Shigaraki may not just have the most tragic origin to be found in either heroes or villains in My Hero Academia, he may have one of the most tragic origins in anime period. With the most recent chapter of the manga dedicated to his origin story, we have finally been given the answer that fans have been looking for since the series’ start: who do the hands that wrap around Shigaraki’s body belong to? The answer is as horrific as his childhood as the hands that are close to Shigaraki are in fact those of his deceased family members!
Following the accidental death of his mother, sister, and other family members, Shigaraki purposefully took out his anger and depression out on his father, unleashing the full power of his quirk upon him. With his family now split into pieces in a horrific scene, Shigaraki sets out into the world with no clear goal or purpose. His family now deceased, the young boy simply wanders the streets and now sports his horrific look that he is known for later in his life.
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Unfortunately for the heroes of the world, Shigaraki is found by a pair of mysterious men in black suits, one of which is clearly a younger version of the main antagonist of the series, One For All. Giving the young Tenko Shimura the hands of his family, he places them onto Shigaraki and gives him his new name, revealing the importance of the name “Shigaraki” in that it is One For All’s actual last name.
Shigaraki is now created to be a “symbol of fear, who lusts for destruction”, clearly created to be the anti-thesis of All Might. Through a combination of tragedy, fear, and opportunistic villainy, Tenko has become one of the most terrifying villains in the franchise, acting as a dark mirror to the life and purpose of Midoriya.
What did you think of the terrifying revelation behind the hands wrapped around Shigaraki? Is there any potential future redemption for this tragic villain? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and My Hero Academia!
My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and has been running in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump since July 2014. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, who lives in a world where everyone has powers, even though he was born without them. Dreaming to become a superhero anyway, he’s eventually scouted by the world’s best hero All Might and enrolls in a school for professional heroes. The series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release since 2015. My Hero Academia is gearing up for an even bigger end of 2019 with a new film in theaters later this year too.
