In between all the hard-hitting Quirk-based action fights and superheroics, My Hero Academia takes time to fully flesh out what kind of people its main cast actually are. Izuku Midoriya, for example, is an idealistic and self-sacrificing boy who’s set to become the next Symbol of Peace, while his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo took his tsundere ways to a negative extreme and finally apologized for it in Season 6.
Bakugo finally faced himself as a tsundere and had an Endeavor-style redemption, but one of his classmates had him beat the whole time. Kyoka Jiro, the punk rocker hero calling herself Earphone Jack, has always been a lovable tsundere with lots of fans — and she represents a much more sympathetic and better-balanced approach to this popular anime archetype.
Kyoka Jiro’s Personal Arc Makes Her Class 1-A’s Best Tsundere
Even if Jiro and many of her classmates have faded into the background to make room for the Midoriya/Bakugo/Todoroki trio, My Hero Academia‘s narrative still fleshed out her character in compelling and charming ways, helping Jiro remain relevant even as the “golden trio” took form. Background students like her are mostly defined by a few quirky traits and hobbies, such as Rikido Sato’s baking and Mina Ashido’s graceful dance moves, and it worked wonders for Jiro too. She has a well-balanced and properly flawed personality, which gave her room to grow and improve while not being totally unlikable at any point.
Jiro is a tough, cool and street-wise student hero who nurses a serious passion for rock music, but she initially felt insecure about that as well as her appearance. As a result, she often got defensive and sometimes lost her temper, having no patience for games or horseplay. It made her a likable tsundere with an inspiring hobby, and over time she grew more confident in herself and her hobbies, culminating in her stellar performance in the UA culture festival. Jiro finally embraced her role as a top musician and formed a rock band around herself, performing on both guitar and vocals during Class 1-A’s rock concert.
Similarly, she used to be rather detached and unhelpful toward others, but now she is a bold, inspiring hero who can take charge of any situation and do the right thing. An example came during her internship with Death Arms, where she easily coordinated the evacuation of hostages during a hero mission. Jiro has gone from a grouchy, defensive student to an inspiring, trustworthy hero whom anyone can look up to, a fine character arc for any tsundere.
My Hero Academia‘s Jiro Avoided the Tsundere Archetype’s Biggest Pitfalls
The tsundere archetype has a variety of general traits that most fans have come to expect from these characters. For the most part, Kyoka Jiro neatly avoids the most negative ones in MHA; she balances her hotheaded defensive side with her sympathetic insecurities and a genuine desire to inspire and protect people as an aspiring Pro Hero. Katsuki Bakugo is also a tsundere student aiming to become a real hero, but personality-wise and behavior-wise, Jiro definitely does it better.
One of the most common and troubling trends among anime tsunderes is sheer physical force, with tsundere girls in particular having a habit of hitting people for petty reasons. Examples are many, from Chitoge Kirisaki in Nisekoi to Taiga Aisaka in Toradora! and even Tomo Aizawa in Tomo-Chan Is a Girl!. Kyoka Jiro did this in MHA as well, usually by poking or whacking the likes of Mineta or Kaminari with her Earphone Jack Quirk. It is no student’s place to physically punish their classmates for anything, though Jiro has gradually stopped doing that over time. She’s showing some growth and restraint in that way, phasing out a negative tsundere trait and saving her firepower for the real enemies.
Another common pitfall is when tsunderes put others down to feel better about themselves, or to deflect if things get personal. They often verbally attack others as a defense mechanism if they feel threatened; Bakugo practically made that his entire personality for a while. Fortunately, Kyoka Jiro kept that to a minimum, partly because heroes aren’t supposed to talk that way and because she focused more on her own insecurities than trying to expose other people’s flaws.
This put her in a good position to face her own faults and grow as a person without putting others down, and it’s worked wonders for her character arc in My Hero Academia. Jiro has proved that tsunderes can be hotheaded and defensive without being bullies about it, and it’s a great example for future anime tsunderes to follow, superheroes or otherwise.