Chapter 237 concluded Tenko’s backstory by showing the final stages of his path towards villainy while also continuing the fight between the League of Villains and the Liberation Army. This chapter revealed surprising new information such as how exactly AFO morphed Tomura into the person he is today and gave more insight into both of their characters.
The first few pages showcasing how Shigaraki was actively avoided on the streets were harrowing as he was desperately looking for help while scaring everyone off due to his appearance. Shigaraki mentions how he believed he was being punished for murdering his family during this time and not only do I think that that’s the case but also that Shigaraki deserves it. While his intentions and mental state at the time were extremely confused during the situation involving his mother, sister, and grandparents, Tomura willingly murdered his father with his own hands while fully aware of what he was doing. His feelings towards the incident are even more pronounced when at the end of the chapter he convinces himself that what happened with his family wasn’t a tragedy. After that incident, I believe that Shigaraki became completely devoid of any chance of him being redeemed as a character thus he deserves the mistreatment that he endured during that time as a child.
I also find it interesting how he reflected back on this time saying that “If only back then… Someone, anyone, had reached out to help. Then maybe the itch would have gone away for good.” While he thought his itch initially disappeared after murdering his father, the itch didn’t go away both literally and figuratively. His tendency to scratch his eyes severely worsened as seen on page 6 with the grotesque panels of him violently scratching himself while writhing on the floor. At the same time, the immense hatred and confusion he felt during the incident with his family didn’t dissipate. When AFO entered his life he didn’t help him by guiding him towards ceasing these tendencies but rather warped his mindset towards fully embracing them. You can still see how this influenced Shigaraki in the present day. I noticed how after AFO initially took him in, Tomura went from scratching his eyes to scratching his neck in the present. This showcases how both the physical itch and the longing for destruction is still within Shigaraki but I wonder if there is any significance or symbolism in him going from scratching his eyes to his neck.
AFO entered Tomura’s life at the best possible time where he could be taken advantage of and seeing how he influenced Shigaraki’s life was appalling. He was an enabler that took advantage of Tomura’s deranged mental state and caused him to enter a mindset of fully embracing his sick, destructive tendencies. He erased what humanity was left in him when he gave him full permission to murder the two street thugs that assaulted him when initially, Shigaraki held himself back. In an extremely twisted way of enforcing these feelings, AFO gives him his family’s hands to wear around his body to restrain his memories of the past while still making him remember the emotions he felt when murdering his family. By making him forget what had happened it allowed him to fully embrace the negative feelings within him. This is also why Shigaraki started to remember what happened during the fight with Re-Destro after he knocked his hands off of him as they were what was keeping the memories in check. AFO even goes as far as rebranding Tenko with an entirely new identity and making him not only his successor but his adopted son, going as far as giving him his last name, Shigaraki. Despite him being a terrible influencer, a new side of AFO’s personality is also shown with how he respects cares about the people he aligns himself with. This is shown prominently with how he fostered Shigaraki in his youth but also subtly with how he’s the one holding the umbrella for him and the doctor on page 9.
I find it intriguing how there’s potential meaning in the placement of the hands on Shigaraki’s body. The hands of Tomura’s mother are on his neck symbolizing how she didn’t do much to help the situation outside of her words as well as how she didn’t say the right things he needed to hear when he was being abused. His grandparents and sister reside on his arms possibly showing how they didn’t do enough to help him with his sister, in particular, being the one who got him in trouble thus being the catalyst for Tomura’s descent. His father’s hand resides on his face which is the place where Shigaraki placed his hand on his dad to kill him. It also signifies his father forcing him to forget his dreams of being a hero forever altered how he sees the world with his sight being covered by the hand. The hands given by AFO were placed on his rib cage and his shoulders. The best explanation I have for the rib cage is how AFO controlled his heart by causing him to bask in the hatred he had while his shoulders are placed in a way that suggests AFO comforting and encouraging him. I have big suspicions when it comes to the bonus hand that AFO gave Shigaraki as its placed on the back of his head. It could represent AFO’s control over his life but without knowing who the hand belongs to, it’s impossible to fully understand the implications of it at this time. At the end of the chapter, Shigaraki breaks one of the hands symbolizing how he isn’t held back by those memories anymore and how from that point on he’ll live as he sees fit without any worry for the future.
The parallels between Deku and Shigaraki were apparent long before now but after this chapter, they’re stronger than ever. Both as children had a desire to be a hero but were inhibited by something out of their control such as Deku’s Quirklessness and Shigaraki’s father but both of them went on completely opposite paths because of the obstacles in front of them. The two were then sent down these paths after demonstrating their character to those that would enable them with All Might choosing Deku as his successor after seeing his courage and determination to help others while AFO took Tomura under his wing after seeing the pure destructive intent inside of him. AFO even goes as far to say that he’s shaping Tomura into the Symbol of Fear, contrasting with All Might teaching Deku to become the Symbol of Peace.
The art for this chapter was great and I really liked how Horikoshi handled the reveals within this chapter; especially with how the title of the chapter wasn’t shown until 12 pages in, right at the moment when Shigaraki gets rebranded. Shigaraki’s expressions from the desolate face on page 2 to his unrestrained appearance on page 15 were definite highlights of the chapter.
Chapter 237 was fantastic and makes me extremely excited to see the conclusion of this villain arc as well as how Shigaraki will carry himself in the future. This arc as a whole has been great for fleshing out the villains of the series but the past few chapters have made Shigaraki, in my opinion, a worthy main antagonist for My Hero Academia. Come back next week for my thoughts of Chapter 238 when it releases on Shonen Jump.
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