The symbolism of the hand in Shigaraki's personality development

Key Takeaways

• Shigaraki's fourteen hands symbolize trauma, manipulation, control, and society's failure to save him.
• All For One orchestrated Shigaraki's tragic origins and his development into a menacing villain.
• Shigaraki's freedom from the burden of his hand means he has evolved into the ultimate villain.

A character's design plays a large role in fans' perception of that character, so Kohei Horikoshi's decision to decorate Tomura Shigaraki with 14 human hands grasping his body served that purpose in his presentation. It matched well. But these unsettling visuals aren't simply bleak aesthetic choices.

Symbolism abounds representing key aspects of Shigaraki's character, his backstory, emotional trauma, and his growth into one of the most menacing villains in shonen anime. To understand the symbolic significance behind what Shigaraki wears, fans must understand how his evil deeds began and the impact All For One had on his life.

Shigaraki's tragic origins and how it forever shaped his life.

Problematic Villain Qualities

The hands covering Shigaraki's body are a constant reminder of the terrible events that shaped his life and future. Tomura Shigaraki was born as Tenko Shimura to an abusive father who used questionable methods to dissuade him from his obsession with heroes. After one of the episodes, Tenko revealed his Decay quirk and killed his sister, mother, and grandparents in a moment of panic and confusion. His father witnessed this and punched Tenko in the face, his fear turning into anger and murderous intent. He denounced his father, eventually killing him, and felt happy that he would never be abused by his father again. However, the truth of this incident is that it was not an accident as fans believed.

From top to bottom, everything was orchestrated by All For One, and even Tenko's birth only happened because Kotaro Shimura convinced her to have another child. He planned to build a vessel with incredible willpower that would be able to steal One For All in its tracks, as it would prevent the oddity's forced movement. All For One also stole elements of Tenko's quirkiness when he was younger and waited until the faithful day of the incident to pass on the Decay quirkiness to him. As expected, All For One was there to “save” him after the incident, as no one offered to help the orphan child and blamed society and its twisted ways for why he wasn't saved sooner. Before long, All For One began grooming Tenko and subtly instilling in him a hatred of heroes and society.

Shigaraki's hand is a constant reminder that society failed to save him.

The reason for Shigaraki's impulse to destroy

Unbeknownst to Tenko, All For One had secretly collected the hands of his dead family members to present to the doctor. He didn't start wearing it until an incident involving two thugs, after which All For One encouraged him to do whatever he wanted to make him feel better. Because constructs like ethics were only enforced by those who wanted to manipulate others. After laying on the hands of his family, and especially his father's, as his face, he was reborn as a new individual, free of the voices in his head that had stopped him from murdering two thugs. His memories as Tenko were completely suppressed and All For One named him Shimura to remind him of the event that changed his life forever. He uses his hands to manipulate Shigaraki by constantly reminding him of his emotional trauma, anchoring him in his terrible past and instilling within him a desire for destruction and rebellion against society, which is strong enough to go against One For All's willpower. do.

He may also associate the hand with the concept of control, as this is something he has struggled with throughout his life. For most of his early life, Shigaraki had difficulty controlling his emotions, powers, and destiny, but when he finally got his hands on it, he didn't have to answer to anyone but himself and his impulses. Now he seeks to gain control over the world around him because he believes that the reason people like him are forced into such horrible lives is because of their indifference to the less fortunate. He believes that the only way society can truly be reformed is by going through a cycle of death and rebirth like the Phoenix. This explains that even if he faces off against the greatest of men, he will stop at nothing to destroy them all. Hero ever.

Shigaraki is eventually freed from the burden of his hands.

One step in evolution to become the ultimate villain

Shigaraki seemed to lose his composure when people let go or let go, but he eventually overcame this as his character became more complex. The battle between Re-Destro and Shigaraki during the Meta Liberation Army Arc was a real eye-opener for him as it was an essential character arc that would change him forever. In the battle, most of Shigaraki's hands were damaged, and the sudden influx of emotions caused him to begin to remember more about his childhood and the memories he had repressed.

This unlocked Shigaraki's subconscious limiter, allowing him to activate his quirk with just two fingers rather than his entire palm. He later found peace in the memories of his dark days and those who helped him, eventually breaking free from the trauma and destroying his father's hand. Equipped with all his memories back and a true understanding of himself, he finally discards the creepy suit, deeming the other hand unnecessary. However, he retained one of his hands to protect his image from the public.

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