Summary
Quick Links
Sister Iris has always been the kindand loving sister at the Special Fire Force Company 8 squad. Her kindness and ever-devoted personality make her easygoing yet unfazed in battle, believing in her comrades' strength as they battle the Infernals. However, there was more to Sister Iris than previously thought.
DuringFire Force, an eerily similar version of Sister Iris will appear before Shinra, her madness palpable with the ability to sway him. Throughout the series, the truth of Sister Iris’s identity and Amaterasu, the mysterious woman seen through the Adolla Link will be revealed. So, who really is Sister Iris, and is there more to her background than previously known?
13 - 20
Episodes
5 - 7
Iris is a Special Fire Force Company 8 member and works as a Sister who originated fromthe Holy Sol Temple. Within Company 8, Sister Iris works to perform rituals and give prayer to Infernals, assisting the team in helping them pass on peacefully as they are destroyed. Sister Iris is devoted to her faith and the Holy Sol Temple. This is because when she was younger, she belonged to the St. Raffles Convent, a church of aspiring nuns that served as a refuge for orphaned children. When Sister Iris and Hibana belonged to the convent, it comprised young girls, all named after flowers.
Unfortunately, after some time, the church was set ablaze with all the children in it, with only Sister Iris and Hibana surviving the fire. Soon after, Sister Iris continued serving the Holy Sol Temple, whileHibana left the churchdue to her suspicions. After some time, Sister Iris joined the Special Fire Force Company 8 as a nun and accompanied the Force whilst on missions.
Sister Iris plays a pivotal role within theSpecial Fire Force Company 8as a woman of the cloth. In the series, a sister or priest from the Holy Sol Temple is required to be present at the extermination of an Infernal. This is because it is widely believed that when Infernals are killed with prayer, they can pass on more peacefully and return to the great flame. Although Sister Iris has no combat training, she takes her role seriously and does not hesitate to give prayer or cleanse herself after a ritual.
The Truth of Sister Iris’s Identity
A Doppelganger of Amaterasu, Sister Iris’s Presence is no Mistake
Though it was thought everything that could be known about Sister Iris had already been revealed during Hibana’s story arc, in which it was revealed they were both orphaned and grew up within the convent, questions of Iris’s identity come into play during the Vs. Special Fire Force Company 4 arc.
Previously, while Company 8 had been in the Netherworld, Shinra had seen a woman who looked eerily similar to Sister Iris. During an interaction with Captain Hague, Shinra experienced another Adolla Link in which he saw the woman, but this time, she was filled with madness and exhibited a manipulative personality. At the time, it was yet to be known who this mysterious woman was; however, it was soon learned that she was Amaterasu.
Amaterasu is the individual who survived the Great Cataclysm and possesses anIgnition abilityalong with the Adolla Burst. When Amaterasu was found, she was quickly placed into a container and thus used as a generator, powering the entirety of Tokyo. During the construction of the generator, Amaterasu could be heard begging for help within the container; however, per Raffles' order, the Joseph family declined to help her but instead created a key that would be hidden away and passed on to later descendants that could open the container.
What is the Significance of Amaterasu?
As Amaterasu has the abilities of the Adolla Burst, a flame that originates from Adolla or Hell, as mentioned above,Amaterasuwas used as a generator that powered Tokyo. For 250 years, Amaterasu has hated humanity, which spiraled her into madness. Amaterasu is also the First Pillar and embodies the madness, the negative emotion in humans.
The Eighth and final Pillar has yet to realize what she is. She is… The Doppelganger of the First Pillar, Amaterasu.
It was during the Return to St. Raffles arc in Chapter 200 in which Hibana learns that Sister Iris is, in fact, the Eight Pillar, although she had yet to realize it herself. It was also in this chapter that Sister Iris is revealed to be the Doppelganger of the First Pillar Amaterasu.
As all Doppelgangers within Adolla, this brings to question how Sister Iris was brought to the other side. At the St. Raffles Convent, it was learnt that Sumire, a nun from the convent, had been conducting multiple Doppelganger experiments for hundreds of years, and Sister Iris was a success. To accomplish this, Sister Sumire mixed Adolla Bugs into the meals of the orphaned children. The fire that killed theorphaned childrenduring the time Hibana and Sister Iris had been at the church was due to Sister Sumire’s Doppelganger experiments.
Sister Iris has awakened as the Eight Pillar… If I have her devotion and prayer on my side, then I know I can do this!!
Adolla Bugs come from Adolla. If a human is bitten by one, it triggers Spontaneous Human Combustion, causing the human to merge with their Adolla counterpart or Doppelganger. Survivors of this merging process become Third Generation pyrokinetics. DuringObi’s Rescue arc, Sister Iris began exhibiting the ability to use Third Generation pyrokinetics; however, she was unsure of this ability, as she had never shown any pyrokinetic powers before. During the Stone Pillar arc, Sister Iris’s ability began to emerge.
After the battle with Haumea andShinra chose to recreate the world anew, Amaterasu decided to fade away with the Despair, thus choosing death. As her doppelganger, Sister Iris offered to be the one who disappeared, as she believed herself to be the “fake.” However, Amaterasu was against this, as she knew Sister Iris was only saying it out of the kindness she was created with. Soon after, Amaterasu admits that Sister Iris is the person she has always wanted to become as Iris is revived.
Fire Force
Cast
David Production’s Fire Force is an action fantasy anime based on Atsushi Ohkubo’s manga, which ran from 2015 to 2022. Set in an alternate version of Earth where spontaneous human combustion is a regular tragedy, the story follows Special Fire Force Company 8 as they take on cases and investigate the cause behind these transformations.
