Highlights
- The Final War Saga in My Hero Academia is building up to an epic conclusion between Deku and Shigaraki.
- Shigaraki's character arc has evolved significantly, transforming him into a formidable and complex villain.
- To defeat the nearly unstoppable Shigaraki, Deku must focus on inflicting mental damage by exploring his darkest memories.
My Hero Academia is edging closer to its end with each passing chapter now, and fans are incredibly excited to witness the finale of this monumental series that has been continuing for years upon years now. This story has been written to perfection by Horikoshi, and, although it has had ups and downs along the way, right now, every fan is waiting in anticipation to see what becomes of the Final War Saga, and how Horikoshi wraps up the biggest conflict in the entire series, which is the battle between Deku and Shigaraki.
My Hero Academia: Will Deku Be Quirkless Again?
Deku is losing all his quirks against Shigaraki in MHA.
This battle has been continuing for quite a bit now, and will most likely span all over the next few chapters as well. At the end of the duel, however, Shigaraki's story will finally be complete, and fans will find out what happens to him after and how his story arc concluded.
Shigaraki's Role In The Final War
Shigaraki Tomura has played an incredibly important role in the entirety of My Hero Academia. Having been brainwashed by the likes of All For One At the beginning, Shigaraki was raised to be a vessel for the most heinous villain in the world of My Hero Academia. However, his own personality was suppressed deep inside. At some point, his personality grew so much that the influence of All For One no longer worked on him. Shigaraki has grown tremendously over the years, and he has continued to play the role of a massively important villain.
Shigaraki aims to reduce the entire system to dust and rebuild, simply because the system that exists right now did not provide a helping him to him, or any of his comrades either. Society considers them to be outcasts, and people unworthy of being helped. Shigaraki also holds quite a lot of resentment for the house that he grew up in, and he wants to see that entire picture destroyed and ripped out, root and stem. As such, his motivations have always been clear. Shigaraki is, simply put, destruction incarnate, and he will continue on the path of destruction in the upcoming chapters of My Hero Academia as well.
As far as his role in the Final War Saga goes, Shigaraki has been actively fighting to see his goal of being fulfilled. He is strong enough to destroy the entirety of Japan, if he so wishes, and for him, the primary goal here is to reduce everything to ash, and then take steps to build a world where he, along with his friends, or people who matter as well, fins solace. This aspect of Shigaraki’s character is key to understanding what will happen to him in the Final War Saga, as his battle with Deku continues. Shigaraki fought quite a lot of incredible fights in the Final War Saga, both physically, and mentally. When it comes to the physical battles, Shigaraki fought countless heroes, and emerged victorious, as that was just something that was expected.
However, his mental battles were the true struggle, as he fought to assert control over his body and beat the influence of All For One for good. He has certainly succeeded in that endeavor, and now, all he has to do is to defeat the enemies standing in front of him, that is, Deku.
How Shigaraki Can Be Defeated
Right now, Shigaraki is the strongest individual that fans have seen in the entirety of My Hero Academia. He is a force to be reckoned with, and an individual that cannot be defeated easily by anyone. In fact, Shigaraki has even gone on to surpass All For One, which is a massive statement, no matter which way fans look at it. Shigaraki possesses tremendous power, such that even All For One paled in comparison. His body is strong enough to withstand any damage. Whatever damage he does take, can be recovered from within a matter of seconds.
My Hero Academia: Horikoshi Confirms Shigaraki As The Strongest Villain
Shigaraki is confirmed as MHA's greatest villain by the author himself.
At the same time, Shigaraki possesses the power of All For One, and using that power, he can steal any quirk, utilize the said quirk, or stockpile it. On top of that, he has his incredibly powerful Decay quirk, which, after undergoing reawakening, can destroy anything within the blink of an eye. Truly, no matter which way fans look at it, Shigaraki is almost unstoppable in combat, and his fight against Deku has proven that. As such, defeating him is an arduous task for Deku, however, it is one that he might be able to pull off.
How Deku Can Beat Shigaraki
As has been seen over the course of the last few chapters, the way to defeat Shigaraki lies in dealing mental damage to him. No matter what Deku does to him physically, Shigaraki simply regenerates at a blazing-fast speed. His weakness is to damage him from the inside, and probe into his deepest and darkest memories, which would weaken him and his resolve as well, allowing Deku to deal significant damage to him and weaken him considerably. To do this, the vestiges suggested that Deku allow them to be transferred to figure out his body.
Once transferred, they would probe inside the crack that exists in his memories, where he has hidden all his past sad memories of his house, and his family. Star and Stripe was the one who discovered this, and now, the message has reached the One For All vestiges, who are going to be making full use of this week. So far, Deku has already transferred two Quirks, and lost one to Shigaraki. This square transfer process has proven to work, as Shigaraki has certainly weakened in terms of resolve and power once his memories were probed into, and Deku has successfully landed significant damage on him, as a result. Keeping this up, it is entirely possible that Deku will be able to defeat Shigaraki.
Can Shigaraki Be Redeemed?
Of course, once the battle against Deku ends, the question of whether Shigaraki can be redeemed or not remains. Clearly, at this point in time, Shigaraki looks like he is going to be redeemed. But, that certainly does not mean he will not pay for his crimes. It is likely that Shigaraki will have to pay for what he did, and it is only after he manages to pay for his crimes that he will be able to join society and help build towards a better future. Until then, Shigaraki will likely be locked up, or, worked in a way where he helps better the world.
Right now, this appears to be the path that the author is leaning towards, however, fans will only find out what happens with Shigaraki once the story actually concludes.
My Hero Academia is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of My Hero Academia, My Hero Academia chapter 417, is set to be March 17, 2024.
My Hero Academia Chapter 417 Preview: Shigaraki's Past
Deku makes a breakthrough in his fight against Shigaraki in MHA 417.
