Who is Sumire in Fire Force? Explained

With the Fire Force anime gradually drawing near its conclusion, fans are referring to the manga for upcoming events and new character introductions in the anime. After taking a look, fans became intrigued by one character who was very briefly featured in season 1 of the anime series.

The character in question here is Sumire. While not much can be gathered about her based on the anime by the time this article is written, the manga does portray an elaborate picture of her. Intrigued by her character, fans have been asking only one question: "Who is Sumire in Fire Force?" To answer briefly, Sunire is the Seventh Pillar and a servant of the Evangelist.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Fire Force anime and manga.

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Sumire's role in Fire Force's story, explained

St. Raffles Convent burning as shown in the anime (Image via David Production)

While Sumire's initial introduction in the Fire Force series reflects her as an innocent side character, she is a significant character, leading to several key and pivotal moments in the series. Her major feature starts with the Return to St. Raffles arc in the manga.

Hibana, Karim, and Huo Yan Li were investigating the hidden library underneath St. Raffles. That was when Hibana discovered the orphanage she and Iris lived in as children, used the children to create third-generation pyrokinetics and turn them into Infernals.

Moments after, Sumire steps out from the shadows, congratulating Hibana on her discovery and boasting of her responsibility in creating the Eight Pillars by experimenting on pyrokinetics and doppelgängers. She also unveils Iris's doppelgänger status- Iris was Amatersu's doppelgänger. Since Amatersu was the First Pillar, she unveiled Iris' allegiance to the Evangelist.

Later during the Stone Pillar arc, Sumire runs into Sho as he was going to the Final Mass before the second Cataclysm, and immediately senses something different about him. When Sho flees, Haumea and Sumire reassure Charon not to worry, and since the activation of all the Eight Pillars, they were all connected to the Adolla and have nowhere to run.

It was not until the Post-Kusakabe History and Amaterasu arc that Sumire revealed her identity as one of the pillars and kick-started the Great Cataclysm once again, upon the White Clad gathering all the pillars together. After Company 8 refused to give up, Sumire appears in the Adolla, bewailing their hope, and recounts her past, leading her to serve the Evangelist.

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Is Sumire an antagonist? Explored

Sumire confronting Hibana in Fire Force (Image via Kodansha)

Whether Sumire truly is an antagonist is left unclear by the Fire Force series; however, her actions and intent throughout the series indicate that her being one. For over 200 years, Sumire was responsible for creating Infernals using innocent girls in the St. Raffles Convent in her quest to create the pillars. She is portrayed as a cynical, misanthropic woman who views humanity with despise.

Her belief in humans having no true free will of their own led her to become one of the Evangelist's servants and to carry out their bidding. While Sumire was posing as a nun, she showed a compassionate side when she barred Hibana from playing with her pyrokinetic abilities, which is a conflict in character given her initial role.

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Final thoughts

Being one of the Eight Pillars of the Fire Force series, Sumire plays a key role in the series, especially towards the side of the White Clad and the Evangelist, bringing forth the second Great Cataclysm.

While her role and significance towards the plot of the story are clear in the manga upon its conclusion in 2022, she is yet to feature in the anime, as the ongoing series progresses through its third season.

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