Fire Force has all the makings of a successful shounen series: it has a beautiful art style, lovable characters, and an interesting world. In this world, the crime of arson has spread like wildfire, and there are dedicated superhero firefighters who take care of it. Unlike author Atsushi Ohkubo’s breakout hitSoul Eater, though, Fire Force is a long-running series with an involved plot rather than an episodic comedy.
Of course, one of the most fun ways to gauge a shounen anime is: could its characters beat Goku? Even if not, Fire Force has a host of characters who could give even the strongest protagonist a run for his money. Let’s find out which ones are the strongest.
8Maki Oze
Special Fire Force Company 8
You can tell Maki is strong just by looking at her: she has a muscular physique that she developed while training for the army. Due to hermilitary background, Maki has extensive experience in hand-to-hand combat and can evade attacks from even the strongest firefighters.
A Second Generation pyrokinetic, Maki is also able to control fire spirits and incorporate them into weapons developed specially for her by Vulcan. When she’s enraged, such as when she’s teased about being too muscular or when her fire spirits get hurt, Maki goes from being somewhat intimidating to downright scary.
7Arthur Boyle
Arthur is a foil andfriendly rivalfor the protagonist Shinra Kusakabe. His tragic backstory, where he was abandoned by his parents, is played for laughs. But while Arthur does harbor alternating delusions of being a prince, a knight, and a king, he is unquestionably strong.
So strong is he, in fact, that the other firefighters go along with it. If Arthur believes that the toy sword he’s wielding is the legendary Excalibur or that the broom he’s holding is actually a noble steed, that makes this Third Generation pyrokinetic all the more powerful.
6Shinra Kusakabe
Though he has lofty goals befitting anyshounen protagonistand innate abilities befitting a hero, Shinra Kusakabe has a long way to go before he reaches the top. However, he is still one of the strongest characters in the Fire Force universe.
A Third Generation pyrokinetic, Shinra’s ability allows him to generate flames from his feet, helping him gain immense bursts of speed. Impressively, he can go faster than the speed of light itself, which allows him to disintegrate and turn back time. Once he develops the confidence that comes to Arthur so easily, Shinra may be unstoppable.
5Charon
White Clad
A member of the villainous White Clad, Charon is tough enough to be a video game boss due to his unique physical properties. Charon can absorb the kinetic energy of any attack he endures and turn it into his own power.
With just a snap or a clap, Charon can then transform the energy he absorbs into massive explosions. He is a henchman with power befitting a final boss and presents the Fire Force with one of their deadliest challenges. His one weakness is that he can either store energy or unleash it: he’s vulnerable while he’s attacking.
4Leonard Burns
Special Fire Force Company 1
Age is just a number to Leonard Burns, one of the strongest captains of any Fire Force company. A Third Generation pyrokinetic, Mr. Burns has had personal experience with the Evangelist and paid the price with his right eye.
Not only is he a powerful pyrokinetic, Leonard is skilled at hand-to-hand combat and can shrug off multiple attackers. When he asks the younger Fire Force members to defeat him if they want answers from him, it quickly morphs into a humbling experience for them.
3Sho Kusakabe
The lostyounger brotherof the series protagonist, Sho is one of the strongest characters in the series and presents Shinra with his greatest challenge. Barring the emotional plight of their battle, Sho is simply one of the strongest pyrokinetics around. He can move at a speed that defies sight, which turns out to be due to his ability to stop time.
Sho has a special connection with the Evangelist called the Adolla Link and is a rare Fourth Generation pyrokinetic. Though Shinra eventually gets him to come around, there’s no doubt about which brother is stronger.
2Joker
Undefined Affiliation
Joker is the most enigmatic character in Fire Force, seemingly amoral and hiding a secret past. It’s hard to tell whether he’s a good or bad guy, but he’s definitely strong. Though his generation is unknown, Joker displays an intimidating degree of strength.
He is able to bring down other strong characters seemingly without lifting a finger, using card tricks. He also lies to hide his true power level: though he claims he can’t go past a full deck, he can actually make as many cards as he wants.
1Benimaru Shinmon
Special Fire Force Company 7
Benimaru is a king of destruction andfont of charismathat even Joker can’t match, and it’s lucky for the Fire Force that he’s one of the good guys. He is able to take on entire companies without breaking a sweat and expresses disdain for the Fire Force as a whole — the only reason he helps them is because of his commitment to Asakusa, his hometown.
Benimaru has undergone brutal training regimes in his childhood, and he inflicts the same on Arthur and Shinra to help them get stronger. He is a hybrid pyrokinetic, combining the powers of both a Second and Third Generation fighter. Many of Fire Force’s most visually spectacular sequences come courtesy of this fan-favorite character.
