Akitaru Ōbi

Akitaru Ōbi is the Battalion Commander of the 8th Special Fire Brigade and a former Firefighter.

Appearance
Akitaru has short, somewhat unruly dark hair with shaved sideburns and small 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 face shield, with three slots for sight and breathing, attached to it. While on missions, he carries the "Core Annihilating Pilebunker" on his right hand.

Personality
Akitaru is a brave individual, being able to face Flame Beings 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.

Plot
Akitaru, alongside the rest of the 8th Special Fire Brigade, arrived to save a train station from the Flame Being. Once there, the man ordered Shinra to get back and asked Iris to begin the prayers. He then moved in for an attack, but instead got a fireball sent at him, which was intercepted by Maki. Akitaru then striked the threat for the kill with the Core Annihilating Pilebunker, delivering the finishing blow. After the battle, when Shinra saves Iris and introduced himself to the group, he commented on the boy's "Demon's Footprints" to himself. When Shinra arrived at the 8th Special Fire Fighting Church, Akitaru formally met the boy, while working-out. He then looked at Shinra's resume picture, only to question the young man on his smile, to which Shinra replied that it is a natural face reaction. Akitaru glared at Shinra, causing him to grin, then burst out laughing, commending on how "cute" Shinra's smile was. After Iris and Maki arrived from their shower, Akitaru teased Shinra about him being aroused by the two ladies. Once everyone gathered together, he began explaining the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon. During the night, when the siren signaled a threat, Akitaru got into the Special Armored Fire Engine and moved out, encouraging Shinra to do his best.

Powers and Abilities
Akitaru has fit physique, which allows him to face Flame Beings without having ignition powers. In battle, he was seen using a Core Annihilating Pilebunker, with which he managed to defeat a threat with low difficulty.

Trivia

 * Akitaru wears a mask along with his bunker gear that greatly resembles that of Eibon's mask from the Soul Eater series.