Fire Force

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Fireforce, a counterinsurgency tactic.

Fire Force
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Shinra Kusakabe
炎炎ノ消防隊
(En'en no Shōbōtai)
Genre
Manga
Written byAtsushi Ohkubo
Published byKodansha
English publisher
ImprintShōnen Magazine Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Magazine
DemographicShōnen
Original runSeptember 23, 2015 – February 22, 2022
Volumes34 (List of volumes)
Anime television series
Directed by
Produced by
  • Chiho Tochikura
  • Hiroshi Kamei
  • Du Yi
  • Rina Shinoda (1–14)
  • Chris Han (1–14)
  • Maya Fujino (15–48)
  • Emiko Iijima (15–48)
Written by
  • Yamato Haijima (S1)
  • Tatsuma Minamikawa (S2)
Music byKenichiro Suehiro
StudioDavid Production
Licensed byCrunchyroll
Original networkMBS (Super Animeism)
English network
Original run July 6, 2019 – present
Episodes48 (List of episodes)
icon Anime and manga portal

Fire Force (Japanese: 炎炎ノ消防隊, Hepburn: En'en no Shōbōtai, lit. "Blazing Fire Brigade") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo. It was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from September 2015 to February 2022, with its chapters collected in 34 tankōbon volumes. In North America, the manga has been licensed for English language release by Kodansha USA.

It follows a youth with pyrokinetic abilities who joins a special force developed to counter pyrokinetic monsters threatening Tokyo, which is the sole remaining city in a world ravaged by a global fire. The series is connected to Ohkubo's previous work, Soul Eater.

An anime television series adaptation produced by David Production aired from July to December 2019 on the MBS's Super Animeism block. A second season aired from July to December 2020. A third season has been announced. The anime television series has been licensed by Funimation.

By May 2022, the Fire Force manga had over 20 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series.

Synopsis[edit]

Setting[edit]

The Great Cataclysm (大災害, Daisaigai) is an event that happened two hundred and fifty years ago, 50 years before the Solar year 0. During that event, the world was set on fire, and many nations were wiped out with very few habitable areas left in the aftermath. The survivors took refuge in the Tokyo Empire, which remained mostly stable during the period despite losing some of its landmass. The Tokyo Emperor Raffles I establishes the faith of the Holy Sol Temple as it and Haijima Industries developed the perpetual thermal energy plant Amaterasu to power the country.

In Year 198 of Tokyo's Solar Era, special fire brigades called the Fire Force fight increasing incidents of spontaneous human combustion where human beings are turned into living infernos called "Infernals" (焰ビト, Homura Bito). While the Infernals are first generation cases of spontaneous human combustion, with more powerful horned variations known as Demons, later generations possess pyrokinesis while retaining human form. The Fire Force was formed by combining people with these powers from the Holy Sol Temple, The Tokyo Armed Forces, and the Fire Defense Agency, and is composed of eight independent companies.

Plot[edit]

See also: List of Fire Force characters

Shinra Kusakabe is a third generation pyrokinetic youth who gained the nickname "Devil's Footprints" for his ability to ignite his feet at will, and was ostracized as a child for the fire that killed his mother and younger brother Sho twelve years ago. He joins Special Fire Force Company 8, which features other pyrokinetics who dedicated themselves to ending the Infernal attacks for good while investigating Companies 1 through 7 for potential corruption in their ranks. Shinra begins to learn that the fire that killed his mother was a cover for Sho to be taken by the White Clad, a doomsday cult behind the Infernal attacks with agents within the facets of the Tokyo Empire. Company 8 and their allies oppose the White Clad while learning of their goal to gather eight individuals like Shinra and Sho to repeat the Great Cataclysm for an ancient being who manipulated humanity for that very purpose.

Media[edit]

Manga[edit]

Main article: List of Fire Force chapters

Fire Force, written and illustrated by Atsushi Ohkubo, was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from September 23, 2015,[5][6] to February 22, 2022.[7][8] In the final chapter, it is hinted that Fire Force is connected to Ohkubo's other manga series Soul Eater.[9] Kodansha collected its chapters in thirty-four tankōbon volumes, released from February 17, 2016,[10] to May 17, 2022.[11]

The series is licensed for English release in North America by Kodansha USA,[12] which published the volumes from November 8, 2016,[13] to October 3, 2023.[14]

Anime[edit]

See also: List of Fire Force episodes

An anime television series adaptation by studio David Production was announced in November 2018.[15] The series was directed by Yuki Yase, with Gakuto Haijima handling the series' scripts, Hideyuki Morioka designing the characters and Kenichiro Suehiro composing the music.[16] To promote the series, voice actors Gakuto Kajiwara and Kazuya Nakai were appointed as official firefighters for a day on March 2, 2019, in cooperation with the Tokyo Fire Department's Kanda fire station, where they participated in a simulated drill at the Akihabara Radio Kaikan.[17] The series aired from July 6 to December 28, 2019, on MBS and TBS as part of the Super Animeism block.[18][19] It ran for 24 episodes.[20] Due to the Kyoto Animation arson attack on July 18, 2019, the third episode, which was originally scheduled to air on July 19, was postponed to July 26.[21][22] The first opening theme is "Inferno" (インフェルノ, Inferuno) by Mrs. Green Apple and the first ending theme is "veil" by Keina Suda.[23][24] The second opening theme is "Mayday" by Coldrain feat. Ryo from Crystal Lake from their album The Side Effects and the second ending is "Nо̄nai" by Lenny code fiction.[25][26]

A second season was announced in December 2019.[27] It aired from July 4 to December 12, 2020.[28] In May 2020, a promotional video for the second season was released. The second season was directed by Tatsuma Minamikawa (replacing Yuki Yase from the previous season). The second season ran for 24 episodes.[29] The first opening theme is "Spark-Again", performed by Aimer,[30] while the first ending theme is "ID", performed by Cider Girl.[31] The second opening theme is "Torch of Liberty", performed by Kana-Boon, while the second ending theme is "Desire", performed by Pelican Fanclub.[32][33]

A third season was announced in May 2022.[34]

Funimation has licensed the series for streaming on FunimationNow.[35] The series was simulcast in Southeast Asia on Aniplus Asia. On July 19, 2019, it was announced that Funimation's English dub of the series would premiere on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on July 28, 2019.[36] The second season premiered on Toonami on November 8, 2020, two weeks later than its original scheduled date.[37][38]

Stage plays[edit]

In 2020, a stage-play adaptation of the series ran from July 31 to August 2 at the Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka and from August 7 to August 9 at KT Zepp Yokohama in Kanagawa. The play was directed by Sho Kubota, script written by Yusei Naruse, and music composed by Masaki Miyoshi; the protagonist Shinra Kusakabe was played by Hikaru Makishima.[39] In 2022, a second stage-play ran from January 18–23 at KT Zepp Yokohama and from January 27–30 at the Sankei Hall Breeze in Osaka; it featured the same staff and Makishima reprised his role as Shinra.[40][41] Also in 2022, a third stage-play ran from September 17–25 at the Sunshine Theatre in Tokyo and from September 29 to October 2 at the Kyoto-Gekijo [ja] in Kyoto; Shinra was played by Ryoga Ishikawa.[42][43]

Video game[edit]

In May 2022, a video game titled Fire Force: Enbu no Shō (炎炎ノ消防隊 炎舞ノ章) was announced. It was released for iOS and Android on January 30, 2023. Mrs. Green Apple performs the game's theme song "Enen".[34][44]

Reception[edit]

By January 2018, the manga had 1.8 million copies in circulation;[45] 7.3 million copies in circulation by June 2020;[46] 10 million copies in circulation by July 2020;[47] 12 million copies in circulation by October 2020;[48] 15 million copies in circulation by April 2021;[49] 16 million copies in circulation by June 2021;[50] 17.5 million copies in circulation as of February 2022;[51] and over 20 million copies in circulation by May 2022.[52]

The series ranked thirteenth on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2017" poll by Honya Club online bookstore.[53] Gadget Tsūshin listed the prayer for Infernals, "Látom", on their 2019 most popular anime-related buzzwords list.[54] On TV Asahi's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, Fire Force ranked 84th.[55] The manga was nominated for the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2021.[56]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Chapman, Paul (April 22, 2019). "Main Cast Gears Up for Action in New "Fire Force" TV Anime Key Visual". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Chapman, Paul (June 15, 2019). "Funimation Heats Up Their Summer 2019 Season with Fire Force & More". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  3. ^ 人気のサイエンス・ファンタジー！ TVアニメ『炎炎ノ消防隊 弐ノ章』. C-station (in Japanese). Kodansha. June 25, 2020. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Hilaire, Damien (November 14, 2018). "Fire Force : Le nouveau manga de l'auteur de Soul Eater adapté en anime". IGN (in French). Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022. Kusakabe et ses camarades évoluent dans un setting rétro-futuriste qu'on pourrait vulgairement qualifier de science-fantasy.
  5. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 7, 2015). "Soul Eater's Atsushi Ohkubo Starts En En no Shōbōtai Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  6. ^ 「ソウルイーター」の大久保篤、マガジンで新連載「炎炎ノ消防隊」始動. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). September 23, 2015. Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Mateo, Alex (February 8, 2022). "Fire Force Manga Ends in 2 Chapters". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  8. ^ 大久保篤「炎炎ノ消防隊」完結、森川ジョージ・荒川弘・和久井健ら記念色紙公開. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. February 21, 2022. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (February 22, 2022). "Kodansha Asks Fans to 'Look Forward to Atsushi Ohkubo's Next Work' in Final Chapter of Fire Force". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  10. ^ 炎炎ノ消防隊（１） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  11. ^ 炎炎ノ消防隊（３4） (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  12. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (July 2, 2016). "Kodansha USA Adds Ichi-F, Fire Force Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  13. ^ "Fire Force, Volume 1". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "Fire Force, Volume 34". Kodansha USA. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  15. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (November 13, 2018). "Fire Force Manga by Soul Eater's Atsushi Ohkubo Gets TV Anime by David Production". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  16. ^ Loo, Egan (December 25, 2018). "Fire Force TV Anime Reveals Main Staff". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  17. ^ 声優・中井和哉＆梶原岳人、消防訓練に参加！「炎炎ノ消防隊」一日消防官イベントレポート. AnimeAnime.jp (in Japanese). March 7, 2019. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  18. ^ Mateo, Alex (January 8, 2019). "Fire Force Anime Slated for This Year". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  19. ^ Loo, Egan (March 17, 2019). "Fire Force TV Anime's 2nd Teaser Reveals July 5 Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2019. the anime wil [sic] premiere on July 5 at 25:25 (effectively July 6 at 1:25 a.m.)
  20. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 7, 2019). "Fire Force Anime to Have 24 Episodes". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  21. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 19, 2019). "Fire Force Anime Halts Friday's Planned Airing, Streaming of 3rd Episode". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  22. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (July 25, 2019). "Fire Force Anime Resumes Broadcast With 3rd Episode on Friday". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  23. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 18, 2019). "Fire Force Anime's Video Previews Opening Theme Song, Battle Scene". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  24. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 28, 2019). "Keina Suda Performs Fire Force Anime's Ending Theme Songs". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  25. ^ Mateo, Alex (August 26, 2019). "coldrain Perform Fire Force Anime's New Opening Theme Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  26. ^ Mateo, Alex (October 11, 2019). "Lenny code fiction Perform Fire Force Anime's New Ending Theme Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  27. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (December 27, 2019). "Fire Force Anime Gets 2nd Season, Stage Play in Summer 2020". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  28. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 17, 2020). "Fire Force Anime Season 2 Premieres on July 3". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  29. ^ Mateo, Alex (July 3, 2020). "Fire Force Anime's 2nd Season Listed with 24 Episodes". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  30. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 21, 2020). "Fire Force Anime's 2nd Season Unveils Video, New Cast & Staff, Opening Song, July Debut (Updated)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  31. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (May 27, 2020). "Cider Girl Perform Fire Force Anime's 2nd Season Ending Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  32. ^ アニメ「炎炎ノ消防隊 弐ノ章」物語は"灰島の死神篇"へ、第2クールPV公開. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). September 26, 2020. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  33. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 26, 2020). "Fire Force Anime Season 2 Previews Haijima Arc, Kana-Boon Song in Video". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  34. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 16, 2022). "Fire Force Gets 3rd Anime Season, Original Video Game". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  35. ^ Ressler, Karen (February 26, 2019). "Funimation to Stream Fire Force Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  36. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (July 19, 2019). "Fire Force TV Anime Debuts on Toonami on July 27". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 19, 2019. Retrieved July 19, 2019. July 27 at 12:00 a.m. EDT (effectively July 28).
  37. ^ Mateo, Alex (July 27, 2020). "Toonami Premieres Fire Force Anime's 2nd Season on October 24". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  38. ^ "Schedule – Adult Swim". Adult Swim. Archived from the original on November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  39. ^ "Fire Force Stage Play Reveals More Cast, Staff, Run Dates". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  40. ^ 舞台「炎炎ノ消防隊」第2弾のビジュアル公開、田中涼星・TAKAら新キャストも. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. November 6, 2021. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  41. ^ 舞台「炎炎ノ消防隊」第2弾、初日＆千秋楽公演をDMMでライブ配信. Stage Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. January 5, 2022. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  42. ^ 舞台「炎炎ノ消防隊」地下（ネザー）編を描く第3弾、森羅日下部役は石川凌雅. Stage Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. July 26, 2022. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  43. ^ 舞台「炎炎ノ消防隊」スタート！石川凌雅が意気込み「臨場感をお届けしたい」. Stage Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. September 17, 2022. Archived from the original on October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  44. ^ 「炎炎ノ消防隊 炎舞ノ章」のサービスが本日開始に。スマホとPCでデータ連携が可能，ガチャ40回分のアイテムなど事前登録特典も配布. 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). January 30, 2023. Archived from the original on October 11, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  45. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 18, 2018). "Atsushi Ohkubo's Fire Force Manga Has 1.8 Million Copies in Print". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  46. ^ はずれ無しのオンラインくじ「カワセルくじ」第7弾は 7月より『弐ノ章』が放送開始のTVアニメ『炎炎ノ消防隊』！美麗デザインの大型タペストリーや大型クッションなど圧巻の品揃え！. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). June 26, 2020. Archived from the original on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  47. ^ コミックスの世界累計発行部数で1,000万部を突破！！TVアニメ『炎炎ノ消防隊 弐ノ章』のキービジュアルがインクルーズよりLINE着せかえとなって新登場！. Excite Japan (in Japanese). July 30, 2020. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  48. ^ 絶賛放送中！ TVアニメ『炎炎ノ消防隊 弐ノ章』の特別情報をお届け！. Pocket Shōnen Magazine (in Japanese). Kodansha. October 27, 2020. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  49. ^ @FireForce_PR (April 9, 2021). 【原作情報】『炎炎ノ消防隊』最新28巻4月16日(金)発売です！！発売まであと1週間！ (Tweet) (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 9, 2021 – via Twitter.
  50. ^ @FireForce_PR (June 16, 2021). 【原作情報】 『炎炎ノ消防隊』最新29巻 明日6月17日(木)発売です！！皆様の応援のおかげで、世界累計部数1600万部突破です ついに大災害発動…！？世界を絶望が包み、カロン、ドラゴンたち 強敵が立ちはだかる！表紙はカロン&ハウメア！ぜひチェックしてみて下さい #炎炎ノ消防隊 (Tweet). Retrieved June 16, 2021 – via Twitter.
  51. ^ 漫画『炎炎ノ消防隊』完結記念 『はじめの一歩』『東京卍』…マガジン作家が色紙で祝福. Oricon News (in Japanese). February 21, 2022. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  52. ^ 炎炎ノ消防隊：テレビアニメ第3期「参ノ章」制作 初のスマホゲームも. Mantan Web (in Japanese). May 17, 2022. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  53. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (February 2, 2017). "Japanese Bookstores Recommend 15 Top Manga for 2017". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  54. ^ Loveridge, Lynzee; Morrissy, Kim (December 4, 2019). "Demon Slayer, Dr. Stone, Zombie Land Saga Buzzwords Make Gadget Tsūshin 2019 List". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.
  55. ^ テレビ朝日『国民15万人がガチで投票!漫画総選挙』ランキング結果まとめ！ 栄えある1位に輝く漫画は!?. animate Times (in Japanese). Animate. January 3, 2021. Archived from the original on January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  56. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 7, 2021). "45th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards' Nominees Announced". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fire Force.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fire_Force&oldid=1215937894"