Kohei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia features a good amount of interesting and unique character designs. It is common for mangakas to start with one idea and end with another. Changes occur as the story progresses and through time, different aspects of the designs and story may also change. It could be based on convenience or simply a personal choice, but as these changes come into play, they impact the story in one way or another.
Some original designs tend to be much darker than the final product, Tanjiro from Demon Slayer being one such case. Horikoshi too found himself with a much darker idea for one villain of the series that could have looked so much creepier than what came to be.
Kohei Horikoshi Almost Gave Shigaraki Tomura a Bone-Chilling Design
Shigaraki Tomura is a character who exudes creepy in the best way possible. Whether it is through his deeds or his quirk, he is a menacing villain who can be recognized through and through with his blue hair and battered look. However, Kohei Horikoshi almost made him a character that looked straight out of a Junji Ito story.
Shigaraki is known as one of the most tragic villains of the series with a story that would make anyone’s heart clench. His design right now is a tell-tale of all the horrors he had experienced throughout his lifetime. His potential may have been greater than what came to be and perhaps, Horikoshi’s original design could have helped that in many ways than one.
His original design was far more of a fright than what came to be. The hollow shell of a person willing to wreak havoc helped his allegiance as a villain. Fans had often complained about how he could have been a much better villain and the original design would have taken many of those complaints away.
Shigaraki’s Character Deserved More
The original Shigaraki could decay people by just touching them. The moment he touched them, their life force would be pulled away from them. Hands hugged him in a way that made it look more creepy than his ultimate design. So much so that some fans even pointed out he looked eerily similar to All for One.
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Shigaraki’s original design was definitely a missed opportunity to make the series much darker and for the character to understand his own depths. As a villain, he needed more to his own potential, a push to make him more menacing. His original design already gave him such a scary outlook that Gaara felt like an ordinary Shinobi.
Fans most definitely find themselves more inclined towards this design than any other and the impact he would have had on the audience could certainly have turned the tide not just for his character but also the entire story.
My Hero Academia is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
