Takehisa Hinawa

is a Second Generation Company lieutenant of the Special Fire Force Company 8.

Appearance
Hinawa is a young man with a short crop of brown hair, with bangs that hang just above his brown eyes, and dons glasses. He wears bunker gear, which consists of a dark tank top, buckled at the waist with a belt, which presses a middle part that's strapped to his shoulders, and trousers. Those are later topped by a protective outer jacket, the buttons of which are in the shape of cross-like symbols, and a helmet. Hinawa also wears a neck protector, protective gloves and dark boots. Parts of his outfit are coated with blue lines. On the battlefield, Hinawa is seen carrying a plethora of different artillery. Other than this attire, he also wears an orange jumpsuit, dark shoes and a cap. As the story progresses, his various hats showcase outlandish designs. Hinawa's outfits contain patches with "8" on them, which signify his affiliation to the 8th Special Fire Brigade.

Personality
Hinawa is almost always seen with a stern look on his face, giving him an intimidating appearance. He is a very serious individual and doesn't like wasting time by joking around; never beating around the bush. As such, all but Akitaru quickly becomes genuinely scared of him and avoids being around him off-work, unless absolutely necessary. He has shown to possess strong leadership qualities, observing and understanding situations almost immediately and coming up with a plan. Hinawa is calm and resourceful, not bothered by Akitaru's antics, telling him to rather focus on the task at hand. He is deductive, as he determined that Shinra joined the brigade in order to make-up for his past mistakes. When on the battlefield, he was shown to be rather rough, but also caring. He is also rather close to Maki and often scolds her for playing with flames, though he is rather strict with his other teammates as well. Hinawa himself has stated that he does not have the virtue to forgive evil-doers.

While the pair served in the military, Hinawa noted that Maki had an exceptional work ethic, but felt that her kind nature would be her downfall and would render her dedication meaningless. This assessment highlights that, in spite of his bluntness and stoicism, Hinawa does care for his allies. Despite his surprising perceptiveness regarding the people around him, Hinawa does not think highly of himself, and was actually confused as to what his friend Tōjō meant, when the latter pointed out his criticisms were founded on compassion, instead of callous logic. While Hinawa has maintained his serious and somewhat antagonistic personality over the years, he has expressed a willingness to help his allies and always has their best interests in his mind. For example, when Shinra was troubled by an encounter with Joker, Hinawa informed him that he would always be there to help sure with any issues he had. Furthermore during his battle with Arrow, Hinawa felt that his life was meaningless and nobody should care whether he lived or died because he was willing to throw his life away if the situation called for it. However, Hinawa's concern is that his death would negatively impact his subordinate's well being served as his motivation to survive. Taking extreme measures to achieve victory that left him incapacitated, and showcasing defiance when other members of the White-Clads confronted him while he was powerless to stop them.

Background
Before joining the Fire Brigade, Hinawa was a Seargent in the Armed Forces, being Maki's direct supervisor. During this time he was a colder and more detached man. When talking with his friend Tojo he scoffs at seeing young Maki, the daughter of a General. He tells Tojo she's too soft and kind to make a proper soldier and only got in because of her father. When his friend Tojo admits to having some reverence for the Church of Sol and its rituals, Hinawa tells him he doesn't believe in God and sees no use in ritual. One night while reading in their room Tojo combust and becomes an Infernal. While conscious, Tojo begs Hinawa to shoot him and put him out of misery, Hinawa points the gun at him and can't get himself to pull the trigger, thinking about what his friend said about baptized guns. All of a sudden a bunch of soldiers come in and begin shooting Tojo, killing him.

Hinawa is distraught by this and takes Tojo's gun to remember him. As he is walking through town and is observing the aftermath of two simultaneous Infernal combustions. He notices Akitaru arguing with the Fire Force about how they designate a point system to infernals with no regard for the Infernal's surviving loved ones. He decides to join Akitaru in helping a woman whose husband turned into an Infernal. Ignoring the trouble they could into the two men go to where the Infernal is, Akitaru asks Hinawa to start the chant but Hinawa interjects, thinking of his friend and not being able to pull the trigger, he asks to be the one to do it. Hinawa then uses his friend's gun to put the infernal to rest. Akitaru then decides at that moment that he wants to start his own Company asking Hinawa to be his first recruit, Hinawa then recommends that he ask Maki to join.

Abilities
Hinawa is a Second Generation who has awakened the ability to manipulate flames through the use of firearms, such as a submachine gun or a pistol, which he wields on the battlefield. Hinawa's ability allows him to control the force of ignition of the propellant inside the cartridges, thus adjusting the force of the impact as he sees fit depending on the situation. He possesses a variety of derivative abilities due to his precise control of the projectiles he fires, including the ability to make live ammunition non-lethal. With "Trajectory Control", Hinawa can manipulate the trajectory of his bullets, which allows him to shoot his targets from any given angle and from longer distances, and with "Bullet Speed Control" he can accelerate said bullets, leaving behind a trail of fire. With "Ricochet Control", Hinawa can force his bullets to rebound, bounce or skip off a surface, increasing their velocity. Hinawa is also equipped with a Special Fire Extinguishing Bullet, which allows him to subdue and slow down an Infernal's movements with relative ease.

As a member of the force, who had once served in the military, and a 'demon trainer' that both Shinra and Arthur has gotten very afraid of, it is suggested that he is very physically fit as well and is amply formidable in terms of hand-to-hand combat, although this is rarely showcased as he fights almost exclusively at long range.

Introduction arc
Hinawa, alongside the rest of the Special Fire Force Company 8, arrives to save a train station from an Infernal. Once there, Hinawa uses the Special Fire Extinguishing Bullet to distract the threat, giving Akitaru the chance to strike it with his weapon. Later, he greets Shinra when he arrives at the headquarters and questions the boy's motives, after he reveals his ambition to become a hero. Hinawa is present in a meeting, during which Akitaru delivers a speech about the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon. Later that night, the brigade moves out to a factory where they encounter Saeko, who is defeated by Shinra, after which Hinawa subtly shows how proud he is of the new recruit by putting a helmet on his head.

When Arthur and Shinra cause a ruckus on the church's roof, Hinawa arrives to see who's behind it. He sees Maki's flame creature and puts it out, then scolds the girl. Hinawa formally meets Arthur, informs him about the upcoming competition, and orders Maki to fight the two Third Generations, revealing that both he and Maki are former soldiers. After the battle between the three Fire Soldiers, Hinawa uses a fire extinguisher to put out Maki's gigantic fireball creature, much to the girl's dismay. Later, he gives a Seven-Style Fire Fighting Battleaxe to Shinra and moves out to the Iriya District with the rest of his team-mates. After their arrival, Hinawa looks upon a gigantic flame, coming from t apartment, thinking it to be Maki's doing. The whole brigade then storms into the room, where they spot Mikako's father. When Arthur impales the man with his weapon, the building's roof starts to collapse, but the team manages to escape. Hinawa is present during the Rookie Fire Soldier Games, where he helps out with rescuing Arthur, using a blanket to soften his fall.

The next day, Hinawa reports the composition results of the substance Joker used at the tournament to Akitaru. He moves out with his team-mates to dispose of Setsuo Miyamoto. From inside the Matchbox, Hinawa scolds Shinra and Arthur for wandering off. He then tells the two to move on ahead, while the rest of the brigade will catch up to them at the scene. When the Infernal surrenders in hopes of having his life spared, Hinawa shoots him, refusing to forgive the man. This act, however, provides Setsuo with an opportunity to escape. Hinawa assures Shinra that the threat has to be taken care of without prejudice. When the brigade catches up to Shinra, Hinawa and the rest find themselves in a confrontation with the Special Fire Force Company 5. As Tōru mocks Akitaru, Shinra and Arthur jump in, but Hinawa and Maki detain the two, after which a stand-off between the brigades then catalyzed, but the two depart without any signs of struggle.

VS. 5th Special Fire Brigade arc
The next day, Hinawa is approached by Shinra, whom he shoots with his pistol, demonstrating his ability that allows him to make his bullets non-lethal, doing it as a reminder that the 8th Brigade will be facing people with unique abilities later on, not just regular Infernals. Afterwards, Hinawa begins training the Fire Soldiers on the roof and informs Shinra of Hibana's past. Later, when the 8th Special Fire Brigade infiltrates the Special Fire Force Combine 5, Hinawa finds himself in a fight against Tōru, making quick work of him with his Ricochet Control while being protected from his Backdraft Bubblish Gum by Maki. Afterwards, the 5th Angels Three confront them and use their Ignition Ability to attempt to take the pair down, but Hinawa prevails with by using his firearms to take out all of the Angels, alongside Maki's help. Hinawa suggests to search for the documents that the 5th may be hiding about the phenomenon, and the two set off.

VS. 1st Special Fire Brigade arc
Hinawa attends the 1st Special Fire Fighting Cathedral alongside Hibana in order to check in on Shinra and Arthur's progress of gathering information on the culprit, who has been artificially creating Infernals in the Shinjuku District, which is under the jurisdiction of the Special Fire Force Company 1.

Netherworld arc
Separated from his team, Hinawa wanders the Nethers trying to find them only to end up attacked by Arrow and engaging in a long distance fight with her. Arrow quickly presses on Hinawa with her explosive arrows with him being unable to counter due to her hiding in the dark. Moreover, the tunnel bus Hinawa was in locks (by Arrow's allies) preventing him from escaping. pressed by the fog and Arrow's attacks, he starts a counter attack with his shot guns using his abilities to maximize his shots' explosive power which, while making his shots power on par with Arrow, destroys his shot gun after one use, leading him to use multiple shot guns he had and wounding Arrow in the process (his shots power engulfing the whole tunnel). With both their powers running low, Hinawa close to passing out, and nearing a stalemate, both of them fire one last shot, only for Hinawa to use his ability again, transferring the fire power from Arrow's shot upon close contact between the two shots to his, ultimately winning the battle and taking down Arrow.

Special Fire Force Company 4 arc
Hinawa appears in this arc.

Fifth Pillar arc
Hinawa appears in this arc.

Chinese Peninsula arc
Hinawa appears in this arc.

Haijima Industries arc
Hinawa appears in this arc.

Ōbi's Rescue arc
Learning that Akitaru was arrested by Tokyo Army, and that they were in league with the White-Clad, Hinawa and his brigade decide to rescue him at the cost of being branded traitors to the empire. Viktor takes the brigade to Joker, leading to the criminal taking the fire soldiers to his underground secret base.

Post-Arthur's Adventure arc
Hinawa appears in this arc.

Trivia

 * Hinawa was the first person recruited by Akitaru Ōbi when he started the 8th Company.
 * According to his Character Profile in Sparks of Truth (the English edition as printed in The Flowers of Edo):
 * Hinawa's favorite food is sushi, whereas his least favored food is anything eaten with alongside somebody with bad manners,
 * Hinawa's  favorite genre of music is Jazz,
 * Dogs are Hinawa's favorite animals,
 * He prefers colors with Earth Tones, such as green
 * He prefers calm people,
 * He respects both Captain Ōbi and Tōjō . While he struggles with Princess Hibana, Hinawa doesn't fear anyone in particular,
 * His hobbies include hiking and camping, while his daily routine involves firearms maintenance and being convinced by store employees to buy overstocked clothing items,
 * Hinawa's shoe size is 27.5cm and while his eyesight is 1.5 he suffers a strong astigmatism that demands the use of glasses.
 * Hinawa enjoys all academic subjects but has a particular talent for Math.
 * Hinawa's age was initially listed 25 in his original character profile, however Atsushi Ohkubo has stated at Hinawa is in fact 28 years old in the Afterword of Volume 6. This mistake was corrected in the English version of his profile.
 * Various Volume Extras reveal that Hinawa is feared by various members of Company 8 including; Maki, Shinra and Akitaru. This is in spite of Hinawa also being listed as having strong bonds with the majority of these characters and Akitaru outranking him.
 * Hinawa was ranked 9th in the Character Popularity Poll.

Site Navigation
Takehisa Hinawa