Akitaru Obi

Akitaru is a well-built young man with short, somewhat unruly dark hair, with the sides of his head being shaven. Akitaru also has small dark brown 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.

Akitaru is a courageous individual, able to face Infernals and ability-users with courage. Despite lacking an Ignition Ability and fearing death, he believes that he cannot afford to flinch or hesitate because of his responsibility to his teammates. Akitaru greatly believes in justice. He doesn't tolerate evil-doers and is compelled to ensure that whoever is causing trouble in the world be stopped.[2] Having a highly ethical attitude, Akitaru has a very nonchalant perspective of things and isn't bothered by matters that would usually annoy the average commander.[3] Despite this, Akitaru can be angered by people who disrespect the feelings of the bereaved, even if they are his own subordinates, going so far as to assert that any who doesn't wish to comply to his sentiment having no place in his team. Akitaru views the cleansing of Infernals as an act of murder, even though it is required. As such, he feels that a fire soldier should always consider the feelings of those close to a victim of Spontaneous Human Combustion and minimize their suffering in any way possible. Despite being usually easygoing, he takes his role as captain earnestly and will also lose his temper if Company 8's hijinks go too far, sternly telling Hinawa if his outfit is too unprofessional and yelling at the younger members of the Company if they show a serious lack of respect for the chain of command.

He is commonly seen working out, doing pull-ups or lifting dumbbells at any opportunity, lifting weights during a meeting and doing pull-ups while having casual conversations. Though serious and strong-willed, he likes to joke around with subordinates. He is confident in himself and Company 8, telling Shinra that he'll be cheering for him in Rookie Fire Soldier Games[4] and praising him for acting heroically. 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 sees Akitaru as a humble and kind person and questioned whether he would ever get angry.[5] These traits mean that Akitaru is a very charismatic figure. Despite their differences or eccentricities, Company 8 is tremendously loyal to him. Even people in opposition to Company 8 acknowledge his ability and moral character. Captain Hibana privately notes that Akitaru has a good sense of judgment, despite insulting his lack of intelligence. The sadistic criminal Joker considers Akitaru to be a model firefighter for placing the lives of others before his own safety or social standing. An enraged Benimaru paused to observe Akitaru's bravery when confronted by a powerful enemy.

As a firefighter, Akitaru was recognized enough to be decorated twice, though both titles were revoked due to actions that prioritised saving citizens' lives, at the expense of defying orders.[6] This past experience allows him to effectively assess situations and calm his allies, be it in or out of the battlefield. As a normal person lacking ignition abilities, he is compelled to train just about all the time, leading him to sport a very fit physique, which allows him to face Infernals despite lacking abilities common with the other known Captains.[7] He is able and required to carry up to 30kg of equipment each time, just so that he is well-equipped on a mission to fight an Infernal.[5] After seeing that Ōbi is able to rip train tracks out of the ground and bend steel with his bare hands, Captain Giovanni expresses shock, finding Akitaru's strength to be insane. In battle, he is seen using different weapons depending on the situation, like the Core Annihilating Pile Bunker or a fire fighting ax, which he can veil in white steam and thrust at the opponent. His weapons appear to be designed in order to impale an Infernal's core with low difficulty. As a combatant, Ōbi strikes without hesitation, grabbing Infernals with his bare hands to hold them still despite them burning him. He will risk his life if it means creating an opening to exploit or to set up his plan. As a strategist, Akitaru is often creating battle plans on the spot, such as using train tracks as a ladder to gain the high ground or using fire extinguishing foam as smokescreen. He is willing to take massively damaging hits from powerful foes if it means getting within range, even allowing Benimaru to strike him with explosion after explosion so as to hit him.

Akitaru was originally a member of the Fire Defence Agency a group of regular firefighters who focus on fire prevention and also work with the Fire Force to minimize the damage of Infernal outbreaks. While helping civilians during the aftermath of two simultaneous combustions he noticed a woman asking members of the Fire Force to help put her husband to rest as he became an Infernal. The Fire Force told her that her husband wouldn't give them enough points so he was not a priority. As Hinawa observes the situation, Akitaru is angered at how the Fire Force has essentially gamified their profession, assigning a point system to the Infernals that determine which threats they address and how seriously they take them. They have no concern for the Infernal's surviving loved ones, who have to bear the knowledge that their former family and friends are enduring unimaginable pain.

Akitaru decides that he will help the women and while stealing a weapon is confronted by Hinawa who tells him he would like to help him. Ignoring the trouble they could into the two men put the Infernal to rest so the women and her husband can be at peace. Akitaru decides at that moment that he wants to start his own Company asking Hinawa to be his first recruit.

Akitaru's favorite food is chicken ramen, while his least favorite food is protein. His favorite music is Rock. Dogs are his favorite animals. Akitaru's favorite color is beige. His favorite type of people are those with a strong sense of justice. He respects his parents and the chief of the fire defense. The person he struggles with is Princess Hibana and he is afraid of Lieutenant Hinawa. His hobbies include collecting records, basketball and DIY home improvement (despite not being good at it) and his daily routine involves bodybuilding. His dream is to eradicate spontaneous human combustion from the world. His shoe size is 29cm and his eyesight is 1.5. Akitaru's favorite school subjects were Industrial arts (despite receiving bad grades) and history. He does not have a least favorite subject.