Shinra Kusakabe

is a Third Generation Fire Officer of Tokyo's 8th Special Fire Brigade.

Appearance
Shinra is a young boy of average height, who has short and spiky dark brown hair and crimson eyes. When he was introduced, Shinra wore a dark jacket with a button on his collar shaped like a cross-like insignia, an over light shirt, dark trousers and a belt and dark shoes, the latter of which he burnt through via his Ignition Ability, and was noted to have done multiple times. He was later presented with a bunker gear, which consists of a tank top buckled at the waist with a belt, which presses a middle part that's strapped to his shoulders, and dark shorts. Those are later topped by a protective outer jacket, trousers, a neck protector, protective gloves and a helmet with the number 8 on it, signifying his brigade. The buttons of his protective jacket are in the shape of cross-like symbols. Shinra's bunker gear trousers were specifically tailored by Maki so that they only reached below his knees instead to his feet, being advantageous so that he could freely use his Ignition Ability without having to worry about burning through his clothing. Parts of his outfit are coated with blue lines. When not on a mision, Shinra is commonly seen wearing a grey coverall. His outfits contain patches with "8" on them, signifying his affiliation to the 8th Special Fire Brigade. Due to his Ignition Ability, he tends to walk barefooted or with sandals as they can easily be disposed of. Shinra's trousers generally are rolled up to just below his knees so he is able to use his ability without burning them. He has also rolled up his arm sleeves at times.

Personality
Shinra is energetic and confident, not hesitating to act immediately when the time calls for it, and is very proud of his ambition of becoming a hero, something which he had promised his mother. However, Shinra suffers from nervous laughter, which is a condition where animals naturally grin or show their teeth when nervous, stressed, angered or uncomfortable; he was quite easily made shaky by Akitaru, who was staring at him face-to-face, and is naturally nervous around girls since, for the most part, he's been training with males only. He isn't easily agitated by other people's words and opinions on his ambitions. Shinra often bickers with Arthur on who are superior: knights or heroes. He has shown to have good judgement and prioritises what is important and what should be done rather than acting with personal emotions. Shinra acts selflessly toward civilians and has very high standards of what the Special Fire Brigade should represent. He respects his fellow teammates and admires Akitaru for having the courage to fight Flame Humans without an Ignition Ability. Despite his repetitive bickering with Arthur, Shinra is capable of putting the differences between the two aside and work as a team.

Abilities
As a Third Generation, Shinra is able to generate, control and utilise his own flames. He has shown the prowess to ignite flames on his feet, allowing him to run longer distances with much greater speed, and multiply his kicking power drastically. The ashes he leaves on the floor are infamously known as the. Shinra has shown the ability to fly using his Ignition Ability on multiple occasions, as he uses his Ignition Ability like a jet, accelerating the rate of his flames' power to launch him in the air. In combat, Shinra generally uses his feet and is very skilled when it comes to kicking as he can keep his opponents on their toes, being able to change the trajectory of his kicks mid-air. Shinra's fiery kicks are powerful enough to launch a car weighing a ton into the air, into the skies and back to the ground.

Background
In Year 186, when Shinra was five years old, he lived with his mother and younger brother, Sho. Ecstatic about heroes, he always dressed up as a superhero, mimicking their actions from the television, and say that he'll become a hero so that he can protect his mother and Sho, with his mother being supportive of the idea. One day, Shinra unexpectedly woke up to discover that his house was ablaze. Watching his mother burn among the flames, she cried out to him, telling him to run. A small and young Shinra was then saved by Leonardo Burns from the 1st Special Fire Brigade. During the traumatic incident, Shinra believed to have seen some sort of 'black shadow' in his house, which played a part in the killing of his mother. As well as this, none of Sho's remains were found, and he were thought to have died with his mother, but this was later proved different. Shinra was labelled as the perpetrator of the fire incident, after others discovered that he was a Third Generation. Ever since that day, Shinra developed a grin that people thought resembled a devil, to which they nicknamed him.

Succeeding the event, Haijima Heavy Industries fitted Shinra with liquid nitrogen boots to suppress his Ignition Ability. When he attempted to move in with his grandmother, she thought of Shinra as a monster for not realising what he had supposedly done. Some time after this, in his adolescent years, Shinra attended an academy for becoming a Fire Officer in the Special Fire Brigade. At the academy he met Arthur, with whom he often bickered on who were superior: heroes or knights.

Introduction arc
En route to the 8th Special Fire Brigade, Shinra overhears an alarm in a nearby train station, due the presence of a Flame Human. He prepares to fight it, but the 8th Special Fire Brigade arrives and defeats the threat. Immediately after, he saves Iris from a falling light and introduces himself to the brigade. Later, at the brigade's headquarters, Shinra formally meets all the members and, when asked, explains his reason for joining. Afterwards, Akitaru explains the brigade's mission of unraveling the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon to him. While settling in his new room, the brigade is notified of a Flame Human and departs to the scene. Upon entering the factory, Shinra gets caught off guard and is knocked out by the Flame Human, but is woken up by Akitaru seconds later. With works of encouragement, he overcomes his fear and resolves to fight. Launching himself at the being with his Ignition Ability, Shinra impales his opponent's core and purifies her soul. Outside, he overhears spectators cheering and is praised for his actions, much to his delight.

Akitaru informs Shinra that he will be participating in an upcoming tournament, alongside a new recruit, which makes Shinra excited, as he sees it as a chance to meet the man who had saved his life. Shinra bumps into Arthur and gets into a fight with him. When Takehisa approaches the two, he orders Maki to fight the new recruits. Shinra is defeated by her as he is unable to use his Ignition Ability due to her control over fire as a Second Generation. After eating at Ippudo Ramen, Shinra is given a battleaxe. When the brigade is notified of a Flame Human in the Iriya District, he departs to the scene and Akitaru instructs the new recruits to conceal their weapons in public. Upon arrival, Akitaru pulls the two aside for disobeying his orders and explains his reasoning. After their conversation, a burst of flames emerges from the apartment, prompting the brigade to storm the building and find the Flame Human. Arthur volunteers to put the man out of his misery, much to Shinra's confusion, and impales his core. Immediately after, the ceiling begins to collapse and Shinra watches on as Akitaru risks his life to save a family photograph for Mikako. Afterwards, he apologises to the man for not being of any help during the mission.

Shinra participates in the Fire Officer Newcomer Tournament, where he meets Tamaki. Later, he finds Leonardo Burns and approaches him. After introducing himself, Leonardo ignores him and leaves and Shinra wonders whether the man is hiding something from him. When the exam begins, Shinra flies into the building and inside, he discovers two unconscious people and Joker. After the man reveals that he knows of Shinra's past and threatens to kill the injured people, Shinra attacks him, but to no avail. Joker rewards him for his efforts and tells him Sho is still alive, baffling Shinra. The boy questions Joker and attacks him with multiple fire-enhanced kicks. When Arthur and Tamaki discover the two, Shinra tries to warn them, but Arthur ignores him. When Joker uses an unknown substance to put their lives in jeopardy, Shinra grabs the two unconscious people and tells Arthur to cut a hole through the ceiling, so they can escape. In mid-air, before Shinra could save Arthur and Tamaki from falling, Leonardo jumps in and rescues the girl, while Arthur is rescued by their team-mates. Later, Akitaru promises to reveal him for what purpose was the 8th Brigade created.

The following day, Akitaru explains to Shinra how and why their brigade was founded and informs him that the other Special Fire Brigades are hiding something on their own end. They are then provided with information of the substance Joker had used by Takehisa. Shinra goes with Arthur to rescue a dog, who was reported to be stuck in a tree, and, after it tells the two that a trial for the release of Setsuo Miyamoto will be held soon, helps Mamoru hand out balloons to children. The two then learn of an accident in the courthouse from Takehisa, who was moving to the scene with the rest of the brigade. After giving Arthur a lift, the two Fire Officers fight the Flame Human, with Shinra kicking the opponent and delivering a collaborative attack with Arthur. When Setsuo escapes, Shinra is told to catch up to him and Takehisa assures him that the threat has to be taken care of without prejudice. After Setsuo threatens to kill an innocent kid, Shinra stops him. The two then start their confrontation, with the Fire Officer dominating the fight. When Shinra corners Setsuo and cuts off his right forearms, Hibana descends in front of the two.

VS. 5th Special Fire Brigade arc
Hibana gazes at Shinra, causing him to collapse and orders him to lick her shoe as he gets restrained by the 3 Angels of the 5th. After noticing an innocent kid being pushed out of the way, Shinra becomes infuriated and repels the angels away. He stands up and challenges the 5th Special Fire Brigade to a fight as his own brigade arrives. Tōru mocks Akitaru, which leads to Shinra and Arthur jumping in, but Maki and Takehisa detain the two. A stand-off between the brigades is then catalyzed, but the two depart without any signs of struggle. The next day, Takehisa approaches Shinra and demonstrates his ability to him, informing him that they will be facing unique abilities later on, not just Flame Humans. Afterwards, he begins training the Fire Officers on the roof and informs Shinra of Hibana's past. On his way to get something, Shinra ventures upon Iris and sees her crying.

When Maki informs Shinra that Iris has gone missing, the brigade infiltrates the 5th Special Fire Fighting Industrial Complex, where Shinra is ordered by Takehisa to go and locate the whereabouts of Iris. During his search, he infiltrates a mansion, where the Angels of the 5th attempt to attack him, but find themselves defeated with a swift kick.

As he bursts through the door claiming the hero has arrived, he finds Iris being tormented by Hibana. He dashes toward Hibana with his ability, but is cut short by Hibana's heat fever ability, causing Shinra to feel dizzy and fall to the ground. Being the second time Shinra was stopped by the same attack, Hibana explains her prowess to envelop somebody in flames that enlarges their blood vessels which makes less oxygen travel to the brain, causing the fatigue. Instead of accepting the loss, Shinra thinks nothing of the ability but simply his imagination, and through willpower, manages to stand up steadily. Shinra goes in to attack, but due to his dizziness, falls to the ground becoming frustrated, and is tormented by Hibana's Cherry Blossom attacks. Hibana speaks of her past about becoming a Third Generation, to which Shinra responds that he understands how she had her life turned upside by the flames. Hibana retaliates and strikes the boy with a whirl of flames, but Shinra makes a stand by saying he can't give up for Hibana's sake, much to her surprise. Leaping toward her with a determined look, Shinra lands a punch on Hibana, climaxing the clash.

Trivia

 * is derived from the Japanese word, which, when translated, can mean either "all creation" or "all things in nature".
 * According to his Character Profile in Volume 1:
 * Shinra's favourite colour is red.
 * Shinra likes fast animals and his favourite is a leopard.
 * Shinra's favourite food is ramen, hamburgers and fried food (e.g chicken).
 * Shinra's favourite type of music has a fast-tempo and a cool tune.