Shigaraki has had a hard life. As we learned more about the heir apparent to All For One and the current leader of the League of Villains in this flashback scene, Tomura had to contend with his desire to become a hero and the abusive nature of his father. During this flashback, we also encountered the beginning of his habit of itching and scratching at himself, with the reasoning of it being apparent to readers. Shigaraki’s horrible childhood goes a long way in explaining why this grandson of one of the greatest heroes of the My Hero Academia world could so easily fall into villainy when taked under the wing of All For One.
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When Shigaraki was a child, his scratching was attributed to him by his parents as “allergies” that were flaring up. Though the cause of the flare ups was never discovered, Tomura attributed it to the house itself, claiming that the four walled structure was causing him such unease. However, as we read on and the abusive nature of his father swells, the young soon to be villain feels his itching grow and notes that it seems to be coming from within himself.
As you can decipher, Tomura’s quirk of decay is seemingly having an adverse effect on his body, with the constant scratching not just being a sign of his emotions, but his power as well. With his ability to make anything decay with a touch, the side effect appears to be an annoying one. With disembodied hands strewn across his person, Shigaraki has one of the coolest designs in My Hero Academia but his background makes you realize just how much of a tragic figure he truly is.
As Shigaraki and the League of Villains attempts to take on Redestro and his ever growing army of super powered accomplices, the young villain has gained a power up the likes of which he hadn’t seen. Whether or not this will further cause him adversity in the future and even more scratching is yet to be seen.
What do you think of Tomura’s terrible childhood? Do you agree that his quirk is the reason for his scratching in general? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and UA Academy.
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.
