Sister Iris: The Shocking Truth Behind Amaterasu

Summary

Sister Iris, member of Special Fire Force Company 8, is revealed to be the Doppelganger of the First Pillar, Amaterasu.
Iris’s identity and background are intertwined with experiments involving Adolla Bugs linked to pyrokinetic powers.
A significant revelation occurs during the Stone Pillar arc, showing the deeper connection between Sister Iris and Amaterasu.

In essence, Sister Iris, a member of Special Fire Force Company 8’s squad, has consistently embodied kindness and affection. Her gentle demeanor, coupled with her unwavering dedication, makes her both approachable and resolute in combat. She places faith in the strength of her fellow fighters as they engage the Infernals. However, it seems there is a depth to Sister Iris that was not initially apparent.

In my fervor for Fire Force, I found myself captivated by a character strikingly reminiscent of Sister Iryss – her insanity radiating like an invisible aura, threatening to pull Shinra into her abyss. As the story unfolds, we’ll uncover the enigmatic truth behind Sister Iryss and Amaterasu, the elusive woman glimpsed through the Adolla Link. With each revelation, I find myself asking: Who is truly Sister Iryss, and what hidden depths lie buried in her past?

Who is Sister Iris?

A Devote Nun of Company 8 with Secrets Yet to be Known

Arc	Vs. Special Fire Force Company 5
Chapters	13 – 20
Episodes	5 – 7

Iris is part of Special Fire Force Company 8 and serves as a Sister hailing from the Holy Sol Temple. In her role within Company 8, Sister Iris carries out rituals and offers prayers to Infernals, supporting the team in facilitating their peaceful transition upon being destroyed. Sister Iris is deeply committed to her faith and the Holy Sol Temple due to her past at the St. Raffles Convent, a church that provided shelter for orphaned children with aspirations of becoming nuns. During her time at the convent, alongside Hibana, they were part of a group of girls named after flowers.

Regrettably, following a period of time, the church where all the children were gathered caught fire, leaving only Sister Iris and Hibana alive. Later on, Sister Iris persisted in her service at the Holy Sol Temple, whereas Hibana parted ways with the church due to her doubts. Eventually, Sister Iris became a nun and accompanied Special Fire Force Company 8 during their missions.

In the anime, Sister Iris plays a crucial part in Special Fire Force Company 8 as a spiritual figure from the Holy Sol Temple. During missions involving the elimination of infernals, a religious presence like her is necessary. The belief is that when an infernal is slain with prayer, it can depart more tranquilly and reunite with the great flame. Despite lacking combat experience, Sister Iris fulfills her duties diligently and unwaveringly offers prayers or performs purification rituals afterwards.

The Truth of Sister Iris’s Identity

A Doppelganger of Amaterasu, Sister Iris’s Presence is no Mistake

Despite the belief that everything about Sister Iris had previously been disclosed during Hibana’s storyline, where it was exposed they were both orphans raised in the same convent, new questions regarding her identity arise during the conflict involving Special Fire Force Company 4.

Earlier, Company 8 had been in some strange place, and Shinra came across a woman who strongly resembled Sister Iris. During a conversation with Captain Hague, Shinra experienced another Adolla Link, which revealed the woman again, but this time she was possessed by madness and displayed a manipulative demeanor. At that point, her identity remained unknown; however, it wasn’t long before we discovered that she was Amaterasu.

Amaterasu is the person who lived through the Great Catastrophe and has both an Ignition power and Adolla Burst. When Amaterasu was discovered, she was swiftly confined in a vessel, which ultimately supplied energy to all of Tokyo. While constructing this generator, Amaterasu’s cries for aid could be heard from inside the container; however, following Raffles’ decree, the Joseph family chose not to assist her but instead developed a key meant to be concealed and handed down through generations, allowing future descendants access to the container.

What is the Significance of Amaterasu?

In the lore, Amaterasu possesses the power of Adolla Burst, a flame born from Adolla or the underworld. Previously discussed, this energy source fuelled Tokyo for 250 years. However, due to humanity’s actions, Amaterasu harbored intense disdain towards mankind, leading her down a path of madness. As the First Pillar and personification of human negativity, Amaterasu embodies the madness that dwells within human emotions.

The Eighth Pillar has not yet grasped her true identity. In truth, she is… The Duplicate of the First Pillar, Amaterasu.

In Chapter 200, during the Return to St. Raffles arc, Hibana discovers that Sister Iris is actually the Eight Pillar, a fact she was unaware of. Additionally, this chapter is where we learn that Sister Iris is the twin or double of the First Pillar, Amaterasu.

A Doppelganger is an alternative version of a human that resides in Adolla, also known as Hell.
A Doppelganger is based on the thoughts and perceptions of what others believe; thus, they create an image based on this.
Many believe Amaterasu represents kindness, and her Doppelganger, Sister Iris, reflects this.

Given the existence of Doppelgangers within Adolla, it raises curiosity about how Sister Iris ended up in the other world. At St. Raffles Convent, it transpired that Sister Sumire, a nun from the same convent, had been performing Doppelganger experiments for centuries, and Sister Iris was one of her successful creations. To achieve this, Sister Sumire secretly added Adolla Bugs into the meals of orphaned children. The fire that claimed the lives of those orphans during Hibana and Sister Iris’s time at the church could be traced back to Sister Sumire’s Doppelganger experiments.

Sister Iris stands reborn as the Eighth Pillar… With her faith and supplications by my side, I am certain I can overcome this challenge!

Adolla Bugs originated from Adolla. If a person gets bitten by one, it leads to Spontaneous Human Combustion, which results in the human fusing with their Adolla duplicate or Doppelganger. Those who survive this fusion process develop Third Generation pyrokinetic abilities. In Obi’s Rescue storyline, Sister Iris demonstrated the use of Third Generation pyrokinetics, although she was hesitant as she had never displayed any pyrokinetic powers before. During the Stone Pillar plot, Sister Iris started manifesting her Third Generation pyrokinetic abilities.

Following Haumea’s battle and Shinra opting to rebuild the world from scratch, Amaterasu began to vanish alongside Despair, electing for death. As her doppelganger, Sister Iris volunteered to disappear instead, feeling she was a false version. However, Amaterasu objected, realizing that Sister Iris was merely expressing her inherent kindness in the offer. Later on, Amaterasu acknowledges that Sister Iris is the person she has long aspired to be, as Iris comes back to life.

Fire Force is now available to stream on Crunchyroll.

2025-04-01 19:06