Synopsis:

250 years ago, the Great Cataclysm nearly destroyed the world. It’s now Tokyo Solar Era 198, and the Tokyo Empire has become one of the few places left on the planet safe for refugees to settle and attempt to live a normal life. In this strange new world, Spontaneous Human Combustion is the most feared mode of death, as people can, without warning, erupt into flames, becoming demonic “Infernals”. The Fire Force is established to battle the Infernal threat, manned by Fire Soldiers with second and third-generation pyrokinetic abilities. Idealistic 17-year-old Shinra Kusakabe wants nothing more than to become a hero, saving people from fire-related danger, while investigating the suspicious deaths of his mother and baby brother from years before. To this end, he joins the misfits and weirdos who comprise Special Fire Force Company 8, as they uncover corruption within companies 1 to 7.

Fire Force is translated by Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley, and lettered by AndWorld Design.

Review:

Man’s fascination with fire dates back to the primeval ages. Fire on demand was one of the very first technologies, and its transformative effects, once harnessed, led directly towards the machines that facilitate our modern lifestyles. In Greek myth, the titan Prometheus defied the gods, stealing fire from Olympus to give to human beings, encouraging the emergence of civilisation. Yet despite fire’s positive effect on humanity’s development, it remains dangerous and wild, its consumptive beauty a source of both beguilement and fear.

More than most civilisations, the Great Tokyo Empire is beholden to the concept of flame. The Holy Sol Temple is the seat of the sun-worshipping state religion, with influence in all aspects of society. The titular Fire Force is comprised of manpower and resources gleaned not only from the government and private business, but the Holy Sol Temple too. This is none more apparent than in the inclusion of one of their nuns, Iris, in Special Company 8’s small team. Although Iris has no combat ability, she accompanies her colleagues to battles against Infernals, praying for their souls as they are dispatched to the afterlife.

While 16-year-old Iris is portrayed as a beautiful, patient, kind, almost angelic girl, protagonist Shinra Kusakabe cuts a significantly more demonic figure. Accused of being a “devil” since childhood, he was blamed for the deaths of his family in a fire. So emotionally scarred was he by the experience that he now reflexively grins from ear to ear when stressed. Turns out Shinra is stressed much of the time, leading others to frequently misconstrue his anxiety for perverse glee in others’ misfortune. His pyrokinetic powers enable him to spew flames from both feet, allowing for great spurts of speed, and even some degree of flight ability. Walking barefoot after using his powers leaves behind sooty “devil’s footprints” on the ground, which don’t exactly help his reputation.

Shinra’s a fairly typical shonen manga protagonist – he’s young and idealistic, with something to prove. He’s anxious around girls, prone to rash decisions, yet his heart is in the right place. Likeable and charismatic, he’s a fairly compelling lead. The mystery behind his childhood trauma drives much of his actions, and indeed much of the background plot, culminating in a thrilling pyrokinetic showdown with someone from his past in volumes nine and ten, which take us almost up to the point where the first season of david production’s anime adaptation leaves off.

Shonen action stories often live or die by the strength of their supporting cast. Fire Force boasts an eclectic bunch of eccentric heroes and villains. Adorably dumb, self-proclaimed knight Arthur is the closest thing Shinra has to a best friend (not that either would admit it), and his profound self-delusions, usually unshakeable, are the secret to his absurd fighting strength. Arthur is fun in small doses, and author Atsushi Ohkubo wisely limits his appearances to maximise both his comedic effect and his intermittent opportunities for surprising badassery.

Of the other core members of Company 8, we first meet the unpowered captain Obi, a weightlifter, obsessive, and (relatively) normal, reliable leader. Lieutenant Hinawa reminds me of My Hero Academia’s Tenya Iida with his strict adherence to rules and no-nonsense attitude. I don’t find him to be particularly charismatic or interesting, though. Female fire soldier Maki Oze is a lot of fun. I especially like the little fire sprites she conjures and frequently plays with (despite Hinawa’s frequent disapproval). She’s very self-conscious about her toned physical body, which is at odds with her personality. (Iris describes her brain as being “full of flowers and wedding bells.”)

Further cast additions are made at regular intervals throughout these first few volumes, from imperious dominatrix-esque Princess Hibana (whose overly abusive, misandrist attitude softens eventually – at least towards Shinra), to animal-obsessed engineer wunderkind Vulcan, and the shady, ambiguously-allied scientist Viktor Licht. Most of these characters have their own easily understood motives, which sometimes conflict with those of their colleagues. Their interplays are often very amusing, especially in the less action-oriented downtime chapters.

The biggest sticking point for many readers (as with those more familiar with the anime adaptation) is likely to be how cat-themed third-generation pyrokinetic fire soldier Tamaki Kotatsu is continually objectified by her inexplicable “Lucky Lecher Lure” curse. No satisfactory in-world explanation is given as to why this poor young girl is continually subjected to uncomfortable sexual violations against her will, which usually involve her clothes falling off for no good reason, being groped by the nearest male character (non-consensual for both parties), or ending up sitting on the faces of random enemies, usually in a state of undress. Ohkubo seems to revel with delight in depicting Tamaki wailing, with tears running down her cheeks, as she’s humiliated again and again. There seems to be no good reason for it, other than to provide random titillation once in a while.

In general, the other female characters mostly avoid such blatant objectification. Sure, we get a glimpse of Iris and Maki in the shower together early on, but it’s not as creepy or as out of place as what Tamaki must endure. Princess Hibana has her moments, but she’s generally portrayed as a woman in charge of her own sexuality, though there’s one single scene where she forces Shinra to the floor, and we see from his viewpoint possibly the most lovingly detailed outline of a woman’s perineum through tightly adherent knickers I’ve ever seen in manga. The usually unshakable Hibana is put off by Shinra’s reflex rictus grin, becoming embarrassed at him looking up her skirt. I’m unsure of the intention behind this scene.

It’s such a shame that so many of Tamaki’s scenes feature her as a victim of her “curse,” as she’s such a cute and fun character. Fire Force has so many other positive aspects that it seems absurd that the author should want to torpedo his chances of a wider audience by so prominently featuring such prurient, out-of-place fan service. There are plenty of people I’d recommend Fire Force to… if it didn’t feature this material. Outside of a comparatively small, noisy group of anime and manga fan-service aficionados, I think most people are actively repulsed by this kind of exploitative imagery in otherwise potentially wide demographic-appealing, unobjectionable entertainment.

Fire Force’s actual positive aspects, other than its strong cast, include interesting world-building that’s enhanced by excellent art. Ohkubo’s character designs are iconic and attractive, as are the costumes and vehicles. The world he draws has a real sense of place, an identity of its own, from intricately-constructed temples, to towering energy plants overflowing with enormous pipes. The Great Tokyo Empire has a retro steampunk look to it, giving the backgrounds almost as much personality as the characters.

Ohkubo’s action scenes are also highly accomplished, explosive, and kinetic, almost always easy to follow. Occasionally, they drag on too long for my liking, but that’s more of an issue with the entire genre rather than merely this example of it. In particular, the general-relativity-bending fight in volumes nine and ten is very, very cool. (I was a physics nerd in school, so this probably tickles me in ways that may not apply to others.)

I’m invested enough in the world and characters that I’m happy to read more Fire Force, though I can totally understand why anyone might want to nope out after one, or two, or ten too many Lucky Lecher Lure gags.