So this is the finale of the first half of Fire Force…and it doesn’t really feel like a finale at all. But that’s okay! It’s one of the better episodes we’ve seen from our 8th brigade so far – mainly because it feels as though some of the fight scene animation demons have been (partially) exorcised this week. Let’s go!
We rejoin the chaos in Asakusa as the Evangelist Team KKK – sorry, “White Clads” (their words, not mine) – seeks to bring disruption, distrust and chaos by….using fire to give plastic surgery to their followers? Seems a bit shoehorned in, but okay. At least the “White Clads” (again, I didn’t come up with that term) are actually trying to accomplish something instead of just being evil for evil’s sake.
This week had pretty good fights. First, they had cohesive choreography and use of the setting – in the previous warehouse fight, the direction struggled to showcase Shinra’s mobility. Here, Fire Force had to resort to infographics to illustrate, but they got their point across. It worked well – sniper vs a super-mobile brawler…definitely an interesting matchup (with the 2 supporting characters also adding dimension to the fight – Knight vs Knife Guy).
Secondly, let’s talk about Arthur for a moment. (Side note – the line “I thought you were a good idiot” had me dying).
I’m pretty sure he’s dyslexic.
That would explain the earlier absurdity where he couldn’t figure out which hand he had his sword in (I mean, even for someone with dyslexia that’s absurd, but okay). When he tells Shinra he has to point the directions out, that’s what sealed it for me. It would also help explain how he could differentiate the twins when no one else could (with dyslexia, if I understand correctly, the symmetry gets jumbled, so it would be obvious which of the two girls isn’t correct).
Arthur and Shinra’s fight is the definition of taking a known weakness and turning it into a feature. I’m sure Fire Force knows their fight choreography is awkward (if for no other reason than I’ve been saying it here! I’m sure they’ve been reading and taking my advice!). So why not turn that into a plot point? And it makes sense – I think the rookies have been at the 8th like a couple weeks at best? No way are they going to fight in a life and death situation perfectly (other shows take chemistry for granted, but that’s a developed skill, not something that comes naturally). So it’s definitely believable that there would be awkward collisions. I’ll buy it – Fire Force, you get a pass this week.
As the first cour ends, Fire Force has been very flashy…and a bit uneven. We’ve seen 3/7 companies so far (and the current one is still ongoing) – I expect the back half to deal with the remainder of the companies and introduce the big conflict with the Evangelist/KKK for next season.
For me, Fire Force has met expectations – probably not exceeded. Given the Soul Eater connection, you have to assume all components will be good…except for one (Soul Eater was the art, Fire Force is the fight choreography).
Overall though, despite some plot (and character) unevenness, Fire Force has been a fun ride and looked good doing it – I’m looking forward to the second half!
Also cat-girl is going to be a nun apparently. This author has something with nuns, I’m telling you…
