Fire Force - 14 [For Whom the Flame Burns]

I’m going to consider this the finale of Fire Force. You know those complaints about fight scene choreography I had in previous episodes? The reason for the problems was everyone was working on this episode. Seriously, I actually watched this one twice. Fire Force is on an upwards trajectory and I’m pumped!

Just everything about Asakusa is top notch. I’m just impressed beyond words with how the reluctant warlord Benimaru has been handled. Absolute top marks for the subtle (and honestly, relatively quick) development of this character – you really feel his struggles, you understand his hesitation and uncertainty, despite being the “strongest Fire Force soldier.” Also causing a riot was PERFECT. I could gush for longer than the episode’s runtime on how much I love everything Asakusa.

The infernal fight scene this week was perfect in my opinion (okay, I was SLIGHTLY underwhelmed with the one shot of Arthur’s shirt being cut BUT – it’s 99.9% perfect). Also, it’s nice that we’re getting a bit more understanding of why Shinra’s special – seems like he can sort of unite the pyro powers and listen to … the emotions? An empathetic devil I guess. Also, it was nice to see the parallels of Arthur knocking Shinra out of the way a la Konro and Benimaru from the episode prior. Seems to indicate the kind of friends they’ll become, I guess.

I’m also really liking these “white-clads” baddies (okay, except for the name…must be from the same guys who brought you “Walkman”…). I like all of the 3 enemies introduced so far – their motivations are pretty clear (except for Burning Sniper Girl), their characters unique. Obviously these are still lower level henchmen, but I appreciate them nonetheless – oh yeah, I guess there are only 2 now.

Finally, a bit of soap box. If you’re watching anime with dubs, you’re doing it wrong. With even the TINIEST knowledge of Japanese (and I mean, like, the level you could learn from just watching a couple seasons of anime), you can appreciate the subtleties so much more. It’s not that the translations are bad by any means – it’s just that there are little things you can pick up on that don’t have time to get translated (this episode for example: quite a few things that Konro said just quietly packed more of a punch in the Japanese – basically his tone and phrasing helped emphasize that he’s by far and away got the brains to lead, but that’s he’s extremely deferential and loyal to Beni. He doesn’t speak like he’s in charge, but like he’s a lieutenant – and that’s not an accident). To me, it just enhances the experience so much more – so start watching subs and learn some Japanese!