My Hero Academia: The Symbolism of Hands in Shigarakis Character Development

Key Takeaways

Shigaraki’s 14 hands symbolize trauma, manipulation, control, and society’s failure to save him.
All For One orchestrated Shigaraki’s tragic origin and development into a menacing villain.
Shigaraki’s liberation from the burden of the hands marks his evolution into the ultimate villain.

As a die-hard fan of My Hero Academia, I can’t help but marvel at the intricate depth and symbolism behind each character’s design, especially Tomura Shigaraki. The 14 hands that adorn his body are more than just an eerie aesthetic choice; they represent the very essence of Shigaraki’s tragic origin, emotional trauma, and transformation into one of the most formidable villains in shonen anime.

The way a character is visually designed significantly impacts how fans perceive them, and Kohei Horikoshi effectively conveyed Shigaraki Tomura’s character by giving him 14 human hands scattered across his body. While these disturbing visual aspects might initially appear as a dark aesthetic choice, they serve a much deeper purpose in the character’s portrayal.

They are rich with symbolism which represents key facets of Shigaraki’s character, backstory, emotional trauma, and his development into one of the most menacing villains in shonen anime. To understand the symbolistic importance behind what Shigaraki wears, fans must understand how his descent to villainy started, and All For One’s influence in his life.

Shigaraki’s Tragic Origin And How It Shaped His Life Forever

The Makings Of A Troubled Villain

My Hero Academia: The Symbolism of Hands in Shigarakis Character Development

The hands that enshroud Shigaraki’s form serve as a perpetual reminder of the traumatic incident that indelibly marked his life and destiny. Known as Shigaraki Tomura, he initially lived as Tenko Shimura under the tyranny of an abusive father who sought to quell his fascination with heroes through cruel methods. During one such confrontation, Tenko’s Decay ability manifested, leading him to unintentionally take the lives of his sister, mother, and grandparents in a whirlwind of chaos and disorientation. His father bore witness to this act and, driven by a mixture of shock and anger, struck Tenko, igniting within him a rage that fueled his desire to kill. In the ensuing struggle, Tenko ended up killing his father as well, finding solace in the belief that he would no longer suffer his father’s abuse. However, it has since been revealed that this event was not an accident, as many had assumed.

From start to finish, everything was masterminded by All For One, including the conception of Tenko. He managed to persuade Kotaro Shimura to have another child, with the intention of creating a powerful vessel to seize One For All from its restraints. All For One had even taken Tenko’s quirk factor as an infant and waited for the fateful day when he could transfer the Decay quirk to him. As anticipated, All For One was there to “rescue” him after the incident, since no one else stepped forward to aid the abandoned child. Later on, All For One started shaping Tenko and subtly instilling within him a deep-seated resentment towards heroes and society.

The Hands That Shigaraki Dons Are A Constant Reminder Of Society’s Failure To Save Him

The Reasoning Behind Shigaraki’s Urge To Destroy

Without Tenko realizing it, All For One had covertly amassed the hands of his deceased relatives and received them as a gift from the Doctor. He didn’t start wearing these hands until a confrontation with two thugs occurred, following which All For One urged him to do whatever was necessary for self-comfort, since principles like ethics were merely tools used by people to control others. Once he donned his family’s hands, particularly his father’s hand on his face, he silenced the inner voice that had stopped him from killing those thugs and underwent a transformation into a new person. His past self as Tenko was completely erased, and so All For One named this new individual Shimura, symbolizing the life-altering event. The hands enable All For One to control Shigaraki, constantly reminding him of emotional torment, tethering him to his harrowing past, and instilling in him a fierce desire for destruction and rebellion against society, a desire strong enough to overcome the willpower of the One For All vestiges.

Another interpretation links those hands to the idea of power, as this is an aspect he’s fought to master throughout his life. For a significant part of his youth, Shigaraki wrestled with control over his feelings, abilities, and destiny, yet when he puts on those hands, he becomes accountable only to himself and his instincts. Now, he’s determined to take charge of the world around him, believing that the disregard for the less fortunate is what leads individuals like him into such a tragic existence. He thinks that true societal change can only occur through a process similar to the phoenix’s cycle of death and renewal, which explains why he’s willing to destroy everything if necessary, even if it means confronting some of the most powerful heroes known.

Shigaraki’s Eventual Liberation From The Burden Of The Hands

A Step In His Evolution To Becoming The Ultimate Villain

In various instances, Shigaraki appeared distraught whenever others handled or harmed his hands, but as his personality evolved, he managed to surmount this hurdle. During the Meta Liberation Army Arc, the confrontation between Re-Destro and Shigaraki served as a profound revelation for him, marking a critical turning point in his character development that would indelibly alter him. Numerous injuries were sustained on Shigaraki’s hands during this battle, which triggered an unexpected wave of feelings within him, causing him to regain forgotten memories from his childhood and the past he had hidden away.

This freed Shigaraki from a hidden restriction, allowing him to use his quirk with just two fingers instead of his entire palm. Later, he found solace in recollections of his troubled past and those who supported him, eventually overcoming his trauma and destroying his father’s hand. With all his memories restored and a newfound self-awareness, he decided the extra hands were no longer needed and discarded them, leaving behind the creepy suit. However, he retained one hand to maintain his public persona.

My Hero Academia is now available to stream on Crunchyroll.

2024-10-09 22:03