Fire Force Season 2 has been going strong even after facing delays due to the pandemic.
As the season progresses and the show dives deeper into the story, secrets are being revealed, and the truth is becoming more and more convoluted.
Joker is one of the most mysterious characters in Fire Force who is devoted to untangling that mess and finding out the actual truth.
However, despite being one of the major characters, we still have no significant clue about his affiliations, motivations, and goals. Is he evil? What is the reason behind him following Shinra?
In this article, I will talk about everything we know about Joker, as well as what we know of his goals.
By the end, judging from the bits and pieces of information available on him throughout the series, I will talk about his exact role in the series and whether he is evil. Let’s talk about who he really is first.
Joker is more of an anti-hero than an evil villain in the Fire Force. He is a Third Generation pyrokinetic that serves as Shinra’s guardian. After experiencing an Adolla Link and losing his left eye, he gained an intense desire to discover the world’s truth.
From then on, he relentlessly pursued his thirst for answers, disregarding all moral values.
Later on, he is seen to be quite charismatic, which is seen when he convinces Viktor to join forces with him.
Everything considered, Joker is a sadistic individual who enjoys hurting people and playing with their emotions while pursuing his goals.
1. Relation to Holy Sol Temple
After being abandoned as a child, Joker was raised by the Holy Sol’s Shadow, under the moniker of Five-Two.
During his time with them, he trained in combat and was soon appointed to liaison between the Temple’s secret and public organizations, along with Leonard Burns.
Once while hunting Infernals, both of them were forced into an Adolla Link and were transported to Adolla.
After returning, Joker came to believe that the church’s teachings were lies, and thus in the year 184, he defected and managed to escape from them.
Later on, he approached and teamed up with Viktor Licht to uncover the answers they were searching for.
However, in this pursuit of his, Joker has manipulated, killed, and harmed many, and in fact, he is now closely following our protagonist – Shinra.
2. Is Joker Evil?
Joker is a morally gray character who perfectly embodies the “end justifies the means” ideal.
He only cares about pursuing his goal and uses any and all means to do so.
He shares a resemblance with other famous characters such as Itachi Uchiha from Naruto, or Lelouch from Code Geass.
He is neither good nor evil as his actions depend on the factor that leads him closer to his objective.
To get a clear idea of his persona, let us take a look at his actions and motivations.
I. Motivation & Goal
Joker was a part of Holy Sol’s Shadow and had faith in their Gods.
However, after he experienced the Adolla Link and experienced the Adolla realm, he realized that his organization had been lying all along and that Adolla was a real place.
After this incident, he left Holy Sol’s Shadow, abandoned his faith, and came to see the world as a terrible place.
This revelation caused him to become cynical of everything and everyone around him.
He then assumed the moniker of Joker and put his entire being into the pursuit of truth.
This is also the main reason why he’s following Shinra.
He wants the latter to become a “Devil” and help him uncover the truth that is hidden by the Special Fire Force.
II. Appearances & Actions
The first official appearance of Joker was when he intruded on the Rookie Fire Soldier Games, assaulted two brigade members, taunted our protagonist, and threatened to kill him.
While obviously, his first impression wasn’t very gentlemanly, his second one somehow managed to make it worse.
After the conference with the captains, he waits for Shinra to be alone, and then greets him in the middle of an alley.
To push Shinra in the right direction and confirm his theories, he then proceeds to tell him about Sho Kusakabe and his alliance with the Evangelist.
Now before the poor guy can overcome his shock and question him about it, the Joker leaves.
The next time he appears, unlike the previous times, he actually does some good and intercepts Sho’s attack on Shinra and the others by using his card.
However, based on his past actions, we can conclude that he did not do that out of the goodness of his heart but because of Shinra’s value towards fulfilling his goal.
3. Joker the Anti-Hero?
When Joker approaches Benimaru to inform him of the dangerous information involving The Holy Sol Temple, he introduces himself as the anti-hero.
While he is a self-proclaimed one at this point, it can easily be true.
While not the protagonist, his unorthodox methods and character flaws, accompanied by his desire to search for the truth, make him a suitable anti-hero in the running.
4. About Fire Force
In a world combating the Spontaneous Human Combustion phenomenon, there emerges the Fire Force company to protect its people and guide the lost ones.
This phenomenon causes people to combust in flames and become a creature of fire called Infernals.
The anime follows Shinra Kusakabe, nicknamed as the ‘Devil’s Footprints,’ who is haunted by his past.
He joins Company 8 of the Fire Force in hopes of unlocking its mystery and, in turn, gets involved in deconstructing the grand conspiracy of his world.
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