Ah………….. This makes 2- 2 POSTS that I have had to restart. I think I’m losing my “edge” with all these “Short Reviews” and “Anthologies;” I think I’m losing my “knack for delivery.” The first time around, I made a really long joke about how All For One has had his hands so deep in this story that he MIGHT AS WELL be the father Kotaro Shimura, Endeavor, and Deku. And…………… I stand by it. Just not the way it came out. Though, looking at it on the document I save back ups of my posts on- I don’t see what I thought was so bad. Oh well, too late now. I’ll start by telling you that the original name for this post was “It Was All For One All Along” as a reference to that song from the season finale of Disney Plus’ Wanda-Vision, but it sounded cliche and outdated. And that led into the joke about him being Tenko’s and Shoto’s grandfather, as well as Izuku’s father and the one responsible for giving Best Girl Himiko chan and Twice the quirks that made their lives miserable. You get the point: I’m not enthused about this at all- even though, admittedly, I was a supporter of the idea. 

But after seeing what happened to Dabi after the Fre@kin’ Awesome Reveal, I……….. kind of stopped hoping that would be the case. In  fact, I was more rooting for him to just be a “late bloomer” than yet another way to make him an All For One Victim. Like, of the 2 things I can say about Tomura; 1 of them is that he’s “Such An All For One Victim!!” I don’t think that something I should be able to say about someone- Hero or Villain! It’s…………… it feels like “All For One’s Puppet” is becoming his “Defining Trait.” And I don’t like it. I don’t know why Horikoshi has decided to make All For One the only True Villain in this story- after all the work he’s done to “blur the line” between both concepts- but I hope he’s thought this through. I’m gonna start the post because I’ve wasted a lot of the time I had to make it prior to the official release, but we’ll talk about this later- TRUST. My Hero Academia Chapter 418: “Meek Spirits.” This was also the title for chapter 383– the Machia Containment Battle chapter. The Japanese/Fan Translations for both chapter’s were “A Small Heart.” 

There was a little bit of “discourse” around it, since Horikoshi had already used the chapter title before. I feel like it was somewhat intentional, but twisted to a Negative light; it represented Ashido’s growth in chapter 383, but here………… well, we’ll get to that later…………….

Overview

Picking Up From The Last Chapter: It’s The Night Tenko Shimura Destroyed His Family. Deku recalls this feeling from their bout in Jaku– the feeling of a “Crying child.” And before he can move to extend his hand to Tenko- he sees it: The Awakening Of “Decay.” And it becomes PAINFULLY CLEAR in that moment what this night is, so Kid Deku gets in front of Tenko, blocking him from turning Hana to dust. Seeing as they’re in a “Memory Space,” he figures the best way to hold out is to keep “Remembering” that his hands are there- as Tenko starts turning his arms to dust. He tries to reach Tenko, telling him he came here because he saw him crying all alone in this pit. But Tenko fights back, claiming he meant for all of this to happen- because it’s the only explanation as to why he was gifted those hands of his. Deku’s starting to lose ground, even against this “weak spot” in Tomura’s head. But……….. in that moment………….. Tomura’s Hate and this…………. “Catharsis” became balanced with a sense of Grief and Confusion. Tenko’s “Hate” and “Will To Destroy-“ it’s shaking. 

Remembering the f*ckwipes that walked by him on the street, and Izuku remembering what he told the other holders- all while that Seething Hate threatens to BREAK him. But he says that he felt “at ease” when someone grabbed his hand– so he felt that Tenko might have needed that same comfort. The 2 kids butt heads, as Tenko’s hate starts to break him, too. And then– we see what happened before he was brought home on that day: He was pretending to be a Hero with his friends, who tell him he should play All Might!! He’s Super Excited, but……… it starts to fade as he looks at the clock. It is at that moment that he realizes: He’s A Villain- pure and simple. And even if……… even though Izuku has managed to quell his anger- to finally take his hand and make him feel even a little bit better– even if it means that he’s now just an “Empty Shell-” 

The Villains Still Need A Hero.

Tomura Shigaraki returns- beginning to turn to dust in the wind. As all around the world– there are some- however few- rooting for him to Destroy The World. And yet- the Finger Cocoon has to started to disintegrate. Looks like a “Happily Ever After,” right? MEMORY CLIPS- First Person Perspective: Kotaro Shimura is talking to someone from this “Koga Construction” company. Something isn’t right here. Apparently, Kotaro is suffering from lower back pains, but declines to take a doctor’s appointment. Then another clip: Kotaro is relaying that “the little guy is a handful,” and he tells whoever’s perspective we’re seeing that his “quirk hasn’t manifested yet.” Neither of them know WHAT’S going on or WHOSE memories these are, but…………….. well……………… Who Do Ya Think? In his…………….. eh, we’ll call it “Triumphant-” return after…………. 8 chapters or not hogging the spotlight from a better Villain(objectively speaking at this point)- Ol’ Nutsack Face Shigaraki comes back in full force, revealing to his “foolish vessel” that he’s never made a single decision on his own. And now has evidence to back up that claim. It All Goes Back To All For One- just as his name would imply. My Hero Academia Chapter 418 END. So I guess All For One is gonna “spit out” Tenko and use this original body to mutate into that Demon from the first ED of season 2. 

REVIEW

Don’t feel bad, Tenko– not a single thing in this story is yours or Himiko chan’s or Dabi’s or even Twice’s fault– It’s All All For One’s Fault. Nana Shimura only let your father go because of All For One; she was protecting him from his father- your Grandfather– because she saw what happened to that Enji Todoroki. Yeah, she knew he was cheating on her and had a number of b@stards, but he was just so persuasive that she decided to stick out. But she saw that how Enji was being neglected, and didn’t want that for you. So he talked her into giving him up!! And yeah; your cousins are Enji’s own neglected children- never good enough for Endeavor just like he was never good for All For One. But that’s not even the craziest part. You see that little green nerd you’ve been battling? He’s your Uncle- rather than stay and neglect him like he did for Kotaro and Enji, he just decided to leave under the guise of “going over seas.” But now he’s back to teach Dear Ol’ Dad what happens when mess with his family. And I don’t really have a joke for it, but he’s also the one who gave Himiko chan and Twice their quirks and drove them to this life- so that you would have friends when you went all “Destroy the world.” He even had a hand in making Touya and Spinner the way they were. And Compress? Ouji Harima is another of his alias’. 

That was pretty much the original joke I opened with. I’m only somewhat exaggerating by adding Himiko chan and Twice in the mix, but he did manage to put his hands in Spinner and Dabi’s stories somewhere down the line. Didn’t care for Spinner’s thing; he was only there to explain how Dabi survived that day at Sakoto peak; he probably didn’t give Himiko chan and Twice their quirks, but I don’t put it past the story anymore. Like- Actually he might be Izuku’s dad. Horikoshi might just be going 3-For-3 on these Fan Theories. It’s not even like this wasn’t expected; we don’t know what his Mother’s quirk was, but Kotaro likely had some variant of Nana’s “Float” quirk. I don’t know what combination that involves “floating” creates “Decay.“ This wasn’t that much of a surprise in the way of storytelling- it was kind of obvious. My Problem comes from the fact that he- after going FULL MUZAN- is back. He TRULY IS some type of Parasite, isn’t he? Went out in one of the worst ways a Villain could- and he just keeps on coming. He’s a Tenacious Little Nothing, I’ll give him that……………….

But even with this happening; I can’t say we didn’t see this coming, either. He said as much back when he rewound to Nothingness: “He still had that.” Tomura’s Intense Anger was enough to force the Vestige All For One into submission back in chapter 379, but Crybaby Izuku Midoriya went and did what they said couldn’t be done and Quelled It- saving Tenko from himself(in a quazi-literal sense). But with that Wrath no longer bogging him down– All For One’s Vestige Is Back For A Second Try. Man, it SURE IS a good thing Izuku went and smashed all the Vestige’s preventing him from stealing “One For All” all this time. It’s just him now. And he no LIKELY doesn’t have the willpower to prevent that. He doesn’t even need Tenko’s to be p!ssed off anymore- he’s strong enough to take One For All himself. And as we know- those who offer nothing to his life- have no place in the world meant for He, Himself, And He Alone. Meaning it won’t be Tomura spitting out Tenko- it’ll be All For One. And like I said earlier: He’ll probably become and Finger-fied version of that Demon Monster Thing we saw at the end of ED 2. That was a good ED. 

If I were to throw this chapter a bone, it would be the fact that- in spite of it all: Tenko’s still out to destroy the world. But not for himself any longer; Tenko is doing this for The Villains- for those whose quirks have incumbered their lives– those too afraid to leave their rooms for fear of discrimination– those with no outlet to utilize their powers safely- those who are actually punished for using their powers- Those Who Are Still Oppressed By This Society. You even see them cheering for him to win this fight. Even if they themselves don’t survive- someone will; someone just like them…………… they hope. And whomever survives this- will be the one’s to rebuild the world. All they have to do is live, and they get to be Free. That’s a Pretty Big “IF” on their part, but hey- they have Hope. I guess they reflect each other in that way, too.

That’s What He Had Believed In That Moment.

But then- All For Nothing’s memories kicked in and revealed to him that he wasn’t even born like this; he’s just the most unfortunate All For One Victim in the Entire Narrative. Heck, when the leaks were coming out, someone on twitter had theorized that- through “Koga Constructions-” All For One was the one that built Tenko’s childhood home! And given what we know about All For One and his relationship to all past holder’s of One For All- that’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. He hunted down Kudo’s entire bloodline and made sure it was extinct, and even went out of his way to make Nana’s grandson his new body- just to spit in her face. He’s the one who crafted Tenko’s Tragic life- almost down to the last detail. You may not like either, but that’s the truth of the matter. And now that Tomura/Tenko know that nothing in their lives have ever been their choice- What will they do now? Horikoshi could go the “Easy Route” and have them “Make The First Choice In Their Lives And Sacrifice Themselves To Take Out All For One,” but as my friend Mammoth Base Opera Castle points out: That’s The “Easy Way.“ And Horikoshi has shown us on occasion that he’s better than that……………………. until he wasn’t. 

My next line should be obvious: A revision to the theory I always talk about; about dividing Tomura and Tenko using their Singularity, leaving Tomura the original body equipped with “Decay” and Tenko the same quirkless 6 year old he still is at the core of their being. Replaced “Tomura” with “All For One,” and it’s pretty much the same thing, but far less interesting. You saw me in those weeks I’d bring up the theory: I had been speculating that Tomura was the “Will of The Decay Quirk” made manifest, trying to protect Tenko from the world that rejected him- rejected them; he was acting as Tenko’s hero. And them splitting puts Tomura in a situation where he either Goes Through With His Plan and Kills Tenko In The Process, or allow himself to be defeated- whether or not that means just stopping the fight or letting himself be killed- it would be HIS choice, at the end of the day. But NOW it’s just Tenko’s no long of use to this body, so he’s just gonna get spat out. Then they- whoever can still move at this point along with everyone who’s regained consciousness and are pushing themselves beyond their limits just to be there with their friend blah blah blab blah blah–  defeat/kill All For One(definitely both), leaving the situation with Tenko the last thing to resolve. 

And that’s where the theory sinks back up: Tenko- still wanting to be a Hero- thanks Izuku for giving him this second chance. Whether or not Izuku dies at the end here, it’s obvious what he does next: Giving Tenko One For All– the chance to be a Hero he was given. The only difference now is that he’s out to become “The Villain’s Hero-“ someone who fights for those like Himiko chan who’s quirk has warped their personality; those like Twice whose live were ruined by a single mistake; those like Spinner who were locked away in their rooms for the way they looked. And whatever Dabi and Compress aimed to accomplish. Him being a Former Villain can provide a new perspective on how to deal with those types- how to help the Villains that crop up before they another Tomura Shigaraki has the chance to be born. And that’s the continuation. But then……………… where does that leave Tomura? After all the talk that would imply that they’re 2 separate people in the same body with the same goal– are we just gonna…………….. Stop That? I’m not so sure yet. 

The revelation that “Decay” is likely a quirk just thrusted on him by All For Nothing now gives their relationship…………… A New Perspective. “Tomura” wasn’t made to be the hero to save this little kid from an abusive, oppressive father- but he did. Because no one else would. I think it goes back to what Colossus said towards the end of the first Deadpool movie: “It Only Takes 4 or 5 Moments To Be A Hero.” And even in the context of the narrative: Tomura saw how miserable Tenko was- how he was treated- and just kind of……………. acted without thinking. From THEIR perspective: All They Could Do With What They Had To Work With. They make things ROT- that’s all they had that night. Mon was definitely an accident, as was his mother. But Hana who did nothing to defend him from their father; the grandparents who turned a blind eye to him being left outside without food; and definitely Kotaro- That Was All On Purpose On Tomura’s part. That last one was personal for Tenko, too. Point Is: He was forced into a family drama he had no control over, and decided to act. He just had the rotten luck of becoming a killer. THAT, my friends- was the FIRST Moment. 

Fighting All For One Would Be Moment #2: “Pressing On In An Impossible Situation.” All For One might push Tenko out, but I imagine he’s found a lot of use in “Decay.” He’s too selfish to even do us the favor of exiting the story; what makes you think he’ll willingly let go of a quirk without every intention of getting it back? He’s holding on to Tomura- if for nothing more than to make him pay for defying him. Just because a tool can harm you doesn’t mean it’s not still a tool you can use. And that brings to mind: Tomura can harm All For One’s Vestige; No Face admitted back in Jaku that even he was at risk of Tomura’s’s power in the vestige world. Ergo- Moment Numero 3: “Great Sacrifice.” Tomura will destroy the Vestige World And All For One from the Inside, taking himself down with that old pr!ck. Tenko is saved– Tomura gets to go out the Hero– We Finally Close The Book On That Fake @$$ Demon King- and Izuku will likely get to live and become the Police Officer Small Might suggested at the beginning of the story, learning under Tsukauchi who will likely take a 6 month leave of absence following this war. 

Closing Thoughts

Yeah, I felt like this chapter warranted something like this; a whole section unto itself detailing what I hate about All For One’s return. Which is funny considering what I said about Asta sharing his Anti Magic properties with the Black Bulls. I compare the 2 because they’re both Foreshadowed in the context of the stories- they both make total, coherent sense in the context of their narratives. But as my brother Ajay said when I explained to him all the evidence for it in earlier in the story, he said something that I think applies here: “Just because it makes sense doesn’t make it Good.” Didn’t get that until now. Just because everything in the story tells us that this was always the case- that there’s nothing in past chapter’s to suggest that he couldn’t come back- just because it makes sense that he’s free to run about now that Izuku’s gotten rid of his Tenko’s anger- that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it. Because– 

I Despise All For One.

That’s SUPPOSED to be the point of the character, but I think Horikoshi took him too d@mn far. I don’t hate him because he’s a Villain, or because of what he’s done to the cast-I hate his f*ckin’ guts with a PASSION because of how he’s tainted the character of Tomura Shigaraki. His last line at the end of the chapter said it best: He hasn’t made a single decision for himself this entire STORY. Every horrible event in his life was caused by some Nutsack Faced Old Man who just wants people to hear him speak, when the fact of the matter is: He’s just an old man yelling at the clouds- some dottering old nobody who never made anything of himself and spent all his life taking from people who actually had something to contribute to the world. That’s just how he’s starting to look. Those speeches keep becoming less and less effective the longer he’s in the story. Because the LONGER he’s around; the more and more his character begins to…………. rot. He’s……………. he’s just not that interesting anymore. He was brilliantly introduced through the narrative back in Kamino Ward, and left almost as quickly. Fittingly- he was the origin point for Tomura; all he had to do was take what All For One taught him- what was given to him before hand- and use it. 

I had thought- in the beginning– that All For One was genuine in trying to raise a “Successor” of his own- somewhat to mock One For All and it’s various holders, and somewhat because he desired True Immortality. “You never really die until you’re Forgotten.” And with Tomura going around telling people “This Is What My Master Taught Me To Do-” the name “All For One” would forever be remembered as something more than a “Myth.” And more importantly: He’ll forever be remembered as the one who created The Symbol Of Terror- regaled as this……………. Entity- this complete Enigma you can only imagine as some kind of Monster. He’d get to die a “legend.” But just like he said about All Might following their battle: “He Missed His Chance To Die-” living on to ruin his own legacy. All Might never really stood out like that to me again, either, up until the Iron Might suit. But yeah; he just……….. stayed alive and inserted himself into a story that was unfolding wonderfully without him. 

I had made a theory on my old site talking about how All For One was likely planning something like this the entire time(now adays I somewhat regret putting that idea out into the Universe, considering everything that’s happened because of it and around it), but I figured Tomura would find a way to fight back- to take from All For One everything that he had been building up. It’s what he did with Stain– taking the ideology as his own in an attempt to attract more people to the League Of Villains. It’s what made Tomura such a Great Villain: He took the ideology and plans from other villains like Stain and Overhaul- and built upon it, twisting it to his will and use use it to his advantage. Stain’s popularity; The Quirk Erasing Bullets; the “All For One” quirk. We could have had all of this “Hateful Binding” earlier, suppressing the All For One Vestige earlier and doing his own thing with the quirk. Instead we got “Mind Meld Mayhem.” Not big on that looking back at it. 

The other thing I’ve realized: What people dislike about Imu. When he was revealed- when it was reveled that there was a “Secret King” of the World Government- people were a bit mixed on him– I guess for the same reason Mammoth doesn’t like the “Death” route for the villains: It makes things too d@mn easy. Before, there was no “One Person” for Luffy to punch- no singular individual that was to blame for 800 years of oppression. And then there was, making Luffy’s role in the story that much simpler. I think I kind of get it, now. It works with One Piece I think because it’s such “simplistic” story. It’s like: Oda never justifies what Doflamingo or Arlong– he just reminded us “This World F*ckin’ Sucks” and had them get hit- HARD. And we expect a similar origin for Imu– someone who had it kind of rough in life, but………….. You See What Happens In One Piece Under His Rule. He’s getting Punched. End Of Story. What happens after that is up to everyone but Luffy. Because- He Doesn’t Care. He didn’t kick Crocodile’s or Arlong’s or Doffy’s or ANYONE ELSES @$$e$ because “it was the right thing to do-” he fought because they were making life harder for his friends. Imu’s doing that on a higher scale. So he’s gonna kick Imu’s 800 year old behind- throw a party– and leave. He’s not gonna stick around to “reform the Government” or “Guide The People/ Give Them Hope” or ANY of that. They’ll take you gold and food and leave. 

But in the context of “My Hero-” the entire story has been telling us that the “Villains” we meet just……………. have some really “rotten” luck; not justified, but need help. Some people are just like that from the jump like Muscular, but others- just need someone to take their hand. If that’s someone like All For One, then that’s all fine and dandy. But when you make him the Focal Point of the story- The Central, Final Enemy that represents the themes of the story- THAT is where you lose me. It’s not that he’s “The Bad Guy-” it’s that He’s the Focus. After all the “Tragic Villains” you’ve given us; you cop out on a High Energy Maniac Like Tomura for some Geezer? Weak. Just…………. weak. It shows a lack of faith in your writing. And as I’ve said before: If you’re going to go back on the decision you made, then don’t draw it.

Conclusion

…………………………. I had more to say. But……………. I think I’m done. Any longer and this post won’t be out until after NEXT chapter when Horikoshi does something that makes me love him again. Oh boy. I had this whole speech planned talking about my relationship with the series, and how it cycles between “chapters that make me love it” and “chapters that make me hate it.” This is one of the “Hate.“ I also had more to say with the Imu/All For One contrast, but………. eh. I’m just kind of over it. The last thing that I want to say comes from Shonen Jump News on Twitter. “My Hero Academia” has been removed from their “current series” banner on their site. The Only other example of this was when Black Clover made the Switch over to Jump Giga. I wouldn’t be surprised if Horikoshi DID choose to jump over to “Jump Giga” or something. Tabata did it for 1)His Health and 2)To have more time to spend with his wife and daughter. Horikoshi needs it for his health- badly. So, if he’s moving over to a quarterly schedule(4 chapters a year) until the series ends(which cannot be that much further off at this point), then……………… I’m all for it at this point. I’ve heard that “Giga” is where series go to “wrap up quickly,” but Black Clover’s new chapters(getting a double chapter release this time)- coming at the end of April- are 24 and 25 pages each. So I don’t think Tabata has any intention of ending Black Clover any time soon. 

That said: “My Hero” is a lot further in its finale than Black Clover is; we don’t even know if the current events in that series are the “Final Fights” of its story, whereas- with this– we HAVE to be closer to the end than we were a year ago. So- if he had more time to make longer chapters, then……………. okay, I’ve been burned thinking we’re close to the end of the story too many times by now. I’m done speculating when this thing will end. I just know that he could get it done in about 5 40 page chapters. But all that is assuming that he’s moving magazines. For all we know, this could just be a “Marketing” tactic to promote the upcoming series in “Jump,” taking “My Hero” off because- moving or not– it’s out the door in a few more chapters. So they gotta get someone in its popularity slot soon. I read a few chapter of Kill Blue. Liked it. Recommend it if you have the time. But yeah. Man; earlier I was all ready to end this post and take a break- now I’m rambling. Ah………… Later.