As one might expect, a flashback into Nanas perspective of her having to give away her son resulted in a terrible immediate aftermath. The newest chapter of the series dives back into this moment, and reveals yet another piece of Nanas crucial past that we have not been privy too in the series yet. At the same time, its at the cost of someones life.
What did you think of this flashback to Nana Shimuras past? Is it yet another tragic facet of All For Ones terrible influence? Is she directly at fault for Shigarakis current villainous self? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!
Chapter 281 of the series sees Shigaraki fighting Gran Torino, and in their clash Shigaraki manages to get a hold of Torino before he can speed away. Pouncing on top of him, Torino cant help but think to back when Nana was giving up her son. The flashback then reveals a younger Gran Torino looking on as Nana hugs her crying son and says goodbye to him for the last time. She confirms to him that she had altered the records to remove the connection between her and her son to keep All For One from exploiting.
As she begins to say “I have no son,” as a way to confirm it for herself the weight of the decision crashes down on her. She begins to cry as Torino also remembers Shigaraki saying that his father told him all about how heroes hurt their families to help complete strangers. Its here that he wonders whether or not he and Nana made the right decision, and its here that Shigaraki deals the final blow to him. Torino erupts in a bloody geyser as the final of Nanas crying face enters his mind.
My Hero Academias war between the heroes and villains continues with the newest chapter of the series, but as Tomura Shigaraki goes further with his rampage we got a heartbreaking flashback to his grandmother Nana Shimuras decision that set all of this in motion. As it was revealed during Shigarakis origin story, his father had been abusing him and hated Nana for abandoning him as a child. This hatred of the world of heroes is eventually what fuels Shigarakis villainous turn with All For One, but it was not so easy for Nana either.
A friend even pointed out how, though it’s difficult to see with Kotaro due to a limited range of expressions, that All For One and Kotaro share a crinkle around the mouth. They’re correct.
I didn’t think to add this to the theory until after I posted so here’s the addition (which I’ll add to the main theory post later). Why did All For One give Shigaraki his surname? It could be argued that it’s a power play or something by replacing Nana’s surname with his own, but wouldn’t All For One take that opportunity to rub it in All Might’s face? Wouldn’t hearing “Oh yeah I also gave your master’s grandson a part of my name” after you found out he was her grandson from your enemy hurt like hell? You could write it off as a private middle finger but that doesn’t make much sense to me. All For One has the subtlety of a freight train when being petty. He could easily say it’s his name to anyone because he’s A) a minimum of a century old and B) known to have been born/raised during the time period when quirks were first sweeping the globe. Any records on him could have been lost/destroyed in the passing years or during the chaos. Hell, he could have destroyed them himself. It’s safe to say that there is no one alive but All For One and Shigaraki who knows the significance of the name “Shigaraki”. When the UA staff was researching Shigaraki Tomura and Kurogiri after the attack on the USJ, they concluded that both were using aliases.
Physical Similarities Between All For One, Kotaro, Shigaraki, and the First User of One For All
This is the part that got me started on this line of thinking. Over a year ago when chapter 235 was released, I realized that this shot of Kotaro looked… startlingly familiar.
All For One isn’t the only Shigaraki that Tomura Shigaraki bears resemblance too. It’s been said before that Shigaraki bears quite the resemblance to the first user of One for All, and it’s easy to see why.
Gran Torino had learned Izuku was All Might’s successor and requested Izuku to be his sidekick so that he can teach Izuku about the One for All Quirk. Gran Torino and Izuku were off to a bad start when they first met, with Gran Torino putting up a façade of being senile and Izuku being disappointed with having to train with someone who was no longer functional. But right after Gran Torino dropped his façade and showing Izuku what he was capable of, Izuku started to gain respect for Gran Torino, politely calling the elderly hero “Mr. Torino”.[2][3][4]
Gran Torino has shown to be impressed with Izuku, stating that All Might chose a fine successor, due to Izukus quick thinking and potential. Gran Torino also protected Izuku from a Nomu while Izuku was worried for him. As they parted ways, Gran Torino asked him his and Izuku replied it was Deku, with Torino becoming the second person to make Izuku proud of his nickname.
He is shown to be very cautious of his pupil, going as far as to warn him of the possibility of All For One returning and telling him to tell Izuku everything about him and One For All to prepare him. He also expressed his pride in his pupil for defeating All For One a second time while being the Symbol of Peace one last time.
Izuku greatly respected Gran Torino. During the Paranormal Liberation War, when Tomura Shigaraki severely injured Gran Torino, Izuku was greatly infuriated. A few days later, Izuku visits Gran Torino at the hospital and informs him of his discussion with Nana Shimura as well as his own decisions. Gran Torino supports Izuku but warns him (with regards to Tomura) that sometimes the best way to save someone is to kill them. Gran Torino bequeaths his cape to Izuku before sending him off.[5]
Gran Torino taught Toshinori (better known as All Might) as a teacher in U.A. and knows Toshinoris secrets. He seems to have left Toshinori nervous from his past training with his mentor to the point he shook when talking of him to Izuku and his reaction to being told that he doesnt visit. Also, he has a habit of calling All Might by his given name when they converse.
FAQ
Is Tomura Shigaraki related to Gran Torino?
As the grandson of Nana Shimura, Tomura Shigaraki’s father, Kotaro Shimura, was the son the hero gave up in order to protect him. This gave Kotaro severe issues, which he then took out by abusing Tenko. This constant abuse eventually led Tenko to snap.
Who is Shigaraki the grandson of?
Despite the fact that Tomura is Nana Shimura’s grandson, Gran Torino did not appear to hold any personal affection or sympathy towards him, as he urged Toshinori to understand that he is still a criminal and must be treated as such.
