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, with a rather impressive physique, despite his young age. He has red eyes that are pointed slightly inwards, 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 black 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. 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. He is also a big fan of Crimson Riot, a retro hero that he takes inspiration from, including his own hero name.

Eijiro is very honest and kind-hearted, with All Might praising his heroic spirit. In addition, he seems capable of making friends with most people, as he is one of the few classmates who is friends with both Katsuki Bakugo and Izuku Midoriya. Eijiro is very dedicated to his friends, especially Katsuki (who he's very loyal to), and is even willing to break laws and rules in order to help them, showing regret if he becomes unable to aid in any way. This sometimes leads to Eijiro being very hard on himself.

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 the others'. 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.

Regardless, in the present, Eijiro decided to reinvent himself after being accepted into U.A. High, adopting a tough, confident, fiery persona, although not to the same extent as Katsuki. Eijiro, however, does not shy away from comparing himself to him, with Izuku stating that the two have managed to develop a relationship between equals. Because of this, 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. 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 Quirk began to weaken due to insufficient iron intake. Another testament of Eijiro's prowess is when he was able to force Katsuki Bakugo, one of the strongest students in Class 1-A, on the defensive during their battle at the U.A. Sports Festival for some time, before Eijiro's Quirk began to weaken, causing him to lose the battle.

Quirk
Hardening: Eijiro's Quirk gives him the power to harden and sharpen any part of his body. The ability not only protects him from physical attacks, but also from heat and shock waves. Eijiro also becomes stronger to an extent. The drawback of his Quirk is that 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.
 * 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, then withstanding Katsuki's explosions without stumbling, which, according to the latter, was not due to Eijiro's armored skin, alone. In his arm-wrestling match against Tetsutetsu, his fingers dug through concrete and he eventually broke the surface the match was taking place on. He was also able to break multiple metal blades with a single elbow strike, as well as to destroy a wall with Izuku's help.


 * Enhanced Durability: Eijiro has enhanced durability thanks to his Quirk. His Hardening was able to withstand Katsuki's explosions for an extended amount of time and allowed him to emerge from the remnants of the huge faux villains that fell on top of him completely unscathed.

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 against them.

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 name contains the kanji for cut (切) and sharp (鋭).
 * 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'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 Popularity Poll.
 * Ranked 5th in the Fourth Popularity Poll.
 * Eijiro likes meat and manly things.
 * Horikoshi mentioned that Eijiro was made to tie the class together with his personality.
 * 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 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.
 * Their Quirks, Steel and Hardening, are functionally similar and described likewise, including the weakness of losing power in a drawn out battle.
 * 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.

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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