My Hero Academia: Why does Shigaraki hate Deku?

In My Hero Academia, Shigaraki’s hatred for Deku isn’t about any one instant. It metastasizes in the manner of deep pain, twisted beliefs, and their yin-and-yang journeys. They don’t see much of each other at first, but their link goes way beyond hero and villain.

Shigaraki sees Deku as everything he wants to destroy. Deku wants to be a hero like All Might. He believes in doing the right thing and helping others. Shigaraki, however, despises that world. He blames the hero society for ignoring real suffering, and he despises what All Might represents. So, to Shigaraki, Deku is not just a rival. He is the very face of the system that failed him.

As My Hero Academia moves forward, Shigaraki’s hatred becomes more personal. It shifts from Deku’s goals to his very existence. Deku keeps standing in his way, and worst of all, he tries to save him. That makes Shigaraki furious. In his eyes, Deku is willing to risk everything to save someone who wants to tear the world apart. This drives Shigaraki mad. He sees it as a weakness. And insulting, and lashes out harder every time they meet.

This is heavily influenced by Shigaraki's past. A long time ago, he was Tenko Shimura, a young boy who once wished to be saved. This was before he turned into a villain. But trauma and pain buried that aspect of him. He was never rescued. He was used by All For One and used his hate for his objectives. Deku represents the life he never had, and that’s why his hatred keeps growing.

Inside his mind, My Hero Academia reveals that there’s still a part of Shigaraki that wants help. A piece of Tenko is still there, crying out to be saved. But that voice is drowned by the years of rewriting by All For One. Every time Deku shows compassion, it only makes that inner conflict worse. Shigaraki wants to destroy everything from his past, including the heroes who let him down. He doesn't want to be saved.

And Deku not accepting that makes Shigaraki hate him more. Deku sees the boy behind the villain and tries to reach him. But Shigaraki sees that as a threat to everything he's become. He can't accept Deku’s kindness. Instead, he mocks it, saying no one should try to save someone like him. To Shigaraki, Deku's hope reminds him of his old self.

My Hero Academia demonstrates how Shigaraki and Deku are two sides of the same coin. Both began roughly, but they took different turns. Deku used his pain to grow stronger and kinder. Shigaraki let his pain turn into hate. This is what makes their fight in My Hero Academia more sensible. It’s a clash of ideas and concepts.

All For One and One For All in My Hero Academia

What makes their rivalry in My Hero Academia even stronger is that they have both been influenced by powerful mentors. All Might picked Deku to inherit his One For All power. Shigaraki was trained by All For One to be the executor of his will.

These two mentors are lifelong rivals, and the animosity is inherited by their students. But it goes beyond that. As it happened, both Deku and Shigaraki looked up to heroes once. One chased the dream, the other saw it decay.

As the story nears its final arc in My Hero Academia, their bond becomes even more complicated. Shigaraki is no longer just a villain. He’s someone battling for control over his own body and mind. All For One tries to erase what’s left of Tenko, but Deku fights to reach him before it’s too late. In one final moment, Shigaraki manages to help destroy the very villain who ruined his life.

Conclusion

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After his journey in My Hero Academia, Shigaraki is no longer just Deku’s enemy. He’s a tragic character formed by suffering, deception, and a shattered world. Deku is everything he once even dreamed of being but never could be. And that is where the hatred really is derived—not just from competition, not just from power, but from an old wound that never closed.

Their tale in My Hero Academia is a constantly sad one that competes internally between who they are, who they were, and who they could have been.

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