Something Out of a Horror Film. Tenko Shimura: Origin

My Hero Academia S5, Episode 23 Review

The life of a superhero can be a hard one. Superheroes can save a lot of lives and become respected and renowned the world over, but it can also destroy their chance at happiness. An all-too tragic example was All Might’s mentor, Nana Shimura. She left her son in foster care to protect him from All for One, only for her grandson to become Tomura Shigaraki. Even decisions with good intentions can lead to tragic consequences. Now, we get to witness first-hand the tragic origins of Tenko Shimura, the future Shigaraki.

Something out of a Horror Film

I will be completely blunt and upfront about what I thought about this episode: it was amazing. Seeing the origin of Tenko Shimura’s transformation into the future villain Shigaraki felt like something out of a horror film, and I loved every second of it.

The tragedy of Tenko begins when he was still a little boy; a little boy who liked heroes and wanted to be one alongside his sister. However, their dad, Nana’s son, had an irrational hatred of them because he failed to understand why his Mom had to leave him. Because of this, Mr. Shimura would verbally and physically punish Tenko whenever he mentioned the word “hero.”

I got where Tenko’s dad was coming from. His Mom left and she couldn’t tell him why, so he held a grudge against her. But that doesn’t give him the right to hate all heroes, or to hurt his son for wanting to be one. It was thanks to this abuse that Tenko finally snapped and awakened his Quirk in the worst way possible.

Tenko Shimura: Killer With a Smile

The last few moments of the episode were easily some of the best of the entire season. Seeing Tenko’s Quirk activate and make him destroy everything around him looked like something out of a horror film. I could see the grief and horror on his face as he accidentally killed his family, followed by the psychotic anger as he deliberately killed his father. It was like watching the origin to the villain of a slasher film!

The real tragedy behind Tenko’s transformation, though, is the fact that it might have been prevented. Had his family stood up to his Dad sooner, or had his Dad found a way to cope with his sense of abandonment, Tenko might have gotten the help he needed for his Quirk, and thus Tomura would never had existed. Instead, all of that happened, and now we’ve got Shigaraki ready to burn the world down. So, good going, Dad!

The carnage is going to continue next week as we see the birth of Shigaraki, and I cannot wait to see it. GO BEYOND, PLUS ULTRA!!

I Give “Tenko Shimura: Origin” a 4.8/5

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