My Hero Academia’s most hated character isn’t who you’d expect

My Hero Academia fans have chosen the most hated character from the series, and it’s not a villain as you’d expect, but someone with a crucial role in one antagonist’s origin.

The world of My Hero Academia is anything but black and white. The manga’s characters are humanely flawed, with both good and evil within them. While we see villains with traumatic pasts, we also see otherwise lawful citizens doing cruel and heartless things.

An example of both of these can be found in Shigaraki’s backstory. Abused by his father all through childhood, little Tenko Shimura’s life became a living hell when his Quirk awakened, killing everyone in his family.

In his dire emotional state, he ran away from home. But nobody on the streets helped the lone child. When an old woman did ask about him, she was instantly freaked out by his appearance and left in a hurry without a care for the child. Little did she know, this young person would one day become Tomura Shigaraki and attempt to destroy the whole country. 

After Shigaraki’s death and the end of the war, the old lady appeared again in My Hero Academia Chapter 427. She was one of the citizens who hated Shigaraki and questioned whether the heroes couldn’t have stopped him sooner.

Kohei Horikoshi/Shueisha

The irony is that she could’ve been the one to prevent Tenko from being Shigaraki if only she helped the child on the street. But she didn’t and instead criticized the heroes who put their lives on the line to protect civilians like her.

After this, fans unanimously believe her to be one of the worst characters in My Hero Academia. As one Reddit user wrote, “Anyone else notice these two ladies are the same? Ironically, she wonders if he could be stopped sooner when she’s one of the ones who didn’t help him in the first place.”

Another joined, “Butterfly effect, you never know what consequences your actions, or lack thereof, might have even years in the future. I wonder what she’d say if she knew Shigaraki was once a small boy she didn’t help.”

“I think that’s the point of putting her again, to show that you can also be part of the problem and etc.,” commented a third, explaining the role of the lady in the story.

Shigaraki’s past is one of the most heartbreaking parts of the story. The old lady’s comeback reminds readers that he was not born evil, instead was created from people’s cruelty and All For One’s schemes.

For more, find out if Deku will get One For All back and how many My Hero Academia movies there are. You can also check out our guide on My Hero Academia: You’re Next and the questions My Hero Academia needs to answer before it ends.