Is Tomura Shigaraki Dead In My Hero Academia? (& What Happened To Him)

My Hero Academia flaunts quite a few interesting villains, but few have been built up in the way that Tomura Shigaraki has over the years. Many fans now wonder if Tomura Shigaraki is really dead in My Hero Academia, what actually happened to him, and if he would later go on to become the strongest rival Midoriya will ever face.

Tomura Shigaraki is not dead, in fact, he is more powerful than ever before. He went into a comatose-like state in My Hero Academia Chapter 269, where he battled with his own consciousness and later woke up. In Chapter 270, it is revealed that he is back stronger than ever and has inherited the All for One quirk.

Although the character arc surrounding Tomura Shigaraki has seen plenty of twists and turns, his potential death could merely be the start of something much more sinister. Stick around to find out everything you need to know about Tomura Shigaraki in My Hero Academia, if he is dead, as well as what the future holds for this fierce foe.

Tomura Shigaraki In My Hero Academia

While My Hero Academia features several villains, Tomura Shigaraki (formally known as Tenko Shimura) is the primary villain and antagonist throughout the My Hero Academia manga and anime series. He is the leader of the League of Villains, initially making his first major appearance as one of the main antagonists of the U.S.J. Arc.

But, much like many iconic villains in manga and anime stories, Shigaraki has a rather tragic past, primarily revolving around his childhood and family. All of his past trauma would later come back to test his true motives and character.

Shigaraki was raised and trained by his master and mentor, All for One, with the primary intention of killing All Might, seen as the “Symbol of Peace”, and ultimately destroying the society that he represents as a result. He soon merged his organization and the Meta Liberation Army in order to form the Paranormal Liberation Front, after which he became its Grand Commander and later the inheritor of the All for One quirk.

Is Tomura Shigaraki Dead In My Hero Academia?

A major death flag was raised for Tomura Shigaraki within certain chapters of My Hero Academia – specifically throughout chapters 269 and 270. These pieces of content have led many fans to wonder if this aspiring villain may become a casualty or be defeated sooner than later. But, there are plenty of twists to consider, detailed with images thanks to the My Hero Academia Wiki and My Hero Aca.

The main point of mystery for fans is that at the end of Chapter 269, Tomura Shigaraki’s body is exposed and it is revealed that his heart has stopped beating. He does not appear to be breathing either, and to Kyudai Garaki’s horror, Tomura Shigaraki is presumed dead by everyone present at the time.

But, Tomura Shigaraki is not dead in My Hero Academia – he would later come back with a vengeance unlike the heroes of My Hero Academia had ever seen. He simply went into a comatose-like state after his capsule was broken by Present Mic’s quirk attack during a raid in Dr. Ujiko’s lab, which is revealed in Chapter 270.

What Happened To Tomura Shigaraki?

Chapter 269 of My Hero Academia follows Endeavor along with his fellow allies, Pro Heroes Mirko, Crust, Present Mic, Eraser Head, and a few others as they attempt to take on Ujiko, who is harboring Shigaraki. The group pressed on and managed to pull off a surprise attack on Dr. Ujiko’s lab in a classic raid style.

At the same time, Tomura Shigaraki had been laying in a tank in a stasis, dormant state. Dr. Ujiko was desperately attempting to unleash his league of Intelligent Nomu, with the intention of at least stalling the protagonists until he could activate a fully-powered Tomura Shigaraki.

Chapter 269 of My Hero Academia showed that Tomura Shigaraki could not manage to awaken in time. The vat gets damaged during the fight, after which Garaki assesses the damage and finds that while the vat is destroyed, the data is still intact.

But, Present Mic uses his quirk to attack before Tomura Shigaraki can awaken. The vat then shatters and exposes his unbreathing and limp body, and he was presumed dead by everyone present at this point. That being said, even if this were the case, the capsule itself was designed to revive him if it was necessary, and he had no visible or fatal wounds at the time.

However, in chapter 270 of My Hero Academia, it is revealed that Tomura Shigaraki is not dead at all. Instead, he goes into an odd comatose dream-like state, where he wrestles his own ghosts, past trauma, and inner demons, as the memories of his family try to prevent him from inheriting All for One.

Images and visions of his family come into play, testing him and speaking about things from his past. Whether these are in fact ghosts or mere fragmented memories is still unclear, but each family member discusses something that affects him deeply during this state.

Regardless of all the things they say to him, Shigaraki ends up breaking free from the emotion and effects these glimpses have on him. This dream state ends off with an older man trying to convince Tomura Shigaraki that he is on the right path, after which Tomura Shigaraki wakes up. This is when it is revealed that Tomura Shigaraki was never really dead.

Tomura Shigaraki Inherits All for One

After being forced to take on an interesting battle concerning wills with his own consciousness, Tomura Shigaraki somehow managed to wake up from this comatose state. After he wakes up, it is revealed that Tomura Shigaraki is now the evil and powerful inheritor of the original version of All for One’s quirk.

His mentor had only been using a copy of All for One, created by Garaki, and Tomura Shigaraki now possesses the original All for One. In addition, Tomura Shigaraki had been enhanced by Garaki as well. He had managed to reconnect with his dark and tragic past, and the psychological barriers that All for One had placed on Tomura Shigaraki had now fallen away.

Tomura Shigaraki is now able to tap into his All for One power and use them whenever he pleases, specifically his upgraded Decay quirk. Before the transition to his new powers, Tomura Shigaraki would need to touch someone with his bare hands in order for the quirk to work – now, his Decay quirk can affect victims without any physical contact being necessary.

Of course, other than the fact that Tomura Shigaraki is now super powerful, it also poses a rather unique connection with Deku. In addition to Shigaraki and Deku’s complicated relationship, Deku possesses One for All while Shigaraki now has All for One at his disposal. The two are now at polar opposite ends, destined to repeat the paths of their respective mentors.

Fans have been patiently awaiting the day that Shigaraki and Deku would face each other in battle – but, Shigaraki is now incredibly strong, strong enough to cause the death of the beloved Bakugo. While recent chapters have brought us closer to seeing these fateful events unfold, there are still tons of questions and cliffhangers for fans to anticipate.