Spontaneous human combustion. An unexplained phenomenon where the body’s temperature rises at an alarming rate and eventually leads to autoignition. While there isn’t proof that this is an actual occurrence in the real world, it is one of the leading causes of death in 炎炎ノ消防隊 or Fire Force. 

If the art style looks familiar, you’re probably right! Fire Force is written and drawn by the same person who created Soul Eater, Atsushi Okubo. Just like Soul Eater, Fire Force has a lot of comedic bits in-between all of the serious moments. It has a lot of the same vibes from Okubo’s previous series. Two years after Soul Eater ended in 2013, Okubo created Fire Force, and since September 2015, the series has continued to run in the Weekly Shonen Magazine. The 200th chapter is coming soon! 

The story before Fire Force describes how rising sea levels have engulfed much of the Earth’s land. The story’s primary location, Japan, has shrunk so much that the country has become the Tokyo Empire. Seeking protection and a safe haven, two prominent groups in the series, Holy Sol Temple and Haijima Industries, develop a thermal energy plant to support the Tokyo Empire: the Amaterasu. 

In the following years, humans began falling to the phenomenon of spontaneous human combustion, and what remained of them were creatures that would eventually be known as "infernals." As a result, men and women from the defense force and firefighters were recruited into brigades of specialized individuals known as the Fire Force. To qualify as a member of one of these elite teams, a person needs to have the ability to create or manipulate flames. 

In Fire Force, we look into the adventures of Shinra Kusakabe, a third-generation flame user who is capable of creating flames instead of just manipulating them. With aspirations of becoming a hero, he joined the Fire Force to make a name for himself and, unknown to his brigade, to solve the mystery behind the fire that killed his family. 

Alongside Shinra are his teammates in Fire Force Company 8, Captain Akitaru Obi, Lieutenant Takehisa Hinawa, Maki Oze, Iris, and Arthur Boyle. Compared to the other 7 Fire Force Companies, theirs was built quickly and lacked a lot of the resources and members due to being created in a rush. They still do the same work as the other Fire Force, but the reason Shinra’s team was formed in a hurry is because they have one additional duty to fulfill: to investigate the other seven brigades in case they are withholding information from the entire organization.  

The anime series is only halfway done, but if you look around on ZenPlus, you’ll be able to find some hidden treasures. Like these adorable mugs, keychains, coasters, and even some adorable Manju plushies of Shinra’s brigade! Kotobukiya has created some fantastic figures for Shinra as well as another character we see a little later in the series, Tamaki Kotatsu. You can even find some apparel, including T-shirts, hoodies, and hats!

If you haven’t started watching or reading Fire Force and you’re a big fan of Soul Eater, I would check out this series! If you’ve never seen Soul Eater well, this is still a great series to check out if you love some high paced action, check it out!

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