Eijiro Kirishima

Eijiro Kirishima, also known as the Sturdy Hero: Red Riot (剛健ヒーロー), is a student in Class 1-A at U.A. High School, training to become a Pro Hero, and one of the main protagonists of My Hero Academia.

Appearance
Eijiro is a muscular young man of average height, with a rather impressive physique, despite his young age. He has red eyes that are pointed slightly inwards, and a small scar just above his right eye which Horikoshi admits he frequently forgets to draw. He also has small eyebrows and very pointed teeth. His hair is reasonably short, dyed a bright red, and spiked away from his head at all angles with gel, two more pronounced tufts spiked on either side of his forehead like little horns, this lofty style taking a full 3 minutes to set.

In his middle school days, however, his hair was black and left in its natural state: just under shoulder-length with some shorter bangs between his eyes, but he changed it to his current style shortly after being accepted into U.A. High School.

During school, he wears the normal U.A. uniform, just with dark red trainers instead of the usual brown dress shoes.

In his hero costume, he wears two gear-shaped shoulder pads, dark red in color, a jagged sash joining the one in his left to the right side of his belt, which has a red “R” set into its center, standing for his hero name, “Red Riot”. Below this, he wears baggy black pants and half cape with a ripped hem, also sporting dark red boots, multiple thick rings going around his calves. He leaves his chest bare, and wears a wired guard around his face, reaching from just above his hairline to below his jaw, an extra piece going over the bridge of his nose, and some spiked pieces around his mouth which resemble little fangs. This look overall makes him look a little like an Oni, which is a troll-like creature commonly seen in Japanese folklore, but whether this was purposeful or not hasn’t been confirmed.

During the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc, his costume later gains black sleeves, which he wears to prevent civilians from being hurt by his Quirk during rescues.

Personality
Eijiro is a boisterous and outgoing guy with a fondness for the concept of manliness, often using the terms "manly" and "unmanly" to describe things and people he does or doesn't like, respectively. Those who showcase a noble, brave, and/or determined attitude tend to emotionally move him to tears, quickly earning his complete admiration, respect, and friendship. Similarly, he will call out traits that are the opposite of that, such as cowardice and dirty play. Eijiro himself is determined and selfless, bravely putting the safety of others before himself. He is also a big fan of Crimson Riot, a retro hero that he takes inspiration from, including personal values and his own hero name.

Eijiro is very honest and kind-hearted, having a straightforward way of thinking and following a specific code of chivalry that motivates him to live without regret. Thanks to his respectful and encouraging attitude, he's easily capable of making friends with most people he encounters, particularly those that show as much passion and resolve as he does. Loyal and dedicated to his friends, Eijiro is willing to break laws and rules in order to help or save them, becoming regretful if he becomes unable to come for their aid. Eijiro has a strong sense of responsibility, sometimes being very hard on himself for any negative outcomes that befall him or his friends. As such, he's always thinking on how to further improve his own abilities and strengths, so as to not feel weak or burdensome to others.

Eijiro has stated more than once that he does not think very highly of his own Hardening Quirk, thinking that it lacks the flashiness usually found in the Pro Hero scene. In fact, he will get downright offended if he finds someone with a similar Quirk. Eijiro also has concerns about not having a good enough Quirk for hero work, worried that his skills could not compare to other hero prospects. A lot of this self-doubt seems to have come from an incident in Junior High when Eijiro saw Mina Ashido stop an underclassman from being bullied and save some students from a threatening figure. Eijiro's friends pointed out that Mina will easily become a Hero due to her outgoing personality and athletic nature. After this, Eijiro thought of himself as dull and boring, considering himself pathetic for his inaction and powerlessness, but thanks to an old, recorded interview featuring his idol, Eijiro was able to get the perspective he needed to regain his composure and overcome most of his insecurities. From that point on, Eijiro started working, studying and training diligently.

Eijiro decided to reinvent himself after being accepted into U.A. High, adopting a tough, confident, fiery persona that he considers ideal to the kind of hero he wants to be. Although Eijiro may not be as hot-blooded and competitive as Katsuki, he does not shy away from comparing himself to him, with Izuku stating that the two have managed to develop a relationship between equals. As a result, Eijiro is notably one of the few people that Katsuki holds in higher esteem.

Abilities
Overall Abilities: Eijiro has proven himself to be a very formidable individual on numerous occasions. His abilities earned him 2nd place in the U.A. Entrance Exam, having a fair balance of both villain and rescue points, and 8th place in the Quirk Apprehension Test. Thanks to his Quirk, Eijiro's fighting style is straightforward and reckless, letting his hardened body take opposing hits while delivering counterattacks.

Enhanced Durability: Even without his Quirk, Eijiro has above-average durability. According to Katsuki, even though Eijiro took a barrage of point-blank explosions during their fight at the U.A. Sports Festival, this was not due to Eijiro's armored skin alone. This statement proves that Eijiro's natural durability is fairly strong, but can be amplified by his Hardening.

Quirk
Hardening: Eijiro's Quirk gives him the power to harden and sharpen any or all parts of his body, causing his flesh to become jagged and rock-like.

There is a limit to how much damage the hardened skin can withstand, which causes the hardening itself to slowly dissipate, and Eijiro to lose stamina from struggling to keep his Quirk active.

As part of his training, Eijiro, in his hardened form, was continuously attacked by Mashirao Ojiro's Tail, and with each hit, the strength and durability of Eijiro's Quirk increased.
 * Enhanced Durability: Eijiro Quirk grants him greatly enhanced durability. His hardened body has displayed the ability to withstand a great deal of punishment for extended periods of time, including:
 * A number of point-blank explosions from Katsuki.
 * Several tons of scrap metal from a destroyed giant Villain Bot falling on top of him.
 * A shower of blades produced by a Villain whose blade Quirk was strengthened by a Quirk enhancement drug.
 * A series of powerful punches from Kendo Rappa, a Villain whose Quirk increases the power of his punches, which were strong enough to inflict painful injuries on Fat Gum, a Pro Hero who excels in defence.
 * Enhanced Strength: While using his Quirk, Eijiro's physical strength appears to increase. He demonstrated it multiple times during the Sports Festival, first digging through several tons of metal scraps. In his arm-wrestling match against Tetsutetsu, his fingers dug through the concrete podium on which the match took place, and he eventually broke the surface. When fighting Cementoss, he and Rikido were able to break a multitude of concrete walls before they were ventually worn out. Eijiro was also able to break multiple metal blades with a single elbow strike, as well as to destroy a wall with Izuku's help. When heavily wounded, a punch from Eijiro is regarded as powerful enough to cause Hekiji Tengai, one of the Eight Bullets, to block the attack with a barrier.

Super Moves

 * Red Counter: While hardened, Eijiro endures a close-range attack with his skin and then counters with a straight punch.
 * Red Riot Unbreakable: Eijiro reaches his maximum hardening level by turning his entire body extremely hard and rugged, leaving him with a monstrous appearance and practically invulnerable to most forms of attack. This form can only be maintained for around 30 to 40 seconds.
 * Red Gauntlet Eijiro rushes towards the enemy and delivers a single strong punch to the gut against them. If used during Red Riot Unbreakable, it deals massive damage.

Trivia

 * In the preliminary stages of the manga, Eijiro's early design was very similar to his current appearance, aside from a few rough features.
 * Eijiro's surname name contains the kanji for "to cut" (切) and "island" (島), and his first name contains "sharp" (鋭), "newborn" (児) and "son, male" (郎).
 * According to Eijiro's profile in Volume 3:
 * His favorite food is meat.
 * His favorite thing is manliness.
 * His role is to tie Class 1-A together with his personality, just like Denki Kaminari.
 * The story behind his Quirk's first manifestation is detailed via text. The Shie Hassaikai Arc would later show a small glimpse of this event.
 * Eijiro's known U.A. data is as follows:
 * Student No. 8 in Class 1-A.
 * Ranked 2nd during the U.A. Entrance Exam.
 * Ranked 8th during the Quirk Apprehension Test.
 * Ranked 15th in Class 1-A's mid-term grades.
 * Ranked in the Top 8 of the U.A. Sports Festival First-Year Stage.
 * Eijiro received a total of 68 nominations from Pro Heroes for his U.A. Sports Festival performance, making him the 7th most nominated Class 1-A student.
 * Eijiro's rankings in the Popularity Polls are as follows:
 * Ranked 15th in the First Popularity Poll.
 * Ranked 5th in the Second Popularity Poll.
 * Ranked 4th in the Third and Fifth Popularity Polls.
 * Ranked 5th in the Fourth Popularity Poll.
 * While Eijiro officially debuted in Chapter 5, he actually makes a small cameo in Chapter 3, sporting his original middle school appearance and fighting some Villain Bots.
 * Eijiro and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu share many (mostly intentional) similarities with each other
 * They share the same birthday (October 16).
 * They both chose Fourth Kind's office for workplace experience.
 * They share the same stats in the Official Character Book, prior to the release of the Ultra Analysis Book.
 * Their Quirks, Steel and Hardening, are functionally similar and described likewise, including the weakness of losing power in a drawn out battle, as well as turning their bodies into an earth-based element.
 * Both have prominently pointed teeth.
 * Both have similar hero costumes.
 * Both have a Super Move that involves further hardening their fists to break through the oppenent's defenses, while having the same pose when performing their Super Move.
 * In the anime, their U.A. Sports Festival entry poses were the exact same.
 * The beginning of their Hero names start with the letter "R".
 * Both use their Quirks to turn themselves into human shields to protect their allies.
 * Their fighting styles are the same: straightforward and reckless, letting their hardened bodies take opposing hits while delivering counterattacks.
 * Both wanted to stand out during the U.A. Sports Festival, but were disappointed that they couldn’t, upon realizing their similarities to each other.
 * Them and their Quirks were formally introduced in quick succession, while in identical situations: emerging from the wreckage of Villain Bots.
 * Eijiro and Hanta Sero share the same Costume designer.
 * Eijiro's English voice actor, Justin Cook, also voices the U.S.J. Nomu.

Quotes

 * (To his classmates about Katsuki Bakugo's kidnapping) "When I heard that they were after my buddy...I couldn't do anything!! I didn't do anything!! If I don't act now...forget being a hero, I'm not even a man!"

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