My Hero Academia Explores All For One’s Lasting Impact

My Hero Academia Season 4 is now in full swing as the second episode has officially begun the Shie Hassaikai arc of the series. This means we were introduced to Overhaul, a new villain who begun to show himself following All Might’s retirement. It was first implied that he was comfortable operating out in the opening now without All Might around, but it seems like the villainous All For One has had a much stronger impact on the criminal underworld than All Might did. Like how All Might served as a symbol for the heroes, All For One was a dangerous legend.

In Episode 65 of the series, Overhaul meets with Shigaraki and explains that All For One’s absence had inspired him much more than All Might’s has. Now that there’s been a vacuum of power created, the villains will be looking for a new leader and Overhaul has his sights set on the top.

Overhaul is revealed to be the head of the Shie Hassaikai, a Yakuza group. The Yakuza aren’t as active as they used to be thanks to the hero society growing stronger, but the loss of All For One has changed things. As Overhaul explains, his generation treated the villain like an urban legend and the older members continued to fear him. When he was confirmed to be alive, and emerged in the fight against All Might, things began to change.

Overhaul notes that with All Might retired and All For One in Tartarus, both heroes and villains are left without their symbols. So he’s out to become that leader. It’s here that he and Shigaraki’s talks fall apart and lead to some bloody damages, and Overhaul sets himself apart as a villain. He’s not only concerned with gaining more power and influence, but growing it at a controllable rate. He wants an organized growth and power system, and this is probably what sets Shigaraki off even more.

As Shigaraki is officially All For One’s successor, these challenges to him may seem like an affront to his master. A more worthy successor to the crown has arrived, and much like how Midoriya is the second choice, it might seem like Shigaraki is going to have to prove that he’s the right choice to follow in All For One’s deadly footsteps.

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 will also be launching its second big movie, Heroes Rising, in Japan this December.