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Fantasy novels are set in worlds of the imaginary. Fictional characters embark on grand adventures that can determine the fate of their worlds. Fantasy novels aren’t fairy tales, but there are areas of overlap. Some fantasy novels, like the Fire Hunter series, might be considered fairy tales for adults.
The genre of fantasy has a reputation for being escapist: entertaining for its own sake, and not possessing any greater message or meaning. The fantasy reader audience is sometimes treated dismissively because of this. The general perception of readers of escapist fantasy is that they are imaginative children who never grew up.
Literary fiction is different. The reputation of literary fiction is stellar: it deals with fundamental aspects of the human condition and thus has broad appeal. Professors in universities can discuss literary fiction with a kind of earnestness and rigor that fantasy fiction rarely receives. Fantasy and science fiction are often shunted to the side of literary fiction as genre fiction not worth much study.
But this dismissal of fantasy fiction might not be fair, at least not in every case. The author of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien, once wrote:
Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it.1
The Lord of the Rings is a monumental work in the fantasy genre, respected even in the realm of literary fiction.
As a high school student, I fell behind academically. I immersed myself in science fiction novels as a way to escape from the prison-like feel of school and home. Looking back now, I realize that my career as a director reflects this personal history. I’ve created numerous anime series and movies that serve as a form of escapist fantasy. I agree with Tolkien’s words when it comes to escaping reality.
I do not think that people can live only in the world of the real all of the time without experiencing a form of madness. Visiting other worlds with imaginary characters in fictional settings is an essential part of being human. Telling stories, sharing them and losing ourselves in them is part of the human condition.
With all of this in mind, let the topic turn fully to the Fire Hunter series at last. The series is an authentic fantasy, and also very ambitious. Anyone who reads this book—even those who are not fans of fantasy—will immediately recognize its authenticity, so I won’t dwell on that. Instead, I will discuss what makes it ambitious.
Fantasy as a genre demands enormous creative energy from its authors. After all, fantasy deals with imaginary people in an imaginary world with its own imaginary history. For readers to truly experience this world as if they were residents of it, the creator must meticulously design every aspect from everyday life to the very structure of the world itself.
This means inventing clothing, food, housing, and vehicles that differ from those in the real world. It means laying out history, social and economic systems, governance structures, units of measurement (such as distance and weight) and language systems. All these elements require extensive world-building, and moreover, all of these must feel cohesive.
Naming everything new is a daunting task in itself. This is true not only in The Lord of the Rings, but also in other famous fantasy series such as Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series and C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.2
There is a saying that “in science fiction, describing the setting itself becomes the story.” This is a phrase I have used, in any case. Fantasy worlds are not the same as the real ones, but the settings of fantasy stories can be as vast and intricate as anything in the real world. Discovering and understanding these settings is itself a major source of enjoyment, but it also demands considerable effort from the reader. This is a defining characteristic of fantasy, setting it apart from the mass-produced isekai reincarnation stories that are currently popular.3
Both writers and readers are required to exercise their imagination to its fullest when engaging with fantasy. The very nature of the genre calls for this creative effort. The enormous labor involved in world building is daunting enough, but on top of that, it is essential to assign unique names to all elements in a way that feels consistent within the world itself. This, too, is a monumental task.
Words like “determination” or “perseverance” are not enough to describe the effort required. For example, the Elvish language created for The Lord of the Rings is famous for its pronunciation rules inspired by Celtic languages. Some dedicated authors even go so far as to construct entire fictional language systems. Tolkien himself was a professor of phonetics and linguistics. The work to create whole new languages is absolutely mind-boggling.
So why do some writers undertake such difficult endeavors? The reason is that the act of naming is not only the greatest challenge in creating fantasy, but also the greatest joy. There is nothing more enjoyable than using one’s imagination to build an entirely new world.
The act of naming is synonymous with constructing a world and, at the same time, exercising control over it. Giving names to characters makes the author their parent, or perhaps godparent; names of protagonists often carry special significance to their authors. The names in the Fire Hunter series were not assigned at random; most of them have some deeper meaning. Most names contain the kanji character meaning “fire.” There is also a unique convention of using number kanji to denote a character’s personality or role.
This naming system is an important element in building the world of the story. The origin of these unique names is also discussed within the narrative. In fantasy, names are not simply proper nouns; they symbolize the character’s role in the story and can even determine their fate. The rules of naming thus hold deep meaning, which is one of the unique appeals of fantasy literature. Unique naming also demonstrates that fantasy is, above all else, a “world of words.”
For this reason among others, adapting fantasy into visual media is challenging. This was one of the difficulties I faced as the scriptwriter for the anime adaptation of this work, but that is a topic for another time, so I will omit further discussion of that here.
It is common in fantasy worlds for there to be unique professions, much as there are unique names. The title of the series refers to such a profession. Fire Hunters don’t hunt literal fire, but fire fuel, which they harvest from Fire Fiends. Fire fuel is needed for daily life; it sustains industry and provides safe heat and light. Fire Hunters stalk and kill Fire Fiends, accompanied by their hunting dogs. They are like hunters in the real world, but they bring back different resources. They don’t make their livings by selling hides or meat, but by collecting blood that serves as fuel.
Fire Hunters are both revered and feared by ordinary people. They are welcome anywhere, but they are always treated as outsiders. They are important to the narrative and the world as a whole.
Readers of this work may have already identified what fire fuel and its collection symbolizes. It is symbolic of the great fire that destroyed the world. Fire is essential to human survival, but it is a double-edged sword. Fire is a tool or a weapon depending on who wields it. The complexities of fire are a part of this world, making it more than just an adventure tale. The Fire Hunter series are fantasy novels, but they make observations that can be applied to the real world.
Significantly, neither of the main characters are Fire Hunters themselves. Touko and Koushi are children, not hunters or warriors. In most fantasy novels, the protagonists are chosen because they have special abilities or status. Some fantasy novels are written as heroic epics about people of noble lineage. The Fire Hunter series takes a completely different approach.
Touko and Koushi aren’t particularly special. Koushi’s father was a Fire Hunter and he’s an intelligent boy, but he struggles with mundane problems. He’s not able to support his sickly younger sister on his own, and he unwittingly becomes a pawn in a wealthy man’s household. Touko is entirely ordinary; external circumstances force her to travel to the capital to return the belongings of a Fire Hunter who saved her life to his family.
Neither Touko nor Koushi act out of a desire for achievement or ambition. They are going with the flow of their respective destinies and remain ordinary children. The only thing they truly have in common is that they both have lost their parents. Koushi’s father sacrifices his life to save Touko, but the story does not include the romantic elements often found in fantasy. And why should it? Both characters are children.
The story doesn’t feature special powers or magic that are so common in anime and manga, either. Both children remain powerless until the very end. They must rely on people around them to protect and help them. They face formidable enemies while suffering wounds to their bodies and their souls.
Why does the author deliberately avoid the typical settings of fantasy and instead subject the protagonists to such harsh trials? I believe that the author has deep empathy for ordinary people living their everyday lives. That empathy taken together with the dual nature of fire is what makes the Fire Hunter series a unique work of fantasy.
Hinata Rieko, the author of this work, comes to this genre from a background in children’s literature. The Fire Hunter series broadens the scope of what is possible in a fantasy series, in part because of this background. Fantasy might have begun as escapism, but fantasy’s true power is its ability to illuminate the real world through a fictional lens.
That is the reason why I describe this work as both authentic and ambitious.
Whether the Fire Hunter series will continue to grow into a longer, more expansive story remains to be seen. I look forward to its sequels. Finding such an authentic and ambitious fantasy written in the Japanese language is rare.
Finally, I would like to say to readers: Please look forward to the anime adaptation of the Fire Hunter series.
Commentary by Oshii Mamoru 4
1 Quoted from Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Stories.”↩
2 Mamoru Oshii incorrectly describes The Lord of the Rings as a trilogy. It is in fact one single novel, split into six books and three parts. Tolkien himself notes this in two of the prefaces he wrote to The Lord of the Rings.↩
3 Mamoru Oshii has displayed considerable literary elitism in this essay. As a Master’s graduate in English, I can say that his opinions don’t reflect the majority opinion of literary scholars in English; literary scholarship in Japan may be different. To wit: isekai reincarnation stories are about protagonists that die or are transported to other worlds and live new lives there. Often, these other worlds are fantastical. Isekai reincarnation stories are fantasy fiction; there is no elitist distinction between isekai and other fantasy. Nothing prevents an isekai story from having good world building.↩
4 Oshii Mamoru is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of acclaimed anime films, including Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer, Angel’s Egg, Patlabor 2: The Movie, and Ghost in the Shell.↩
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