Tenko

Here’s something cool I found! In 2007, Kohei Horikoshi, current mangaka of My Hero Academia, had his first published work published in Akamaru Jump. It was a oneshot titled “Tenko”, starring the eponymous boy during war time in feudal Japan.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s cuz this Tenko shares the same first name as the main villain in My Hero Academia - Shimura Tenko, or better known as Shigaraki Tomura.

In fact, 2007 Tenko is a sort of proto-type Shigaraki. Tenko isn’t a villain or evil - more like an anti-hero protagonist of the oneshot, but there’s lots of similarity. Besides the name, he shares Shigaraki’s unique power: Decay. In the story, it’s called “Battlefield Vandalism” (戦荒らし); anything he touches with his hands breaks apart.

Breaking blades with just touch.

Both are orphans, having accidentally used their power on a loved one (though implied, in Shigaraki’s case).

(Possibly what happened to Shigaraki’s father?)

And both are also driven by a deep hate for the world and a very intense goal to destroy something in it. For Shigaraki, it’s All Might and Heroes, and for Tenko, he wants to destroy all the swords in the world.

Here’s another familiar scene:

Pretty much the same words, even! “I hate you!”「おまえ…嫌いだ！」

(Man, Horikoshi’s art has improved so, so much over the decade!)

It’s cool seeing how Horikoshi recycled his character, and kept a few core themes. Even appearance-wise - white hair and only one eye showing - lots of things remain.

Poor kid though; tragedy’s written into the DNA of the character. I only hope it means Shigaraki’s got a special spot in Horikoshi’s heart and he’s got big things planned for the villain!

(I have the oneshot! But my Japanese is atrocious, so sorry if I explained anything incorrectly here, but it should all be correct… If anyone wants the story, just send me a message. If anyone wants to translate it, even better!)