Is Tomura Shigaraki a wasted potential in My Hero Academia? Explored

My Hero Academia has often encountered criticism for prematurely killing off characters, stopping them from achieving their full potential. In spite of being an anime with a wide range of characters, mangaka Kohei Horikoshi excels in setting them up. Though not every character manages to live up to their full potential, the development of certain characters is important, as it is necessary for a captivating narrative and to attract fans' attention.

Tomura Shigaraki, a primary antagonist, boasts one of anime's most unique development arcs, and fans eagerly await his potential to be fully realized.

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Does Tomura Shigaraki manage to live up to his villain role in My Hero Academia?

With the way My Hero Academia’s manga is progressing, many fans argue that Tomura Shigaraki has fallen short of expectations.

Tormented by an abusive father and a mother who never managed to stand up to him, Shigaraki has had an extremely challenging childhood. Failing to identify the Quirk(decay) he was born with and unable to control his powers, Shigaraki accidentally killed his whole family (except his father, whom he killed deliberately). After being scarred by such a horrific experience, All For One took him under his wing and infused him with a nihilistic philosophy.

Shigaraki's parallel with Deku is one of the most interesting things in My Hero Academia. However, despite the latter growing into a responsible hero capable of protecting those close to him, Shigaraki fails to be as menacing and disruptive as he initially promises to be. He was intended to be the torchbearer of All For One, sharing the same ideology and utilizing his immense resources to achieve their common objective. However, to the dismay of most fans, he falls short of his intended purpose.

When Shigaraki was finally defeated by Deku and his comrades, he succumbed to the growing influence of All For One thereby surrendering his body. This was the absolute opposite of his original ideals and made him seem like a character with no concrete motivations.

The Paranormal Liberation Front was built on the foundation of absolute freedom and Shigaraki's actions could be considered to have been a betrayal of his comrades. After being portrayed as a character who has strong convictions, this was surprising to fans.

What makes Shigaraki's character so unique is the fact that he was set up to be a villain despite having a tragic past like most heroes from other shonen anime. Despite possessing one of the most overpowered Quirks in the anime, Shigaraki has never been able to deal with any long-lasting damage to Deku.

With all 50 students and important teachers still alive and Shigaraki's failure to achieve his original objective of killing All Might (One For All), it can be said that he has largely underperformed in his role as a villain.

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Concluding Thoughts

Despite being a major antagonist in the My Hero Academia manga, Tomura Shigaraki often remained out of the spotlight, overshadowed by other villains. He eventually failed to live up to the hype and make a substantial impact in My Hero Academia, unlike characters like Mahito from Jujutsu Kaisen and Madara Uchiha from Naruto. Fans believe Shigaraki could have been a better antagonist than All For One, and consider the mangaka to have made a mistake in utilizing his potential.

The reason behind Shigaraki never killing anyone substantial or somebody close to Deku could be because he is being set up for a redemption arc and that doing anything irreparable would hinder him. Either way, fans are looking forward to what the future holds for such a unique character and whether he will find a way to meet the expectations fans have of him.