Akitaru Ōbi

is the Battalion Commander of Tokyo's 8th Special Fire Brigade.

Appearance
Akitaru has short, somewhat unruly dark hair with shaved sideburns and small dark eyes. He is seen wearing 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 colored pants. Those are later topped by a protective outer jacket and trousers, and finished with a helmet, which has a metal face shield, with three slots attached to it. While on missions, he carries different weapons with him, depending on the situation. He was later seen wearing a grey jumpsuit.

Personality
Akitaru is a brave individual, being able to face Flame Humans without fear, despite having no ignition powers. He was also shown being prone to exercise, as evident with him lifting weights during a meeting and doing pull-ups while having a casual conversation with Shinra. Akitaru is also a curious person, as he wanted to see Shinra's goofy grin with his own eyes and later asked the boy his reasons for joining the brigade. He is confident in his team-mates, as evident with him telling Shinra that he'll be cheering for him in the sidelines during the boy's participation in the upcoming Fire Officer Newcomer Tournament. Akitaru is a very good-natured person, as he was willing to risk his life to protect the memento of Mikako's family and deliver it to her safely. He has been training every day to serve the people he needs and doesn't tolerate evil-doers.

Abilities
Akitaru has a fit physique, which allows him to face Flame Humans without having ignition powers. In battle, he is seen using different weapons, suitable for the situation, like the Core Annihilating Pilebunker or a fire fighting axe, which he can coat in white steam and thrust at the opponent. His weapons are designed to impale a Flame Human's core with low difficulty.

Introduction arc
Akitaru, alongside the rest of the 8th Special Fire Brigade, arrives to save a train station from the Flame Human. Once there, the man orders Shinra to get back and asks Iris to begin the prayers. He then moves in for an attack, and, with the help of Takehisa and Maki, impales the core of his opponent using his weapon. After the battle, when Shinra saves Iris, the man comments on the boy's "Demon's Footprints" to himself. When Shinra arrives at the 8th Special Fire Fighting Church, Akitaru formally meets the boy, whilst working out, and looks at the boy's resume picture, only to question the young man on his smile, to which Shinra replies it to be a natural face reaction. Akitaru then glares at Shinra, causing him to grin, then bursts out laughing, and later teases the boy when he gets aroused by Iris and Maki. Then, Akitaru delivers a speech about the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon. Later that night, when the siren notifies the brigade of an accident in a factory, Akitaru moves out with his brigade, encouraging Shinra to do his best while on the job.

When the brigade arrives at the scene, Akitaru informs them all of the situation. With the rest of the brigade, Akitaru fights the Flame Human, using Maki's abilities to keep himself from getting burned, using a fire fighting ax, but to no avail. After the mission, he was proud of Shinra and was happy to see him with a pleasant smile. Some time after, Akitaru informs Shinra that a newcomer tournament will be held between the Special Fire Brigades and that their brigade will be sending both Shinra and a new member, who turns out to be Arthur, while he will be cheering the two on from the sidelines. While the rest of the brigade have a conversation on the roof, Akitaru, lifting weights in his privacy, wonders why it is taking so long for the newcomer to arrive, though he already had arrived unbeknownst to him.

Later, Akitaru treats Shinra and Arthur to some food at Ippudo Ramen and afterwards, has a casual talk with Arthur, which makes Shinra notice how nice a person Akitaru is. Back at the church's armory, the man complains that the brigade doesn't have a mechanic in their ranks, who would help with the maintenance. When the brigade is notified of a Flame Human spotted in Iriya District, they depart to the scene. While on route, Akitaru instructs Shinra and Arthur to conceal their weapons. After arriving, Akitaru shows genuine pity for Mikako and assures Iris to just leave the girl be. He then spots Shinra and Arthur wielding their weapons in public and pulls the two aside. Straight after, their conversation is cut short when a burst of flames emerges from the apartment. The whole brigade then storms into the room, where they spot Mikako's father. Arthur volunteers to take him out, which in turn leads to Shinra question his motives, but Akitaru reassures Arthur to do it. After that, the roof starts to collapse, which forces Akitaru to jump in and save a family picture for Mikako, as a precious memento. When outside, he delivers the framed picture to the girl. Shinra apologizes to the man for not being able to do anything the entire time, but Akitaru assures him that all they can do is to get close to the ones left behind.

Trivia

 * The mask Akitaru wears, greatly resembles Eibon's mask from the Soul Eater series.