▪	RELEASED BY:		VIZ MEDIA
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		MASAHITO SODA
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		224
		▪	RATING:		T
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		07/10/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		10/31/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN

With all of the images of brave firefighters tackling the horrifc blazes in California recently, we are reminded how this job can inspire people who want to make a difference in their community through the saving of lives under dangerous conditions.  Those images of heroic men and women saving lives have ‘fired’ the imagination of many writers and producers that several stories- good ones at that have been created in the media about these people and their lives.  As it is in North America, so it should be no surprise that others around the world share this fascination with the profession, and a manga about the exploits of one rookie firefighter named Daigo are now appearing on our bookshelves, courtesy of Viz Media and its cracking good yarn, FIREFIGHTER.

FIREFIGHTER! Volume 19 has picked up where the previous edition ended, with Daigo Asahina, rookie firefighter and hero of this story, worried about his high school teacher who is trapped in a fire in Sumatra.  Making off with some sophisticated firefighting equipment from his training program for an elite squad of rescuers in Japan, he is confronted by his captain and hero and given a good talking to about his motives before being sent on his way.  This rash action is bound to create trouble for Daigo, but once again, the captain and Daigo’s beleaguered friend Amakasu go to his aid, and Daigo is eventually let onto an aircraft out of the country with the elite fire squad hot on his tail.  (This scene, where Daigo stupidly tries to walk through airport security with his bazooka like IFEX and is pounced on by the guards is memorable.  Like, does this guy have any clue at all?)  Meanwhile, Amakasu, assessing Daigo’s determination to go against his complete ignorance of where he’s going or how he’s going to survive once he gets there compels him to buy a ticket and join the miscreant on the flight to Sumatra. 

While this little drama plays out, Ms. Ochiai, Daigo’s high school teacher and crush, leads her group through the burning forest to seek shelter.  It is only a matter of time before Daigo gets to Sumatra and starts following her trail into the heart of danger.  In the process, he crosses paths with a young man determined to steal Daigo’s equipment and use it to save his village, bureaucratic nonsense and of course the inferno itself.  Will he finally locate and rescue his teacher before they both get themselves killed? 

The answer, my friends, like embers alight is blowing in the windy wild final passages that end this dynamic edition in the story of Daigo Asahina, hothead and firefighter.

Masahito Soda, the creator of this manga, is a great storyteller, knowing all the right ways to sustain a narrative beat, develop characters quickly, and make a reader comfortably engaged in reading the story.  As in the previous volumes, the art work is well drawn and dramatic without being too showy.  The character designs themselves remain stereotypical according to type and gender, but there is nothing wrong in that when one considers the subject and its audience.  Pacing, powerful action and just enough spicy romance to top it off are the elements that readers are looking for in stories like these, and FIREFIGHTER delivers all of it in spades.

IN SUMMARY:
FIREFIGHTER! Volume 19 is one fast, fiery read.  It crackles and smokes with emotional intensity and riveting action from the first page to the last.  Daigo is a great character, and no doubt some younger readers are going to want to follow in this crazy guy’s footseps to become an ace firefighter.