DENKI KAMINARI (ENTP)

My Hero Academia

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Our second post! I'll be analyzing Denki Kaminari from My Hero Academia using MBTI and Jung's cognitive function theory.

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Denki is an ENTP, with the function stack of dominant extraverted intuition (Ne), auxiliary introverted thinking (Ti), tertiary extraverted feeling (Fe), and inferior introverted Sensing (Si).

Ne, or extraverted intuition, is the dominant function, allowing ENTPs to find underlying patterns within observations and form connections to create new theories. Ne users seek theoretical possibilities in their external world.

Ti is the auxiliary function, or introverted thinking and works with the Ne to balance its spontaneous ideas, using its subjective thinking for analysis. Ti users seek to create frameworks within their minds of how the world functions on a concrete level. Introverted thinking propels a constant pursuit for understanding systems and deconstruction of things for how they work. Ti, as ENTPs’ auxiliary function, supports and strengthens their dominant function, Ne, in a Ne-Ti combination.

During the joint team battles in the beginning of Season 5, Denki creates a strategy for defeating Class 1-B’s team by using the connections he gathered from the sports festival. He tells his teammates: “What if I’m the only one who gets caught?...During the sports festival, [Ibara Shiozaki] had to use a ton of vines to protect against my electricity. If I go wild and become the focus of their attacks, then she’ll have fewer vines to work with, right? Shinso and Tsu, you guys should take that chance to get close.” His Ne-Ti combo is highly apparent in this formulation of strategy. He uses Ne to connect Shiozaki’s actions during the sport festival. He had lost against her immediately due to his overuse of his electricity, but rather than simply focusing on the loss, Denki establishes connections between what Shiozaki had done to win and the reason why he lost to form his strategy. Then, he utilizes Ti, which specializes in distinguishing inconsistencies in systems, to distinguish the hole to her quirk—that she cannot shield against both Denki’s electricity and his teammates.

Here, addressing why Denki is not an ESFP or ESTP as many mention is necessary; Denki is not an Se dom. He is often found panicking in rapid battles, causing him to use his electricity quirk in unnecessary times. Whereas an Se dom may adjust to practical battle situations well, Denki, as an Ne dom who prospers in idea-oriented situations, struggles to adapt to changing environments. He demonstrates some difficulty utilising his skills and ideas to establish a practical, immediate plan for action during unexpected situations, thus he is not a dominant Se user. There is also no indication of Fi, as his thinking and behaviors are much more group-oriented (tertiary Fe) for social harmony, fitting in, or comedic purposes, rather than abiding by his personal morals (Fi), so he cannot be an ESFP.

Fe, or extraverted feeling, is the tertiary function that is weaker but works as a backing for the Ne-Ti thinking. ENTPs’ amiability and use of intelligence for the “better of the world” is driven by their Fe, which aims for social harmony and the good of others.

During the first phase of the Provisional Hero License Exam, Bakugou, Denki, and Kirishima battle Seiji, who constantly insults the three. Denki addresses his irritation for insulting his friends: “Sir, Bakugou may seem vulgar, but he’s actually trying really hard to become a hero. Throwing that grenade to me in an instant was a result of his calm judgement of how to break the deadlock, don’t you think? And Kirishima’s such a good guy that he’d rush into enemy territory for his friends, even though it was a dumb thing to do. You’ve only heard bits and pieces of information about these guys, so don’t insult them thinking you know who they are!” By standing up for Bakugou and Kirishima, Denki’s appreciation for his friends and the immense value he places on his relationships is apparent. His Fe also attributes to the reason why he is always with his friends and classmates, demonstrating his outgoing and (somewhat) caring nature to bring them together.

Si, or introverted sensing, is the inferior function and causes ENTPs to dislike a static, consistent routine, and prefer other, more experimental opportunities rather than something that requires a prolonged focus. In the midterms, it is revealed that Denki is 20th in his class, with the worst grades. Even though some reasons can be attributed to his lack of study time since he was occupied with the sports festival and internship, he clearly demonstrates his difficulty to maintain his knowledge from school in an “organized way” as Si users do.

Denki is often seen getting bored with doing tasks that require repetitive effort (such as studying at school), always up for whatever seems “funny” or “cool” to him at the moment—an indication of an inferior Si. However, grades clearly do not measure intellect; he is in actuality a very knowledgeable student, enthusiastic about learning just for the sake of broadening his knowledge to experiment in reality. Here, he demonstrates dominant extraverted intuition, contrary to introverted sensing. When he first meets Bakugou, he mocks his anger-filled personality with the quote “We’ve only barely started socializing and already you’ve made it abundantly clear to us the unpleasantness of your steamed turn of a personality.” (or another translation: “It’s only been a brief while since our conversation has commenced and yet already we have been made apodictically cognizant of your personality, redolent as it is, of a turd getting steamed in a sewer”). Even though this sentence is for the purpose of teasing Bakugou, Denki unveils his sophisticated vocabulary usage; applying his expansive knowledge for something so funny to him is a demonstration of his dominant Ne, unlike his inferior Si.