Wild ✯ Tiger

1. What I Needed You To Tell Me Was...

If we look at both of them outside of their label as heroes and villains, and just as people, they share the same personal flaw. This is how characters are written all the way back to the heroes of Greek tragedy, there is usually one central flaw that even a larger than life hero struggles with.

For both Deku and Shigaraki, their flaw is their complete lack of "self-worth". Deku's hero name literally means worthless, Tomura the name given to Tenko was specifically stated by AFO to mean mourning the death of his former self.

They also both start out their backstories with the same phrase "Back then what I wanted you to say was...(I could be a hero)" Shigaraki and Deku started in the same relative place. They were both completely average kids who dreamed of being a hero like everyone else, and they both had those dreams rejected by everyone around them.

Both Shigaraki and Deku came to define themselves by this rejection. They were told "we are not good enough" and they internalized it. It's at the center of who they are. Not only do they both genuinely believe in their own "worthlessness" but everything they do is to try to spite this rejection, to prove that they have worth.

I think Bakugo's apology to Deku does a good job of explaining how ultimately messed up and unhealthy Deku's frame of mind is, even if it leads him to commit heroic actions.

Bakugo was afraid of Deku being better than him and also clung to the idea that him being born with a powerful quirk made him automatically superior, so he rejected Deku again and again and tried to put him down. After being continually told by Bakugo, among others, that he could never be a hero, Deku internalized the idea that he wasn't good enough. That rejection had an effect on him, it caused Deku to believe that HE was the problem, that there was something wrong with HIM and it continually lowered his self-esteem.

A Deku who believes he's "worthless" continually hurts himself trying to prove that he's good enough to be a hero, because he's been told his entire life that he ISN'T. Deku's desire to save people is what makes him heroic, his continual abuse of his body makes him UNHEALTHY. Bakugo even comments that gaining a quirk, getting stronger doesn't actually fix this problem, in fact now that he has so many more quirks Deku invents new ways to hurt himself with no regard for his well being. The problem doesn't stem from his positive trait, his desire to save everyone, but rather his flaw his lack of self-esteem.

Deku becomes caught up in this self-destructive cycle, of continually trying to prove that he's worthy of being a hero by gaining strength and powering up his quirk, but that never works. It's comparable to Touya trying to train on his own and ultimately burning himself to get his father's attention. The problem wasn't that Touya was weak enough, the problem was Touya believed that he himself was too weak because someone else made him feel that way. Touya was rejected and that rejection led to self-harm. Deku even continually destroys himself trying to be like the hero he admires, and on All Might's part it's a failure of communication, his inability to say that Deku is just fine as he is that leads to Deku isolating himself further. The problem wasn't Deku, but rather the fact that he was rejected, that he was taught he wasn't good enough at one point. This leads to a cycle where he continually tries to strengthen his quirk and that doesn't WORK, but he has no other way.

When that doesn't work, Deku spirals and begins rejecting the others around him in return, because if HE'S the problem, then HE needs to work on it all on his own. He needs to prove that he's strong enough to fight on his own because relying on others is a weakness. It's not enough to be a hero, he has to be the greatest hero, it's not enough to be the greatest hero he has to be the greatest hero alone, it keeps spiraling like that and Deku is never satisfied. Becoming a stronger hero does not fix Deku's central flaw, it only amplifies it, because Deku thinks the way of being a hero is to throw himself into more and more danger in order to prove his "worth". Deku breaks away from all might and attention is drawn to their hands separating. All Might fails tor each out for Deku, and it's clear why, All Might has failed to make Deku feel like he hasn't been rejected because All Might not being the perfect mentor himself is unaware of how to say the words Deku most needs to hear.

Shigaraki shares the same flaw, and the same feelings of rejection. They both share the same point of origin, they were told by their families that they could never be heroes. Even though they were young at the time, both of them were smart enough to realize that all of the adults around them were telling them the wrong things. Kids are smart, they know when adults think there's something wrong with them, even if Inko and Tenko's extended family put it in the kindest way possible, they could feel the rejection. But the household that my father built... rejected me kindly.

Of course, Shigaraki's life veers wildly off course, and much in the opposite direction of Deku's. Deku lived the life of a mostly normal kid, sans bullying until middle school at which point a superhero decides to mentor him. Shigaraki's quirk activation is an accident that kills his family, and he's mentored at a much younger age by a super villain. However, while Shigaraki's circumstances are much more extreme, they both ultimately internalize the same idea. Deku was told not only by his mother and Bakugo, but also the entire society around him that he would never be good enough to be a hero. Shigaraki takes this one step further, not only can he never be a hero, young Tenko wasn't even worthy of being saved.

Tenko, just like Deku, is emotionally intelligent enough to realize that he's being rejected, but doesn't know why he's being rejected. He comes to believe that the problem is himself. At a young age, Deku believes that he is too worthless to become a hero, and Shigaraki comes to believe because of the accident that happens with his family he is not worth saving. Both Deku and Shigaraki's behaviors stem from the way they were fundamentally rejected as children, not just for their dreams of being a hero, but also who they were, Deku for being quirkless, Shigaraki for being too dirty of a child and not worthy of saving.

Tenko once again draws focus to everyone's hands. All Might's hands fail to reach Deku, because Deku believes he is not worthy of asking help, he cannot be a proper hero unless he does everything on his own. Shigaraki comes to believe that the reason he didn't get saved that day was there was something wrong with him, he internalizes his idea which makes him especially susceptible to All For One's suggestion, that he wants these things, that he wants to hurt other people, that he's perfect for the role of a villain because he was born to destroy.

2. That's What Makes Us Heroes and Villains

Deku and Shigaraki have the same central flaw, but they adopt different behaviors in order to try to correct that flaw. Deku fights as a hero, but he always fights alone, and always fights in ways that hurts himself. Shigaraki adopts the role of a villain, if Deku's method is to try to earn acceptance by continually proving himself a hero over and over then Shigaraki's is to become a villain who rejects the society that rejected him. For this Shigaraki must be stronger than the entire society around him. If Deku is battling himself, that is continually pushing himself to his absolute limit to try to prove he's a strong enough hero on his own then Shigaraki wants to prove he's strong enough to overcome the society that rejected him.

Deku aligns himself with society because of his positive quality and stated goal is "saving people" and he believes from the bottom of his heart that heroes save others. Shigaraki believes heroes don't save because he wasn't saved, he aligns himself as society's enemy because he was rejected and treated that way.

However, ultimately while they choose to take on different roles they share both the same flaw the feeling that they are worthless that they will never be good enough, and also the same desire to be told by the people around them that they are good enough. There should be enough of a similarity there for Deku to come to an understanding with Shigaraki already, but they don't, they fight each other, and the reason why is precisely this because both of them hold onto "hero" and "villain" so tightly as ways to define themselves.

That would be enough of a connection to make them Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader type enemies, but the story isn't going in that direction, more and more Deku has been pushing the idea that he and Shigaraki might be able to come to an understanding. He sees Tenko as a child for a moment, so close to his own childhood self. However, even now that Deku's desire to connect and reach out to Shigaraki is genuine what is it that's getting in the way of this heartfelt desire? This is what we call a story obstacle, brought about by Deku's character flaw. Shigaraki and Deku both believe they are worthless so they attach themselves to the label of Villain and Hero respectively. Shigaraki tries to prove his worth by becoming the enemy of society, and Deku tries to prove his worth in the same way by becoming its savior.

However, hero and villain are just a label, it's not who they are as people. Deku is at times shown to be a bit of an odd duck. While he's a naturally friendly person, he's also characterized as shy, socially awkward, well-meaning, but bad at communicating with people His desire to save people is genuine, but he's often naive at how to save people, or even how to talk to them. Deku is extremely sympathetic as a person, and even the first one to realize that Shigaraki might be in need of saving, but I would argue he doesn't really understand Shigaraki's feelings. I would say this comes from the fact that Deku's own self-worth is so low he doesn't bother to self-reflect or think about his own feelings because that's an essential part of taking care of yourself. Sometimes, even Bakugo is better at looking at himself critically, because he has the self-confidence and selfish qualities that Deku lacks.

All this to say, even when Deku's heart is in the right place he doesn't have the easiest time reaching out to villains, and that may because he can't see himself in them. Being a hero is Deku's entire identity, and Deku struggles to see himself as a person outside of that label. This is even the direct stated reasons why Shigaraki doesn't care if Deku understands him or not.

They're going to be enemies simply because they were labeled of heroes and villains, that's reason enough in Shigaraki's case for them to fight. As a part of their foiling, Shigaraki also shares this trait of Deku's. However, while Deku is unable to see himself in villains, Shigaraki doesn't see the redeemable part of himself, his good side, he's continually exaggerating his flaws and hiding the part of him that is still "TENKO SHIMURA" the kid that wants to be a hero. He went so far as to forget his fast, and dissociate himself from his memories and feelings to forget that. Shigaraki is so hurt by the rejection of his family, that he buries Tenko in a grave, forgets about his family, to become the villain Shigaraki. Izuku is so mired by feelings of unworthiness, he'd rather be the hero Deku struggling alone far away from family and friends.

This leads to a second behavior they have in common, isolation. After the battle in Deika city even though it was a victory for the league, Shigaraki believes he needs even more power after that because just like Deku, he'll never be good enough, and decides to let himself be experimented on for four months in the mountains separating himself effectively from his friends and allies. After the War Arc, Deku's first choice is to separate himself from everybody to become a solo vigilante.

This is when the parallels between Shigaraki and Deku really begin to increase. Remember, Deku cannot understand Shigaraki yet because he still doesn't see himself in villains. Other people have said this arc is a crash course for Deku understanding villains, but it's also like a lesson in how to save. Deku wants to save, but believes he can only save others if he's the strongest hero in the whole world, even though it's been shown hundreds of times that's not really what saves people. Touya's father was the number two hero and he didn't get saved. Tenko was the granddaughter of a hero, and both him, and his father Kotaro her actual son didn't get saved. The act of saving others in this arc is demonstrated to be far more complex. However, to simplify I would like to think the parallels between Shigaraki and Deku are strongest whenever Deku is isolated and struggling alone.

Deku struggling against his friends deliberately draws parallels to two scenes, one when Tenko was destroying his household after his quirk activated, and two when Tenko wasn't saved by the society around him. However, both of these moments are when Tenko is getting rejected. First, when his quirk activated Tenko was begging for help the entire time, but unable to say it because of his panic, and due to that every time someone came near him his quirk destroyed them, finally culminating in him asking his father for help only for his father to attack him with garden tools at which point Tenko decides to lash out against the rejection and target his father. THe second was when in a society full of heroes, not a single hand reached out to help because Tenko was such a ghastly looking child with dark circles around his eyes. Both times led Tenko to believe he was alone, and unworthy of saving.

These are the feelings which Deku has been struggling with the entire arc, culminating with this climax. Deku's arc has been one of rejection. When he goes solo as a vigilante, he's not exactly thanked for his efforts in helping others. Not only does he witness completely innocent people getting rejected, like the woman with the animal quirk, he's not thanked for his constant attempts to rescue others, eh's feared. Deku is drawn as a villain, because everyone around him is characterizing him as a villain, they're rejecting him. Deku comes to the same conclusion that Shigaraki does, that he's not worthy of being helped by his friends. This isn't just something Shigaraki came to believe on his own, he was helped to think that way by everyone around him. The more Deku is rejected, the more isolated he becomes, and the more he hurts himself.

His final battle before his friends show up is quite literally Deku against masses of people who overwhelm him. It's quite literally a parallel to the scene where even in a society full of saturated superheroes, not a single person reached out a hand to help young Tenko. This paralleling goes to great extents to show how bad this lifelong rejection has effected Deku, and how unhealthy this is for him.

When his friends come to save him, he literally fights them with violence in order to keep isolating himself. The rejection Deku has faced his entire life has finally led him to reject others. The more he is rejected, the more Deku slides and slides and the more his behaviors become like Shigaraki in return.

"He's got a whole mess of quirks in him. That sounds like ALl for One's ability or a nomu in him. But apparently he goes around helping people. The rumors say he's caked with blood and filth which cover up his many scars. Looking at him, you'd never guess he was a hero."

When people finally show up to help Deku, his first instinct is to fight against them, because deep down he believes he's not allowed to ask for help, just like Shigaraki believes he was unworthy of being saved all the way back when he was still Tenko. He doesn't just run away from his friends, he pushes them away violently.

Deku's internalized feelings of rejection don't just sit there doing nothing, it makes him fight alone against the whole world trying to prove he is a hero, in the same way, that Shigaraki fights against the whole society alone. They just have come to define themselves differently, Shigaraki a villain, Deku a hero, but even though they see themselves as different underneath the labels they are still people, and more than that they're children struggling alone.

This isolation they face doesn't help anybody. Deku fails in his goal of saving villains because he's trying to do it alone. He comes off as preachy, he's not in time to rescue Lady Nagant from the explosion, he falls into a trap afterward. This all happens not because Deku is wrong for wanting to save villains but wrongheaded, Deku is attempting to do these things all on his own. By the end of his journey, it seems he's lost his goal of saving and understanding villains, and is acting as a true vigilante and just neutralizing the assassins AFO sent after him. Because Deku isn't a perfect hero, he's a person struggling, and struggling alone makes him get worse and worse and lose his way.

However, MHA presents us in the finale of this arc of what to do with the child struggling alone, and on top of that, how to save someone who does not want to be saved. Deku has journeyed all the way from a well-meaning hero, to violate pushing his friends away and fighting against them physically, and how do all of those friends bring him back.

All of them come together to rescue him. The same way that everyone minding their own business and no one reaching out a helping hand is what doomed Tenko to become Shigaraki, everyone coming together to help Deku the whole of Class A is what saves him from becoming an overly violent vigilante like Stain.

During the entire fight, most of the class does the opposite of what Deku has done this whole time while preaching to the villains he fought like a hero. They try to talk to him as a person and bring him back to personhood. This is because this whole scene is a crash course for what Deku needs to do to begin saving even villains, stop seeing them as villains, or even people in need of saving, and remember they are people.

The assurance that class A gives is that they don't want to stop him from trying to save others, they don't want to be protected by him, they just want to be by his side. Their goal is not to fight against him and prove that they are strong, but rather, to show him that they aren't rejecting him and that he is not alone.

All of these scenes together are providing Deku a blueprint on how to reach others. If villains can be heroic at times, and heroes can act like villains, then deep down everyone is just people. All Might wanted to save Deku, but couldn't because he lacked the words to tell him. It wasn't a matter of strength but rather emotional weakness.

Deku tried to reach out to various villains, but couldn't because he couldn't see himself in those villains. However, all of Deku's friends reach out to Deku because they could see themselves in him. They all understand Deku as a person, and that's what makes their attempt to reach out effective.

NOt only that but it's not just one person who tries to save Deku alone, but rather a collaborative effort. It is everyone in class UA's responsibility to bring him back home. After that, Deku is saved not by the physical fight, but by the hand that reached out to him.

Even after the initial rescue attempt.

Everyone tries to kick Deku out of UA, because he is a dangerous threat. Despite his good intentions he is characterized and treated as a villain. Deku responds the way he always does, by isolating himself and trying to prove he is strong enough on his own in spite of society's rejection. However, what stops him this time is the knowledge that even if others around him reject him, there are others Bakugo and Uraraka and Iida who have accepted him, and even Bakugo who apologized telling Deku that the way he was treating him all along was wrong, he wasn't the problem, he wasn't the one at fault.

All of these scenes together are providing Deku a blueprint on how to reach others. If villains can be heroic at times, and heroes can act like villains, then deep down everyone is just people. All Might wanted to save Deku, but couldn't because he lacked the words to tell him. It's not a matter of not being strong enough, but rather not understanding how to best help Deku.