My Hero Academia has reached a pivotal point in its main storyline, as the “Paranormal Liberation War” arc has brought about the inevitable collision of the hero and villain worlds. In the midst of two superpowered armies colliding, Izuku Midoriya and Tomura Shigaraki have both gone through rapid and frightening evolutions. As the war arc reaches its climactic battle between the League of Villains and some top hero/student characters, it seems clearer than ever that there’s more great depth to My Hero Academia‘s story to explore. One idea that would thrill fans: a re-telling of the story from Shigaraki’s point of view!
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Let’s be clear: when we say we want to see the story of My Hero Academia told from Tomura Shigaraki’s point of view, we don’t just mean rewatching the same events of the anime/manga from a different angle. We want to see My Hero Academia unfold from when Shigaraki was a boy, after the horrific origin of his decay quirk when All For One took him under his dark wing. It would be a wonderfully twisted parallel to Deku’s story to watch Shigaraki deal with a tragic state of being (his powers and psychosis constantly tormenting him) – only to be selected as the “chosen one” for great power.
It would be interesting to see All For One mentoring Shigaraki, mentally sculpting him and training his body to better handle his nightmarish quirk – not to mention, secretly hiding the original All For One power inside of the boy. It would be similarly fun to see Izuku’s story of bonding with his U.A. classmates reflected in the twisted story of how Shigaraki and All For One gather and train the league – and how Shigaraki ultimately bonds with them; earns their respect as a leader; and even how he wrangles in the likes of Dabi.
Depending on where My Hero Academia’s story goes after this war arc, a Shigaraki POV origin arc or companion piece may be the best way to start really sewing in some deeper indicators of how Shigaraki may ultimately be redeemed. After all, fans know that My Hero Academia creator Kลhei Horikoshi is a big Star Wars fan, and if there is an Anakin Skywalker-style story arc in this series, Shigaraki would certainly be the character to carry that out. His background as the descendant of a famous hero (Nana Shimuda) practically begs a return to the light.
But to really make Shigaraki’s story of falling to dark and coming back to light have the kind of deep impact My Hero Academia is capable of, we need to see more of the story from his side.
What do you think?
My Hero Academia is in production on season 5 of the anime. Online chapters of the manga can be found HERE.
