My Hero Academia Explains the Surprising Origin of Shigaraki's Name

By Nick Valdez

My Hero Academia explained the surprising origins of Tomura Shigaraki's villain name with the newest episode of the anime! The fifth season has reached the end of the My Villain Academia arc, and with it has brought an end to the fight between the League of Villains and the Meta Liberation Army. This fight has pushed Shigaraki to new levels, and this was all sparked by a string of repressed memories flooding back into him. This revealed the tragic fate of his original family, and showed how he came to live under All For One too. 

The newest episode of the series expands on this even further that shows the immediate aftermath of the young Tenko Shimura killing his family, and following some manipulation from All For One, the young Shimura continues on his dark path of using his quirk to kill and destroy. It's here that All For One grants the young villain in training his official code name, and explains the meaning behind the first and last name. Surprisingly, Shigaraki is All For One's last name as well and that puts their entire relationship in a whole new kind of light as well. 

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(Photo: TOHO Animation)

Episode 112 of the series picks up right after All For One takes the young Shimura under his wing. Further teaching him to channel his hatred and rage into destruction, he oversees Shimura as he takes on his official villain gear (his family's remnant hands) for the first time and kills two people. After this, All For One officially gives Tenko Shimura the name of "Tomura Shigaraki," and it's what the villain carries through for the rest of his life and how we're first introduced to him years later. 

All For One explains that "Tomura" comes from the verb, "tomurau," which means to mourn and express sorrow over death and farewell. The idea is for Tenko Shimura to be "reborn" as someone who brings death and mourning, and putting the stamp on things further, All For One reveals that Shigaraki is his own last name as well. Not only does this answer yet another major mystery about the series' big villain, but further emphasizes the twisted father and son relationship he and Tomura truly have. 

We find that Tomura wanted a proper familial figure to protect him from harm, and while All For One technically steers him further into it, in a twisted way he's shown more care for the villain that Tomura originally had with his own family. It's a life that's been manipulated in countless ways, and this goes far deeper than Shigaraki himself even realizes. But what did you think of this name reveal? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

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