The excuses for my tardiness from my other post are that I’ve been away travelling and a bit sick – but no matter, because Fire Force is getting a SUPER post! What’s a super post?! It’s both episodes 23 and 24 (which Fire Force unsportingly released at once over Christmas) AND the overall series review. Can one single post handle such heat? We’ll find out!
Fire Force ended out their first season on a doubleheader – this may have been due to some of the oddities in the early season scheduling. Regardless, I think it showed surprising tact: instead of a fireworks finale, all flames blazing fight, Shinra got basically a final exam, and, as a reward, learned the answers to his lifelong questions. I must admit, I had wondered that about his mother’s connection to the demon, since no body was ever seen. Interesting to see where that will take us in Season 2 (currently scheduled for July). The epilogue sees the gang all hanging out, minor characters get their cameos in, Princess looking great, the poor mascots picnic, curtain.
Oh and I REALLY enjoy how mind tricks are useless on Arthur. Can’t mess with something that’s not there – actually a great gimmick.
How did Fire Force fare for its first season?
(I’m also part of the movement to make 50 the new average score, not 70.)
My grading criteria: each show has 50 points to earn and 50 points to lose. Points are earned by going above and beyond, showing me something I hadn’t seen before or making me feel something unexpected, or generally something that makes me applaud. Points are lost when I feel a part of the show was below average or less than acceptable in terms of animation, storyline, etc. Let’s take a look!
Positives
Where did Fire Force score points?
| Visuals (+10) | Fire Force looked amazing. For anime, this can’t be overstated: looks matter and Fire Force delivered in spades. The fire, the luminescence, even the black and white sniper fight – Fire Force had varied styles, dynamic scenes, and almost all of them were great. |
| Finale Fights (+10) | Big time anime (shounens especially) have big time fights. Fire Force delivered when it mattered. The finale fight between the brothers was great. Even the midseason fight (ending with the sunlight shining through) was appropriately epic. |
| Settings (+5) | Absolutely great settings and scenery. From the cathedrals to the sewers, Fire Force has a fascinating world. I especially love Beni’s town and the old school Japanese feel it brought – something just completely unexpected. |
| General Story (+3) | Original story, tidy execution. I haven’t seen this theme beaten to death (see – super heroes or anything high school related). This is a mature, working-age anime…with some of the hijinks you’d expect to see in younger fare. |
Good: +28%
Neutral
What parts of Fire Force were neither good enough to win points, but not bad enough to be penalized?
| Characters | Fire Force is not out to win you over on the strength of their characters. Some are great, some are terrible, but all have the depth of a puddle. You’re not here for personality, you’re here for FIRE! |
| Villians | I felt some villains were good, others were okay. I’m really mixed on Dr. Giovanni, but I felt most of the other White Clads were decent – especially the sniper. No positive points though, since they had such a stupid organizational name. |
| Secrets | Overall secrets came out square for me – the world mysteries were definitely original, but I didn’t feel the wonder or the dread that I felt in something like Attack on Titan or FMA. |
Negatives
What did Fire Force do so poorly they lost points for it?
| Poor Fight Choreography (-3) | As I mentioned fairly often in my posts, Fire Force would randomly have beautifully animated fight scenes….that were terribly choreographed. For no reason. Fortunately, they seemed to get better as the season progressed, but early fights were a little rough. |
| Tamaki (-5) | This character, by herself, reduced my enjoyment of the show 5%. Okay, I get it, fanservice sells. And I’m all for fanservice. But this was just…blatant. Try to be a little subtle, please. The only reason she doesn’t lose more points is that occasionally, she served as a decent character. But only very occasionally. |
| Random plot problems (-2) | Fire Force also occasionally had weird droughts of plot, particularly surrounding Vulcan. I felt his entire storyline was a bit weak. Early on, I felt the plot lagged a bit and was compensated with mediocre gags – Arthur forgetting his dominent hand? Really? |
Bad: -10%
Final Thoughts
Fire Force was one of the marquee anime of this season and it certainly lived up to the hype. Despite the unfortunate timing of the KyoAni tragedy early on, Fire Force recovered well (and I think handled it with class). Sporting stunning visuals, a dynamic world, and characters who didn’t get in the way of good action, Fire Force captures all the good of its predecessor Soul Eater while hopefully avoiding eventual burnout. A couple of odd decisions, one cat-girl in particular, and a few wooden fights really held this show back – however, I doubt given the paper-thin character depth that this show was ever going to be an eternal classic. But does every anime need to be? Sometimes it’s good to just sit back and enjoy the spectacle! Fire Force was a bright spot of the year for me, and I’m excited to see it’s conclusion next summer. See you in Season 2!
Total: 68/100
(VERY GOOD!)
86% if using 70 as average
