My Hero Academia Outs All For One’s Final Bid for Shigaraki

My Hero Academia has finally brought us to the do-or-die moment where archvillain All For One is set to make the play to achieve his ultimate goal: achieving new life by possessing the body of his protege, Tomura Shigaraki! 

The latest chapter of My Hero Academia‘s manga sees the intensity of the battle in the Final War heating up – literally and figuratively. Shigaraki caused U.A. High School’s floating trap for him to come crashing down, but a last-minute save from former criminal duo Gentle Criminal and La Brava stops disaster from striking, giving Izuku Midoriya a new chance to take on Shigaraki. 

Meanwhile, in the Gunga Mountains, All For One and the League of Villains are still overrunning the pro-hero forces, using Twice’s army of clones. All For One flies above it all, intent on one thing and one thing only: reaching Shigaraki. 

As All For One makes clear in his monologue, things haven’t gone exactly as planned, when it comes to his grand scheme of reincarnation. Shigaraki’s willpower has proven to be too great for All For One to eradicate completely, but All For One has a workaround – though time is not something he can afford to waste any more of: 

“My original scheme was for him [Tomura] to become me in his entirety. Melding minds with Tomura to create a new entity altogether was never in fact Plan A,” All For One admits to himself. “Granted, Tomura’s impulse for destruction eclipsed all my hopes – but that is a minor detail. Now that this body’s role is done injuecting my quirk factor into Tomura will broaden my authoriyt and put a lid on him. The Demon Lord’s completion… such is my tale.”

It was a big twist in the All-Out War Arc (which just finished in the My Hero Academia anime Season 6), when All-For One’s true plans for Shigaraki were revealed. Shigaraki was so much a prize student as a means to an end  – a key turn in perspective for Izuku Midoriya, who is the only one who spotted that his arch-rival’s true self – little Tenko Shimura – was still inside the villain, held hostage by All For One. It was this very insight that allowed Deku to gain the trust of One For All’s previous users, and unlock the full potential of the power. 

My Hero Academia is coming down to a thrilling three-way bout, with Deku and All For One both trying to pull Shigaraki’s will toward the light or dark side (Kohei Hirokoshi loves a Star Wars nod…). But will Shigaraki’s indominatable will prove greater than both of them? 

You can find out in My Hero Academia‘s manga, which is free to read online.