My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is both a spin-off and a prequel to Kōhei Horikoshi's original My Hero Academia manga, set five years before the main series' events.

The manga first started serialization in Shueisha's Jump Giga magazine in August 2016 before being transferred to the online magazine Shōnen Jump+ just two months later, in October 2016.

After the manga concluded in May 2022 with 15 collected volumes, a special one-shot 'special arc' chapter was later published in Shonen Jump+ in April 2025, coinciding with the anime's launch.

The anime adaptation was officially announced at the Jump Festa '25 event on December 22, 2024.

The first season's opening theme 'Kekka Orai' was performed by Kocchi no Kento, while the ending theme 'Speed' was performed by yutori.

For the second season, the opening theme 'Catch' is performed by Surii and the ending theme 'Miss You' by shytaupe, both different from the first season's artists.

Barnes & Noble included the manga on their 'Our Favorite Manga of 2018' list, stating it may be more entertaining than the original My Hero Academia series.

The manga was recognized at the San Diego Comic-Con Best and Worst Manga panel, being chosen as one of the 'Best Manga' in 2018 and listed under 'Underrated but Awesome Manga' in 2019.