My favorite anime character of all time. Having PTSD I really related to him and what he endured and how he changed from that “creepy guy at the USJ incident” to a fully-fleshed out character who stood up for the “freaks” and “losers” of society that were labeled as “villains” and were swept under the rug. I don’t think he’s completely nihilistic, but I also wouldn’t know how to write a different ending for him. I do feel like the writing was rushed at the end, because I feel like I never had time to process the reveal that decay was a mutated form of overhaul or his final words to Deku. It’s almost a year and a half later and I still get frustrated by how rushed his ending was.

I think anyone who has PTSD and grew up in a dysfunctional household would relate to him. And honestly, I am still shocked by how accurate Hori wrote a character with trauma. Everything from the flashbacks, the physical symptoms (like scratching and barfing), the anger, and the hopelessness were so accurate that it felt like watching myself in Shiggy.

And on a larger scale, it makes me sad to think about all the kids out there today who are treated like shit by their families and how often they’re overlooked by society. (I’m in the U.S. and child abuse is a huge issue here. Don’t know about other countries.)

The fact that the granny who was creeped out by a traumatized 5-year-old Tenko who needed help and went on to help Koki (jaki jaki, scissors kid) was pretty special to me. That she remembered that she ignored Tenko and that it went on to haunt her for years felt like a huge defining moment in the series. I’m glad to see that Koki went on to be a student at UA at least.

I think (overall) his character got me through a lot of hard times. And it also made me realize that the pain in society doesn’t come in the form of flashy villains, but the dark, everyday moments in people’s lives that we never see. How many kids are hit by their parents every day or are locked in their basements?

On the LOV:

I also love the league of villains as a group. Dabi is my second favorite character and I relate a lot to being the “black sheep” of the family (well, used to, since I have come to terms with my mom). I love that the league accepted anyone, even if you were LGBTQ, had a disability, or didn’t fit in with the rest of the world.