Fire Force, the successor to the wildly successful Manga and Anime series Soul Eater by creator Atsushi Ohkubo, is a polarizing piece of media to be sure. Whether you love it or think it relies entirely too much on its fan service, you can’t deny that both the combat and the characters are explosive!
So, which character burns their way through to your heart, and which one would you rather douse the flames out on? Below, we’ll explore who we think the best characters of the series are, and while this is subjective, the confidence of this list is burning hot.
Minor Spoilers Ahead!
8 Viktor Licht
Brains Over Explosions
Just because he can’t make you explode with his feet or just by the mere sight of you, doesn’t mean the man isn’t dangerous. You see, Viktor’s greatest weapon is his mind. He lives and breathes his human combustion research and will sometimes resort to less-than-scrupulous means to attain things he needs to do.
He may not be a pyrokinetic naturally, but he can craft weapons that explode on impact, giving him a chance to escape or take off a face or two in the process. However, in matters of combat, he prefers to be on the sidelines and give tactical support, thanks to his ability of foresight. He may be a little creepy, but he’s a valuable asset to Company 8.
7 Sho Kusakabe
The Angel That Can Slow Down Time
Anyone who lays eyes on Sho’s white hair and red eyes will testify that Show Kusakabe looks like an angel, and to those who find themselves on the opposing end of The Evangelist, Sho will be known to them as the Angel of Death in their last seconds remaining. His personality is cold and calculating, which is also reflected in his fighting style.
While other pyrokinetics often fight with explosive techniques, Sho’s technique, Severed Universe, reduces the natural heat expansion of the universe to the point where it slows the flow of time itself. Does it make a lot of sense? No, but we’re rolling with anime logic, so let’s just go with it.
6 Obi Akitaru
Not All Heroes Wield Fire
A hero doesn’t need to have supernatural abilities or special tools to become a hero. Sometimes, all a hero needs is a heart that believes that everyone deserves to be saved. That’s who Obi Akitaru is. Before he was the Captain of Company 8, he was already a firefighter in more of a ‘traditional’ sense and only became part of the Fire Force out of righteous spite.
Obi has no pyrokinetic powers, but he has a physique! Even Benimaru, a powerful fighter, says that Obi has ‘Hysterical Strength’, where he gains extreme adrenaline-filled strength and hardened skin. When a building can’t even take you out of the fight, what’s a few pyrokinetics?
5 Haumea
The Electric Puppeteer
What do you do when you’re connected to the collective unconscious of humanity? To hear all the thoughts and desires, both pure and impure, constantly bombarding you since the moment you were able to conceivably understand thoughts? Most people would probably cave and become shells of their former selves, but Haumea takes that pain and projects it onto others by tuning into her sadistic side.
She is one of the few characters who has the power of the Adolla Burst that isn’t touched by fire. Instead, her powers lie in electricity, not just on the macro level with lightning strikes, though she can do that too. Haumea can control electrical impulses on the molecular level with her ability, Electric Shock User. She’s not the one you want to have control over, that’s for sure.
4 Joker
He Toes The Line Of Hero And Villain
Sometimes, to find the truth you seek, you’ll have to go places and do things that a hero wouldn’t do. Joker, while initially seen as a villain, is far more complex than being quickly labeled as something as one-dimensional as that. To go any further and explain would be going into spoiler territory, and where’s the fun in that?
Not only is Joker highly adept at martial arts, but he is also skilled at pyrokinesis while keeping his true skill close to his chest. He utilizes a deck of cards that he creates out of fire and uses for attack and defense. He says 52 is his limit, but this is a lie to mess with anyone he’s fighting. He’s tricky.
3 Arthur Boyle
The Hero Knight
If hubris were a skill, Arthur would be overpowered. Any room he walks into, he’ll boisterously declare his intentions as a heroic knight to anyone who will listen, and many who won’t. His belief in himself is his power. This belief surprisingly stokes the flames of his pyrokinesis techniques as well. The stronger his delusions, the stronger his Excalibur flame sword and abilities.
All that silly grandstanding goes out the window once he finds himself in battle. Arthur is extremely strong at starting, something that increases exponentially once he trains with Benimaru, and by the endgame, he is an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.
2 Shinra Kusakabe
An Angel’s Heart With The Devil’s Smile
Shinra is a natural-born hero with an unfortunate smile and a reputation as a sadistic killer. Luckily, he cares more about saving lives and solving the mystery behind the combustion incident that broke up his family 12 years ago.
He also has an arsenal to back it up. As with (almost) every member of Company 8, Shinra comes swinging with strength, has incredible defense, and uniquely has speed that moves faster than you can blink. All of this is before realizing that he has an Adolla Burst, which takes his physical and pyrokinetic abilities to another level.
1 Benimaru Shinmon
He’s Just That Guy
You know a guy is popular when he can blow up several buildings in the city he watches over in the name of protecting his city from infernals, and is earnestly doing so, and the people will fervently cheer on his collateral damage. In terms of power, he has few equals.
A master of hand-to-hand combat, pyrokinesis, and overall charisma, he can not only control external flames from any distance but can conjure flames from inside his body with explosive power and copy the pyro skills of others. Seriously, he is almost entirely unstoppable, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
