With main romance in proverbial stone.

For a show that’s all about superheroes combating villains, My Hero Academia has a surprisingly soft side when it comes to building relationships, whether that’s through friendships or by teasing future couples. Kohei Horikoshi may not have set out to write about romance, but his series has plenty of well-thought-out interpersonal relationships between the many characters that inhabit the world, touching on the complicated relationship between a mentor and his student, the contemptuous rivalry of friends, and the possibility of a romance.

Denki Kaminari and Kyoka Jiro Were a Missed Opportunity as a Potential Couple

Their Compatibility Goes Back to the Very Beginning of My Hero Academia

From the get-go, fans see Kaminari and Jiro paired a lot once they the exams to enroll in U.A., first being in a team in the Heroes vs Villains match orchestrated by All Might, then in later iterations where they are having to battle against real villains during the U.S.J. Incident. These short glimpses into their teamwork say a lot about their characters, which can be difficult when My Hero Academia has such a large class to contend with.

Right off the bat, audiences can tell that Jiro is a careful, cautious individual who doesn’t take unnecessary risks where they are not needed, planning accordingly to the Quirks that are around her. Meanwhile, Kaminari is an all-out, guns-a-blazing sort who will wipe himself out with one wide attack to stun his opponents. Although he means well, this recklessness easily leaves him out of the battle immediately after, but Jiro managed to play it to their strengths and keep herself and her other classmates protected at U.S.J.

There wouldn’t be a saying for “opposites attract” if it didn’t often lead to amazing chemistry. The two are depicted to have close ties, whether in the anime or Horikoshi’s concept art. Kaminari and Jiro balance each other out, improving upon their weaknesses by encouraging one another through words, confidence, and the drive to protect their fellow friends and classmates. However, in chapter #431, when teased about a possible relationship, the pair brushes it off casually and laughs about it.

Horikoshi Could Be Implying Many Things About Kaminari and Jiro

Not Every Relationship Has to be Spelled Out In Detail

The scene in the chapter starts off with congratulating Todoroki Shoto for making it to the Number 2 Hero Spot, and quickly delves into relationship antics as the reunited 1-A class gets sidetracked. Eventually, it lands on Jiro and Kaminari, who recently opened up his own hero office close to hers, and they joke that it was a complete accident and that it didn’t indicate anything about their being a couple.

On one hand, this could mean that they don’t want to bring up a relationship to the rest of their friends and perhaps are dating in secret. On the other hand, this could also imply that Horikoshi never meant for them to end up in a romance, wanting instead to relegate them as platonic. Having a pair simply remain as friends, especially those who have such close ties as Kaminari and Jiro have been shown to have, is a very sweet and endearing path to take without leading into any further drama.

Though, of course, My Hero Academia’s creator could have just left it up in the air with that one , letting his audience instead interpret it for whatever they want to make of it. Most shōnen manga try not to anchor down their characters in a canon as a way to avoid the backlash of the audience, and with this hero series in particular, it was probably for the best. Whether fans believe Kaminari and Jiro to be a couple or remain as friends is up for them to interpret, but there’s no denying that Horikoshi could easily have made them the best couple in My Hero Academia.