Kurogiri, not Shigaraki, is My Hero Academia's most tragic character

My Hero Academia has established itself among the greatest modern day animanga series to tune into. With a compelling plot, detailed world-building, unique Quirks, and a long character roster, Kohei Horikoshi has given the world something to cherish. Beginning with the Quirkless Izuku Midoriya, the story soon introduces many beloved characters.

Among this array of distinct characters stands Kurogiri, one of the members of the League of Villains. Introduced early on, Kurogiri was showcased as a B-Rank Villain and a Nomu created by the diabolical Dr. Kyudai Garaki. Set by All For One, his main function was to protect Tomura Shigaraki. As the story progressed, more was revealed about him and it was soon shown how tragic his origins were.

Although quite a debatable point, Kurogiri's character was more tragic than Shigaraki. He lived his life somewhat like a tool, or an automized corpse dedicated to the protection of Shigaraki, whose life was being overseen by All For One.

Disclaimer: This article contains the opinion and thoughts of the author.

My Hero Academia: Kurogiri was the saddest character

Tomura Shigaraki in My Hero Academia (Image via Studio Bones)

Tenko Shimura, or now Tomura Shigaraki, lived an unfortunate childhood that compelled him to tread the path of villainy. Grandson to the great Nana Shimura, he was neglected by his father (who despised Heroes), thus suffering emotional and physical abuse. To add to his misery, he accidentally disintegrated his entire family with Decay, leaving him alone, traumatized, and broken.

This is what AFO wanted- an easy target to manipulate. Careful brainwashing by AFO turned Shigaraki into a deadly villain, devoid of remorse, and stripped of his past identity, replaced with an insatiable appetite for destruction. Shigaraki's past was troubled, and had things been different, he might have been better.

AFO's manipulation of the boy and subsquent control of him led him to do terrible things. He was robbed of a loving childhood, which left perpetual scars and affected his appearance (the embalmed hands on his body). AFO turned him into a weapon of chaos. However, through all of this, Shigaraki did retain one thing which Kurogiri did not- a sense of self.

Kurogiri in My Hero Academia (Image via Studio Bones)

Kurogiri’s situation seems to be more tragic not only because he passed away considerably young, but also due to him being a victim of forced resurrection and complete loss of autonomy.

According to the series lore, Kurogiri was originally Oboro Shirakumo, a promising and kind individual who was enrolled at U.A. High School. He was best pals with Shota Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada. This aspiring Hero's life was cut short when, in battle, he was crushed by debris during a Villain attack.

Despite his death, he was not allowed to rest in peace. AFO recovered his corpse and brought it to Garaki, who combined multiple Quirk factors and subjected his body to experimentation, thereby creating the entity that came to be known as Kurogiri. Now a Nomu, his sole purpose was to serve the League of Villains and in particular, protect Tomura Shigaraki.

What puts Kurogiri worse off than Tomura is that the former lost not only his life but also his identity. His mind was tinkered with, his memories washed away, transformed into an odd being, and compelled to serve as a tool for evil. It is very likely that AFO did not know or care that within Kurogiri was a budding Hero. Again unlike Shigaraki, Kurogiri's original identity was wiped.

Towards the end, however, he did manage to save Aizawa due to Kurogiri and Oboro's personality clashing. Nonetheless, it is undeniable that the latter could not die peacefully and was reanimated into servitude, devoid of self-awareness and reduced to a puppet bending according to AFO’s.

Final Thoughts

This is what My Hero Academia managed to do so well - flesh out its characters and appeal to fans' feelings. While both characters suffered immense tragedy, the case for Kurogiri’s story being sadder than Shigaraki's is a strong one. Metaphorically, Tomura's life was stolen from him, but Kurogiri had his very being warped beyond recognition, likely why his Quirk was "Warp" Gate.

Oboro Shirakumo was not allowed the dignity of the afterlife - his consciousness was supressed and his body was reformed into something twisted that he had never intended it to be. Unlike Tomura, who at least held on to a sense of personal agency and purpose, Kurogiri's existence was of forced servitude. In essence, Kurogiri’s fate cruelly mocked what he originally stood for.