Summary
Eri's backstory parallels Shigaraki's, as they both accidentally destroyed their families and were manipulated by villains. The Hero Association succeeds in rescuing Eri, while Tenko is abandoned, showing the system's flaws. Eri's guidance in a heroic environment prevents her from going down the villain's path, highlighting the impact of kindness.
There are so many here My Hero Academy characters that fans can draw parallels between, due to the similarities in their character arcs, but one of the most surprising is actually for Shigaraki. While a lot of characters can be compared to Shigaraki due to their past, there is one character whose story is almost completely parallel to his: Eri.
Eri is a character who first appeared in the Shie Hassaikai arc, one of the longest and most intense arcs in the series. Eri was just a small child when she was introduced and became the focus of a massive campaign to end the villainous behavior of the Shie Hassaikai and rescue the young girl. That sounds completely different from Shigaraki, who was introduced as an adult and immediately became a villain. However, the connection between the two characters has more to do with Shigaraki's origin as Tenko Shimura.
Eri's story directly parallels Shigaraki's origin
Eri and Tenko share a common tragedy
Tenko Shimura, the child who grows up to be Shigaraki, begins his story as a young boy with an abusive father, but he appears to have a loving mother and a typical relationship with his younger sister. Tenko's problems arise when his Quirk power, Deadly Decay, first appears, killing the family dog, then his sister and then his mother, until Tenko finally Together they made the choice to touch their father, knowing exactly what would happen. Without a family, Tenko was left at the mercy of the world and no one came to his aid – until All for One appeared.
Eri's past is revealed to be quite similar. She is the granddaughter of boss Shie Hassaikai, his daughter. However, when Eri's Rewind Quirk appeared, it accidentally caused her father to cease to exist, causing her mother to abandon her and leaving little Eri without parents. When the boss “fell ill” due to Overhaul's actions, Overhaul became responsible for Eri, and immediately put her incredibly powerful Quirk to work as part of his grand plan.
Both Eri and Tenko accidentally destroyed their families with their powers and as a result each fell into the hands of a paranoid villain who intended to use their powers to achieve their goals. .. However, this is where their stories begin to diverge. Eri is eventually discovered by Izuku Midoriya and Mirio Togata, and the two report the existence of this frightened child under the control of the villain Overhaul to the other heroes, who plan to stop the Great Depression. Cultivate and rescue Eri. On the other hand, Tenko was never found by the hero.
Eri's fate shows that the Hero Association is working effectively
The Hero Society exists to save children like Eri
While Tenko is in desperate need of help, people often dismiss him, assuming that a hero will come to save him, but that never happens, showing the flaws in an overly dependent society. into the hero. On the other hand, Eri's story shows what could happen if someone discovered young Tenko was in trouble and reached out to help him, even if it was after All for One had already made a claim. for the child. Tenko wasn't inherently a bad kid or anything like that; he is as innocent as young Eri when she was discovered and only turned evil due to All for One's influence.
It's not hard to imagine a timeline in which Eri is not saved by the heroes and becomes resentful towards them for not doing so. One can even imagine Eri becoming so desperate to escape Overhaul that she intentionally erases him from existence, much like Tenko chose to kill her own father. Eri struggled to understand the concept of a hero, as someone so selfless was so removed from her personal life experience that it was almost beyond her ability to accept.
But that's not what happened to Eri. Since Deku discovered her and realized she was in trouble, a massive effort was made to rescue the girl, involving dozens (if not hundreds) of heroes and police. Although the main goal is to stop the activities of the Shie Hassaikai, the heroes make it clear that saving Eri is the top priority. Eri's story in My Hero Academia is one of the world's Hero Association actually working the right way, doing their best to save even just one suffering child.
Eri receives help that Shigaraki never received
Eri's guidance prevents her from falling down Tenko's path
Of course, Eri's story doesn't end with her rescue. She was adopted by Aizawa, one of the few people in the series who was able to help her learn to control her Quirk thanks to his own Erasure. Eri had the opportunity to grow up in a loving environment, surrounded by friends at UA who cared for her immensely. As a result, Eri was able to gain some control over Rewind, to the point where she was able to restore Mirio's Quirk by rewinding him by a very specific amount.
Tenko never received that help and was abandoned in the clutches of All for One, who taught him how to control his Quirk, but only as part of a grand plan to turn him into a vessel of hatred. hatred is called Tomura Shigaraki. Tenko never had a loving environment, instead living in an orphanage filled with other potential vessels of All for One. While All for One convinced Tenko that he cared, it was an abusive kind of caring, an isolating, possessive form that taught Shigaraki that only All for One could be trusted.
Eri's life has wonderful parallels to Shigaraki's past, showing how much impact just one moment of kindness at the right time can have. An Eri left behind in Overhaul's hands could have become as bad a villain as Shigaraki, but she was saved by the heroes in a way he never could. This connection between Eri and Shigaraki helps strengthen the Shie Hassaikai arc's connection to the rest of the series. My Hero Academyand creates a strong connection between one of the most innocent characters and one of the most evil.