Spoilers for My Hero Academia Season 6, Episode 5Shigaraki, the big villain of My Hero Academia, keeps finding himself mirroring the classic 1980s anime movie Akira, and the references in episode 5 of season 6 might be the most obvious of all.
At this point in My Hero Academia's story, Tomura Shigaraki has willingly subjected himself to some experimentation in order to make himself stronger, and was left floating in a vat of mystery liquid at the evil Dr. Garaki's hospital, where he was to rest and heal. Then the heroes broke in, and that was the end of that. The visuals of this entire sequence are extremely reminiscent of Akira, which also spends a lot of time in underground labs covered in massive tubes and cables with little else visible. However, the similarities between the film and this most recent episode go deeper than just an aesthetic resemblance.
In Akira, Tetsuo is taken to a hospital and treated after coming in with an esper, and begins to develop psychic powers of his own. He's subjected to screenings and tests like Shigaraki, and people even try to kill him at the hospital, just like Miruko did. Upon being awakened, Tetsuo flexes his new-found power by destroying anyone and anything in his way at the hospital, which is exactly what Shigaraki does in My Hero Academia. Shigaraki awakens to find a hero nearby, X-less, and immediately kills him, leaving only his red cape behind, which Shigaraki then dons. Tetsuo similarly finds a red flag that he uses as a cape, and both have wild hair which stands on end, although Shigaraki's is white, while Tetsuo's is black. Both also destroy a huge area of land in the middle of a city using their new powers, undoubtedly killing many in the process.
What Do Shigaraki's Parallels to Akira Mean?
Akira is one of the most influential anime films of all time, constantly referenced in media from around the globe--particularly its iconic "Akira slide" on the motorcycle. Kohei Horikoshi, the original creator of My Hero Academia, lists Akira among his favorite manga, so these references are far from coincidental. If the similarities were merely aesthetic, then the references to the film could be more easily brushed off as pop culture shout-outs, but the sheer number of similarities and the relevance that some have to the plot suggest something deeper. Since Shigaraki's character arc right now is all about developing what are strange new powers even in a world of Quirks, it's not out of the question to think that this arc might be modeled on Tetsuo's. That doesn't bode well for Shigaraki in future episodes of My Hero Academia, as Tetsuo is also the antagonist in Akira and is gone from the world by the end of the film. In that sense, the parallels even extend to the hero a bit, as both Kaneda and Deku would rather save their villain if possible.
Whether Shigaraki's entire fate has already been foreshadowed by these Akira references remains to be seen even in the manga, but My Hero Academia is certainly flexing its otaku cred by calling back to one of the most iconic anime ever. With any luck, perhaps My Hero Academia will be ed just as well when it ends.
My Hero Academia is streaming now on Crunchyroll and Hulu!
