is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Masahito Soda. It was serialized in

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Sunday is a weekly manga magazine published in Japan by Shogakukan since March 1959. Contrary to its title, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' issues are released on Wednesdays. ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' has sold over 1.8billion copies since 1986, making it ...

'' from September 1995 to June 1999, with its chapters collected in 20 ''

tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...

'' volumes. The manga has been licensed in North America by

Viz Media Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...

. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

film produced by Sunrise was released in July 1999. A

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

adaptation was broadcast on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

in 2004. A manga sequel, titled '' Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange'', started in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's ''

Monthly Shōnen Magazine is a monthly shōnen manga magazine published in Japan by Kodansha. It was launched in 1964 under the name . In 1969 it was retitled as and its publication frequency increased from quarterly to monthly. After suspension in 1974 it started ...

'' in October 2020. In 1996, ''Daigo of Fire Company M'' won the 42nd

Shogakukan Manga Award The is one of Japan's major manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...

in the ''shōnen'' category. By December 2022, the manga had over 14 million copies in circulation.

Plot

As a child, Daigo Asahina's life was saved by a fireman. He grew up and never forgot the brave, nameless man who rescued and inspired him to become a firefighter himself. Now as a firefighter in training at Medaka-Ga-Hama Fire Station in Sengoku City, Daigo must grow up quickly, learn the ropes, and find out if he truly has what it takes to become a heroic fireman.

Characters

; : :An 18-year-old young man who thinks he knows everything about firefighting. ; : :The captain of Fire Company M whose easy-going attitude is initially off-putting to the overzealous Daigo. ; : :Daigo's high school teacher who continues to offer encouragement even though he is no longer her student. She treats him as though he is her little brother, though Daigo has feelings for her. ; : :Daigo's serious-minded rival at Kujiradai Fire Station, one of the busiest stations in the area.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Masahito Soda, ''Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M'' was serialized in

's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

'' from September 6, 1995, to June 16, 1999. Shogakukan collected its chapters in twenty ''

'' volumes, released from January 18, 1996, to August 7, 1999. Shogakukan republished the series into eleven '' bunkoban'' volumes from October 4, 2005, to May 13, 2006. In North America,

licensed the manga for English language release. The twenty volumes were released from December 10, 2002, to November 13, 2007. In December 2013, Viz Media published the series digitally on their platform. A sequel, titled '' Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange'', started in

's ''

'' on October 6, 2020.

Volumes

Anime film

film produced by Sunrise premiered on July 27, 1999.

Drama

A 11-episode

Japanese television drama , also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Format All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...

was broadcast on

from January 6 to March 16, 2004.

Reception

By December 2022, the manga had over 14 million copies in circulation. ''Daigo of Fire Company M'' won the 42nd

in the '' shōnen'' category in 1996. The manga was awarded an Excellence Award in the Manga Division at the 2nd Japan Media Arts Festival in 1998.

References

External links

* * {{Sunrise films 1995 manga 1999 anime films 1999 films 2004 Japanese television series debuts 2004 Japanese television series endings Drama anime and manga Films about firefighting Fuji Television dramas Shogakukan franchises Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Sunrise (company) Television series about firefighting Thriller anime and manga Viz Media manga Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga