At first glance, Fire Punch seems aggressively mediocre, a standard, hyper-violent revenge plot set in a dystopic world. Yet as the manga progressed I began to notice something: I didn't want Agni to fight. Rather than reveling in its own extreme brutality, the manga forces you to sit and watch people kill one another in order to show you its true purpose. Agni isn't really searching for revenge, but rather for happiness. That journey is harrowing, horrifying, beautiful, tragic, heartwarming, and so many other things. It is a story that truly explores how difficult it can be to live with oneself and others yet ultimately, no matter what horrors and guilt may lie in the past, attempting to forgive and live is a far more difficult, and far more worthwhile goal.

If this review seemed a bit mushy I apologize, but Fire Punch is, at its core, an emotional experience and one that can not really be captured in a simple review. I highly recommend that you read it if you are willing to give it the respect and time that it truly deserves. It is one of the saddest artistic experiences I have read, but it is also strangely uplifting. Ultimately whether you consider it happy or sad, it was, to me, fulfilling. I hope you will find it to be the same.