Shinra Kusakabe

is a Third Generation Fire Officer at the 8th Special Fire Brigade of Tokyo.

Appearance
Shinra is a young boy of average height with short and spiky dark brown hair, and glowing red eyes. He's first seen wearing a black suit over a white shirt, a pair of black trousers and black boots which burnt like many others when he ignited them to save Iris. He was later given 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 colored shorts. Those are later topped by protective outer jacket and trousers, and finished with a helmet. The trousers he wears with his bunker gear was specifically tailored by Maki to be three-quarter in length instead of reaching down to his feet, being advantageous so that Shinra could freely use his Third Generation ability without having to worry about burning his trousers. He was also seen wearing a grey jumpsuit.

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 real life condition where animals naturally grin or show their teeth when nervous, stressed, angered or uncomfortable. Such things as running into a schoolgirl even made him nervous and when he saved Iris from a falling object. He was quite easily made shaky by Akitaru staring him in the face, and is naturally nervous around girls since he's been in training with males only for an extended period of time. Aside from this, he isn't easily agitated by other people's words and opinions on his ambitions, as demonstrated when Takehisa asked if he wanted to become a hero just for his reputation. Shinra also bickers often with Arthur on who are superior: heroes or knights.

Abilities
Shinra is a Third Generation, able to kindle, control and utilise flames he generates to his own will. So far, he has only shown the ability to ignite fire 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 in image of his footprints were noted to be called the. After his first official mission, Shinra was given a Seven-Style Fire Fighting Battleaxe to wield, by Takehisa, which was said to be capable of firing sacred spikes from the front, when the trigger is pulled. Shinra has shown the ability to fly using his Ignition Ability on multiple occasions, which has helped him reach places that are higher up or more difficult to get to than usual. He has also used this ability defensively to dodge Maki's attacks. Shinra is very skilled when it comes to kicking and can keep his opponents on their toes. He is noted to be able to change the trajectory of his kicks in mid-air due to his ability, which is beneficial in fighting situations as he can kick from many directions one after another.

Background
Twelve years ago in Year 186, when Shinra was only five years old, he lived with his mother and little brother Sho. Shinra used to always dress up as a super-hero with a cape and say that he'll become a hero so that he can protect his mother and Sho, and his mother was supportive of this. One day, he woke up to discover that his house was on fire. The aftermath resulted in his mother being incarcerated and burning in front of him, and believing that his little brother Sho had died too as no bones were found of him. Shinra was rescued by the 1st Special Fire Brigade. Shinra was labelled as the perpetrator of the fire incident after others discovered he was a Third Generation. According to him however, something he described as a "black shadow" was present in the house, which lead to his mother being incinerated along with their house. After the ordeal, Haishima Heavy Industries fitted him with liquid nitrogen boots to suppress his flames, and when he attempted to move in with his grandmother, she thought of him as a monster for not realizing what he had done. After the day he was nicknamed a "Devil" by his grandmother and other people as they heard about what he'd done, he developed a kooky grin. During his time in the training academy, he often bickered with Arthur about which were superior: heroes or knights.

Introduction arc
On route to the 8th Special Fire Brigade, Shinra bumps into a girl and afterwards, hears an alarm in a nearby train station due the presence of a Flame Human. He readies himself to fight it, but his brigade arrives and eliminates the threat. Immediately after, he saves the brigades sister from a falling light and introduces himself to them. Later at the brigades headquarters, he formally meets all the members and explains his reason for joining. Afterwards, Akitaru takes his time to explain the brigades 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 destroyed factory, Shinra gets caught off guard and is knocked out by the Flame Human, but soon is woken up by Akitaru seconds later. With that, he overcomes his fear and resolves to fight. Launching himself at the being with his ignition ability, Shinra destroys her core and purifies the soul. Outside he overhears spectators cheering and is praised for his actions to his delight.

Akitaru later 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 brigade officer who saved him. Shinra bumps into Arthur, realizing that he's the new recruit, and instantly gets into a fight with him, which leads the two to the church roof. When Takehisa approaches the two, he orders Maki to fight the new recruits. Unable to use his ignition abilities against her, he is easily defeated and falls off the roof, but manages to survive the fall. When he makes it back to the roof, he unintentionally angers her and the two Third Generations have their flames absorbed into a giant fireball, which intimidates them into submission and makes Shinra want to become stronger.

Later, Akitaru treats Shinra and Arthur to some food at Ippudo Ramen while bonding. Back at the church's armory, Shinra is given a battleaxe to use by Takehisa. When the brigade is notified of a Flame Human, they depart 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. Their conversation is cut short when flames emerge from the apartment, leading the brigade to storm in, where they are welcomed by the conscious Flame Human. Arthur volunteers himself to kill the harmless threat, much to Shinra's confusion. After completing their objective, the building's ceiling begins to collapse, while Shinra watches on as Akitaru risks his life to save a family photograph for Mikako. Afterwards, he apologizes to the man for not being of any help during the mission.

Shinra and Arthur participates in the Fire Officer Newcomer Tournament, where they meet Tamaki. Later, Shinra finds the man from the 1st Brigade who he met previously and approaches him. After introducing himself, the officer ignores him and leaves. Shinra attempts to catch up to him, but accidentally gropes Tamaki in the process and gets slapped. He pleads for the man to listen, only for him to wonder if he's hiding something when the officer says he doesn't remember anything. When the competition begins, Shinra uses his ignition ability to fly into the building and inside, he discovers two unconscious officers and a stranger. After revealing he knew of Shinra's past and threatening to kill the injured officers, Shinra attacked him numerous times, only to be beaten. Realizing he's about to die, the stranger rewards him for his efforts and tells him Sho is still alive, baffling Shinra.

Shinra goes on to say that he can't believe such news, even though he thinks back to the moment he spoke with the 1st Brigade Battalion Commander and notices that he may be hiding something about what happened in that fire incident. Joker tries to lure Shinra into a darker mentality by saying he should become a "Devil" instead of a "Hero" at the Special Fire Brigade, but Shinra puts these matters aside and confronts Joker about the fact that he still injured the Fire Officers. He begins to assault Joker, but he easily blocks his attacks. Joker compliments him on his firepower and ability to change trajectory, and Shinra tries to finish him a flying-kick, only to hit debris instead as Joker dodged the attack. Tamaki and Arthur come into the scene, while Shinra tries to tell them that an intruder has appeared and to get the Commanders, they decided not to listen and thought of Joker as simply the fake Flame Human of the tournament. Both failing to capture or harm Joker, Shinra notices that he releases all of his Exploding Powder. Joker with a sadistic smile on his face tells Shinra to save everybody from the explosion if he wants to be a hero. Shinra looks in horror at the injured Fire Officers, as they can't move and are likely to be caught in the explosion. Joker leaves, calling Shinra a Devil and says he welcome to join the "Joker's Brigade" anytime. Shinra yells at Tamaki and Arthur to escape immediately Moments later, the powder explodes, igniting around the entire top area of the building, with them all still inside.

Trivia

 * is derived from the Japanese word, which, when translated, can mean either "all creation" or "all things in nature".