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Joker

Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda, Natsumi Fujiwara (child), Tasuku Hatanaka (teen) (Japanese), Sonny Strait, Ashe Thurman (child) (English), Erick Selim (Latin American Spanish)

A sadistic criminal who carries many secrets, including the truth around the deaths of Shinra's family. Calling himself Joker, this cowboy-looking psychopath has taken a special interest in Shinra and Company 8. Joker is as dangerous and stylish as they come.

Affably Evil: Aside from blowing up a government building, attempting to murder teenagers and destroying a civilian home for a laugh, most of Joker's behavior is positively civilized and helpful.
Animal Motifs: People start comparing him to a dog as a compliment or an insult.
Anti-Hero: Of Nominal Hero variety.
Badass Boast: He once promised to kill a man using 52 playing cards. It was a distraction so they wouldn't realize his actual plan to viciously murder them. Also:
"I'm 'The Dreamer of the Dawn.' I'm 'The Smoker.' I'm 'The Joker.'
Badass Longcoat: He starts wearing one partway through the story. It makes him seem more professional.
Beneath the Mask: Joker acts like a relaxed and unpredictable criminal. Sometimes he'll lose control and show just how bitter and hateful he is while sometimes thinking about his lonely existence with a smile. If he does hate someone then he'll try to mask it before and after brutalizing them.
*Bleep*-dammit!: When the Joker and Benimaru Shinmon attack the Holy Sol Temple together, Joker says "Fuck the Holy Sol Temple", but the word "fuck" and its Japanese equivalent are bleeped out (Unfortunately, it gets bleeped out even on BluRay and DVD).
Card-Carrying Villain: He might not be totally villainous, but Joker openly calls himself a devil. Later starts calling himself the Anti-Hero.
Charles Atlas Superpower: Joker can push his head up while someone is stamping it into the dirt using only his tongue.
Confusion Fu: He fights with fire, explosions, cutting attacks, playing cards and hand-to-hand skills. Because his attacks flow into each other so quickly, he's able to overwhelm Shinra with minimal difficulty.
Crazy Sane: Joker would have absolutely lost it if he didn't become a chain-smoking, smiling arsonist who played games with innocent lives.
Dark and Troubled Past: He was raised to be an assassin for the church. After years of abuse and suffering, he managed to escape and survive thanks to the kindness of strangers. Once the church had these people killed to cut him off from humanity, Joker fully embraced his cynicism and all that came with it. He also had his eye burnt out.
A Day in the Limelight: He briefly becomes the star of a story arc when he and The Chemist decide that they need to speed things along while the Fire Force's hands are tied.
Death Dealer: Again, he's a card carrier villain capable of using playing cards to parry sword swings and cut through people.
Enemy Mine: He needs some help when dealing with the church, so he gets Benimaru to help him storm the gate.
Evil Counterpart:
- To Shinra. Shinra chooses to seek the truth as a hero and protect people as a hero. Joker will endanger people and be a criminal while seeking his objectives. Both are prone to wicked grins, have pretty simple ideas of heroism, and a common enemy hiding behind the Holy Sol Temple.
- To Burns. They both have knowledge about the Kusakabe house fire and eye patches which cover different eyes. The difference is that Burns refuses to discuss things with Shinra, while Joker is perfectly willing to string him along with information. Burns is outwardly heroic but hides something dark, Joker is clearly evil but slightly noble underneath his darkness. They once worked together and lost their eyes when transported to the Adolla. They both changed their beliefs in response to the experience in "hell" and work against the Evangelist.
Exotic Eye Designs: Joker's eye has a series concentric circles in it.
Eyepatch of Power: His looks like an embroidered black handkerchief with a flower pattern.
Flash Step: Joker is very fast, often just disappearing from a scene when he's had enough fun. He can even keep up with Shō, whose whole power set is based around being impossibly fast.
From Nobody to Nightmare: They really shouldn't have pushed him. Joker went from being curious to being willing to do anything to anyone to achieve his schemes.
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: He's one of the few smokers in the series and it makes him appear very suspicious. It also gives him a source of fire to control.
I Just Want to Be Badass: As a child. He just wanted to be strong enough to learn what was wrong with the world, not to have friends or to be special.
The Informant: Shinra doesn't like him. Nobody likes him. Joker just has a lot of information that he'll hand out whenever he decides he cares enough.
Jerkass: He blew up a house while Company 8 was inside as a joke. He didn't seem to care about the girl who was living there either.
Laughing Mad: Sometimes. Joker isn't big on laughter or joking around, despite the name. He normally just smiles. Yet, the most he has ever laughed was when he was hacking an old enemy to pieces. His Doppelganger does more of this though.
Loners Are Freaks: He is accused of this and he is definitely freaky. But Joker dismisses the criticism by saying people incapable of acting independently aren't worth his time. It's why the fiercely independent Burns is Joker's biggest obstacle.
Lovable Rogue: In his own way.
Manchild: Downplayed. Joker might be a devil but he really likes playing the hero. Last second rescues and dramatically standing on rooftops bring him nothing but joy.
Manipulative Bastard: He could just sit down and explain everything he knows to Shinra. Instead, he gives Shinra pieces of information and pushes him to figure things out by himself. This almost gets Shinra and pals murdered by a sudden appearance of the Knights of the Ashen Flame, whom Joker knew about already but chose not to mention.
Mr. Exposition: He sometimes pops in to explain things to Shinra and the audience.
Mundane Utility: The most common use of his powers is twisting smoke and flame into words or shapes to add flair to his conversations.
No Name Given: Joker is the name he uses, but it's obviously not his true identity. Given his past, it's possible Joker doesn't even have a real name.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The only situation to wipe the smile off Joker's face is him fighting Burns. Joker takes the whole situation deathly serious and never grins while it happens. Because Burns is both ridiculously powerful and the only person who was kind to Five-Two during his childhood, so Joker sees nothing funny about it.
Out of Focus: Joker disappears for extended periods of time, only to return in a grand display or very casually.
Playing Card Motifs: As a gambler and trickster, he summons fire in the shape of the four suits and takes Say It with Hearts to the next level by including clubs, spades, and diamonds in his speech bubbles.
Practically Joker: Name aside, he's Secondary Color Nemesis with a Slasher Smile and a Playing Card Motif, is a Straw Nihilist that likes to pick fights with both heroes and bad guys, can outwit and overpower Differently Powered Individuals above his weight-class, and is motivated both out of contempt for the current power-structure and for his own amusement.
Rape as Backstory: It is heavily implied that his combat instructor not only subjected him to verbal and physical abuse to break his individualist streak, but also raped him, as well (it happened, of course, off-screen, but the way he touched him after whipping him in the nude and said that he will "defile" Joker "right to the bone" leaves not much to imagination).
Rape and Revenge: When Joker and Benimaru Shinmon attack the Holy Sol Temple, one of those trying to stop him are the assassin order of the Sol church he was a part of himself including the combat instructor who raped him as a part of his effort's to stomp out Joker's individualism and Joker took revenge by killing the combat instructor.
The Reveal: Joker and Burns know each other and are willing to work together.
Sympathy for the Hero:
- Despite threatening and trying to kill Shinra when they first met, Joker pauses during the fight to express that the death of Shinra's mother is a very serious matter and the people responsible should be confronted. He even stops smiling when discussing it and is pretty genuine about the topic.
- He shows some to Burns after their experience with Adolla disproves the Church's teachings, simply saying that the path Burns is walking seems too painful to bare. Given what Joker's life until that point was, that really says something.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: It's not clear how often Burns and Joker have remained in contact over the years, but they are willing to work together even if they don't like it.
Took a Level in Cheerfulness: He was once a very serious and dour person.
Unscrupulous Hero: Borders on Moral Sociopathy. He sincerely believes in truth and justice and wants to reveal whatever dark secrets The Conspiracy is hiding to the world. And he won't let anything get in his way.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: "Sweet" might be a stretch, but he used to be a believer and desperate to repay the kindness of others, even through he was raised to be an assassin. Life found a way to grind these virtues out of him.
Villain Takes an Interest: He likes Shinra enough to give him information and support. While helpful, Shinra does not enjoy it.
Villainous Rescue: He bails the Fire Force out of danger by directly combating the Commander of the Knights of the Ashen Flame.
Virtuous Character Copy: Of Hisoka Morrow. Both are Sadistic men with an invested interest in the protagonist's progress and use weaponized cards in a fight. But while Hisoka is an anti-villain who sees Gon having potential to slake his Blood Knight antics, Joker is an antihero who wants Shinra to uncover the conspiracy linking the Holy Sol Temple to the White Clad.
We Can Rule Together: He tells Shinra he can either be a hero with the Fire Force or come with him to become a devil that can figure everything out. Shinra tells him to shut it.
Wild Card: No one has any idea what he wants, who he works for or why he is so interested in Shinra. He is equal parts Anti-Hero and Anti-Villain at this point.
You Are Number 6: He was previously known as 52 in an attempt to rob him of his self-respect and individuality. It clearly didn't work.

Setsuo Miyamoto

Voiced by: Kanehira Yamamoto (Japanese), Brendan Blaber (English), Daniel Lacy (Latin American Spanish)

A firefighter turned Serial Killer, Setsuo was about to get away scot-free on the insanity plea before he is struck down by Spontaneous Human Combustion and transformed into an Infernal. Unlike others, Setsuo retains his self-control and begins a massacre.

Arm Cannon: An interesting variation. After his arm is severed by at the elbow by Shinra, Company 5's experiments give him the ability to shoot the fire inside his body from the stump.
Drunk on the Dark Side: He was already awful, but he instantly starts slaughtering people without restraint once he gets superpowers.
Hate Sink: He was terrible as a human. Becoming an Infernal only made him more despicable.
I Surrender, Suckers: When it's clear that Shinra is far more powerful than him, he surrenders and pleads to have his soul prayed for by a holy woman before he dies. When Shinra agrees to the request and turns his back on him to look out for his company, Setsuo attacks, only for Shinra to turn back around and kick his arm off.
Instant Expert: After the initial shock, he basically masters his abilities within minutes.
Killed Off for Real: Arthur put him down for good.
No Sympathy: Because he's a remorseless serial killer, everybody hates him and he quickly burns through all the cast's typical respect for human life.
Offscreen Villainy: Although stated to be a serial killer, he kills only three people onscreen at the courthouse, which is not enough to constitute a mass murder.
Villain Has a Point: The Fire Force being murderers for public safety is a running conflict though the series and Setsuo points it out. He also raises the interesting moral question: Should the Fire Force kill an Infernal even if they aren't rampaging or out of control and willing to come quietly? It doesn't save him because he is a monster, but it gives Shinra pause for thought.

The Chemist

Joker's accomplice and scientific advisor.

For tropes on him, see here.

Sancho and Panda

Sancho's voiced by: Yasuaki Takumi (Japanese), Zach Bolton (English)

Panda's voiced by: Taishi Murata (Japanese), Justin Cook (English)

Two brothers who are part of Inca's trio of Fire Thieves, saving people from house fires in exchange for their valuables.

Anti-Hero: Both of them count, alongside Inca. They save people from house fires danger for the thrill and the money. But they also stand by each other.
Cool Mask: Sancho wears a hockey mask while committing their crimes.
Japanese Delinquents: They either don't go to school or cut class, while Inca is a student.
Killed Off for Real: Sancho's killed by Charon, while Panda's killed by Inca after he tries to rescue her.
Know When to Fold 'Em: When a giant fire breaks out and the authorities are already here, they both think that it's a bad move to try anything because they could die or get caught.
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Both of them die horribly trying to protect Inca.
Thrill Seeker: Panda calls himself an adrenaline junkie and his friends do not seem any different.
Theme Naming: Sancho & Panda are together a Shout-Out to Sancho Panza, Sidekick of the eponymous Don Quixote.

Haijima Industries

Gureo Haijima

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Bill Jenkins (English), Javier Rivero (Latin American Spanish)

The current CEO of Haijima. Gureo has his fingers in a lot of pies, providing the equipment and medicine to Special Fire Force Companies and supporting two of them directly.

Corrupt Corporate Executive: His company has a near-monopoly on manufacturing within the Empire and he refuses to cooperate with investigations. Whatever he's doing can't be aboveboard.
Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: He berates Kurono and calls him an idiot until he gives in and does as he's told. Not bad for a man without powers.
Early-Bird Cameo: He's seen briefly at the Rookie Contest and it takes over a dozen volumes of the manga before his next onscreen appearance.
Evil Is Not Well-Lit: His office has the classic evil lighting.
Everybody Has Standards: Somebody had to send the Puppeteer to balance out the emotional damage Kurono was doing to test subjects.
Fiery Cover-Up: It's heavily implied that he can have people and evidence destroyed this way. This is probably incredibly easy when everyone expects to burst into flames already.
Greater-Scope Villain: During the Haijima Industries arc, he's the one who pulls the strings to get Shinra into the main facility of Haijima, but he spends most of the arc resting safely in his office, while Kurono and the Puppeteer are the ones who engage Company 8 in a fight before the arrival of the White Clad.
Manchild: Downplayed. While he definitely comes off as professional, with a cold business-like mentality, he spends his entire meeting with Obi, Shinra, and Licht on an old handheld game console.
The Needs of the Many: When Shinra calls him out on knowing that a living person with an Adolla Burst is being used to power Amaterasu, he replies that since the Amaterasu powers the entire Empire, shutting it down would cause widespread unrest.
Non-Action Big Bad: He's just a normal human without any powers, with Kurono and the Puppeteer being the muscle of the company. He compensates it with an absolute command over his employees, however.
Pragmatic Villainy: He'll put up with a lot, even ignoring insubordination, provided he gets his way. And he never lets his feelings cloud his judgment. When Vulcan claims that he can make a generator that can surpass Amaterasu, he's interested and agrees to fund the project due to the risks that can be found is using someone with an Adolla Burst, considering the moral grey area to it and how dangerous it can be, as shown with the incident with Nataku just earlier.
Sharp-Dressed Man: It comes with being a CEO.
The Unfettered: People live and die based on his interests, who and how can be decided in a heartbeat.
Villain with Good Publicity: Much of what Haijima is covered up as humanitarian or charity work. Nobody wants to dig too deep because they don't think he's evil and the ones that do will die.
Villainous Rescue: From the comfort of his own office, by calling Kurono over the phone and basically telling him to save the entire nation. It works because Kurono is just so monstrously strong that he can pull it off.

Oguru

The slimiest, scummiest and youngest director at Haijima. He is brought in when tasks outside the lab demand Kurono's presence because he is able to get anyone to comply with his demands.

Brutal Honesty: He never minces words and is crushingly honest about everything.
Bullying a Dragon: Oguru knows Kurono is thinking up of a thousand ways to murder him. He still treats him like dirt because he knows Kurono can't do anything about it.
Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: Got dirt on his shirt while saving him from certain death? It's being noted on your performance review. Objecting to that? Better stop before the report becomes more damning. No, you can't do something really impressive and convince him to forget about it.
Crazy-Prepared: He has failsafes in place so that Kurono will be blamed for his death and punished accordingly. It's also implied that he has to do this with other employees because he is so hated. Also a case of Properly Paranoid because Kurono was absolutely going to let him die otherwise.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: Oguru's end goal. He's just a director at the moment but has his sights set on an even higher position within the company.
Evil Duo: He and Kurono have this down to a tee despite neither of them being antagonists at that time. Oguru is a ruthless genius who knows the absolute perfect thing to do in any situation while Kurono is the unbreakable enforcer of corporate interest. They both absolutely hate each other but they are astonishingly capable.
Hero of Another Story: He and Kurono spend three months fighting titan after titan (with some support form Company 2), with Oguru even becoming a publicly recognised figure who eases tensions about the end of the world. Although 'hero' is probably too nice a word...
Jurisdiction Friction: Briefly considers abducting Shinra to continue Haijima's research and further his career. A brief stare down with Gustav Honda convinces him to stand aside or risk the anger of the military.
Mean Boss: The worst. Intensely manipulative, petty, self-interested above all else and just downright unlikable. Kurono finds him so utterly detestable that he'll follow any order so long as he doesn't have to be near Oguru. Trouble is that Oguru is so relentlessly competent that nobody can be opposed to him and be pragmatic at the same time. Haijima needs people like him so his co-workers are stuck with him. It leads to a lot of black comedy, Like Kurono seriously considering drowning Shirna just to spite Oguru for a few seconds.
Pragmatic Villainy: He is able to quickly change objectives and even put himself at some risk if it means a better outcome for his side.
Perpetual Smiler: Has the widest, meanest smile in the entire series plastered across his face at all times. Nothing can scare him enough to stop for more than a second, only then because something knocked his perfect plan off course and demands his attention.
Sharp-Dressed Man: Comes with the job.
Villain with Good Publicity: As much of a total jerk as he is. The general public like him and trust. Obi thinks it's down to his bluntness being seen as a sign of confidence and uncharacteristic honestly for a company man.

Kurono Yuichiro

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Brandon McInnis (English)

A researcher working for Haijima in developing the skills of children. He suffers from extensive damage to his right arm as a result of overheating. Unfortunately, it hasn't made him less dangerous.

Attack Its Weak Point: Oguru notes that you can never show any type of weakness to Kurono. He willl spot it, focus on it and use it to torment his target until he finally destroys them. It's implied this doesn't even need to be a physical weakness, showing fear seems to be enough for Kurono while somebody standing their ground is enough to throw him off his game.
Ax-Crazy: He's crazier and crueler than basically everyone else in the entire series. We see him in a straitjacket at one point.
The Bus Came Back: After being absent from a lot of arcs after his debut, he finally reappears once the stone pillars start to emerge from the sea, under the surveillance of an executive of Haijima called Oguru and being ordered to destroy the titanic Infernals that emerge from the pillars.
The Bully: This is effectively what he is. While he's a contender for World's Strongest Man, he sticks to his job at Haijima because it gives him a chance to beat up people weaker than him, something he freely admits to and notes that he enjoys it more the weaker his opponents are. He even outrights admits to being one when talking down Nataku.
Career-Ending Injury: Subverted. His entire arm has been reduced to charcoal and he still uses it for punches. If anything, it looks like this injury leads him to his current career.
Character Tic: Kurono is fixated on weakness. He brands almost every person he fights or argues with "weak" and is slightly confused when people show anything other than weakness.
The Comically Serious: His stoicism doesn't fades out even in comedic scenes, where he keeps his serious and miserable-looking expression.
Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Shinra almost hits him with a surprise kick. Aside from that, the fight with Kurono is shockingly one-sided.
- When Kurono decides to get involved, he effortlessly crushes an out-of-control Nataku who had managed to hold back the entire cast.
- He tears apart the gigantic Infernal that is summoned with the appearance of the first pillar. While he did have help in the form of Ogun and Juggernaut, he does the most damage to the Infernal by far and is even described by Ogun as "something else" after he watches Kurono rip open the Infernal from the inside.
- His own doppelganger isn't immune to this either. While the fight initially seems to be going in the doppelganger's favor, Kurono is merely playing around. The second Oguru gives him the go-ahead, he defeats his doppelganger in a couple of attacks, only pausing to ask if his doppelganger actually liked being him and finishing him off when the doppelganger confirmed otherwise.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Haijima is already doing this. He might enjoy hurting people, but he wants to be paid for his services by a legitimate business.
Dark Is Evil: One of the only characters in the series to play this completely straight. Shinra flatly says that he thinks Kurono is evil and his power is a mass of dark smoke.
Death Seeker: He's rumored to be trying to get himself killed.
Dirty Coward: When told by his boss to face someone who he sees as stronger than him, he becomes paralyzed. Not so much with fear, but lacking in motivation. Since his entire philosophy is based around deliberately picking on people weaker than him, this is a given.
Dull Surprise: When faced by something that amazes the heroic and the insane alike: Kurono barely reacts at all.
Even Evil Has Standards: As much as Kurono enjoys crushing the weak and shows no respect towards his co-workers, he's subservient of his superiors and will get serious and leave aside his attacks on weaklings if his boss or someone above him orders him to stop fooling around. Best exemplified when Haijima orders him to stop and take back the out of control Nataku, making Kurono center in what's supposed to be his main job and cease his attack on Company 8. When Confronting his Adolla Doppleganger, Kurono is genuinely put off and upset to be facing such a deranged and crazed opponent, bemoaning the fact that he's acting nothing like the actual Kurono and seeming to be upset that this is how the people around him perceive his character and mannerisms.
Kurono: Is this... really the impression I give?]... It's like some B-movie psycho.
Eye Motifs: Kurono's narrow eyes are consistently bizarre and inhuman, even though they are his most expressive feature.
Fog of Doom: Instead of creating fire, Kurono creates a plume of smoke from his damaged right arm. He can use his in many deadly ways, but it also allows him to sense any movement with the smoke and to create weapons.
For the Evulz: Kurono has the talent and strength to do whatever he likes. But fighting the weak reminds him just how powerful he is, so he does it all time.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes give of this effect when he is hiding in his smoke.
Grim Reaper: Calls himself a "Uncle Death" and has a skull theme. The woman meant to balance out his cruelty uses an angel theme.
Handicapped Badass: Other people with Tephrosia can barely fight at all and are extremely sickly. Yet Kurono is running experiment after experiment without issue while his entire forearm is burnt to a cinder and can dominate a brawl with ease.
The Heavy: While Gureo Haijima is the one who kickstarts the Haijima arc by ordering Licht to bring Shinra to the facilities where they study the Adolla Burst and, as the boss of Haijima, he's technically the main antagonist of the arc, Kurono represents the biggest and most dangerous threat to Company 8 through the first stage of the arc, being the strongest fighter of Haijima and directly antagonizing Shinra.
It's All About Me: He will act to help others if he feels like it or it benefits him directly.
Karma Houdini: After his introductory arc, he basically gets to keep doing what he does. It is implied he'll tone down his cruelty in the future and focus on getting actual results. The fact that he, bizarrely, became the key to keeping Nataku stable is certainly a factor.
Lean and Mean: Kurono looks much thinner than most the other adult fighters in the series, especially with his arm being burned down to the bone. He is also an unrepentant scumbag.
Licking the Blade: Averted. Despite his psychosis and desire for combat with those 'weaker' than him, Kurono is put off by displays such as this. Seeing his Adola Doppleganger doing so massively creeps him out and he begs him to stop doing it every single time there's a pause in their fight.
Mirror Match: His face-off with his Adolla Doppleganger, natch.
Mysterious Past: All that is known is that he was treated for his Tephrosis years ago. Where he's from, what he believes, how he got so strong and what damaged his body so much is currently unknown.
Pragmatic Villainy: Despite being a Psycho for Hire Kurono doesn't really have any ill-will towards anyone. So he is willing to work with people he was dead set on killing seconds ago if he has to.
Red Right Hand: His right arm is pitch black and his main method of fighting.
Salaryman: His motif and how he treats his work. Kurono describes himself as either a company man or a wage slave depending on his mood. He's so devoted to this that the fastest way to order him around is to threaten him with a pay cut.
Skewed Priorities: Even when Nataku, Haijima's Adolla Burst test subject, is in the process of getting kidnapped by the White-Clad, he still tries attacking Company 8, even attacking Arthur so he can have a shot at the "weak" Iris and Tamaki. He only bothers to deal with the White-Clad when he finds dealing with Arthur to be too troublesome and pegs them as weak, and later when his boss calls him and outright orders him to do his job.
The Social Darwinist: Hinted to believe in this and take it very seriously, preferring to attack, beat up, and kill the weakest people he can while preferably avoiding stronger targets.
Soft-Spoken Sadist: He's a man who, despite being possibly the World's Strongest Man, enjoys beating up those he considers to be (and usually are) weaker than him, even children. Despite this, however, he usually has a straight face and the biggest hint to his enjoyment is the unusual movement of his eyes.
Solar and Lunar: His attacks use eclipses as part of their names and his eyes briefly look like crescent moons when he's motivated. His Evil Versus Evil clash with the sun-themed Ash Knights also plays into this.
Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Kurono is able to spread out his smoke or solidify it. He often uses this to create any type of knife that could be of use. Which can also then explode into smoke again to blind people.
The Stoic: He might be a brutal, rambling nutcase but Kurono is always creepily calm, never raises his voice and rarely smiles.
Stupid Evil: Gureo Haijima, his boss, calls him a moron because his sadism clashes with rationality (not even profit-bed morality but survival morality). When he calls him for an update on Nataku's kidnapping, he's quick to call him stupid whenever he mentioned how he spent his time targeting the weaker ones. Considering he was doing this despite Nataku being in the middle of getting kidnapped by the White-Clad, it's hard to blame Haijima here.
Walking Wasteland: The smoke he generates during his fights can produce enough heat to incinerate anyone who inhales it from the inside out. Which he demonstrates on a bunch of White-Clad mooks.
Warrior Therapist: Shockingly. While everyone else fails to talk Nataku down, he manages to calm him down by letting him know that he doesn't have to be powerful because he's just a weak little kid and he should enjoy that for now.
World's Strongest Man: Said to be as powerful as Benimaru, although he is rumored to be much, much more insane. While the former is up in the air, the latter is very obvious. Additionally, despite complaining he has to fight an opponent he doesn't see as "weak", Kurono has never been seriously challenged at any point in the manga. When teased about the prospect that Benimaru might one day challenge him by Oguru, he merely replies with an annoyed "spare me". Not even facing his Adolla Doppelganger, who has access to all his abilities and strength, sincerely pushes him to the limit. All it takes is Oguru giving the order to crush his opponent and he overwhelms him without too much difficulty. Against Benimaru's Doppelganger however, it confirms that he would lose to him in the fight.
Would Hit a Girl: Or throw knives at them, if they are weak. He beats up the weak regardless of their gender.
Would Hurt a Child: It's his job to beat up children who possess latent pyrokinetic ability. It's mentioned he could get another role that would let him fight strong foes, but he stays in a position that involves beating children in fights. He's so terrible that the heartless research lab hires somebody to give the children some type of happiness.
You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Crazed and unhinged as he may be, he's thoroughly put off when confronting an even crazier opponent in his Adolla Doppleganger, and is thoroughly exasperated — and even a little bit upset — that other people think there's anything remotely similar between them.

The Puppeteer

Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese), Monica Rial (English), Angélica Villa (Latin American Spanish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/puppeteer_fire_force_anime.PNG

A woman working in Haijima's Skills Development Laboratory, contracted to look out for the children after their training with Kurono. She's also a third generation user.

Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She's initially shown to be friendly with the kids she takes care of, but in truth she sees them as things existing to be controlled by the adults, no different from machines.
Evil Puppeteer: Though she normally uses her puppets to entertain children, when her higher ups tells her to fight intruders, she becomes a ruthless enforcer for Haijima.
Exotic Eye Designs: As per usual in this series, she has abnormal pupils. In her case, they are vertical, oval-shaped with two smalls extensions in the middle of them, giving them the appearance of a winged figure, fitting her angel motif.
Fartillery: The first doll she used to confront Company 8 can shoot fire out of its ass (the "Poot-Poot Blaster", something Maki found rather lowbrow, but according to the puppeteer, the kids love it, likely because they're not the ones getting shot with it).
Good Cop/Bad Cop: She claims to be the "good cop" (i.e. that she's nice to the kids) in contrast to her colleague Kurono, who beats them up.
Light Is Not Good: She possesses blue eyes, wears a white shirt and is angel-themed, but she shows no mercy to intruders and has a cynical outlook of people. This contrasts with Kurono, an example of Dark Is Evil.
Marionette Master: Her second generation ability allows her to control robotic puppets named Dominions with a series of wires. The number of puppets she can control varies from one to a bunch of them. These display a great strength, and, since they are powered by fire, can also shoot powerful flaming blasts.
No Name Given: Her name is never referenced at all in the manga.
Perpetual Smiler: She's always seen with a smile on her face, even when she's angry or threatening someone, making her look unnerving at times.
Psychopathic Womanchild: She acts like a cheeky preschool teacher focused on cuteness, baby talk, and loving positivity for children, but is actually a brutal sociopath who sees children as no different from machines to use and control to her whims. She agrees to entertain children and keep them happy simply because they are easier to control that way.
Uncertain Doom: While in the manga her state is never shown after she decides to pursue Haumea, in the anime she appears tp have been defeated by her. As she never appears again in the series, it's unknown if her defeat was fatal or not.

Nataku Son

Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese), Corinne Sudberg (English), Isabel Martiñón (Latin American Spanish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nataku_fire_force_anime.PNG

A young boy saved by Shinra after being attack by The Killer. He is taken in by Haijima for treatment and support.

Abusive Parents: An emotional variety. It's revealed that his parents placed a lot of expectations on him to succeed and become a doctor like his father, and reacted extremely negatively any time he got less than a perfect grade, such as one time when he got an 87 on his test instead of his usual 100, and they treated it as if he failed completely. Then his mother encouraged him to become a Haijima test subject when she learned he was a Third-Generation, likely believing that she and her husband could benefit from it. You know it's bad when the Grim Reaper looking guy who beats him up daily is considered a better person to nurture him.
Chekhov's Gunman: Nobody was probably expecting for him to appear again. And now that he's got the Adolla Burst, expect him to have a much larger presence in the story.
Cosmic Keystone: Hey look, it's the Adolla Burst again. This time with even more ruined childhoods.
Determinator: He wants to do his best and to become more powerful. This is deconstructed as it ultimately gets him into trouble, and his constant attempts to get stronger cause him no end of misery. Other characters encouraging him to be strong and take control ends up making him more stressed and dangerous.
Early Installment Character-Design Difference: His appearance changes quite radically in-between appearances.
Exotic Eye Designs: He develops these in certain panels and probably are the most worrying eyes in the entire series. Both pupils have a nuclear hazard symbol, reflecting his radiation powers.
Foreshadowing:
- He doesn't become an Infernal when he gets bitten by a flame bug, merely falling unconscious. Shinra and the others overlook this because of the bigger threats in the area. Turns out they really should have paid more attention. His survival and Rekka's joy hinted that Nataku was very special.
- He appears in silhouette alongside the other Pillers long before his power is revealed.
Helpful Hallucination: He's developed one after his rescue of Rekka that keeps encouraging him and pushing forward. This is actually a terrible thing because Nataku's refusal to slow down actually puts the entire empire in danger.
In-Series Nickname: "Ta-kun".
Odd Friendship: With Kurono of all people. Even though Kurono relentlessly bullies him during training, he's also the only person who had ever wanted him to not feel compelled to succeed all the time or produce results. Charon himself mentions how bizarre their relationship was and that Kurono was his protector in spite of it.
Person of Mass Destruction: His lack of control over his power enable him to put a massive crater in the moon and potentially level the entire Tokyo Empire.
Red Right Hand: His Adolla Burst first manifests itself on-panel as large set of Wolverine Claws on his right hand.
Super-Power Meltdown: He literally risks this as his power also includes radiation.
Training from Hell: This is not played for laughs or used reasonably. The Haijima corporation has been inflicting this in him via Kurono to get him to control his flame powers, and Kurono used this as an excuse to bully a younger person than him.
Walking Spoiler: For somebody so young, Nataku is surprisingly hard to talk about.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Nataku wants to make his family happy and works hard to do it.
With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: An Ohkubo staple. The boy has developed his powers at an amazing rate, but he doesn't have the stability to control them properly.
You Were Trying Too Hard: Because he can't say no to adults and is terrified of failing and because of the traumatic experience with Rekka, Nataku puts himself under impossible pressure to get stronger and to live up to their standards. Even though he doesn't really want to do any of that. He only manages to calm down after Kurono tells him to just enjoy life because he'll one day get to be strong and shouldn't worry about it.

Officials and Civilians

Yu

Voiced by: Shoya Chiba (Japanese), Kristen McGuire (English), Alberto Bernal (Latin American Spanish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ff_yu.png

The self-proclaimed apprentice of Vulcan.

Adaptational Late Appearance: He first appeared in Chapter 11 as the almost victim of Infernal Setsuo Miyamoto. However, he doesn't appear in episode 4 of the anime, which adapts that chapter. He instead makes his debut when Company 8 goes to recruit Vulcan.
I Owe You My Life: He's doggedly loyal to Vulcan and Lisa for this reason. It later extends this to Shinra, Arthur, and Iris.

Raffles III

Voiced by: Bin Shimada (Japanese), Steve Powell (English), Arturo Mercado (Latin American Spanish)

The head of the Church and the Emperor of Tokyo.

Reasonable Authority Figure: He invites Shinra to the captains' meeting, knowing his first-hand experience with the White Clads would be valuable. He also gives Shinra information on the Adolla Burst.

Mr and Ms. Boyle

Arthur's Parents

Arthur's father voiced by: Kenji Hamada (Japanese)

Arthur's mother voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese)

The unnamed parents of Company 8's Arthur Boyle. They left him any years ago on an epic quest to save the world. Or so he claims...

Abusive Parents: They are the neglectful variety, leaving Arthur suddenly to fend for himself at a young age.
- Ms. Boyle is especially terrible. While her husband seems to legitimately believe in his fantasies, she explicitly doesn't. She left Arthur behind because she loved her husband more than her child. Her excuse that they couldn't raise a child in the Nether falls apart within pages after they reveal that they have had multiple children they have been happily and safely raising. She just doesn't have any love for her first born.
Cloudcuckoolander: Arthur's dad initially seems like a grounded fellow but he's every bit the fantasist his son would become. Although he sees himself as a Prophet. His wife just sort of nods along, thinking it's cute.
The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: Mr Boyle not just predicted his Reunion with Arthur down to the second but also foresaw his battle with Dragon. He has also managed to dream up all the information on the Evangelist, Infernals, the White Clad and doppelgängers that Company 8 uncovered with no evidence or investigation of any kind.
Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: At least that's what he says, regardless if you believe they to save the world or they went on the run to escape their crippling debts. Arthur's parents left him completely alone with all their problems. They have also never thought about coming back for him. When they meet again, the abandon him again within a day with no regret or sympathy.
Happily Married: They stick by each other and love each other.
Like Father, Like Son: Arthur and his father are both daydreaming weirdoes with delusions of grander. Where Arthur got his Undying Loyalty from is anybody's guess because that certainly does not run in the family.

Chief of the Fire Defence Agency

Voiced by: Tetsuo Kanao (Japanese), Jason Douglas (English), Roberto Mendiola (Latin American Spanish)

Ōbi's old boss, head of the normal fire department and the man who helped form Company 8.

Big Good: He helped to found Company 8 and fully supports Ōbi's actions. Even if red tape ties his hands, the Chief understands that acting quickly will save more lives.
Da Chief: Of the Reasonable Authority Figure kind. It's implied he and Ōbi locked horns over the latter's Cowboy Cop (fireman) habits in the past. With Ōbi choosing to not get into pointless arguments and focusing on just doing his job, the Chief thinks it is a sign of him maturing. Obi disagrees, saying that "caring more deeply and more broadly" is a sign of maturing, but it is semantics in this case because caring about people is doing his job.
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He's just the boss.
Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: He's squarely on the side of good and a chain smoker.

Hibachi Shinmon

Former head of the Asukusa Firefighters and adoptive father father of Benimaru Shinmon. Hardheaded and master of the Iai Hand-Sword.

Animal Motif: Deer. As reflected by his pupils and facial tattoos.
The Chains of Commanding: Hibachi didn't ask to be the leader of the town and unofficial executioner of Infernalised citizens. But it's the responsibility he shouldered his entire adult life.
Cynical Mentor: Ses absolutely nothing moral or righteous about the job he is building Bennimaru up to do.
Insult of Endearment: He consistently calls Benimaru a 'Goddamn Idiot'. He privately explains that's exactly how he sees himself and considers foolish stubbornness to be a requirement of the job.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold - He was a rough mentor and even rougher father but he loved his town.
Parental Hypocrisy: He's just as violent and unruly as Benimaru but kicked him around for getting into meaningless fights. This is something Benimaru deeply resented him for.
Posthumous Character: He died long before the series starts and is only seen in flashbacks.
No Social Skills: Ultimately his biggest weakness. He has no idea how to communicate with Benimaru and needed Konro to actually get his points across. While highly respected by the people of Asukusa, he was also feared and so emotionally distant that they never saw his weakness.
Single-Target Sexuality: His beloved wife. Hibachi had no interest in moving on or remarrying after her passing. With no children of their own and needing to pass on his teachings and responsibilities to somebody, he took in Benimaru off the streets and raised him as a successor.
These Hands Have Killed: The one thing he seemed capable of honestly explaining to his son was the guilt and responsibility that comes with the job. He even kept count of the number of people he'd personally killed and the total number of deaths since his brigade's founding.
Tough Love: Always gave Benimaru a hard time for getting into pointless fights or not living up to his standards. He felt it was important for somebody so powerful to learn some humility at an early age so they wouldn't get drunk on power. Hibachi figured that if he couldn't teach his son humility then low self-esteem would have to do.
Turn the Other Cheek: After slaying a woman turned Infernal, he is stabbed by her child in a fit of grief fueled revenge. Hibachi doesn't lash out or defend himself, he accepts the boy's anger and spends his last few moments trying to figure out why people who kill shouldn't expect this to happen.
What Measure Is a Non-Human?: There is none in Hibachi's mind. He is praised as a hero just because he is a firefighter. While a necessary evil, he saw killing Infernals as killing his own neighbours. He never understood why that was meant to be okay just because he was strong, or why he was a local hero for committing murder.

Captain of the Holy Sol's Shadow

Voiced by: Tomoyuki Shimura (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)

The leader of the Holy Sol's Shadow, a group of assassins working for the Holy Sol Temple. He was the man who shaped Joker (then Five-Two) into the individual he is today.

An Arm and a Leg: Joker cuts his right arm before killing him. It comes with High-Pressure Blood too.
Asshole Victim: Considering how rotten he was and how much mental and physical damage he did to Joker, his gruesome death was sure earned.
Bad Boss: If you are one of his men and go against his philosophy even for a moment, he will make sure to make your life a living hell.
Didn't See That Coming: Thinking he was facing the relatively submissive Five-Two and not the stronger and more cunning Joker proves to be a fatal mistake. As such, Joker putting an hallucinogen substance in his cigar to corner and confuse him takes him completely by surprise.
Elite Mook: He ffares better against Joker than the monks and other members from the Holy Sol's Shadow, even getting the upper hand on Joker until he reveals his trump card.
Evil Is Petty: The reason why he started to make Five-Two's life a complete nightmare? He thought the kid possessed too much individuality and defied his philosophy that individuals are worthless.
Hate at First Sight: He begun to despise Five-Two the moment he showed slight defiance to his belief that numbers are more important than individuality. It all went downhill from that point on.
Hate Sink: He's one of the biggest examples of this in the manga. He's a repugnant man who made Five-Two's existence a constant hell, brutally beating, abusing, and even molesting him in order to make him as corrupt as he is and break his "rebellious" spirit. He went as far as orchestrate the murder of the family that cared for him after his escape from the Holy Sol's Shadow, to deprive him of contact with humanity and make sure that Five-Two would never got into contact with normal humans.
Hypocrite: In spite of his belief that numbers are mightier than lone individuals, his resentment towards Joker makes him confront him alone to end him for once, leaving his subordinates to deal with Benimaru.
Karmic Death: As a person who believes in the lack of individuality and tortured Five-Two for his refusal to bow to the concept, that same kid comes back as Joker, separates him from his fellow assassins and then tears him into gory pieces before he even knew what hit him, leaving the commander alone in his own grim company. Even better, Burns specifically overlooks his death since no one else had died, as if to imply that he considered everything better off this way.
Light Is Not Good: He's fair-haired, with bright green eyes and wears a purely white uniform, yet also one of the most monstrous characters of the manga.
Ludicrous Gibs: Joker ends putting an end to his life by cutting him into little pieces taking advantage of his confusion after cutting the right arm of the Captain.
Monster Clown: Not a clown per se, but the outfit that and his subordinates wear resembles a harlequin, and he's a nasty man willing to do anything to break anyone who dares to defy him.
No Name Given: His name is never mentioned in the story, though is likely he didn't had one and was referred with a digit, just as the rest of the members of the Holy Sol's Shadow.
Older Than They Look: His face doesn't shows signs of aging when he properly appears in the present time and confronts an adult Joker, looking the same than when he trained Five-Two, who was a little boy at the time.
Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Is heavily implied he sexually molested Five-Two when he was a child in order to break his spirit and defile him.
Small Role, Big Impact: His role in the series is brief, but his actions undoubtedly made Joker the ruthless Anti-Hero he is today.
Token Motivational Nemesis: Despite being the one to turn Joker into the jaded individual he is now, he only appears in a few chapters of the manga and a single episode of the anime, and is killed off by Joker during their fight in the present time.
Underestimating Badassery: He believes Joker is the same pathetic loser he was when he was Five-Two upon their re-encounter in the Holy See, and thinks he can defeat him easily due to knowing his fighting style. Joker eventually proves him wrong when he reveals that he has improved a lot since then, and thanks to a combination of the psychedelic substance of his cigar and separating the Captain from his subordinates, Joker eventually puts an end to his life.
Whip Sword: His weapon is a sword divided in various segments he can manipulate and heat with his Ignition Ability, allowing him to create air currents that deflect flame attacks and overwhelm the opponent with attacks from various angles.

Oze Family

General Danrou Oze

Danrou Oze

Voiced by: Tetsu Inada (Japanese), Christopher Sabat (English), Rubén Moya (Latin American Spanish)

A general in the Japan Empire's military and Maki's father.

Big Ol' Eyebrows: A very noticeable pair that even break past the black bars whenever there's a closeup of his eyes.
Control Freak: An unfortunate consequence of his overprotective nature. He wants Maki to be in the military as a secretary, where not only would she not be exposed to danger but where he can keep an eye on her. He's even deluded himself into thinking that Hinawa manipulated Maki into joining the Fire Force, not stopping to think that she did so of her own free will. Maki even makes a small jab at this after he outright forces her to rejoin the military, saying he has to "keep his bird in its cage."
Doting Parent: In the words of his own son, "General Oze, Scowling Guardian of the Empire, is no match for his daughter."
Face of a Thug: The man is a large, imposing figure who naturally frightens most people who meet him. That being said, he practically melts around Maki. Even when on the job where he has to put on a more serious front, he ends up calling her "Maki-chan", much to the bafflement of Maki's fellow secretary.
Helicopter Parents: Despite Maki being a capable Fire Solder, Danrou displays constant concern for her safety and takes issue with her fighting both Infernals and outright terrorists. He even uses his position to force her to return to the army as a secretary in exchange for letting Company 8, who as the ones with the most experience with the Nether are vital to the mission, take part.
Large and in Charge: He is heads and shoulders above many full grown men, such as his subordinates. This adds to his intense presence.
The Resenter: Of Hinawa, believing him to be a Manipulative Bastard who tricked Maki into joining Company 8.

Madoka Oze

Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Stephanie Young (English), Rommy Mendoza (Latin American Spanish)

Maki's mother.

Silk Hiding Steel: She looks and act like the typical Japanese wife most of the times, but when she gets fed up with the hijinks of her family, she becomes aggressive and commanding, intimidating even her tough husband.

First Lieutenant Takigi Oze

Takigi Oze

Voiced by: Yuki Ono (Japanese), Jonah Scott (English), Alan Bravo (Latin American Spanish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/takigi_fire_force_anime.PNG

Maki's older brother, and an investigator with the Military.

Barrier Warrior: Like his sister, he's a Second-Generation Pyrotechnic, and his abilities allow him to form a protective barrier around himself to protect himself and his allies. It's unknown if this is the only thing he can do with his powers.
Big Brother Instinct: Not as blatant as their father, but he also expresses some concern over Maki being in the Fire Force.
Handicapped Badass: Despite his injuries, most prominent being a broken arm, he accompanies Hinawa's group into the Nether.
Horrible Judge of Character: He sees Maki like some kind of delicate flower that shouldn't be put in harm's way, yet her being a pyrotechnic like him and looking like she could bench-press twelve of him, the latter of which she mocked her about the other day, kind of suggests otherwise even if he wasn't aware of her impressive combat skills and her contributions to Company 8 as a combatant.
Hypocrite: He derides the Fire Force, namely Hinawa and Company 8, as violent brutes who can only solve problems with violence. Bear in mind that he works for the military, who are expected to engage in warfare in defense of their country, the latter of which is something they have in common with the Fire Force.
Jerkass to One: He spends the entire Nether insulting and pettily ridiculing Hinawa and the 8th, which is especially gratuitous considering they're in the middle of fighting Infernals and a White Clad, something Hinawa subtly calls him out by repeatedly telling him to focus when he insists with his insults and claims of Maki's fragility.
Like Father, Like Son: Like his father, he's overprotective of Maki and derides the Fire Force, namely Hinawa, for putting her in harm's way, clearly never stopping to consider her capabilities and that she may have genuinely joined of her own free will.
No Guy Wants an Amazon: He jokingly tells Maki that her muscles will throw off future suitors because they will find her too intimidating.
The Resenter: Like his father, he believes that Hinawa tricked Maki into joining the Fire Force.
Sickeningly Sweethearts: In spite of his mostly serious personality, he's shown to be embarrassingly lovey-dovey with his girlfriend, to the annoyance of his sister.
Stay in the Kitchen: One of his reasons for being against Maki being in the Fire Force is "she's a girl", something he's hinted to have gotten from his father based on how his mother was apparently forced to retire from military service.
Super-Toughness: He's able to survive an suicide attack by a White-Clad, presumably due to the resistance to fire common among those with Second Gen abilities. He does end up stuck in the hospital, though.
Taking the Bullet: Well, explosion. When a White-Clad suicide bomber blows himself up to destroy their bug making facility, he pushes his partner behind him and takes the brunt of the damage. Fortunately, he survives with only minor injuries.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: During his and Hinawa's time working together in the Nether, he constantly insults and belittles Hinawa and Company 8 due to his dislike of him "manipulating" Maki into joining the Fire Force and putting her in danger. Hinawa responds with firm reprimands to drop his Skewed Priorities and occasionally Trolling him, such as when Takigi called him useless due to his flame ability revolving around accuracy over wide-area control to prevent the White-Clad from burning Tokyo. When he tries telling him to help anyway to prevent the Fire Force from involving Maki due to her own wide-area abilities, he throws his words right back at him.

Other Beings

Scop and Yata

Scop's voiced by: Kentarō Itō (Japanese), Tyler Walker (English), Javier Olguín (Latin American Spanish)

Yata's voiced by: Show Hayami (Japanese), Chris Guerrero (English), Rafael Escalante (Latin American Spanish)

The Chinese Peninsula is a strange and wonderful place with even stranger wildlife. As shown by Scop and Yata, a talking mole and crow, respectively, with fire powers. Their Oasis home falls under the control of Tempe's people and they work with the traveling Fire Force to save it.

The Ageless: They have lived since before the Great Cataclysm and shown no sign of aging since they first received the blessings from The Woman in Black.
Uplifted Animal: The Woman in Black used her powers to change them so that they have they ability to speak and are basically immune to aging.

Tempe

Voiced by: Hideyuki Hori (Japanese), R. Bruce Elliott (English)

The Arc Villain of the China mission, Tempe is an extremely unusual creature. He's both a Demon-Class Infernal and totally sentient. Sadly, he's totally insane after decades of pain and leads a cult of likeminded Infernals trying to kill themselves.

And I Must Scream: Like all Infernals, Tempe feels constant pain from his flames and is all but immortal.
Believing Their Own Lies: He made up a religion and centered himself as a prophet for the Evangelist who will gain favor and power in the afterlife. At some point, he completely lost his mind and started to believe all of it, becoming just as much of a zealot as his followers.
Death by Irony: Shinra gives him the death he wanted by using a power granted the Woman in Black, the closest thing to a benevolent god in the series.
Death Seeker: The goal of his cult is to overload the Tabernacle so they can all finally be granted merciful death by when it explodes.
Nigh-Invulnerability: As a Demon, one needs an insane amount of firepower to kill him, and he intended to use the proto-Amaterasu to blow himself up.
Sinister Minister: He created a cult of himself and other sentient Infernals, promising them service and peace in the afterlife if they obey him in life.
Sinister Scythe: He has one that's made of fire.
Touched by Vorlons: He was transformed from an ordinary man by the Evangelist herself.

The First Pillar

Voiced by: Mao Ichimichi (Japanese), Cherami Leigh (English), Cristina Hernández (Latin American Spanish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/first_pillar_fire_force_anime.jpg

A nearly ghostly woman who appears before Shinra and seems to be involved with the cult for some reason.

And I Must Scream: She's been burning in the Amaterasu plant for more than two centuries.
Ax-Crazy: The First Pillar is a deranged existence who wants to reduce everything to ashes, all with a Slasher Smile on her face.
Barbie Doll Anatomy: She's completely naked at all times and lives up to this, likely due being a spectre.
Chekhov's Gunman: She initially appears briefly in a dream of Shinra before Company 8 enters into the Nether for the first time. Shinra confuses her with Iris and laments he had a perverted dream involving a nun. An arc later, it's revealed that she's a completely different character, though she does possesses a connection to Iris.
The Corrupter: Wants Shinra to burn the world down for all of his suffering. Preferably Kill It with Fire, but she isn't that picky.
Cosmic Keystone: She's able to use the power of Adolla Burst. She uses it to connect to other Adolla Burst users and talk with them. It appears she is actually the only one being used as a Keystone at this point as she is powering Tokyo.
Creepy Blue Eyes: In contrast to her dopplegänger Iris's friendly and compassionate blue eyes, the eyes of the First Pillar, though also blue, are devoid of life and shine menacingly as a sign of her hatred and hostility. Doubles as Occult Blue Eyes, as her shiny azure eyes enhance her supernatural nature.
Demonic Possession: She controls Shinra through a Psychic Link she shares with him. It's unclear how this works, either because of her powerful hatred or because Shinra might have lived his whole life within her domain and formed a connection to her.
Evil Counterpart: To the Woman in Black. They both call out to Shinra, give him cryptic information and direct his actions. They are also both dwelling inside similar generators. But while the Woman in Black cares for others and entered her tomb willingly, the First Pillar hates the world and was (seemingly) forced into Amaterasu.
Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: She has the face and body of a beautiful young woman, but is completely insane and utterly depraved.
Flaming Hair: It gives her a ghostly look.
Full-Frontal Assault: Her perpetual nudity is used to make her seem disturbing and otherworldly.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Subverted as she's complete insane and blindingly fair haired.
Identical Stranger: She bares a striking resemblance to Sister Iris. The First Pillar's Slasher Smile is the big difference between the two. It's implied that she might be appearing to Shinra in the form of someone he trusts, though it turns out in Chapter 219 that she's actually the original, and Iris is her dopplegänger.
Maddened Into Misanthropy: She was once an ordinary girl, but centuries of burning in the Amaterasu plant have left her hateful and desiring nothing but destruction for all of humanity for them thriving on her suffering.
Naked First Impression: She first appears to Shinra in a dream to this effect and finds it very distracting.
No Name Given: She is referred to as The First Pillar or Amaterasu but nobody has ever gotten her real name out of her.
Omnicidal Maniac: Once she corrupts Shinra with her influence, she keeps reminding him of the suffering and discrimination he lived through his life, to make him destroy everything in sight.
The Omnipresent: She claims to have watched over all of the Tokyo Empire since its creation. Given how she can just appear before Shinra at a moment's notice, she might be telling the truth. Her influence seems to spread into China.
Perpetual Smiler: She's seen smiling in most of her scenes, but the kind of smiles she flashes are not good news at all.
Pet the Dog: Her last words before dying are to encourage Iris to live for the both of them and to assure her that she's not a fake, but is the her "she always wanted to be".
Put on a Bus: Despite becoming more active after Shinra's visit to Company 4, she disappears from the plot after the Chinese Peninsula arc, and has not been seen again since that, though she has been mentioned multiple times.
Really 700 Years Old: She's older than the Empire itself.
The Reveal: The first part of revelations involving her is when Shinra realizes that she is not simply some Identical Stranger taking the form of Iris - she is the original, and Iris is actually her Adolla dopplegänger born from humanity's positive perceptions of Amaterasu's role in protecting humanity. The second comes much later on when it's implied that Giovanni's ancestors sealed her inside the Amaterasu unit as a Cosmic Keystone step to causing the second cataclysm. Vulcan's ancestors stumbled upon her cries for help from inside, and hid the key to prevent whatever they were planning from coming to fruition, leaving the girl sealed within to slowly Go Mad from the Isolation.
Sealed Evil in a Can: She seems to be sealed inside Amaterasu. If she wasn't evil before, she certainly is now.
Slasher Smile: Excels at these, denoting her insane state. The most chilling example is the one she gives to Shinra after he returns from China and, in a dream, he asks her if she's Amaterasu.
Tortured Monster: Implied. After learning more about what might have happened to her, Shinra starts to think she's always crying and the flames around her are evaporating her tears.
Unstoppable Rage: She is so hateful and furious that her presence alone is able to influence Shinra and corrupt his mind into a similar state to hers.

The Woman in Black

Voiced by: Atsumi Tanezaki (Japanese), Mallorie Rodak (English), Kerygma Flores (Latin American Spanish)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/woman_in_black.png

A woman of unknown origins who safeguards and creates an Oasis on the Chinese Peninsula.

Cosmic Keystone: She seems to have a connection to the Adolla and can use for different effects.
Dark Is Not Evil: She looks like death in many ways, but she is very helpful and kind. This, of course, makes her the opposite of the Evangelist.
Divine Intervention: She can give power through the Adolla Link, but is so weak in the current age that she can only afford to do this for a second.
Foil: To various characters:
- The First Pillar: They are both trapped inside generators to burn forever to ensure the survival of the surrounding area. The difference is that the First Pillar was seemingly forced into her position against her will and is furious about it, while the Woman in Black actively sacrificed herself for others and is content with her role. Both of them also contact Shinra, but while the Woman in Black simply asks for help, the First Pillar tries to force him into causing death and destruction.
- The Evangelist: They are both able to empower people through the Adolla Link and are worshiped as gods. However, the Evangelist is described as divine, has set up various religions throughout history but wants to set the world on fire, while the Woman in Black is described as demonic, doesn't consider herself a god and sacrificed herself to give life to a forest.
Friend to All Living Things: She loves the animals of the Oasis dearly and gave them support, longer lifespans and intelligence.
A God I Am Not: Very insistent she is not anything more than a caretaker and a human. This might also make her The Anti-God of Good, if she is right about the Evangelist.
God's Hands Are Tied: She isn't nearly a match for the Evangelist, but she could offer some power and knowledge to fight the Evangelist's scheme. Unfortunately, she invested so much of her limited strength into creating and maintaining her forest that she can't do much else without destroying it.
Good Counterpart: To both the First Pillar and the Evangelist herself.
Mr. Exposition: She explains a lot about the Evangelist to Shinra.
Mysterious Past: Who she is, where she is from, and her exact propose are all unknown.
No Name Given: She's only referred as the Woman in Black.
Sealed Good in a Can: She willingly sealed herself in the Tabernacle facility so that it could create a forest to provide for her beloved animal friends.
Shout-Out: She resembles Death from Soul Eater.
Underestimating Badassery: In a more depressing matter, in that she figures the one second of power she could give Shinra would be trifling and useless. She doesn't realize she's talking to a guy that has broken himself down to the speed of light.
Woman in Black: What can you do in a single second...? Such a small sliver of Grace would be... meaningless...
Shinra: (smiles confidently) One second will be plenty.

The Matricide (SPOILER)

Shinra Kusakabe The Matricide

A version of Shinra Kusakabe born from the collective unconscious of mankind and the Adolla. This dark reflection of the All-Loving Hero is created from all the most persistent, widespread and dark rumours and believes about Shinra that have spread around since the fire 12 years ago. The tattooed criminal who murdered his mother and brother for the fun of it and would gleefully kill again. Seemingly just an idea confided to a realm of imagination, it managed to swap places with the original personality for a while.

Blood Knight: He did nothing but pick fights with Arthur for 3 months. Not joking ones like the real one would. One of the key differences between the real and fake is the imposters violent behaviour.
Clap Your Hands If You Believe: He owns is entire existence to the minds of the general populous. All Doppelgängers appear to be made the same way. All those bitter stories about Shinra's madness and vileness spawned a version of him that lived up to all those tall tales.
Delinquent Hair: Amoung his more extreme behaviour, the Doppelgänger Shinra grew his hair out, dyed it and slicked it back. Combine it with the ear piercing it gave Shinra the Face of a Thug that he had to work hard to fix up after he regained control.
Evil Counterpart: He is the version of Shinra with none of his actual personality but all of his power. Just what the masses think his real personality is.
Hidden Agenda Villain: If he has one. All we know about his possible goal is that he wants nothing to do with anyone also from Adolla and that he was fine working with the Fire Force. As a creation of other people's ideas, it's possible he/it didn't have the capacity to have a motivation of its own.
Internal Reveal: His actions and mistreatment of Sister Iris causes Shinra to realise that she is Amaterasu's double. Something the audience and other characters had learned and theorised about already.
Offstage Villainy: The mini-arc follows Shinra's perspective, who has no memories between looking into the past and waking up chained to a bed. Everything we learn about his counterpart comes for exposition.
Outside-Context Problem: Doppelgängers are a known feature of the Fire Force universe but nobody expected one to appear as a possessive spirit. Probably the only reason he was allowed to run free so long was that his existence didn't make sense.
Not Himself: Everybody who knows Shinra can see that his personality changed. Only Arthur (who is in tune with Adolla and aware of the rumpus) recognises that it was a different entity is controlling him. Arthur even recognises him as the family killing demon he knew so much about but had never seen. He just couldn't explain it well enough to convince the others, because it was still a version of Shinra puppeting the real one's body.
Slasher Smile: And instead of being a nervous tic that causes misunderstandings, it's 1000% because of his malicious intention.
Tattooed Crook: Shinra is allegedly supposed to be covered in tattoos symbolising his pride in killing his family. Once given a body, the embodiment of these rumours chooses to get them for real.

Characters / Fire Force

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