Summary

In terms of strength, speed, and durability, Shigaraki is superior to All For One due to his enhanced body modifications.
Shigaraki's tragic backstory and relatable origin make him a better villain than All For One in My Hero Academia.
Despite All For One's experience, Shigaraki's physical prowess and Awakened Decay would most likely result in his victory in a fight against All For One.

When it comes to the villains of My Hero Academia, there are no bigger names than All For One and Tomura Shigaraki. One is the archenemy of history's greatest hero, All Might, while the other is that villain's successor and the current holder of his Quirk (though he still has a copy of it). If these two fought, which would come out on top and be the true symbol of evil in My Hero Academia?

"I know that boy will rise to the occasion. He was born twisted." - All For One regarding Tomura

Just to make things clear, this battle will be between both characters at their strongest. So, this is Shigaraki with the All For One Quirk and his body modifications VS All For One in his prime. That's All For One before being injured by All Might or during his peak form in the Final War Arc, achieved thanks to the Rewind drug.

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By Ewan Lewis

Who Is The Stronger Villain?

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In terms of the versatility of their Quirks, Shigaraki just barely comes out on top. This is a tough battle because, for the most part, Shigaraki and All For One's Quirks are the same. However, Shigaraki does have something All For One doesn't, his main Quirk, Decay. His body modifications mixed with his Quirks have also caused his body to mutate, giving him the power to generate waves of fingers that could also potentially trigger Decay.

In a battle of raw strength, Shigaraki comfortably takes the win. All For One is no pushover, as he could trade blows with All Might when both were in their prime. However, that's all thanks to several Quirks he had stolen that boost his strength, increase his muscle mass, and give him all sorts of other useful power-ups. Shigaraki has all of those Quirks as well, but he also has a modified body thanks to a surgery done by Kyudai Garaki, which boosted Shigaraki's physical capabilities by a tremendous amount. While his Quirks were erased, Shigaraki's modified body still made him stronger than Endeavor, who thought Shigaraki's strength was comparable to All Might. So, if you add the strength-boosting Quirks to Shigaraki's already impressive modified strength, you'll have a monster that would dwarf All For One's strength. The same goes for speed and durability as well. All For One has Quirks that boost those qualities, but so does Shigaraki, and his modified body gives him an additional boost that All For One simply won't be able to keep up with.

The only real advantage All For One has over Shigaraki is his experience. All For One is older and has gone through more fights and accumulated more battle experience than the younger Shigaraki. However, you could also argue that since Shigaraki has All For One's vestige inside him, he already has All For One's experience, to an extent.

The Final Verdict: Shigaraki Wins

my hero academia league failed shigaraki

This battle will, more often than not, go in favor of Shigaraki. All For One may be more experienced and arguably smarter than Shigaraki, but it's not like the latter is an idiot. In fact, he's about as observant and sharp as Deku himself, so the gap shouldn't be that big. However, the gap between their strength, durability, and speed is too big for All For One to close. The fact that Shigaraki's body modifications allow him to defeat top-class heroes without even using his Quirks is simply mind-boggling. Shigaraki's Awakened Decay is just the cherry on top. It would make All For One think twice about touching him to steal his Quirks or use a special Quirk on him, while Shigaraki would have no such hesitations.

If they fought a hundred times, All For One could probably take the win a few times if he got lucky and managed to land a good hit. Most of the time though, Shigaraki, with his observably higher stats, will prove himself the stronger villain.

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By Kelsey Knowles

Who Is The Better Villain?

Yep, Still Shigaraki

Shigarakai has something All For One doesn't: a better origin story. All For One was just born a psychopath. Sure, his childhood was rough, but he didn't even really make much of an attempt to be a good person. The first time a group of people rejected helping him, he immediately resorted to killing them. His backstory is tragic, but not exactly relatable, as he just seemed like pure evil from the get-go. It's hard to relate to a villain who doesn't have anything close to a good justification for his action.

On the other hand, Shigaraki's backstory is far more depressing. He was raised in an abusive household, while All For One secretly manipulated his life in the background. After unknowingly being gifted, or perhaps cursed, with Decay from All For One, Shigaraki unintentionally used it on his dog while hugging it and crying from his dad beating him, and his sister betraying him. One tragic thing led to another, and the next thing you know, his whole family is dead, thanks to his new Quirk. Shigaraki was then shortly after picked up by All For One to be groomed as his successor. He didn't want that fate, it was shoved into him by forces far beyond his control. In fact, young Shigaraki admired heroes and wanted to be one. If All For One hadn't manipulated his life, he might've been a hero instead of a villain.

Also, All For One is meant to be All Might's polar opposite, while Shigaraki is Deku's. His ideals and backstory resonate with the protagonist more than All For One. This makes Shigaraki feel even more like the appropriate main villain for My Hero Academia, even though All For One technically is the "final boss" in the manga.

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By Shawn Wilken

My Hero Academia is now available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix. My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is set to air on April 7, 2025.

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Release Date: 2016 - 2025-00-00
Network: TBS, MBS, Nippon TV
Directors: Shouji Ikeno, Tsuyoshi Tobita, Ikuro Sato, Takudai Kakuchi, Masashi Abe, Tetsuya Miyanishi, Kazuma Komatsu, Yoshifumi Sasahara, Masayuki Otsuki, Daisuke Tsukushi, Takayuki Yamamoto, Yohei Fukui, Takuro Tsukada, Masatoyo Takada, Naomi Nakayama, Sayaka Morikawa, Takanori Yano