The primary antagonist from My Hero Academia, Tomura Shigaraki has come a long way since his debut in Season 1. As a villain-in-training, he has been taught by the world’s greatest villain in All For One. Under his indirect tutelage, Shigaraki has been allowed to grow at his own pace and be influenced by those around him — even by his enemies.
All For One’s ideology against the rigid heroes’ society is shared with his protégé and across villains in the community, but not everyone has the same belief in how to uproot society. Shigaraki learns this when he meets the one and only Stain, aka The Hero Killer. Though the two were at odds and Shigaraki couldn’t stand the sight of him, All For One claimed his interaction with Stain would prove to be a great learning experience. In the end, it shaped Shigaraki to become the next best villain in Japan.
Tomura Shigaraki Vs. the Hero Killer Stain
Early on in My Hero Academia, Shigaraki isn’t the most organized or driven in his efforts to fight against the heroes. More often than not, he prefers to cause random chaos rather than formulate a concrete plan. He would lash out like a child when his plans went awry instead of remaining calm with a backup plan to keep the League of Villains afloat. Outside his organization, there wasn’t much to Shigaraki outside his general disdain for all living things, especially people. In fact, another reason why he failed as a leader at this point is because of his harsh rejection of those around him.
Aside from their desire to take down the established society, Stain and Shigaraki are polar opposites. While Stain preferred to work alone — and therefore wouldn’t be leading an army of villains like Shigaraki hoped to — he at least had the conviction to achieve concrete goals that made an impact on society. Remaining calm and composed, Stain never asked for followers. From his stirring example of targeting heroes with less-than-inspiring motives, various citizens in Japan moved into villainy, highlighting Stain’s words against fake heroes. Even after the Hero Killer is arrested by Pro Heroes, his name still stands as a symbol of greatly desired reform for many.
The Hero Killer Stain’s Influence on Shigaraki in MHA
Despite Shigaraki holding Stain in contempt for overshadowing his and the League of Villains’ efforts, it doesn’t take long for him to realize and accept just how important the Hero Killer’s example is. Shigaraki begins his new transformation of character as he accepts Dabi and Himiko Toga into the League of Villains, whom he initially rejected due to their obsession with Stain. Moving forward, he rises above his pride and adopts Stain’s ideals, recognizing them as a surefire way to bring in more recruits.
Even his partnership with the Shie Hassakai is because of Stain’s influence. Rather than mocking their opposing views as he did with Stain, Shigaraki works with them, inevitably preparing to betray them in the end and take whatever he can the moment the group is taken down. Because he knows how to work with others — or at least appears to do so before using them — Shigaraki becomes a King of Villains in his own right, towering above those who may oppose him and supported by the most devoted allies.
In addition to welcoming other villains and their potentially opposing beliefs, one other major influence Stain had on Shigaraki is the ability to focus on concrete goals. When first meeting the young villain, Stain compares him to “a temper-tantrum-throwing child,” which isn’t far off from how Shigaraki’s character started out. His goals were never thought out and his plans panned out the same way, a critical reason why he never succeeded. Shigaraki’s attempt to overshadow Stain by half-heartedly attacking the city of Hosu with a batch of Nomus is a prime example of his juvenile behavior, but after his failure to garner any attention, he started to become smarter with his actions.
Part of his changed strategy was bringing more people into the League of Villains, even if it meant incorporating Stain’s beliefs as well. More than learning to accept new comrades and ideals, Shigaraki became more of a strategist and learned from his failure in Hosu to keep his cool even in failure. Interestingly enough, from the situation in Hosu and up until Season 6 of My Hero Academia, he keeps a low profile, working in the shadows where the Heroes can’t reach him — much like how Stain initially operated.
Shigaraki might have had interactions with many characters, but aside from his mentor All For One, no one else had as much impact on him as the Hero Killer Stain. AFO recognized Stain as a true leader among villains and a force to be reckoned with, and with regard to his protégé, the Hero Killer proved to be an ideal of how Shigaraki should become.
