Dearly beloved, I have gathered y’all here today to 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧. A few folks have asked for my thoughts on the Mina/Kirishima discourse that has sprung up since chapter 280 so gloriously arrived. I hope you’re ready. :)

Before we dive deep into the characters themselves, I would like to remind all readers that these are children fighting a war. Fifteen and sixteen year olds. They should not be here. They should not be expected to behave in an adult fashion in this situation. The expectations

that the adults in this world have placed on them are outrageous, brutal, and wrong. The fact that the Hero Commission and U.A.’s answer to the rise in villainy since the fall of All Might is to put more and younger children into the streets to fight is pure insanity and utterly

disturbing. Children will stumble, and when they do it should be in a safe place with an adult there to help them back up, not alone in the midst of a goddamn war against experienced and coordinated terrorists. Mina is doing her best in the worst situation. :)

Now, let us begin with Kirishima. We’ve seen him at his weakest (what he thinks of as his weakest): failing to act when his classmates were threatened. And we see how Mina jumping into action both shamed and motivated him. He has worked 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 to get to where he is, both

mentally and physically. We don’t know his test scores, but we do know that he came in 2nd place in the practical entrance exam, second only to freaking 𝘉𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘶, ahead of an acknowledged powerhouse like Tokoyami, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 ahead of... Mina (this is the first example of how

Kirishima’s hard work beats out Mina’s natural talent, which is highly relevant to ch. 280). Within U.A., Kirishima has continued to work hard, seeking academic assistance, but he’s also shown, by failing his practical final, that he needs to keep going, to adapt and grow, a

message he takes to heart during their time at the summer training camp. Once Bakugou is kidnapped and Kirishima makes up his mind to save him, he puts himself in place to experience, and freeze up in, the presence of AFO. Each of the students freezes up, Kirishima is not alone

in that fear, but it is an opportunity for him to feel that paralyzing level of fear and, with his friends, work through it. Then he seizes the initiative and seeks out Tamaki, seeks out a work study. Only a few first years are granted permission for a work study (due to the

increased security limiting work study options), and, correct me if I’m mistaken, but Kirishima is the 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 who makes the effort to actively get one. Midoriya is half scouted by Mirio, half scouted by All Might when Gran Torino falls through, and Tsuyu and Uraraka are

just outright scouted by Nejire. Kirishima hunts down and finds Tamaki, badgering him until he agrees to take him to Fatgum. It is important to note that it is 𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪 he seeks out. One might think that a physical brawler like Kirishima would seek out someone like Mirio as a

role model, to improve his fighting. However, Kirishima is very aware of his weakest point: his mind, his spirit. Just like Tamaki. Kirishima knows that if he’s going to succeed, he needs to train and strengthen his mind, and Tamaki is one of the Big Three… so something he’s

doing is helping him succeed. Kirishima makes the choice to take that step, to do the extra work, whatever it is, to strengthen his similar weakness. Our boy has grown!
But he’s not done yet. We see him put the things he’s learning into practice at his work study. Confronted with

a threat not only to civilians but 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 his classmate (and himself), he springs into action, no hesitation! And then we are treated to another aspect of Kirishima that he thinks is lacking: his quirk. The quirk he grew up hating. The quirk that was so weak in

middle school, a mere 18 (or so) months previous that a rock stopped him cold. We see how he’s grown, but we now get to see his self-evaluation in the face of what is expected in modern hero society: he doesn’t have the reach, the mobility, or the flash that others do; he views

himself as falling behind his classmates. Back in the action we see what that deliberation and the encouragement he then received (thanks, Bakugou!) has helped him achieve: Unbreakable. He jumped into action, didn’t waver, and used his quirk training… and won, making it into the

news. This is excellent! Until he’s faced with a real threat: Rappa. Not a low level cowardly thug, but a powerhouse out to win by killing. Kirishima wavers. He freezes up. All his old insecurities and fears return. But he hasn’t trained for nothing. And he is able to work

through it all and stand up to defend Fatgum. He puts all his hard work (from school 𝘢𝘯𝘥 the work study) together and he overcomes the deepest weakness in himself. The work study with Fatgum is misleadingly framed as quirk-focused. His doubts, the flashback with Bakugou, his

ultimate success with Unbreakable all indicates that his quirk is the point of this arc, but it is critical to recall his true weakness is his mind, as is Tamaki’s, and that the true purpose of his choice in work study (again, he is at this point the only one to 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦) is

to strengthen his mind (“Chivalry is a strong spirit,” Crimson Riot, vol. 16, ch. 144).
So now, when confronted with the monstrosity of Gigantomachia, the nightmare from his past, he has the training 𝘢𝘯𝘥 experience to excel and succeed where others, while no less motivated,

through no real fault of their own, fail.

So what about Mina? We’ve had a lot less time with Mina, as her arc so far has largely been shown through Kirishima’s. We know that she is confident and athletic, she can be creative in her solutions to conflict, and she has been

training her quirk hard. She’s developing improved techniques and mastering control over the flow, viscosity, and strength of her acid. But what we haven’t seen is Mina alone in the midst of a life threatening conflict. Yes, she was at the USJ, yes she was at the summer training

camp, but she faced no threats in those instances. She was with Thirteen at the USJ, and she was with the students receiving remedial lessons in a classroom and not out facing danger head-on. Kirishima was in the same boat, but would later witness the terror at Kamino, which Mina

did not. After they received their provisional lisences, Mina does not enter a work study, so she again does not receive the valuable one-on-one real life experience that Kirishima does. She is literally 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 put into a situation where she alone must face down a life

threatening foe for the sake of others and/or herself. This is where the foundational differences in Mina and Kirishima’s characters count. Mina (theoretically) didn’t have any weaknesses. She’s strong. She has a great quirk that can be used in numerous ways. She doesn’t hesitate

or freeze up. As far as we know, her quirk doesn’t adversely affect her in any way (ala Aoyama, Uraraka). So she had nothing specific to improve on, to work on, to strengthen. She coasted. And now she’s here. In a literal war. A war she (and all her classmates) have no business

being in. And she’s facing a literal giant-ass mountain of a man, one she faced before and still cried about, but now it’s so much worse. He’s bigger, stronger, and meaner. And Mina… isn’t. Her quirk and technique have improved (um, check out that Acidman!? That shit is cool

as 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬!), but she herself hasn’t grown at all. So when she’s confronted with true terror, in a literal war, where not only her life is on the line but also hundreds, if not thousands of others as well… 𝘈𝘯𝘥 it’s the villain from her past? Of course she stumbles. She’s the

same person she was then, as is so eloquently demonstrated by putting her back in her middle school uniform, but this is 𝘯𝘰𝘵 the same situation, it’s bigger and worse. She hasn’t grown to meet it. She wasn’t forced into situations that made her confront this type of

hesitation, she didn’t seek out opportunities that would have allowed her that experience. She didn’t know she needed to. This is (if she survives, if everyone survives) a new start for her, the beginning of a new way of viewing herself and what she needs to do to be the best

hero she can be. And that’s a 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
These moments, Kirishima’s epic achievement (“I’m a hero, so I protect people. Once that decision’s made, I gotta put my life on the line for it!!” Crimson Riot, vol. 16, ch. 144; “I am Red Riot! And no one behind me is gonna

bleed!” Red Riot, ch. 280) and Mina’s stumble, occurring together is intentional and significant. We are being shown how important intention and hard work are (remember those exam results?). This is the culmination of everything Kirishima has been purposefully working towards.

Mina’s got talent, but without the work, that’s all it is. This is an important contrast that is central to their interwoven arc. Now it’s Mina’s turn to put in the hard work and excel.

A few other points I would like to address:
I read someone complain that the chapter shouldn’t be called “Red Riot” because Kirishima doesn’t do anything new. That he’s charged into fighting with no hesitation when he isn’t scared (um that’s half the point right there, “when he

isn’t scared” vs. when he is…), and that especially with the foe being Gigantomachia it would have been more powerful if he had frozen and then overcome it and entered the fray. If I haven’t made it abundantly clear, I disagree. We have seen Kirishima freeze up no less than

three times already. And he already worked through it. To repeat that cycle 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 would be boring (not to mention Crimson Riot specifically talks about a time he hesitated and people freaking 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥). This chapter is called “Red Riot” because Kirishima has achieved that

for himself in his head. He is Red Riot. It would be powerful enough if it were any villain, but it is without a doubt all the 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 powerful that Kirishima achieved his dream against the very same villain he froze in the face of and that sent him on his journey of

self-improvement and heroism. (And if Gigantomachia is a nomu’d Crimson Riot, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 Kirishima achieved his Crimson Riot-inspired dream against him…? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘸!)

I also read a few comments that were along the lines of “Mina was just a tool for Kirishima’s storyline,” and again,

I would like to respectfully disagree. Their arcs have been interwoven, but they are separate and distinct characters at different points in their character developement. The moment in their past and this moment now are important for both of them in different ways that

overlap: Kirishima started his journey then and is succeeding now, Mina succeeded then and begins her journey now.

I would also like to point out that Kirishima blatantly and expressly acknowledges Mina’s chivalrous (i.e. strong) spirit and that it was only because he had her

dose from when she 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘋𝘢𝘣𝘪’𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬-𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵 that he succeeded in the end. Kirishima knows Mina’s a badass, and he says so.

In conclusion, stan Red Riot.