
This struggle has formed somewhat of a "tragic hero" role around the character, punctuated by his very name, Jin, which means "benevolence" in native Japanese. Jin's feud with his other Mishima family members and the inner turmoil caused by his "Devil Gene" are consistent topics throughout the series.

Critical reception to him has been quite positive with comments focused on his role within the story and techniques. Jin was created to be the new protagonist of the series whose constant fights with his family members would eventually lead him to become an antihero, as crafted by Bandai Namco director Katsuhiro Harada. Outside the video games, Jin has also appeared in the animated and live-action films adapted from the games. He is also a high school friend of Ling Xiaoyu. While dealing with them, Jin loses control of the Devil Gene, which causes his transformation into an alter ego named Devil Jin (Japanese: デビル仁, Hepburn: Debiru Jin), first introduced as a non-playable character in Tekken 3 and playable in Tekken 5. He is also antagonized by his father, Kazuya Mishima, from whom he inherited the gene. 'Devil's blood')), a genetic abnormality within his body, which causes the betrayal of Heihachi who wants to take it. However, during the tournament it is revealed that Jin possesses the Devil Gene ( Japanese: デビルの血, Hepburn: Debiru no Chi (Lit. Trained by his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, in order to enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament, Jin wishes to avenge the apparent death of his mother Jun Kazama.
