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.

Appearance
Eijiro is a muscular young man of average height and a rather impressive physique for 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 pointed teeth. His hair is somewhat long, 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 takes a full three minutes to set.

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

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 dark red gear-shaped shoulder pads. A jagged sash joins the one on 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. He also sports dark red boots and 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 slightly resembles 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 gained 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 Bakugo, 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 second 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. As even bullets cannot pierce his skin when his Quirk is active, Eijiro is capable of turning himself into a human shield for allies or defenseless civilians.

During the U.S.J. Incident, he and Katsuki attempted to take on Kurogiri before being warped away, leaving the pair to battle, and soon defeat, low-tier members of the League of Villains. Eijiro has shown to be as formidable as Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, and due to their similar Quirks and fighting styles, the two were evenly matched during their battle at the U.A. Sports Festival, which resulted in a draw. The two hard-headed students were still on par with each other during their arm wrestling tie-breaker, until Tetsutetsu's Steel Quirk began to weaken due to insufficient iron intake. Later on, Eijiro impressively forced Katsuki, one of the strongest students in Class 1-A, on the defensive for some time during their match, before Eijiro's Quirk began to weaken, causing him to lose the battle.

When he first underwent Hero Work-Studies, under the tutelage of Fat Gum, Eijiro confronted a villain who had the ability to protrude metal blades from his body. Eijiro was initially taken by surprise when the blade villain used the trigger drug to enhance his Quirk, but after bringing his Hardening to its maximum durability, the red-haired hero was able to overcome the villain's increased power and defeat him. In the midst of the Shie Hassaikai Raid, Eijiro and Fat Gum faced off against Kendo Rappa and Hekiji Tengai of the Eight Bullets, but Eijiro was heavily struck by a powerful punch from Kendo, leaving the sharp-toothed hero out of commission for the majority of the duel. Eventually, Eijiro regained his resolve, stepped in to efficaciously endure Kendo's volley of punches, and had the mettle to directly engage the former cage fighter with a punch that could have negated the latter's own blows, but Hekiji intervened with a barrier. During the first round of the Joint Training Battle, him and Koji Koda launched a collaboration attack on Jurota Shishida of Class 1-B that forced the latter into evading the said assault, implying their combined onslaught would've been effective against someone of his caliber. Jurota himself admitted that Eijiro was the only person in their battle that can pose a threat to his abilities, so he swiped the Sturdy Hero aside to be captured by Ibara Shiozaki.
 * 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.

Indomitable Will: A prominent aspect of Eijiro is his die-hard chivalry. During his middle school days, Eijiro lacked the courage to stand up for others, despite desperately wanting to, but was too afraid to do so. However, after watching a video containing Crimson Riot's speech on chivalry and his heroic ideals, Eijiro re-evaluated himself and became a virile person who desires to help others no matter how scared he may be, even if it means recklessly rushing into situations. Eijiro changed his original black hair to the the spiked, red appearance he now possesses to symbolize both his admiration for Crimson Riot, and reformation into a more courageous person. Eijiro's heroic spirit remained steadfast when he voiced his intent to help save Katsuki, who had been abducted by the League of Villains, and proclaimed that he won't stand by and do nothing.

At the beginning of his and Fat Gum's battle against Kendo Rappa and Hekiji Tengai, Eijiro was severely incapacitated by Kendo's punch and began to despair over being unable to help Fat Gum, who was being repeatedly pulverized by Kendo's powerful punches. But after recalling how he felt this very hopelessness in middle school, and overcame it with inspiration from different people, Eijiro regained his resolve to stand up for others, and be a hero. With his conviction re-established, Eijiro jumped into the fray, refortified his hardened body, allowing him to better withstand Kendo's bullet punches compared to the beginning of the bout, and nearly faced the brawler head-on, compelling Hekiji to protect Kendo with a barrier. Because of Eijiro, Fat Gum was able to gather the accumulated energy from Kendo's punches and defeat the yakuza duo. In the aftermath, Fat Gum and Kendo both acknowledged Eijiro's fighting spirit, with the latter being so impressed that he desires to one day have a rematch with the young hero.

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 his hardened body can withstand, which causes the Hardening itself to slowly dissipate, and Eijiro to lose stamina from struggling to keep his Quirk active. However, when he battled Kendo Rappa, Eijiro displayed the ability to refortify his hardened body.

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's 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:
 * Several tons of scrap metal from a Villain Bot - Executor falling on top of him.
 * A number of point-blank explosions from Katsuki.
 * Bullets being fired at him.
 * A shower of blades produced by a villain whose blade Quirk was strengthened by the Quirk-enhancing drug, Trigger.
 * A series of powerful punches from Kendo Rappa, whose Strongarm Quirk increases the power of his blows, which are strong enough the break through stone.
 * Chojuro Kon's full-power flame breath being fired at point-blank range.
 * Dabi's flames burning his body.
 * Gigantomachia swiping him away.
 * Enhanced Strength: When using his Quirk, Eijiro's physical strength is increased, enabling him to break through most obstacles. He demonstrated this heightened brawn multiple times during the Sports Festival, starting with easily digging through the remnants of Villain Bots. In his arm-wrestling match against Tetsutetsu, Eijiro's fingers dug through the concrete podium on which the match took place, and he eventually broke the surface. When fighting Cementoss, Eijiro and Rikido Sato were able to break a multitude of concrete walls before they were eventually worn out. Eijiro was also able to break multiple metal blades with a single elbow strike, as well as to destroy a concrete wall with Izuku's help. During the climax of the battle against Kendo Rappa, Eijiro threw a punch that was seen as powerful enough to force Hekiji Tengai into blocking 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, giving him a monstrous appearance, and allowing him practical invulnerability to most forms of physical attacks. This form can only be maintained for around thirty to forty seconds.
 * Red Gauntlet Eijiro rushes towards the enemy and delivers a single strong punch to the gut against them. This technique deals massive damage if Eijiro is in his "Red Riot Unbreakable" form.

Chapter Appearances

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Anime Appearances

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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, fog" (切) and "island" (島), and his first name contains "sharp" (鋭), "newborn, character" (児) and "son, male" (郎).
 * The "Ei" in his name also means "English" and "Eiji" means "alphabet"
 * 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 and Fourth Popularity Poll.
 * Ranked 4th in the Third, Fifth and Seventh Popularity Polls.
 * Ranked 6th in the Sixth 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 share many similarities with each other:
 * They share the same birthday (October 16).
 * Both have prominently pointed teeth.
 * They share the same stats in My Hero Academia: Ultra Analysis: The Official Character Guide, prior to the release of the My Hero Academia: Ultra Analysis: The Official Character Guide.
 * Them and their Quirks were formally introduced in quick succession, while in identical situations: emerging from the wreckage of Villain Bots.
 * 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.
 * In the anime, their U.A. Sports Festival entry poses were the exact same.
 * Their Quirks, Steel and Hardening, are functionally similar and described likewise, including the weakness of losing power in a drawn out battle, and making their bodies harder than stone.
 * Their fighting styles are the same: straightforward and reckless, letting their hardened bodies take opposing hits while delivering counterattacks.
 * Both use their Quirks to turn themselves into human shields to protect their allies.
 * They both chose Fourth Kind's office for workplace experience.
 * Both have similar hero costumes.
 * Both have a Super Move that involves using their hardened fists to break through the opponent's defenses, while having the same pose when performing their Super Move.
 * The beginning of their Hero names start with the letter "R".
 * When the Hero Work-Studies program is reinstated, both go to Fat Gum Agency.
 * Eijiro and Hanta Sero share the same costume designer.
 * Eijiro's English voice actor, Justin Cook, also voices the U.S.J. Nomu.
 * Eijiro is the only member of Class 1-A with a Transformation Quirk.

Quotes

 * (To his classmates about Katsuki'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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