He’s been around for over a century. Think about that. While every other character in My Hero Academia is struggling with the puberty-driven anxiety of high school or the mid-life crises of pro-hero work, All For One is playing a game of 4D chess that started before their grandparents were even born. He isn't just a guy with a scary mask. Honestly, he’s the personification of a systemic nightmare.
You’ve probably seen the memes about his "potato head" look after All Might flattened his face at Kamino, but jokes aside, the guy is a literal vacuum of power. Most villains want to change the world, burn it down, or maybe just get some respect. All For One? He just wants to own it. All of it. Every quirk, every person, every bit of history. It's a level of narcissism that actually makes sense when you realize he’s basically immortal.
The Reality of the All For One Quirk
The name of the man and the name of the quirk are the same, which tells you everything you need to know about his ego. It's a simple premise: he can take quirks and he can give them away. But the psychological toll is where things get messy. Imagine having a piece of someone's soul—because that's what quirks are in Horikoshi’s world—ripped out and shoved into a storage locker in your brain.
It's addictive. He doesn't just take power to use it; he takes it to deprive others of it. Kohei Horikoshi, the series creator, often draws All For One’s "dream" sequences as these vast, empty voids filled with the vestiges of the people he’s robbed. It’s lonely, sure, but he loves it. Unlike One For All, which is built on the idea of a communal "passing of the torch," All For One is a black hole.
What’s wild is how he uses these stolen abilities. Most people struggle to master one quirk their whole lives. This guy stacks them like Lego bricks. He’ll combine a Kinetic Booster with four different Strength Enhancers and a Spring-Like Limbs quirk just to throw a single punch. It’s inefficient, flashy, and terrifyingly effective. It's the ultimate "pay-to-win" strategy in a world of grinders.
Why Shigaraki Was Never Really the Successor
A lot of fans spent years thinking Tomura Shigaraki was the new "Big Bad." We saw him grow from a petulant man-child into a literal god of destruction. But the truth is way darker. All For One didn't pick Tenko Shimura because he saw potential; he picked him because he wanted to spit on All Might’s legacy.
Tenko was the grandson of Nana Shimura, All Might's mentor. By turning that kid into a monster, All For One won a psychological war that had been brewing for decades. He didn't want a protégé. He wanted a new skin. The reveal that he was essentially "downloading" his consciousness into Shigaraki’s body via the quirk factor was one of the most brutal twists in the manga. It’s parasitic.
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He basically groomed a child for years, fostered his trauma, and encouraged his "itch" to destroy, all so he could eventually hit the overwrite button on the kid's personality. It makes Shigaraki one of the most tragic figures in Shonen history, honestly. He thought he was being saved, but he was just being seasoned for a feast.
The Demon Lord Obsession
One of the weirdest—and most human—things about All For One is his obsession with old comic books. He’s a guy who grew up during the dawn of quirks, a time of total social collapse. While the world was falling apart, he was reading stories about Demon Lords.
He didn't want to be the hero. He thought the villains were more honest.
This isn't just flavor text. It explains his entire operating procedure. He creates scenarios where he is the inevitable boss at the end of the dungeon. He wants to be the "Great Evil" that unites the world in fear. It’s almost theatrical. When you look at his fight in the Final War arc, he’s constantly monologuing about the "narrative." He sees himself as the author of history, and everyone else—Deku, All Might, even his own brother—are just characters he’s trying to edit out.
The Brother Connection: Where It All Started
Everything traces back to a small, sickly man with a hidden quirk. All For One’s younger brother, Yoichi, is the only person he ever "loved," if you can call it that. It was an obsessive, controlling, toxic kind of love. He gave Yoichi a quirk thinking it would make him "complete," unaware that Yoichi already had a useless quirk that could pass itself on.
That mistake created One For All.
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For over a hundred years, All For One has been trying to get that quirk back. Not because he needs the power—he’s already plenty strong—but because it’s the only thing he can’t control. It’s the "one that got away." It represents his brother’s rebellion. Every time he kills a successor of One For All, he’s trying to erase his brother’s choice. It’s a century-long domestic dispute played out with nuclear-level superpowers.
How He Controlled the Underworld Without Lifting a Finger
Before his first big defeat by All Might (the one that took his nose and eyes), All For One ran Japan from the shadows. He wasn't out there robbing banks. He was a "benevolent" dictator.
Someone has a quirk that's ruining their life? He takes it.
Someone is powerless and wants to protect their family? He gives them a quirk.
But there’s always a price. Usually, that price is "favors." He built a web of debt that spanned generations. He’s like a mob boss, but instead of money, he deals in DNA. By the time the series starts, his influence is so deep that even with him in Tartarus prison, his "seeds" are everywhere. He’s the reason the Meta Liberation Army existed. He’s the reason the League of Villains had resources. He is the gravity that pulls every bad thing in the MHA universe toward a single point.
The Final Form and the Rewind Problem
In the final stages of the manga, we see All For One at his most desperate and dangerous. Using a refined version of Eri’s "Rewind" quirk via a drug, he restores his body to its prime.
The catch? He’s literally disappearing.
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He’s rewinding so fast that he’s getting younger by the minute. It’s a brilliant bit of writing by Horikoshi because it puts a clock on a character who previously had all the time in the world. Watching him revert from a sophisticated man in a suit to a hot-headed teenager, and eventually to a literal crying infant, is the ultimate irony. He wanted to live forever, and he got his wish in the worst way possible. He became so "new" that he ceased to exist.
Why He’s Different From Other Shonen Villains
Look at Madara Uchiha or Aizen. They have these grand, philosophical plans to save humanity through illusion or to transcend godhood. All For One? He’s just a jerk.
He’s a bully with an infinite budget.
There’s something refreshing about how unrepentant he is. He doesn't have a "sad backstory" that justifies his actions. He was born with the power to take, and so he took. He’s a warning about what happens when someone has zero empathy and 100% capability. He doesn't want to be understood; he wants to be feared.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Theorists
If you're trying to wrap your head around the legacy of All For One, keep these specific points in mind for your next re-watch or deep-dive discussion:
- Watch the "Vestige" World: Pay close attention to the scenes inside the One For All subconscious. The way All For One appears there—as a towering, shadowy figure—shows that he isn't just a physical threat, but a spiritual one.
- Analyze the Quirk Combinations: If you're a gamer or a strategist, look at the specific quirks he chooses to stack. He rarely uses "utility" quirks in battle; he prefers raw, overwhelming force combined with sensory-denial abilities. It reflects his desire to completely overpower the opponent's will.
- The "Doctor" Connection: Research Kyudai Garaki (Ujiko). All For One is the muscle and the charisma, but Garaki is the engine. Without the High-End Nomu and the quirk-cloning technology, All For One would have stayed a relic of the past. Their partnership is the most successful "evil" collaboration in the series.
- Contrast Him with Endeavor: While Endeavor tried to "create" a legacy through Shoto (and failed/redeemed), All For One tried to "steal" a legacy through Shigaraki. Both are fathers/mentors who used children as tools, but their paths diverge in how they handle their own failures.
All For One isn't just a villain you beat with a "United States of Smash." He's a ghost that haunts the entire structure of hero society. Even when he's gone, the scars he left on the world—and on the very concept of quirks—will take generations to heal. He proved that power doesn't just corrupt; it consumes. If you want to understand My Hero Academia, you have to understand that it isn't just a story about heroes. It’s a story about a man who tried to turn the world into his own private comic book, and the kids who had to burn the pages to stop him.