Why Does Shigaraki Scratch His Neck? (Can He Stop Itching)

Shigaraki is one of the most amazing antagonists of the My Hero Academia series, starting his journey as an ordinary gang leader, Shigaraki now controls the entire Meta Liberation Army dedicated to fighting the heroes and changing the world forever. But why does Shigaraki always scratch his neck, and can he stop itching?

Shigaraki scratches his neck because of the effects of his Decay quirk, it first started when he was a kid before his quirk manifested. Meta abilities also have an effect on a person’s personality. Shigaraki scratches his neck to fight back the urge to kill people. Unless he finds a way to reverse the effects of his quick, he can’t stop itching.

The rest of the article goes into detail about his itching problem, when he first started feeling itchy, what effects his quirk has on his body, and if it is possible for him to stop this.

Why does Shigaraki always scratch his neck?

Shigaraki is frequently scratching his neck because of the effects of his decay quirk, it first started when he was a child, and soon before he first awakened his quirk, he would often scratch his neck, arms, and other parts of the body.

This carried on as he became a teenager, he would scratch his neck more often than usual because of his fully-developed quirk, the color of his hair grew shallow and his eyes turned red, these were all the effects of his quirk.

Shigaraki states that he constantly feels the urge to kill people and sometimes that feeling overwhelms his mind, he scratches to avoid giving in.

It seems his quirk empowers his anger as we’ve seen him scratching his neck more often when he gets angry, or maybe he does it out of habit. 

What is Shigaraki’s skin condition?

His dry skin is the cause of his quirk, it first started when he was five years old, sometime before his quirk developed. Shigaraki would always scratch around his neck and under his eyes, it was an indication that his quirk was being developed.

Shigaraki has a unique meta ability, his quirk allows him to instantly age anything he touches to the point of decay, and a quirk that unique took a toll on Shigaraki’s body, and that is why with every quirk awakening, Shigaraki looks older and older.

His quirk doesn’t just affect his skin but his entire body, his hair loses color, his body gets thinner and he looks ill than he has before.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that his quirk consumes his life with each transformation his life shortens and that is why Dr. Garaki offered to give the power of regeneration through a surgical process. Perhaps the super regeneration ability will allow him to negate the effects of his quirk.

Can Shigaraki stop itching?

It seems very unlikely because the cause of his itch is his meta ability and as long he has his quirk, his body will stay in that shape, the more he develops his quirk his body will have to pay the price.

His skin itching is the price he has to pay in exchange for developing his quirk further with each awakening, I’m sure he knows this too but he’s too determined to let something so little come his way.

Shigaraki looks more badass with each transformation, the color of his skin also fades making him look more like a ghost with red eyes.

After his surgery, Shigaraki has shown to gain the power of regeneration, and that might be the only thing that can nullify the effects of his quirk. He does look more fit in the manga panels, maybe it did have the effect he was looking for.

Why does Shigaraki cover his face with a hand?

We know that Shigaraki has always kept the deceased hands of his family around his neck, arms, and basically his entire body because he was carrying the weight and guilt of killing his entire family.

Those hands were a gift to him from All For One, he received those hands to remind himself of the day his family left him all alone and how the entire world turn a blind eye when he wandered through the streets helplessly.

He was molded by the darkness that is All For One, he was taught to hate the heroes and conspire against them to create a world that is free from the shackles of society. The only thing Shigaraki wanted to do was serve the master that saved him and gave him a new life.

He accepted those hands and kept dragging the guilt and memories of his family along with him until he faced off against Re-Destro where he finally forgave himself for what he did and decided to annihilate anything and everything that reminded him of his past.

Now, free from the shackles of his past, Shigaraki still hides his face behind a disembodied hand. Perhaps he keeps it as a reminder of who he was before he decided to change, or it is simply the mark of the leader of the League Of Villains.