Undoubtedly, there is no bigger monster in My Hero Academia than AFO. He is the diabolical mastermind behind the League of Villains, who ruled the criminal underworld with an iron fist for over a century. It took eight generations of OFA users just to deal with him, and even that wasn't enough.
Fans can clearly agree on one thing - AFO is a sadistic villain who clearly knows no bounds. In fact, he may very well be the main antagonist of the entire My Hero Academia series, and there isn't a single crime he isn't willing to commit. He fits the classic prototype of "evil for the sake of being evil." As such, today we will look into the eight worst crimes that he committed over the course of the series and rank them accordingly.
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Here's a shortlist of AFO's most heinous crimes in My Hero Academia so far
8) AFO ruined Yuga Aoyama's life
More often than not, Quirkless people face discrimination in the My Hero Academia universe, and Yuga Aoyama was originally born without a Quirk. In a desperate time of need, his parents went to AFO so that he could give their son a new Quirk.
Unsurprisingly, he gave him an ability that his body couldn't handle. Given his sick and twisted sense of humor, AFO must have found it very funny. Navel Laser has several drawbacks, including deterioration in bowel movements and stomach aches, and it is for this reason, Aoyama was forced to wear a belt ever since he was a child.
AFO could've easily given him any Quirk, but he specifically chose one that would mess with Aoyama's physical body. He also forced him to become a traitor who fed the former information about the U.A. High School to the villian. As a result, Aoyama felt nothing but immense guilt and remorse over everything that happened.
7) He stole many Quirks throughout the series
In My Hero Academia, AFO has the ability to steal Quirks from the heroes. As the time progressed, this turned into a chronic habit which he couldn't let go of. More often than not, he never asks people for their permission before taking their abilities.
There's no telling just how many victims there are. Ragdoll was one among his many casualties in the series, and within the span of a few arcs, the Pro Hero was forced into an early retirement. AFO simply cannot resist the urge to steal powerful Quirks. For him, such an act equates to snatching a candy from a baby for his own self-satisfaction. For many people, losing a Quirk can be very devastating, especially if their line of work includes being a hero, but surely AFO can never relate to that sentiment.
6) AFO ruled over Japan from the shadows
AFO was a criminal overlord long before the series started. Back when Quirks were first introduced in My Hero Academia, he took advantage of the societal collapse for his own gain. He would take away Quirks from people who didn't want them and give away the powers to those who did.
Of course, it came with a condition. With the transfer of power, these helpless people had to swear loyalty to him. AFO may smile at the people he shakes hands with, but it never quite reaches his eyes. Using the same tactic again and again, he knowingly manipulated thousands of criminals into doing his dirty work. No wonder his younger brother didn't like this and swore to bring him down.
5) He turned Oboro Shirakumo into a Nomu
This young student, Oboro Shirakumo, had a promising career ahead of him. Unfortunately, he was killed in the line of work.
During the Paranormal Liberation War, it was revealed that All For One played a part in his death. He was the one who sent that villain in the first place in that specific arc of My Hero Academia. What's even worse is that he took Oboro's corpse and turned him into a Nomu by the name of Kurogiri. To add further insult to injury, AFO made sure that Kurogiri would look after Tomura Shigaraki, another major antagonist in the series.
4) AFO broke out dangerous criminals from Tartarus
It came as a big shock to fans when they saw the Hero society starting to crumble after the Paranormal Liberation War. Most heroes were seriously injured during the conflict and civilians were starting to lose trust in them. AFO saw this as the perfect opportunity for himself to break himself out of prison to start with his own plans.
After taking over Shigaraki's body, AFO summoned the powerful Nomu to attack Tartarus. It should be kept in mind that most heroes were still healing from their injuries following the War, so they couldn't do anything to stop AFO. In the end, he freed several extremely dangerous criminals, including Muscular and Moonfish, so that they could begin chaos. Thus, commenced the dark times in My Hero Academia.
3) He killed most of the former OFA users
Yoichi Shigaraki is the first ever OFA Quirk user. His ability to stockpile raw power happened by complete accident, but he made the most of his situation. But Yoichi made it his mission to defeat his brother.
Unfortunately, it took several generations for that to happen. AFO mercilessly stomped off several OFA users by then. Remember, they were considered the last hope for society. All they could do was keep transferring their Quirk until someone was powerful enough to stop AFO.
In the end, All Might did the deed in My Hero Academia to defeat the antagonist. Even then, that's nearly a century of AFO ruling over Japan. Many lives were lost before there was any serious threat to his power.
2) AFO used children as experiments
AFO knew that he needed a potential successor right before his first defeat. Along with Kyudai Garaki, he took in several children so that they could be morphed into villains. There's no telling how many of them would have ended up like Nomu had they failed to meet his expectations.
However, in the final arc, it was confirmed that Dabi was among these children in My Hero Academia. But even he proved to be too much for AFO. Either way, these children were forced into a life they never wanted. AFO used them as mere pawns for his twisted games. It doesn't matter if they are young or elderly, he will take advantage of anybody to meet his own personal goals.
1) He raised Shigaraki to become his successor
Shigaraki grew up in terrible household conditions. His father would regularly abuse him just by mentioning the word "hero." AFO observed him from afar and realized that he had found his potential successor. After the young boy killed his entire family, AFO took him in to become the Symbol of Fear.
Over the span of several years, AFO made sure that Shigaraki would give into his most destructive impulses. With some proper training, the villain went from being a mere nobody to a global threat. Shigaraki wouldn't have gotten this far without AFO guiding him along the way, so in many ways, he is responsible for ruining Shigaraki's life.
My Hero Academia fans wouldn't be surprised if AFO was responsible for giving Shigaraki that Quirk. While the popular theory is yet to be confirmed, it speaks volumes about his character. Manipulation is AFO's defining aspect in the anime series and he makes sure to maintain that persona throughout.
Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.