Warning: Contains spoilers for chapter #427 of My Hero Academia.

My Hero Academia has outdone itself yet again with its epilogue, making its ending even more bittersweet than before with its latest chapter with one simple interaction. As the final war demonstrated, Shigaraki was far from a heartless monster hellbent on destruction, despite believing himself to be so, and the latest chapter drives this point home yet again in the saddest way possible.

Chapter #427 of My Hero Academia reveals Spinner has indeed managed to survive the final war thanks to the research conducted on the Nomu, giving Deku a chance to deliver Shigaraki’s final message to him. The chapter beautifully juxtaposes the media image and public opinion of Shigaraki against that of the League of Villains’ image of him.

Spinner heartbreakingly describes Shigaraki as his ray of hope and his hero, while simultaneously, civilians elsewhere describe him as a monster who only wanted to destroy. The most evocative part of the scene is when Spinner claims Shigaraki loved video games and played them with him, which oddly humanizes him and reminds readers yet again of the bittersweet tragedy of his character.

My Hero Academia’s Nuanced Approach Towards Villains Is Personified Through Shigaraki

Created by Kohei Horikoshi Chapter #427 “Who Was Tomura Shigaraki, Really?”

My Hero Academia has always approached Shigaraki’s character with great nuance. The series’ approach towards morality has never quite been black and white, but rather very ambiguous. This moral ambiguity is a trait that many have come to admire in other manga like One Piece, and it only makes My Hero Academia‘s ending all the more beautiful.

Even something as simple as the fact that Shigaraki loved video games is a heartbreaking reminder that at the end of the day, Shigaraki was just a child who was manipulated and only wanted to be accepted along with the rest of his friends. As such, it is difficult to forgive Shigaraki for the destruction he caused and the many lives that were lost and ruined in the process, but it is also impossible to hate him.

Within a span of a few chapters of the final war, Kohei Horikoshi has somehow managed to make Shigaraki’s character so tragic that it is difficult not to feel bad for him and even empathize with him given that his entire existence and every misfortune that befell his character was orchestrated by All For One.

Shigaraki Is a Great Villain and His Complexity Makes Him Compelling

It is difficult to label Shigaraki as a tragic hero or even an anti-hero because, at the end of the day, he was a villain through and through with perhaps a grain of humanity. Shigaraki was most certainly evil and bitter, but he had good reason to be, which makes him a compelling antagonist.

There are certainly many antagonists who are deliciously and irredeemably evil like All For One whom one can love to hate, but rarely does a well-written antagonist like Shigaraki come around whose motives, actions, and words are so easy to empathize with yet challenging to pass absolute judgment on.

Some characters in My Hero Academia, like the old woman featured in the latest chapter, also seem to understand that there must have been a reason for Shigaraki’s actions, and hopefully, the next generation of heroes will also be vigilant of those suffering like Tenko so that hero society does not give rise to more monsters like him. Though only Deku and the heroes involved in the final war will remember Shigaraki as he truly was and the hero he wanted to be in his own twisted way, even that small number may just be enough to change My Hero Academia‘s quirk society for the better.

My Hero Academia is available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.