Cop-themed media is ubiquitous, but firefighter stories are far less common—maybe it’s the lack of “bad guys.” But here comes Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange, an anime that’s not only about dealing with fires and other hazards, but is actually a sequel to a popular 90s series. 

The original Firefighter! Daigo of Fire Company M by author Soda Masahito was a successful manga in Japan, running for an impressive 20 volumes. Over in the US, I remember seeing ads for the original Firefighter Daigo manga back in the 2000s, but it never really got any traction. My primary exposure to author Soda Masahito’s work has been through some of his shorter manga such as the schoolgirl rap battle series Change! and the MMA-themed Hanakaku. In both cases, they were clearly (and disappointingly) made to end early, so it’s interesting to see Soda return to the world of his biggest hit not named Capeta.

The sequel does not require prior knowledge of the first series—the only anime ever created for it is a decades-old film. Taking place many years after the first series, Firefighter Daigo: RiO follows three recent recruits as they go through the rigorous process of becoming rescuers and then beyond. The first is Toake Daigo, a taciturn wunderkind who has a preternatural knack for dealing with dangerous situations. The second is Onoda Shun, an intense guy who’s the exposition hype man, kind of a Vegeta, and a hardworking guy in his own right. The third is Nakamura Yuki, Shun’s former high school classmate, who possesses keen observation skills and a literal lifelong dedication to joining the fire department. As they go through their respective paths towards being full-fledged rescue workers, their links to one another run deeper than they realize.

Daigo and Shun are clearly meant to both parallel and contrast with the original duo from the first series, Asahina Daigo and Gomi Shunsuke. Asahina is the loud and brash one while Gomi is the serious kind, whereas their spiritual successors have “swapped” personalities. Yuki can come across as “Firefighter Daigo: Now with Girl,” but they develop her as a unique character and a worthy peer in her own right.

Firefighter Daigo: RiO is mainstream in a way few anime ever are. On top of the approachable subject matter (“firefighters saving people from danger and going through personal drama!”) and the lack of more otaku-oriented tropes, the series also aired during Japanese primetime hours. The result is that it has some of the highest TV ratings of winter 2024, just below the perennial favorites like Sazae-san and on par with the runaway hit that is Frieren. It feels almost tailor-made to do well, like it’d run alongside Law & Order.

Episodes typically highlight the extensive training and preparation of firefighters and rescue workers but also the reality that they can never anticipate everything—improvisation and a cool head under pressure are both necessary. No one embodies this spirit more perfectly than Toake Daigo himself—seemingly too perfectly, at first. He’ll do what others would never think of, and his peers can’t help but watch (and comment) in awe as he pulls off another miracle. But over time, it becomes clear that this intense dedication hides deeper wounds from his past, and that this seeming flawlessness is anything but. Rescuer in Orange does a great job of putting the human in superhuman, not least of which is because Daigo himself sees his peers as better than himself.

It’s a very normal show, until it isn’t. As Kate from Reverse Thieves points out, you think it’s just a normal human drama…and then you find out that the original Daigo has been traveling the world rescuing people like some kind of vigilante firefighter. On top of that, the original Shun has separately been building up a clandestine elite firefighting force to prepare for some impending mega disaster.

The only recurring issue that I think really detracts from the show is that the animation can get pretty sloppy, and a lot of each episode is taken up by a recap; a 22-minute show is more like 18.

Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange is very cool in a normal way. Its characters are compelling in a normal way. It feels so very conventional most of the time, but will occasionally throw a curveball that really shows how well constructed the series really is. It’s the kind of show that would make for a great gateway anime. I hope that it can accomplish this goal, not only for anime in general but for Soda Masahito’s other works.