All For One, not Shigaraki, is My Hero Academia's most pitiful character

Modified Oct 30, 2024 15:30 GMT

All For One, not Shigaraki, is My Hero Academia's most pitiful character (Image via Bones)

My Hero Academia featured villains who became the antagonists because no one pitied them when they needed it the most. The most prominent example of this is Tomura Shigaraki, who, after killing his entire family, was treated as an outcast by the world and later became a worldwide threat.

However, when pity is a concern, All for One is a name that is hardly heard in the fandom. The reason being that the fandom considered him evil from birth, but the reality might differ. Like every other newborn, All for One was also born an innocent child, but he matured too soon for his own good.

His quirk could have helped him steal quirks from villains and use them for the welfare of mankind. However, born in the boonies, he was born into a cruel world where his only option was to become the demon lord.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the My Hero Academia manga series and has the author's opinion.

My Hero Academia: Why All for One becoming a villain was a pity in itself

All for One and One for All as seen in the manga (Image via Kohei Horikoshi/Shueisha)

As revealed in the origins of All for One and Yoichi in My Hero Academia, both of them were born to a pr*stitute who wasn't even aware of her pregnancy. Their mother was also one of the first persons to wield Meta abilities. Unfortunately, after receiving no medical care, she died during labor, but her children survived.

With no one to look after them, both babies had to do their best to survive. The older brother (All for One) was more forward. He devoured his mother and stole her Meta ability with his own, making him capable of stealing other Meta abilities. The older brother took his little brother (Yoichi/One for All) everywhere and considered him his possession.

Eventually, both of them started fighting, and Yoichi separated his path from his evil brother who only sought power. Their conflict continued for generations until All for One died against Izuku Midoriya in the Final war arc.

All for One, as seen in the anime (Image via Bones)

Like every other newborn, the concept of evil was unknown to a young All for One. However, due to the harsh environment in which he was born, where he had to survive somehow, he developed a hunger for power. He continued quenching his thirst for centuries until finally meeting his end. This was a pity because an alternate pathway for the antagonist would have done wonders in My Hero Academia.

All for One's meta ability to steal quirks could have been a game-changer during the time of the sprout of Meta abilities. He could have been the Symbol of Peace as he would have stolen the quirks from villains and given them to people willing to dedicate their lives to good doings. Unfortunately, nothing of such sort could happen, and he fumbled.

Final thoughts

Although declaring All for One innocent would be a hard stretch, speculating a future with him using his meta abilities for good wouldn't be so bad, considering how overpowered he was. However, taking the lives of others can never equal innocence so consider All for One's evil a given from Kohei Horikoshi's planning.

Related Links

Edited by Shreya Das