Akitaru Ōbi

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

Appearance
Akitaru is a young man with short, somewhat unruly dark hair, with the sides of his head being shaven. Akitaru also has small dark eyes. He is seen wearing bunker gear, which consists of a black tank top, buckled at the waist with a belt, which presses a middle part that's strapped to his shoulders, and dark pants. Those are later topped by a protective jacket, trousers and a helmet, which has a metal face-shield attached to it. Parts of his outfit, just like with other Special Fire Brigade members, are coated with blue lines. Akitaru wears a jumper underneath his protective jacket with a hood. He also wears a neck protector, protective gloves and black boots. When on the battlefield, Akitaru carries a plethora of different weapons. The buttons of his protective jacket are in the shape of cross-like symbols. When not attending missions, Akitaru wears a grey jumpsuit. His outfits contain patches with "8" on them, to signify his affiliation to the 8th Special Fire Brigade.

Personality
Akitaru is a courageous individual, being able to face Flame Humans without fear, despite having no Ignition Ability. He is commonly seen working out, doing pull-ups or lifting dumbbells, as evident with him lifting weights during a meeting and doing pull-ups while having a casual conversation with Shinra. Though serious and strong-willed, he likes to joke around and point out the obvious to a humuorous effect, as shown when he stated Shinra was turned on by the girls since he had gone to training school for a long time with boys only. He is confident in himself and 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 Rookie Fire Soldier Games. 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. Shinra thinks of Akitaru as a humble person, and questioned whether he ever got mad or not as he seemed so calm. Akitaru greatly believes in justice. He doesn't tolerate evil-doers, and finds it very significant to himself that whoever is causing trouble in the world that they should be stopped. Having a highly-ethical attitude, Akitaru has a very nonchalant perspective on things, and isn't bothered by matters that would usually annoy the average person.

Abilities
Akitaru has a fit physique, which allows him to face Flame Humans, despite not having ignition abilities like most other known Battalion Commanders. In battle, he is seen using different weapons, suitable for the situation, like the Core Annihilating Pile Bunker or a fire fighting axe, which he can veil in white steam and thrust at the opponent. His weapons appear to be designed in order to impale a Flame Human's core with low difficulty. He is able to carry up to 30kg of equipment each time he is on a mission to fight a Flame Human. As a fire fighter, Akitaru was recognized enough to be decorated twice, though both were revoked due to actions prioritising saving citizens lives at the expense of defying orders.

Introduction arc
Akitaru, alongside the rest of the 8th Special Fire Brigade, arrives to save a train station from a Flame Human. Once there, the man asks Iris to begin the prayers. He then moves in for an attack, and, with the help of Takehisa and Maki, impales the being's core, using his weapon. After the battle, Akitaru witnesses Shinra saving Iris from a falling light and comments on the boy's footprints. When Shinra arrives at the headquarters, Akitaru greets him and looks at the boy's resume picture. Akitaru then glares at Shinra, causing him to grin, then bursts out laughing, and later teases the boy when he becomes aroused by Iris and Maki. He delivers a speech about the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon, quoting the abilities of each team-mate. Later that night, a siren notifies the brigade of an accident in a nearby factory, causing Akitaru to move out with the rest of the brigade. While riding the Matchbox, he encourages Shinra to do his best on his first official mission.

When the brigade arrives at the scene, Akitaru fills the brigade in, regarding the situation at hand. With his comrades, Akitaru fights the Flame Human, using Maki's abilities to keep himself from getting burnt and using a fire fighting axe, but to no avail. He later witnesses Shinra defeating the threat with a blazing kick. After the mission, he is seen proud of the Fire Soldier and was happy to see him with a happy 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 Boyle. While the rest of the brigade hangs out on the roof, Akitaru, lifting weights in privacy, wonders why is it 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, where the three strengthen their friendship. Back at the church's armory, the man complains that the brigade doesn't have a stoker in their ranks, who would help with the maintenance. When the team is notified of a Flame Human, spotted in Iriya District, thy depart to the scene. While on route, Akitaru instructs Shinra and Arthur to conceal their weapons in public. Upon arrival, Akitaru pulls the two aside for disobeying his orders and explains his reasoning. Straight after, a burst of flames emerges from the apartment, cutting their conversation short. 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. Immediately after, the roof starts to collapse, which forces Akitaru to jump in and save a family picture for Mikako, as a precious memento. Outside, he delivers the framed picture to the girl. Shinra apologises 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.

Akitaru is later present during the Rookie Fire Soldier Games, observing the event alongside his team-mates, where he questions the actions of the 2nd Special Fire Brigade's newest recruit. When Arthur starts falling to his death, Akitaru, alongside his team-mates, softens the boy's fall with a blanket. He then pats Shinra on the back for the job well done. The next day at headquarters, Akitaru explains to Shinra how and why the 8th Brigade was founded and tells him that the other Special Fire Brigades are hiding something on their own end. He then learns more about the substance Joker was using from Takehisa, finding out it was actually the ashes of Flame Humans being used, which infuriated the man. Akitaru later moves out with his team-mates to dispose of Setsuo Miyamoto, an ex-convict who turned into a Flame Human in the courthouse, where Takehisa assures him and Shinra that the threat has to be taken care of without prejudice.

When the 8th Brigade catches up to Shinra, who went ahead after Setsuo fled from the scene, Akitaru and the rest find themselves in a confrontation against the 5th Special Fire Brigade. When Akitaru is mocked by a member from the 5th Brigade for not having fire manipulation abilities, his team-mates defend him, to which Akitaru responded pleasantly with gratitude. As Hibana cunningly questions his presence within the Special Fire Brigade, Akitaru stands amongst his brigade with pride, claiming the flames of his squad will never die out; causing tension between the two brigades.

VS. 5th Special Fire Brigade arc
The next day, Akitaru talks to Shinra about the situation with the 5th, claiming something strange is going on involving them, and therefore the 8th will investigate them even if it means creating open conflict. All the while, Shinra looks at him strangely, as he's balancing on a balance ball, amongst balancing many other unnecessary objects on his body humorously.

VS. 1st Special Fire Brigade arc
Back at the Church, Akitaru finds himself stuck with figuring out a plan for investigating the 1st Special Fire Brigade. While he tries to think in peace, the other 8th members and Hibana unintentionally irritate him by their silly antics. Akitaru becomes so enraged that he decides to make Shinra and Arthur leave the 8th Brigade, so that they can register for the newcomer training that the 1st hold at their headquarters, but secretly infiltrate the brigade to gather secrets.

Some time passes, and Shinra nor Arthur have reported back at the 8th, worrying Akitaru, so he sends Takehisa to check on them. During this time, Akitaru and Hibana do some independent investigating, and solve the cause of the artificial Flame Humans, the Bug.

Trivia

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