All For One - The Image of Evil (My Hero Academia)

Timestamps for mobile!


00:01 - Intro
02:52 - Chapter 1: The Glutton
09:10 - Chapter 2: The Deceiver
11:58 - Chapter 3: The Equalizer
15:22 - Final Chapter: The Darkness

In the manga Endeavor said it best, AFO is just..... empty. He smiles at everything cause he doesn't know how to feel

I think what makes AFO such an interesting character is that he has the aura of a villain in an American comic book. Sort of like a Lex Luthor or Doctor Doom, except without any sort of noble motive

AFO isn’t the only example of villains being a perversion of a religion in this series, we also have Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai being a perversion of Buddhism as well

“This is the story of how I became the greatest demon Lord”
-AFO chapter 297

I like how much he loves acting like a complete monster, it’s always nice seeing a villain like that, such as palpatine in Star Wars.

Ngl I love him due to his simplicity, he’s not after some hidden agenda, he’s just a horrible dude who does horrible things to get powerful. He just happens to be pretty damn smart and efficient at getting that power.

I always loved AFO in the story. He was less of a character and more a force of nature, the personification of how horrible quirks can be for the world, and how such an incredible gift to the world can come back to bite you in the ass

I find it really interesting how much the "take" part of the quirk influenced All for One. Because, remember, his quirk isn't JUST taking quirks. Its taking and giving. Both two halves of the same whole, both equally influencing him,, yet All for One is controlled by the taking part. Why not the giving? Imagine if instead of the quirk psychologically influencing AFO to take, it influenced him to give. To give back, to help others instead of himself. To me, instead of the quirk causing him to lust for power, it just increased and overloaded and lust that was already there, buried under a normal person. He focused so much on the taking aspect because it was already there, meanwhile the giving part wasn't.

Something I copped onto in the middle of this video when you said that he isn't even really a person, just his own Quirk personified:
His visual design seems to play into that, with his lack of eyes, something which is immediately used to identify humanity almost makes him out as this inhuman creature. It's a very classic design trope, to give a creature/monster either no eyes or dead looking eyes to show how far from human they are. Hell, the creators of Alien's Xenomorph famously did it to make the alien a far scarier and unpredictable monster. AFO lacks eyes and a nose, which him look totally alien compared to the rest of the cast, and helps solidify him as something not quite human.

All For One is the only villain I can remember that develops after he's arrested, like we've learned so much more about AFO when he's behind bar, like how sickenly evil he realy is, how masterful he is at manipulation and prediction, and even his characteristic and ideaology, it just makes us fear the day he eventually broke out more and more
Edit: The other villain I can remember that's also developed after he's arrested would be Hannibal Lecter

"That loyalty ends up being more than just a few presents at his daughter's wedding"...
Nice reference

AFO being human evil makes sense as he does from time to time make good points yet doesn’t care enough to be hypocrite

I think that's why I like AFO in mha, unlike others he has no purpose or vision, nor does he need to.
He just lives his dreams to his fullest nor caring for his subordinates or ppl.

In a story where every villain origin backtracks to the hero society and its flaws, he is unique and different from others, which makes him interesting.

What’s interesting about All for One is that any quirk he takes loses its individual value. Any quirk that stood out because of its capabilities and the personality of its user would become lost in the superpower quagmire that is AFO, becoming just another quirk in his toolbox. Him fusing all those quirks together in his fight with All Might shows how little he cares about those quirks beyond their function and how One for All could meet the same fate if it was stolen.

Good God, man. This was sooo good. AFO truly represents what we fear the most that lies in the deepest, darkest regions of the human heart. He even managed to wriggle into Deku's heart and brought out his hunger and relentlessness.

I agree with a lot of what you said however I will say this. All for one does have a goal. His one greatest desire is to become the greatest villain the world has ever seen and the one quirk he wants above all else is one for all because he knows for a FACT that it's the only power capable of stopping him.

He read comics as a kid and he knows deep down his brother was right. In the end the hero always wins and so AFO has spent the last 150 years trying to change that narrative and failing because One For All refused to submit.

So yeah while his hunger is endless? He does have a goal in mind and I believe that he thinks stealing one for all with complete him because he often refers to the quirk as his little brother and so I can imagine his thought process being

"If I can make him mine? Then at last I will be whole and this world shall be mine"

He's basically got the evil equivalent to a shonen protagonist dream and it's genius in my opinions.

The crazy thing is that we don't know next to nothing about him but always has presence when he is on screen and we enjoy how evil and petty he is

AFO's personality being nonexistent (besides his greediness and desire for power) could also be because he has so many quirks that he's kept or copied over the years (or even just ones that he's taken temporarily and passed on). People's quirks generally influence their personality (and vice versa) and there could be evidence that even having a quirk temporarily pass through you can still leave a lasting impact (all-might still having his muscle form after OFA left him (not 100% sure on this point tho)), so him having so many quirks as a part of him/pass through him could have made all the personality traits that came with them subtly impact him, but almost cancel out over time due to how many conflicting traits he has at once, leaving only his most dominant personality trait of greediness/desire for power that comes with AFO be prominent bc it's his main quirk and has the most hold over him.

Either that or I'm wrong and it's bc he's just bland lol.

17:00 you son of a gun, you called it.

aged better than it should.