Fire Force Creator Already Has the Series Ending Thought Out

All eyes have been on Atsuhi Okubo ever since his successful run with Soul Eater became a major breakout hit in both its manga and anime. With his newest series, Fire Force, finally debuting its anime adaptation as part of the Summer 2019 anime season there have been more eyes on his work than ever. That kind of pressure could get to a lesser mangaka, but luckily Okubo has been undeterred and is proceeding with his manga as planned.

Because as it turns out, Okubo already has an idea in mind for how he wants to end Fire Force. But he’s letting his characters still evolve as naturally as they should, so it shouldn’t be a concern to fans worried about a forced end just yet.

Speaking with ComicBook.com during Anime Expo, Okubo revealed he’s got a plan in mind for the series’ finale but it’s not exactly set in stone, “I do have a vague idea of ending, but at the same time, in the meantime, until I get there, I do work with characters to see where the story and characters take me.”

Although the creator has an idea of where he wants to take the series, it seems like he’s not exactly tied to it either. Rather than force his series to end in the way he’s currently picturing it, he’s going to let the story and characters dictate where the series will end up rather than try and force it to work. Series finales set in stone years before they happen have become one of the bigger flaws in current entertainment, and Okubo seems like he’s going to steer clear of all of it!

Fire Force officially made its anime debut earlier this July, and is now currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation. Have you checked it out yet? Has the anime made you seek out the original manga? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Fire Force was first created by Atsushi Okubo for Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine in 2015, and has since been collected into several volumes. The series follows an elite team of fire manipulators as they and deal with spontaneously combusting people in a alternate take on Tokyo. Kodansha USA has licensed the series for an English language release, and they describe Fire Force as such:

“Terror has paralyzed the clockwork metropolis of Tokyo! Possessed by demons, people have begun to burst into flame, leading to the establishment of a special firefighting team: the Fire Force, ready to roll on a moment’s notice to fight spontaneous combustion anywhere it might break out. The team is about to get a very unique addition: Shinra, a boy who possesses the unique power to run at the speed of a rocket, leaving behind the famous “devil’s footprints” (and destroying his shoes in the process). Can the Fire Force discover the source of this strange phenomenon and put a stop to it? Or will the city burn to ashes first?”