Fire Force or Enen No Shouboutai is a Japanese Shonen Manga that has been running since 2015. It's created by the same genius that made the widely beloved Soul Eater, Atsushi Ōkubo. Thankfully, it is also the same sort of insanely-stylized, action-packed, and incredibly unique sort of tale than Okubo is known for. And now, with the recent anime adaption, it seems like we all agree! Fire Force is a story about Firefighters that fight fire...with fire?
Basically, Spontaneous Human Combustion is real in this setting and firefighters are its enemy. But, the mystery is secondary to the diverse, unique, and frankly refreshing characters Fire Force has to offer, so let's go through and introduce the best of them.
Update August 31st, 2020 by Louis Kemner: By now, Fire Force's second season is well underway, and all kinds of shocking revelations are being revealed one at a time, both in the Tokyo Empire and in mainland China. Shinra is rapidly working his way to the truth of the white-clad cult and the Great Cataclysm, and he's meeting all kinds of cool new allies and villains along the way. Now, let us review five more cool characters who make Fire Force what it is.
15 Charon, The Indestructible Fire Warrior
This large fellow has appeared a few times alongside Haumea, and he has proven himself one tough pyrokinetic in combat. He took on Shinra in close-quarters combat, and it seemed like nothing Shinra could throw at him would faze him.
The secret: Charon is a second-generation pyrokinetic, and he can absorb his enemy's firepower and throw it right back at them. It'll take more than fire kicks to take this behemoth of a warrior down.
14 Haumea, The Cackling Troublemaker
Here is another white-clad cult member who has definitely made her presence known by now. This woman hides her eyes not with a cloth, but with a crown, suggesting a great deal of authority in the cult. At least, she acts like it, being a competent field commander for her fellows.
Haumea is a wicked schemer who loves to stir things up, and every time the heroes think they've got her cornered, she blasts off and taunts them over her shoulder. Just what is she plotting next?
13 Arthur Boyle: One Trick Knight...King
At first, this fire soldier was more of a gag character than a serious fighter, but that's starting to change. Arthur Boyle, the so-called "Knight King" is a third-gen pyrokinetic who uses fiery plasma rather like a lightsaber blade, making him really stand out in all the right ways. This chivalric buffoon trained with Shinra at the academy and is assigned to Brigade 8 as well.
He's incredible in a fight as long as he's fully immersed in his knightly persona. For now, Arthur plays second fiddle to most of his Company 8 allies, but he's catching up quickly, and he may be a real kingly knight on the battlefield someday.
12 Shinra Kasakabe: A Refreshing Shonen Protagonist
Shinra on the other hand, is a bit less trope-y then the standard run-of-the-mill shonen protagonist, both mentally and appearance-wise. Most protags tend to act how they look, but Shinra is the exact opposite. The more demonic he looks in the moment, the more the readers can be sure he's actually incredibly conflicted.
Shinra Kusakabe can be hard-headed, but most of the time he's respectful, realistic, and a quick-thinker. Which are three traits that are not easily found in shonen main characters. But, at the end of the day, he's still the poster boy.
11 Iris
This young lady is a fully trained sister, or nun, who never fails to pray for the souls of fallen Infernals when the fire soldiers destroy them. She's not a fighter; she's a healer for the soul, and she can help escort the victims of spontaneous combustion to the great fire of heaven with a prayer.
That's an important job, and Iris does it with crisp professionalism. On a personal level, she is a charming and upbeat friend for everyone at Company 8, and she gets a little flustered when she's with the girls, but she's in good company all the same.
10 Sho Kusakabe
This is Shinra's little brother, who was once thought lost in a house fire. But the white-clad cult made sure that he survived, and they spirited him off and began training him. Now the Kusakabe brothers are on opposite sides of the fight for humanity's future.
Sho is stoic and stern, but he does have a fascinating ability: to cool down the entire universe and thus freeze time, except for himself. This makes him a deadly swordsman, and time will tell if he begins to feel guilt about his role in all this and whether he'll long to return to Shinra's side.
9 Vulcan Joseph: The Mechanic Obsessed With Animals
Vulcan is the future engineer of Fire Brigade 8 and a total animal lover. The setting of Fire Force takes place long after a fire-based global calamity. And Vulcan's family has passed down the knowledge of all the species of animals that were lost in said calamity. As such, all of Vulcans inventions are animal-based, and an absolute delight to see.
Vulcan himself is a rather standard eccentric fellow, with a gift for invention. But, what propels him above the rest is the strength of his personal design, the designs of his animal contraptions, and the charm of his creations.
8 Princess Hibana
She's not literally a princess, but Princess Hibana sure acts like it, often putting her foot on bowing subordinates to keep them in their place. She was once a nun in training and knows Iris on a personal level, and she has a mind of scientific curiosity.
All this drives her to ruthlessly study Infernals, and she will use her fearsome firepower on anyone who opposes her, even Shinra. But she's cooled down a bit, so to speak, and is now a loyal and rather charming ally.
7 Benimaru Shinmon: The Not-So-Standard Lone Wolf Powerhouse
On the surface, Benimaru Shinmon seems to be another example of the "sulking bad boy" trope. A character that seems apathetic and rude, but is too powerful to teach a lesson to. But, the more time he spends on the screen, the more readers see that Shinmon is actually quite a relatable character.
Sure, he's a powerhouse Ignition-user with a weird right pupil, but he's also a capable leader who has quite the dedicated following. Plus, he's self-sacrificing, unapologetically kind, and weirdly confrontational. All this adds up to making Benimaru one of the characters on Shinra's side so far. Plus, it's fun to see him vaulting around on those poles.
6 Ogun Montgomery: Just An Overall Great Guy
Ogun knew Shinra and Arthur from their academy days, and he acted as a sort of peacemaker between them all. He scoffed at the idea of knights, since Arthur is actually a firefighter, but he does enjoy his rivalry-based friendship with Arthur.
Now that season 2 has begun, Ogun is a part of the squad, and he has proven an outgoing and reliable friend during the trip to China. It's likely that he'll have a few glorious moments to his name before the season is over.
5 Viktor Licht: The Wackjob Scientist
Around the same time that Vulcan joins the crew, Viktor Licht shows up. He's the scientist or researcher of Brigade 8 who obviously has an ulterior objective. But, despite lying to everyone, Viktor is weirdly charming? He's not an Ignition user and isn't really even a firefighter, but he shows up to all the battles regardless.
He's constantly around to explain complicated fire-based science to the readers, and even works as a tertiary comedic relief. Licht is just an all-around positive addition to the dynamic the Brigade 8 eventually falls into and is completely dedicated to solving the human combustion mystery.
4 Maki Oze: The Kick-Butt Female Mage
Maki Oze is one of the best characters in Fire Force, hands down. First of all, she's a female character that actively contributes to the fights in a Shonen series, something that doesn't happen as often as it should. Secondly, she's muscular and has served in the military, another two things that again, isn't seen in female characters often.
And lastly, she's unique! Maki isn't the serious veteran stereotype one would think she is. She's funny, vulnerable, and uses her powers to create cute little characters! Basically, the "Mage" of Brigade 8 is highly adept at bringing readers under the spell of her charms.
3 Karim Fulham: Apathetic Trope Done Well
In Fire Force, the firefighters are split off into different fire "Brigades" 1 through 8. And the one that's closest to the Church of the Holy Sun is Brigade 1. These are apparently the most pious and devout of the Fire Brigade members, but Karim seems to defy expectations. On the surface, he's just an apathetic "soldier," but the more time he spends around Shinra and crew, the easier it is to see how likable he is.
Karim is conversationally repetitive, apathetic, and sarcastic. Which isn't the best defense of his charms. But, he's also a hero, reliable, and is always there to help. Plus his Ignition ability is so interesting that fans are always clamoring to see more of him.
2 Akitaru Obi: The Buffest Firefighter In History
Akitaru Obi is absolutely, without a doubt, 100%, the model firefighter. A man who started as a normal firefighter, and worked his way up to captain of Brigade 8. Obi is tenacious, kind-hearted, and a total musclehead. If Obi isn't working out, then something must be wrong. But honestly, his obsession with fitness ties back to a devout need to help others.
Akitaru is a great leader, a kind captain, and is honestly quite funny. People tend to find these sort of "good guy" leaders boring, but Obi is an exception to the rule. Plus he contributes to fights despite literally having no fire-based abilities.
1 Takehisa Hinawa: The Complete Package
And finally, it's time to talk about Takehisa. It was a rough time trying to figure out who should rank first, Takehisa or Obi. But, at the end of the day, Takehisa Hinawa is a more diverse character. Hinawa is lieutenant of the 8th directly under Akitaru, but he acts more like the leader himself sometimes.
Takehisa is dryly amusing to watch. His thousand-yard stare is somehow both intimidating and charming, his lack of social awareness makes for some great punchlines, and his obsession with ruining Maki's fire-creations is the sort of humor that keeps him finely balanced as a Fire Force character. And for combat, he uses second-gen pyrokinetic to actually use magic bullets. Now that's cool.