Who is Tamaki's love interest in Fire Force? Explained

With several unique characters present in the Fire Force series, growing relationships are an expectation that can be made. Among the characters from the series, one of the most intriguing ones is Tamaki Kotatsu- a member of company 8 and a former member of company 1.

After getting intrigued by her personality and character representation, several fans have asked the question, "Who is Tamaki's love interest in Fire Force?" At the end of the manga, Tamaki and Takeru are seen together, and she also shows signs of affection towards Shinra earlier in the series.

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

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Tamaki and Juggernaut's relationship, explained

During episode 7 of the Fire Force anime series, titled The Investigation of the 1st Commences, while sparring against Rekka Hoshimiya, Takeru Noto, also known as Juggernaut, first notices Tamaki and is seen blushing. Later, after the Hoshimiya incident, when Tamaki joined the 8th, Shinra asked for her number, which flustered her.

Shinra shortly reveals that it was Juggernaut who wanted her number, showing the first signs of interest Juggernaut had in Tamaki. At that time, Tamaki did not show any real interest in Takeru, based on her reaction. Later, during the Operation Nether Investigating arc, companies 8 and 2 ran a joint investigation of the Netherworld, where Tamaki and Takeru met again.

During the Netherworld investigation, Tamaki's team was attacked by one of the White Clad's members, Orochi. While Takeru froze up with fear after their squad leader, Hajiki, was decapitated, Tamaki stepped up to defend and protect him. While her body was immune to getting cut, Orochi still overpowers Tamaki and pins her down with overwhelming speed and power.

Takeru, after seeing all this, pushes himself and knocks out Orochi, freeing Tamaki. He swears that he will protect Tamaki and avenge his other comrades killed by the White Clad. Tamaki watches in horror as the Juggernaut takes several powerful blows as he continues to battle. Takeru was able to crush Orochi underneath a bomb moments before it detonated, but lost his right hand and left leg in the process.

When Tamaki rushes to help Juggernaut by healing him and getting him out of the Netherworld, Takeru simply replies by asking her to leave him and get out. This is the first time Tamaki realised Takeru's feelings and decided to defend him against the newly appeared Infernals.

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Was Shinra ever Tamaki's love interest in Fire Force?

At the beginning of the Fire Force series, the relationship between Tamaki and Shinra was based on rivalry as members belonging to different companies. It also sometimes implied that Tamaki was jealous of Shinra getting attention from people she adored and looked up to. However, during the Rekka Hoshimiya incident, when Shinra came to save Tamaki, her feelings changed towards him.

As seen how Tamaki reacted when Shinra asked for her phone number, it can be concluded that Tamaki had grown feelings for Shinra at that stage of the series. However, the series did not explicitly explore that possibility, and due to Shinra not responding to those feelings, Tamaki's romantic interest in him gradually dies, and the angle between her and Takeru takes place.

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Final thoughts

While the Fire Force series does not explicitly say that Takeru and Tamaki ended up as a romantic couple, by the end of the series, they were seen going out on a date, leaving a cliffhanger for the possibility of one. While this article answers the question, "Who is Tamaki's love interest in Fire Force?" a deeper exploration of their relationship is yet to be seen.

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