented by the scar-faced villain – has taken an interest in Captain Celebrity. An experimental attack using a bomb-rigged villain (clearly we’re seeing the birth of the Nomu program here) forces CC  to reveal the nature of his quirk in order to save the chibi trio (which is why it was they who were targeted in the first place).

Meanwhile The Crawler and Pop Step are being brought into the “official” fold – again, thanks to Makoto. She advises Kouichi to come clean about their activities to a hero rather than the cops, and Midnight and Eraser are the logical contacts. The pieces on the smuggling ring are being put together and the resulting picture suggests Naruhata is deeply involved. That makes Kouichi and Kazuho potentially useful to the investigation, and it’s obvious enough that even if they’re operating outside the system, they’re doing far more good than harm.

Naomasa is edging closer and closer to the truth, thanks in part to Knuckle’s intel. All Might, worried for him, offers to “quietly” assist but let’s be honest, that’s pretty much an impossibility. However, one suspect that worlds are colliding here in a way he’s going to be powerless to stop. The connections run deeper than Tsukauchi-kun realizes – and much closer to him personally. A lot of seemingly disparate plot threads are being tied together in a rather elegant way.

On that note, one thing I’ve been hoping to see is All Might and Captain Celebrity together – that’s a pairing with a lot of narrative (not least comic) potential. We may be about to see it at last, as Makoto is putting together a Japan send-off for the now-massively trendy Captain Celebrity, at the “Sky Egg“. The small-time Naruhata idols are terrified at the prospect, but Makoto wants big-time heroes to be the real headliners. And of course, they don’t get bigger-time than All Might, and she’s already working her brother for the means to access him. And if we know anything about Makoto by now, it’s that she never lets anything go and she usually gets what she wants.