Highlights
- Earphone Jack quirks like Kyoka’s, while not the strongest, are valuable for support and strategic purposes in My Hero Academia battles.
- Kyoka’s character growth and teamwork with Denki showcased her ability to use her quirk effectively in combat situations.
- Despite some weaknesses, Kyoka’s unique espionage abilities and destructive power make her a valuable asset in the world of heroes.
My Hero Academia is built on good character developments and the quirks they possess. Quirks represent the power many are born with, awakening at a certain age and granting the user the ability to use those powers for good or evil. Blending comedic moments and a serious narrative together, My Hero Academia brings a story for its audience worth investing in, and many characters that go from young and aspiring talents to potentially future pro heroes. It all comes down to how well each user can develop their quirks, and whether they can control their powers and master them for heroic purposes.
Not all quirks are of the same power level, unfortunately, and many find themselves caught in limbo. Some quirks are excellent for support in My Hero Academia, and such is the case for Earphone Jack, the sound-based quirk used by Kyoka Jiro, known by her hero name, the Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack.
Kyoka Jiro’s Quirk: Earphone Jack
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First Appearance |
My Hero Academia, Episode 5, “What I Can Do for Now” |
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Debut Date |
June 9, 2018 |
As a small child, Kyoka was an aspiring musician born into a family with several instrumental talents. Her quirk, Earphone Jack, plays a significant role in her musical abilities, as her earlobes extend out and act as amplifiers. Kyoka is a talented guitarist, having picked up the accoustic version of the instrument as a young girl, and developed into a pop-rock guitarist in her teenage years. Kyoka also plays the drums, albeit to a limited level compared to her guitar skills, and has a voice that many consider to be heavenly. While none of her musical abilities play into her role as a hero, they are a big part of what makes her, as an individual, unique.
Described as a support quirk with medium-ranged capabilities, Kyoka uses the elasticity of her earlobes to extend them into walls or the ground. This allows Kyoka to detect vibrations emitting from the surrounding areas, which helps her learn about any dangers that await her. While this quirk pales in comparison in terms of power to that of Izuku Midoriya’s One For All, it does come with its strengths. Kyoka’s mastery ability of espionage can aid her team with predicting any pre-emptive strikes or detecting the number of enemies ahead. Paired with characters that are familiar with building strategies, Kyoka’s Earphone Jack can play a significant role in the success of a mission.
Kyoka Jiro’s Fighting Style With Headphone Jack
In hand-to-hand combat and melee attacks, Kyoka is likely to avoid any confrontation due to her lack of physical power and battle prowess. Known more as a strategist and supporting character, Kyoka makes a good team with Denki Kaminari, whom both have electric personalities and quirks that work well together. Whether she plugs her ears into the earth’s soil or the foundation of a building, Kyoka is able to sense any vibrations and alert her team of how many enemies are ahead. Her earlobes are extremely sensitive, enough so that Kyoka can also determine the distance of the vibrations and how quickly they are moving towards the group.
Though Kyoka’s Earphone Jack is best utilized for assisting her team, she has been known to whip her earlobes at enemies nearby, charging them with a jolt of electricity. Though Kyoka isn’t powerful enough to knock out enemies with this attack, it serves as a good pre-emptive strike or a method to distract someone from an incoming assault. This technique is also used in moments of comedy, as Kyoka doesn’t hesitate to smack and jolt her classmates, namely Denki and Minoru Mineta, if they annoy her enough. Kyoka’s temperament lends more to the short fuse type, and she is always willing to put people in their place.
Earphone Jack’s Usage In Battle
Paired with a higher-than-average intellect compared to her classmates, Kyoka finds many ways to make her Earphone Jack quirk helpful in battle. During the U.S.J. Incident, Kyoka demonstrated character growth by teaming up with Denki, a character she was indifferent to, and combining her quirk with Denki’s Stun Gun. The teamwork between the two paid off as they eliminated several enemies via electrification. Her positive will allows Kyoka to keep up the faith and remain in a battle despite her weaknesses, which in turn helps spark confidence in her team and push back against strong villains.
Earphone Jack also serves as the perfect espionage quirk, using her earlobes to spy on anyone in the surrounding area using the vibrations in the ground and walls. By piercing any object, Kyoka can dictate the time and distance of where enemies are located, which helps strategize the best route to take for an attack. Kyoka is able to stretch out her earlobes by several meters, and use them as whips for an extra attack method, but they don’t have the power necessary to take an enemy down. Kyoka’s training to develop her quirk even further included her piercing the side of a cliff, which aided with sensing vibrations from further distances.
While Kyoka’s Earphone Jack isn’t the strongest quirk in My Hero Academia, it still possesses destructive power. Using the vibrations of her heartbeat, Kyoka can expel an attack of crushing vibrations that shake the surrounding ground. In some instances, her elevated heartbeat caused small earthquakes, destroying the ground ahead of her and catching enemies off guard. Against other sound-based heroes, Kyoka discovers the Counter-Balance attack, which involves plugging her jacks into her legs and deflecting any sound attacks directed her way. This aids with her ears being affected by powerful sound-based attacks.
The Downside of Earphone Jack
Kyoka’s reliance on catching her opponents off guard with an attack sometimes leads her into a battle beyond her abilities. In a battle against Nine, the main antagonist of My Hero Academia: Heroes: Rising, Kyoka joins the fourth line of defense against the villain, alongside Mashirao Ojiro. Despite their best efforts and resiliency, the duo were not powerful enough to combine their quirks and succeed with their mission. Kyoka’s strength and speed are both on the average side, which leaves Kyoka prone to becoming overwhelmed by the power of villains in head-to-head combat. This leaves the Hearing Hero with no other option but to remain at the rear and use her quirk for support.
Additionally, her ears are extremely sensitive, which can be used against her. Facing another sound-based quirk user, the vibrations being sent towards her could disrupt Kyoka’s ability to detect any danger ahead, and harm her hearing. While Kyoka does develop methods to prevent this and negate incoming attacks, a pre-emptive assault could leave her in a precarious situation. For example, a training regimen with Present Mic’s Voice quirk could pose as her greatest counterpart, simply due to the shattering sound and strength of his yelling. Fortunately, the duo would be working together on the same side, amplifying each other’s quirk to make a devastating one-two punch.
The My Hero Academia manga is available to read on Viz and the Dragon Ball anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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