Fire Punch Review

Fire Punch by Tatsuki Fujimoto is a manga that has an apocalyptic theme. At first, based on the summary of the manga, I thought this was going to be like One Punch Man. The cover reminded me of Saitama from the other popular manga/anime, and the word punch is in the name. I assumed with the cover of presumably our main character, that he was a hero that can gather fire around himself and when he punches, he incinerates anything in his path. I was right about one of those two assumptions. The rest quickly went out the window after the first few pages. Here is the summary of Fire Punch by Viz Media: 

"In FIRE PUNCH, orphaned siblings Agni and Luna, like the Ice Witch who cursed their world, are two of the “blessed,” humans who hold special abilities. However, not all who are blessed are friendly, and after another of their kind attacks Agni and decimates the orphans' village, Agni fights to survive, vowing revenge." 

Based on that summary, it seems like a regular redemption story. It is that, but it is so much more. It is a dark story and no wonder it is rated 18+. The powers that the "blessed" have in the series are interesting, to say the least. It reminds me of the Devil Fruit powers from One Piece, but instead of a person eating fruit to gain power, one is born "blessed." The people who are "blessed" seem to be either welcomed amongst their peers or turned away because of their powers, or there is not much food for any more mouths to feed. Agni and Luna are lucky. They found a village that accepted their powers and allowed them to use it for the betterment of the village. Along with the concept of powers, there is a theme that starts off with Agni. Each character, which I have noticed so far,  has displayed this theme and since this is a spoiler free review, I will not reveal the theme nor other parts of the story in this volume. Just know that this manga is not for the faint of heart. It tackles a lot of dark themes such as enslavement and abuse. With that being said, I do not recommend this manga for anyone under the age of 18. It can get graphic at times. 

Speaking of graphics, the art style that Fujimoto-san has drawn is amazing and captures each panel in a way that draws you towards each character. The eyes of the characters look sad and empty which adds to the hopelessness they feel during this icy apocalypse It's a bleak story, and so his style enhances the effect of a wintery wasteland that the Ice Witch decided to bestow upon the world.  

The first volume of Fire Punch came out January 16th and will be published in a quarterly basis. Please go out and buy this manga. Its a compelling story of passion and redemption and I cannot wait to read what happens to Agni next. 

Rating: Buy It Now

I really do like the manga, and if you like dark, gritty, some lighthearted humor, in an apocalyptic world, then Fire Punch is the manga for you. Again, it is not for the faint of heart, just to forewarn you. However, it's a story that I haven't read before in a long time that tackles the post-apocalyptic genre in a nuanced way. Please show your love for the series, for Viz and for Fujimoto-san. I promise you won't regret it.

Fire Punch Rules!!!!!