Kirishima Eijirou is gay
My Hero Academia is a Japanese anime that focuses around super powers and a hero society through the perspective of a high schooler who is training to be a hero. It is very well written, but that is not at all what I want to talk about today. I’d much rather discuss the side character, Kirishima Eijirou, specifically the reason I believe he is not heterosexual.
I will die on this hill. Is it canon? No, nothing has ever been said about his sexuality in canon. HOWEVER, the evidence is there. The subtext is there.
Maybe people who thinks he’s heterosexual have a point. I mean, he never said he was gay. This is foolproof evidence in itself because as we all know, straight is the default state of human being, and LGBT people are just modifyers. I mean, it’s not like Kirishima has ever been interested in guys or anythi- wait a minute…
Evidence 1- Kirishima’s favorite thing
Taking a look at Kirishima’s character sheet, we can see that his two things are listed as “tough guys” and “hard-liners”. It is not a mistranslation either. A major part of his character is his desire to both be manly and his respect and admiration for tough, manly guys. Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, it is definitely not the most heterosexual thing.
It’s also notable that his favorite thing is not worded or described with traditionally manly things, like working out, fighting, cars, dying in a war, action movies, gaslighting people, sports, or any other things men are known to enjoy. Just “tough guys”.
Imagine I was introducing myself to a group of people and when they asked me what my favorite thing was I replied with, “Yeah my favorite thing is pretty girls.” Does that sound heterosexual to you? No, because it is not, and neither is Kirishima.
Evidence 2- Japan Coding
In American culture, being a homosexual man is stereotypically “girly”. We effeminize gay men, and certainly don’t associate it with manliness. However, this is not the case for Japanese culture, which is where My Hero Academia is set.
In Japanese culture, someone like Kirishima, who sets such importance on manliness and is so friendly, would be side-eyed. Not because they view homosexuality as masculine, but because as opposed to the effeminate gay man American stereotype, overly masculine men are the Japanese stereotype.
In the original Japanese, Kirishima’s favorite thing includes the Japanese word “Kouha” (硬派) which means “the hard school”. Kouha is a japanese subculture from the Meiji Era known for the positive value they placed on homoeroticism. This is where the masculine gay man Japanese stereotype comes from. They hated being perceived as feminine and thought the best show of masculinity was with other men. After all, what could be more manly than a man? What could be more appreciative of masculinity than a close bond between your best bros?
Evidence 3- Disinterest in Women
While we know that in real life the absence of attraction doesn’t automatically suggest that someone is gay, however that doesn’t really apply since it’s an anime. In My Hero Academia, the author shows other kids in his class having feelings towards others. He shows the other boys wanting to impress the girls. But not Kirishima.
One example is in the episode where everyone was showing their dorms, the author shows the other boys wanting the girls to like their rooms. However, once the girls get to Kirishima’s room and they express disliking, he doesn’t care.
Evidence 4- The Final Reason
I am gay and I think he is.
I could go on and on with other evidence as to why he is gay-coded from canon and logic, but lets face it, the only opinion that matters here is mine. I know it when I see it. 🙄💅‼️‼️
Stay tuned for my next article that shows more evidence including Bakugou, his hardly platonic best bro, and if I’m being queerbaited again. :)
