I love browsing the internet looking at manga collections and bookshelf tours. One manga series that I see on nearly every bookshelf is Fire Force. I saw that they created a Fire Force anime and so I figured there must be something about this series that I’m missing. Imagine my joy when I saw that the first 10 volumes were available on Kindle Unlimited. I couldn’t download them fast enough. I devoured the first volume in under 40 minutes and immediately started volume 2.
Characters
The problem with the first volume or book in a series is that it’s very hard to gauge the type of characters we will see throughout the series. A good series will be sure to show you just enough of the cast of characters to keep you interested, but not so much so that you are overwhelmed by everyone in the new world. Fire Force does a great job of balancing this by giving us some history of the main character, Shinra Kusakabe. They take their time with the introduction and roles of everyone on Special Fire Force Company 8. This series already has over 33 volumes out! I’m hoping they use the full potential of this and take their times building on the characters as they grow throughout the series.
Setting and Atmosphere
Fire Force takes place in a world where people spontaneously combust and turn into pyrokinetic creatures called Infernos. There are special forces to extinguish the infernos called the Fire Force. They also have the nickname of the Blue Stipes. Our main character Shinra Kusakabe is in a brigade called Company 8.
Plot and Story
Shinra Kusakabe joins the Fire Force after the death of his brother and mother from an Inferno. He was blamed for their deaths as he has the ability to control fire. This is something that second generation pyrokinetic humans are able to do. We follow him on his quest for answers on what happened to his family that night. He also wants to clear his name, and to become a hero.
Writing Style
The author did a great job of pacing and balancing the action with the plot and talking points. I find when reading action manga its not common to have that balance. I find myself lost in fighting or action and I forget the purpose of the protagonist engaging in the first place.
Overall Enjoyment
Overall this volume was easy to read and had a lot of panels of artwork which I enjoyed. When reading manga I like a nice balance between art and speech across each spread. I don’t like flipping through several pages of just art, or the opposite of several pages of heavy text. This volume had a nice balance of sowing character expressions and personalities which keeping interest in the overall arching plot of the volume and series.
It kept me interested throughout and I read the whole things in one sitting.
Once more reviews are released for this series, a link to the other reviews will be posted below. Until then, please take a look as some other manga reviews!
