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“ | Now I know what I'm working toward. To create a world without All Might and to prove how fragile society's sense of safety really is. That's what drives me. From this day forward, I will call it my conviction. [...] Everything is All Might's fault. | „ |
~ Tomura Shigaraki establishing his main goal. |
“ | My mind's empty beyond those flashes and fragments, and yet... there's a heaviness in my heart. Like a lump of lead, never moving. Fueling the rage that propels me, but never brings relief. Even if we bring down hero society... even if I rule the ruins from the shadows.. that lead will be with me all my life. That's why I despise all in existence. All that lives and breathes. Presses on the weight in my soul. So then, why shouldn't I destroy it? Why must I suffer it? When this world falls, we'll see the glorious new horizon that awaits. So why not lend me a hand? I'll show you the holes of Heaven, and the depths of Hell. | „ |
~ Tomura Shigaraki explaining his love of chaos and destruction to Daruma Ujiko. |
“ | I've got no need for One For All. Did you think you had everything under control? Unlike those flip-flopping screw ups, my heart ain't wavering. Everything I witnessed in this world of ours led to the existence of that house. As Tomura Shigaraki and Tenko Shimura, I've got just one hope. The destruction of everything stemming from that house. That's the only thing that's gonna save me, hero. | „ |
~ Tomura finally breaking free from All For One's control and accepting his role as the big villain. |
Tenko Shimura, better known as Tomura Shigaraki (in Japanese: 死柄木弔, Shigaraki Tomura), is the main antagonist of the My Hero Academia franchise. He serves as the arch-nemesis of Izuku Midoriya.
He is the leader of the League of Villains and grand commander of the Paranormal Liberation Front whose overall goal is to become Japan's next greatest villain and destroy everything or anyone who gets in his way. At the start of the series, Tomura has no clear conviction and relies on All For One to provide every resource he requires. His initial objective was to destroy the society of heroes, specifically All Might, for whom he held great hatred for.
Ever since All For One's imprisonment, however, Tomura has slowly begun to learn and develop into a more independent villain and formed the conviction to destroy everything he despises, ultimately wanting to bring down the world as a whole. Upon defeating Re-Destro and his Meta Liberation Army, Rikiya submitted to his commands and made Tomura the grand commander of the Paranormal Liberation Front. Later, Tomura went through a grueling medical operation to implant himself with his master's original All For One Quirk, but as a consequence, his master took over his body. However, Tomura slowly resisted his possession and eventually usurped his master as the true user of All For One, continuing his destructive crusade against all that he hates.
He is voiced by Kōki Uchiyama and Arisa Sekine as a child in Japanese and Eric Vale and Emily Fajardo as a child in English.
Appearance[]
Tomura Shigaraki is a skinny, pale 21-year-old young man. He has light skin and messy light, pale silver hair (blue in the anime). His lips are chapped and dry, with a scar on the left side of his lips and a mole on his right. He has small red pupils and wrinkly eyelids with a scar on his right eye.
As a child, Tenko was a small boy with black hair and gray eyes. He was shown to have itch marks over his eyes due to his Quirk developing. After his Decay Quirk manifested, Tenko’s hair went from black to pale silver/blue with his eyes turned red.
Disguised as a villain, Tomura wears a mask made from the preserved hand of his father that conceals a great portion of his face and a black costume. He also wears thirteen more hands around his entire body that once belonged to various family members, including his grandmother Nana Shimura, and red sneakers with no socks on. As a civilian, Tomura does not wear a mask or his costume, but he is instead seen in average civilian clothing.
After a few time skips, Tomura's overall appearance has slightly changed a bit. He now wears a black trench coat with a hood on and his hair has noticeably grown slightly longer than before. He still retains his hands and wears them in the same fashion as he did before, but he's often seen not wearing his mask, regardless of whether he's out in public or at his hideout.
Following the events that unfolded in Deika City, Tomura received a new coat with a fur collar around it and a business suit with a tie. Both of his hands are currently bandaged and patched up while he continues to wear only one hand on his face. His hair also changed color from pale grey/blue to white. During the hero raid on Jaku General Hospital, he wore a mechanized battlesuit, and briefly donned the cape of X-Less, which he took after killing said Pro Hero.
In the movie, My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising, he is seen wearing a red trench coat.
Personality[]
Like most villains in My Hero Academia, Tomura is disgusted with how society is. He hates heroes, especially All Might for being the symbol of peace. During his battle against the heroes, Tomura expresses his deep hatred against society, stating that they did not help him when he needed it most. Tomura also hates anyone who admires All Might, like Izuku Midoriya and the Hero Killer, Stain. Unlike the Hero Killer, however, Tomura is out for carnage and to some degree fame. His most defining feature is not only his desire to eliminate the society of heroes but to improve himself as a villain, learning from his mistakes and growing from them in a similar way to Izuku Midoriya.
Sometimes, Tomura can become extremely furious over anything that happens to not go his way, like how he did not get any recognition for the Nomus that attacked the civilians in Hosu or for people constantly praising the Hero Killer in front of him. Tomura is also shown to be very arrogant and childishly sadistic. He has no qualms about threatening anyone's life whether it be a civilian or a student at UA. When he started recruiting for the League of Villains, he tried to kill Himiko Toga and Dabi simply because the former was psychotic, and the latter was there because of Stain, not Tomura.
Despite his usual malicious attitude, he cares deeply for his master, All For One, and will listen to what he says and be concerned for him as he went to fight All Might with his weakened body. He also refused to think of his subordinates as expendable and remains encouraging to them instead. Initially, Tomura was concerned about taking over the world by himself but as time went by, he has grown fond of how the League of Villains has grown. He does not merely look at them as subordinates anymore, but as a family, and ultimately plans to rule the world alongside them. His care for his underlings was further shown when he was enraged as Overhaul killed Magne, blew off Mr. Compress' arm and willingly used his minions as human shields without a second thought. He didn't punish Twice despite him being the one to bring Overhaul there. He also showed sadistic joy after mutilating and leaving Overhaul maimed and unable to use his Quirk as revenge for his actions against the League of Villains, showing the deep contempt he had for him.
Tomura continues to show care for his subordinates as when Himiko asked if he would destroy everything she likes, he stated that while he intends to destroy everything he despises, his allies are the only exceptions to his goal. He was disgusted at the Meta Liberation for toying with Twice's emotions, stating he won't forgive them for it, was stated to have bonded with Spinner over video games, and was also seen treating the League to lunch, further showing the concern he has for them.
As time passes by, Tomura slowly learned to grow independent from the teachings of All For One and become more on his own. He now participates in activities alongside his comrades and his frustration has significantly been reduced to a more composed nature, though there are times when he can still be irritated. Ever since Gigantomachia met with him, Tomura has developed an energetic side to him that keeps him moving on his feet, even without the need for sleep, and has shown a more deranged nature as a result.
When Tomura was a young boy, he was originally a bright and happy person who loved heroes, although at the same time, he feared his father, as he would be punished by the latter whenever he brought up heroes around him. When none of his family members came to his aid during his abuse, Tomura began to develop a nihilistic personality, in which he felt that no one loved him and that the world around him was cruel and unforgiving. After his quirk manifested and he accidentally killed his family, Tomura begged his father for help but after being attacked, he intentionally killed him for all his abuse and was pleased with himself. The events of him killing his family left an emotional scar on him that would hold back his true potential for a while. Due to the trauma he experienced, Tomura initially felt great remorse for killing his family, especially considering that he loved them deeply, but once he learned to let go of this feeling, Tomura no longer expressed guilt over his actions. Instead, his memories now only serve as the fuel that strengthens his hatred and desire to destroy society.
Despite this, Tomura holds no hatred towards his family, with the exception of his father, as shown in his hallucinations where he holds no grudge against his sister as she apologizes to him and assured his mother he was fine, even turning back into a child in front of her, proving a part of Tomura still genuinely cares about his family. However, he has also realized that they are a hindrance to his goals and chooses to let go of them whenever they interfere. Though once he joins the Paranormal Liberation War, Tomura starts to believe that his father was right all along, saying that heroes are nothing but selfish and ignore the ones they give up on, which in turn shapes those people into becoming villains. With a system that has rejected him and all his fellow villains, Tomura says that is the reason why he is spearheading the destruction of hero society.
This shows that, despite all his cruelty and madness, Tomura is deep down a truly shattered and tragic person who did not find his place in a world that rejected him and ended up falling into villainy due to All For One who, despite all, was the only one who helped him when he needed it. Izuku could also see a crying child inside of Tomura, proving part of Tenko still exists and wants to be saved.
In spite of his initial gratitude to his master, Tomura grows to detest All For One upon learning his plan of using his body as a vessel, as it interferes with his own goal of setting out to carve his own path as a villain. For this, he does everything he can to reject All For One and tries to regain control of his body, refusing to be a pawn in his schemes. However, his hatred would serve as the catalyst that would allow both his mind and All For One to merge into one being. By the time of the final battle, Tomura's mind has almost merged with All For One's, creating a new entity that contains Tomura's destructive and nihilistic views of the world while also maintaining All For One's desire of ruling it. However, in spite of this, a small consciousness of Tenko remains inside Tomura's mind that continues to reject All For One and cries out to be saved.
Nonetheless, Tomura makes it clear that he and "Tenko" are one and the same who share a common goal of seeing society brought to its destruction, believing his hatred stems everything back from what happened to him during his childhood. As a result, he is able to completely regain control of his body and makes it clear to Midoriya that the only thing that's going to save him is to see everything be destroyed.
Tomura was shown to take sadistic joy in All For One almost killing All Might, only allowing Midoryia the option to save him because it meant he could kill everyone at UA. When his master died, rather than showing contempt, Tomura actually blamed himself for All For One’s demise, staying he should’ve broken Bakugo harder and he’s actually still grateful for everything All For One did for him. He mocks Midoryia for wanting to save him and claims he’s abandoned his humanity, although he also expresses a desire to make a flattened horizon that “Spinner was totally looking forward to” showing that Tomura still cares about his friends and does have humanity despite his claims otherwise.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Decay: Tomura's Quirk allows him to turn any solid object that is within his reach to dust. When he touches an object with his hands, it will disintegrate and turn into dust. With this particular Quirk, Tomura has to be within a short distance of his target to grab onto them or even make contact with them to actually damage them. He also requires all five fingers for it to work to its full effectiveness.
- Eventually, Tomura's Quirk was able to evolve and become more powerful. He can now take out a person instantly rather than slowly wait and can now take out a large group of people without having to touch all of them. It is later revealed that Tomura has been using a small fraction of his Quirk's power, due to his mental trauma holding him back. Once he learned to let go of this trauma, however, his Quirk managed to evolve to the point where he does not need all five of his fingers to trigger it. Following his operation, he can now selectively choose when he wants his Quirk to be active or not.
- All For One: It is revealed that All For One anticipated being defeated by All Might and had Daruma Ujiko duplicate his Quirk; preserving the original while keeping the copy for himself. Once Tomura had proven himself to be a worthy successor, Ujiko had him undergo a complex surgery to receive the original Quirk. After the operation’s completion, Tomura gained the power to steal Quirks from others. In addition, he also inherited the stockpile of stolen Quirks his master had collected with it throughout the years.
- Super Regeneration: Like the Nomus, Tomura possesses a Quirk that allows him to regenerate his wounds at rapid speed such as missing limbs and heavily damaged skin.
- Air Cannon: Tomura is capable of releasing air shockwaves from his hands. The shape and damage of these shockwaves range, depending on how Tomura chooses to manifest them. This Quirk can also be combined with various others such as Springlike Limbs.
- Search: Tomura can use this Quirk to monitor and observe up to at least a hundred people at once, allowing him to view their locations and weaknesses. Originally, this was a Quirk that belonged to the Pro Hero, Ragdoll, before it was stolen by All For One and later given to Tomura.
- Springlike Limbs: Tomura can coil his muscles into a spring-like coil. He can also use this Quirk to combine and enhance the power of other Quirks.
- Radio Waves: Tomura can use this Quirk to disrupt a shockwave of radio waves and disable communication devices. He can also combine it with other Quirks such as Air Cannon to make the effect more widespread.
- Rivet Stab: This Quirk allows Tomura to create black, vein-like tendrils from his fingers and spine that can be used offensively to pierce bodies and is often used in conjunction with Forced Quirk Activation.
- Reflect: This Quirk allows Tomura to absorb any attack used against him and release it back at the target at the same level of power.
- Heavy Payload: This Quirk allows Tomura to increase the damage output of his attacks. He can use this Quirk to combine and enhance the power of other Quirks such as Air Cannon and Radio Waves.
- Scatter: This Quirk allows Tomura to split up projectiles and scatter them all over, increasing the strength and radius of long-range attacks.
- Wing: This Quirk allows Tomura to grow large, black wings from his back; granting him the ability to fly. Originally, this Quirk belonged to a Near High-End Nomu before it was stolen by Tomura.
- Danger Sense: This Quirk allows Tomura to detect any potential threats in the area he is in. Originally, this Quirk belonged to Izuku Midoriya as an ability of One for All before it was stolen by Tomura.
- Gearshift: This Quirk allows Tomura to change the speed and or velocity of any target he touches, including himself.
- Immense Strength: Following the surgery performed on him by Dr. Ujiko, Tomura received modifications to his body that granted him immense strength. Because of this, Tomura is able to leap great distances using only his leg muscles and can contend with several Pro Heroes even without the use of his Quirks.
- Immense Speed and Reflexes: Tomura has fast speed and reflexes as he is able to react to an attack from his opponent. He is also able to move from one place to another in an instant, as shown when he reached to attack Asui before she could even react. He also read Izuku's movements despite the latter's usage of One For All.
- Immense Durability: Tomura possesses a decent amount of durability, as he was able to sustain little damage in the battles he fought against heroes. A full-out explosive blast from Katsuki Bakugo at close range had merely stunned him for a short period of time. He even managed to survive a point-blank Prominence Burn from Endeavor in the air, though All For One noted had he not intervened he would have been incinerated, and even if he had survived, the fall would have killed him.
Abilities[]
- Genius Intellect: Tomura is perceptive of his opponents' abilities and is able to react swiftly against them. Tomura is quite knowledgeable about the heroes and even other villains like All Might, Chizome Akaguro, and Chisaki. In addition to his intelligence, Tomura is also strategic and can plan out highly skilled attacks such as the planned attack on the UA students by his Vanguard Action Squad.
Overall, Tomura Shigaraki is a powerful villain who has only gotten far stronger and learned from his mistakes as the series progressed. He was able to fight head-on with Eraser Head with no struggle and was even able to get close and damage him. Despite his plans failing at first, Tomura does prove to be quick thinking and fast on his feet. As the leader of the League of Villains, he also has control over his allies and subordinates. Following his training with Gigantomachia and body-augmentation surgery, as well as receiving his master’s Quirk. Tomura becomes a terrifyingly powerful and destructive villain who is able to strike fear into the hearts of others, to the point where Nana Shimura feared his potential should his evil continue to rise. At his full potential, it's been acknowledged that Izuku Midoriya is the only one with a chance at defeating him in one-on-one confrontation.
Appearances[]
All Appearances |
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Manga[]
Anime[]Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Sesaon 6
|
Quotes[]
“ | We're leaving. But before that. Let's leave a few dead kids... to wound the pride of the Symbol of Peace! | „ |
~ Tomura before attempting to kill Tsuyu Asui. |
“ | Heroes, and villains both thrive on violence, but we're still categorized. "You're good." "You're evil." That's how it is! Symbol of Peace? Hah! In the end, you're just a tool for violence, made to keep us down, and violence only breeds more violence. | „ |
~ Tomura confronting All Might. |
“ | Well, you see... for my sake, and all of yours. You see, they're looking to hamper the mobility of the League. And I'm sure they'd like to win you over, seeing you all as useful to their cause. They want to pull you in from the outside and subjugate you. From the very beginning, they haven't viewed us as equals. Twice, I told you to take responsibility for your actions, didn't you? | „ |
~ Tomura shows faith in his fellow League members. |
“ | You know what I think Overhaul? Someone so obsessed with erasing quirks, shouldn't have one of their own. Don't you agree? | „ |
~ Tomura gets his revenge on Kai Chisaki by destroying his arms |
“ | Just like that you're helpless. A weak, Quirkless loser and all the fruits of your labors belong to me! Now you don't even have a thumb to suck on! You're doomed to watch from the sidelines as your dream falls apart! Let's do our best! | „ |
~ Tomura taunts Kai Chisaki after destroying his arms. |
“ | Tomura: I knew you’d survive. Nine: Shigaraki... Tomura: Did you have a good life? Nine: I've just begun, I'll keep fighting. Tomura: Don't worry, I'll take over your dream from here. Nine: There can only be... one true ruler. Tomura: Yes... ONLY ONE. Goodnight, Nine. Excellent work. |
„ |
~ Tomura confronts a dying Nine just before killing him with his Decay Quirk. |
“ | It's strange... when I wear "everyone", I feel sick to my stomach and want to throw up, but my heart becomes calm, how strange is that? | „ |
~ Tomura explains the effect of wearing his family's remains. |
“ | Spinner: At this point... can't we just leave it all to Twice? Tomura: Yeah... he just likes Giran way too much... playing around with people's feelings like that... I won't forgive you, Liberation Army. |
„ |
~ Tomura angry at the Meta Liberation Army for exploiting Twice's trauma. |
“ | What world will I build? Honestly, you were right. The only thing I want... is to destroy. | „ |
~ Tomura to Re-Destro. |
“ | DESTROY IT ALL!! | „ |
~ Tomura using his Decay Quirk to destroy Deika City while fighting Re-Destro |
“ | You heroes... pretend to be society's guardians. For generations... you pretended not to see those you couldn't protect... and swept their pain under the rug. It's tainted everything you've built. That means... your system's all rotten from the inside... with maggots crawling out. It all builds up... little by little, over time. You've got the common trash, all too dependent on being protected. And the brave guardians who created the trash that need coddling. It's a corrupt, vicious cycle. Everything I've witnessed... this whole system you've built has always rejected me. Now I'm ready to reject it. That's why I destroy. That's why I took this power for myself. Simple enough, yeah? I don't care if you don't understand... That's what makes us... heroes and villains. | „ |
~ Tomura Shigaraki's monologue to the heroes. |
“ | Ha ha! Manipulating her emotions and history didn't work, huh? Yeesh, look at you now! That's what you get for sticking your hands where they don't belong! The same goes for the way you groomed me. Using Shimura and All Might to push my buttons like that. All to move ahead with your plot to hijack my body and soul to make use of my burning rage to take One For All for yourself. | „ |
~ Tomura taunting All For One about his constant manipulations of him and others. |
“ | I'm not directing my Decay over the surface... but rather down, nice and deep. A hefty chunk of Shizuoka Prefecture will be gone in the blink of an eye. I'll take out 378,000 square kilometers of the country itself. Gimme a week, and there'll be nothing left but sea and sky. Snuffing out any hope of restoration... that's what it means to "destroy everything." | „ |
~ Tomura announcing his intentions to destroy all of Japan. |
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Kotaro Shimura (father, abuser) †
- Nao Shimura (mother) †
- Hana Shimura (sister) †
- Nana Shimura (paternal grandmother) †
- Unnamed paternal grandfather †
- Chizuo (maternal grandfather) †
- Mako (maternal grandmother) †
- All For One (adoptive father/master, groomer/predecessor) †
- Yoichi Shigaraki (adoptive uncle) †
Allies[]
- League of Villains (leader)
- Kurogiri (protector, guardian)
- All For One (formerly; thwarted attempted possession) †
- Daruma Ujiko
- Dabi
- Himiko Toga
- Spinner (best friend)
- Twice †
- Mr. Compress (arrested)
- Magne †
- Gigantomachia
- Muscular (arrested)
- Mustard (arrested)
- Moonfish
- Giran
- Paranormal Liberation Front (grand commander)
Enemies[]
- One For All users
- Izuku "Deku" Midoriya (arch-nemesis)
- All Might (attempted victim)
- Nana Shimura †
- Yoichi Shigaraki †
- Kudo †
- Bruce †
- Hikage Shinomori †
- Daigoro Banjo †
- En †
- U.A. Students
- Katsuki Bakugo (former target, attempted victim)
- Ochaco Uraraka
- Tenya Ida
- Momo Yaoyorozu
- Shoto Todoroki
- Eijiro Kirishima
- Yuga Aoyama (spy, traitor)
- Mina Ashido
- Mezo Shoji
- Kyoka Jiro
- Mashirao Ojiro
- Fumikage Tokoyami
- Tsuyu Asui
- Minoru Mineta
- Denki Kaminari
- Hanta Sero
- Rikido Sato
- Koji Koda
- Toru Hagakure
- Mirio Togata
- Tamaki Amajiki
- Nejire Hado
- Neito Monoma
- Pro Heroes
- Eraser Head
- Star and Stripe (victim) †
- Present Mic
- Endeavor
- Mirko
- Hawks
- Best Jeanist
- Edgeshot
- X-Less (victim) †
- Crust (victim) †
- Shie Hassaikai (rival villain group, betrayed; inactive)
- Overhaul (dismembered, arrested)
- Chronostasis (arrested)
- Mimic (arrested)
- Shin Nemoto (arrested)
- Rikiya Katsukame (arrested)
- Toya Setsuno (arrested)
- Yu Hojo (arrested)
- Soramitsu Tabe (arrested)
- Kendo Rappa (arrested)
- Deidoro Sakaki (arrested)
- Hekiji Tengai (arrested)
- Independent/Former Criminals
- Stain †
- Gentle Criminal
- La Brava
- Lady Nagant
- Nine (victim) †
Trivia[]
- Initial concept artwork depicts Tomura slightly differently from his final design. Tomura is shown to have empty eye sockets, with a haunting smile lacking any teeth. The tubes connected to his hands are much longer and hang down loosely. He also seems to wear two large arms as arm gauntlets.
- Tomura seems to suffer from an excoriation disorder, as he is constantly shown to be scratching himself, especially when he gets frustrated. His skin also appears to be heavily sore, mostly around his neck. It is later revealed that this is a result of allergies he had developed during his childhood.
- Although the story tells about how Izuku Midoriya became the greatest hero, it also focuses on how Tomura Shigaraki will possibly become the greatest villain, as Tomura Shigaraki serves as a dark reflection of Izuku Midoriya. Like Midoriya, Shigaraki starts off being rather naive and insecure of his power and position, but he gradually begins to become more mature and confident.
- Tomura's past contrasts that with Eri's in which both accidentally killed their family as a result of being unable to control their Quirks, but unlike Eri who was saved by a hero, Tomura was saved and raised by a villain who brought him down to a dark path.
- Tomura's change of hair color is linked to the awakening of his quirk, his hair turning into a pale blue once the quirk first manifested. Later on, while fighting ReDestro his quirk awakened and became much stronger, his hair turning pure white due to this.
- In the vestige world, after All For One had taken place within his body, it was revealed that Tomura has grown to hate him as well. All For One encourages Tomura to destroy what he hates as he tries to decay the vestige world, noting that Tomura has decided to hate him as Tomura tries to decay him as well.