Episode 17 (Vigilantes)

Koichi spends the morning firing repulsion blasts at soda cans, learning to anchor his feet with Wall Cling so the recoil does not topple him and practicing how to store power before release. Kazuho catches him mid-technique and reminds him that firing his Quirk at people without a license is legally no better than throwing rocks, and could get him arrested on sight. He concedes and heads out on patrol alone, since her school's direct-admission workload has buried her in homework.

On the street he runs into Octoid, a hulking, black-skinned Next-Level Villain with a surplus of arms. Instinct has The Crawler calling for Pop before he remembers he is solo, so he clears civilians himself and turns to face the thing. His read is sound, immense power but poor footspeed, until Octoid tears chunks off nearby buildings and starts hurling them, which sends the chase into an alley.

At Hoppers, Ichiro and Jiro have just offloaded a livestock supplement on a balding customer when Eraser Head walks in and orders black coffee. He explains that underground work means staying current on the criminal underworld, and their Crab Route lead dried up after the Osaka mess. He also admits that stopping here has become routine, since mornings are hard on him and the twins brew the best coffee in the neighborhood. Debris then blows through their window.

The Crawler shouts a warning through the hole, locks eyes with the Hero he recognizes from the Knuckleduster fight, and pretends not to know him. When Octoid corners two schoolgirls, Eraser Head goggles up and intervenes. Erasure does nothing: the body is a permanent modification, not a conditional power. He binds all six arms anyway, only for two hidden arms to erupt from Octoid's waist, launch him into a wall, and dislocate his left shoulder.

With the Hero wide open, The Crawler dives between them and fires a charged blast into Octoid's throat, then tries to pass the obviously illegal move off as a fluke. The Hotta brothers jab legal Trigger into their necks, transform, and land a Double Hotta Kick. Eraser Head slings his injured arm and postpones the legal argument, and builds a plan around The Crawler's move: weak shots to hold the villain's attention while the twins lead everyone to open ground away from civilians.

That ground turns out to be the Hottas' warehouse, where Kirihito is drinking tea to classical music and refuses to be evicted. He recognizes The Crawler, accuses him of prejudice, and rants until Octoid smashes his tea set, at which point he attacks the villain over the insult to his afternoon. He is overpowered fast. The twins distract with a Hotta Jump, Eraser Head blinds Octoid with his Capturing Weapon, and Kirihito locks in a full nelson. The Crawler anchors, charges at close range, and debuts the Shooty-Go-Blam straight into the chest, which barely dents Octoid and only enrages him. The group eventually nets him from above, but Kirihito elbows the captive in the face, restarts the brawl, collapses the warehouse, and lets him escape.

By evening the Scarred Man is reading Octoid's file, noting that the modifications boosted aggression, mass, and speed. He drops the villain with Instant Eight, takes a fluid sample, and lets him loose again while mocking the four still chasing him. A thrown rock scratches his cheek, and he snaps: he crushes the offending arm, explains that his lightning-bolt scar was self-inflicted to match the man he idolizes, and that any other mark ruins the point. He beats Octoid into the ground with ten punches at the cost of his own shredded arms, and promises to stomp his head open once his cooldown ends. The Crawler spots him from the alley mouth and shouts for the "civilian" to run, so he flees.

Chapters 39 through 41 of the Vigilantes manga supply the material, placing the episode in the Team Ups arc. Two days later, Naomasa reports no leads on Octoid's assailant and floats Knuckleduster as a suspect given the brute-force method, which Eraser Head shuts down. When Koichi thanks the Hero on the street, Eraser Head scowls him off and tells Naomasa he has never met him.

Timing shifts dominate the adaptation. Koichi hits the ground before Kazuho leaps down rather than falling as she arrives, his internal breakdown of how his Quirk works before the Shooty-Go-Blam is cut, and he does not start walking off for help before being stopped. Several sequences run longer: Octoid's rock-throwing and pursuit, Eraser Head binding the arms, the flashback of spotting the Hero on the street, the Shooty-Go-Blam buildup, the warehouse stalling, and the net trap, which now involves crashing through a window instead of using a door.

Smaller additions include cracks under Octoid's feet during Koichi's analysis, closeups of Kazuho's corkboard and extra reaction shots, Eraser Head smiling at the coffee compliment, Kirihito's music being identified, and an insult about Octoid's looks before their fight. Koichi stutters when accused of prejudice, unlike in print. The Scarred Man's cooldown is cut from ten seconds to five, and a shot of him walking away is added.