Fire Force Season 2 Episode 1

Fire Force Season 2 Episode 1

A Fire Soldier’s Fight

The second season of Fire Force is here one year after the first began airing. And I have to admit I’m a bit surprised that it arrived so soon, especially considering it’s slated to be 24 episodes long. But it doesn’t seem like the series has been rushed if the first episode is anything to go by. The quality is still there and I have high hopes for this season.

Starting off the review with an issue I had with the episode, I don’t really know why they went with the introductory route here. They made a point to reintroduce all the main characters and show off what makes them unique. But for what? It’s only been six months since the first season ended.

I could understand doing something like that if it had been a year or more, but has anyone really forgotten the characters in six months? And even if they did, they’d quickly remember them just by seeing them again. There’s no real reason to reintroduce everyone other than to build the hype, I guess.

Arthur and Shinra from the anime series Fire Force season 2
Arthur and Shinra

But if building hype for the season is what they were aiming for, I think the scene of Arthur saving Shinra and then the rest of Company 8 showing up did it well enough.

That issue aside, a potential issue I see is also the Infernal they fought against in this episode. It’s much larger and more complex than any Infernal we’ve seen so far. That much is fine, but I hope there’s a reason behind it being this way and that it’s not just a power scaling mechanic.

If that’s just what Infernals are like now because regular ones would be too easy to defeat, I think that would be an issue.

Slice of Life, Action, and Comedy

This first episode had a bit of everything. There were slice of life aspects, action, and comedy. Surprisingly, the one thing it didn’t really have was ecchi — which is strange considering Tamaki exists.

The worst portion of the episode, in my opinion, was the slice of life portion at the start of the episode. When Shinra is out shopping with the girls, it’s basically just fan service. But that doesn’t mean it was a complete waste of time. It actually contrasts really well with the next portion of the episode when the Infernal appears.

So while I’m not interested in the more slice of life aspects that make their way into action series, I do still see the value in them. And that’s not to say that I don’t like slice of life; I do. But slice of life isn’t why I watch action anime, so I’m not as invested in it as I would be watching a dedicated slice of life series.

Maki controlling Sputter and Flare from the anime series Fire Force season 2
Maki controlling Sputter and Flare

The middle section of the episode was all action. I think it’s fair to say that this was the best part of the episode. But I also don’t really have much to say about it. We got to see how strong the various Company 8 members are, but that’s about it. The only part that really stood out to me was how physically strong Captain Oubi is.

At the end of the episode is when the majority of the comedy came in. We learned about the annual Fire Force nude calendar, which features all men.

While I don’t like Tamaki and her ecchi scenes, I have no problem with the nude calendar. The difference here is that the nude calendar portion of the episode is specifically included for comedy, while Tamaki losing her clothes all the time is included because this is a series for 14-year-old boys.

Looking at the New Opening

Let me start by saying that Aimer is one of my favorite Japanese musicians, so hearing her voice during the new Fire Force OP automatically makes it good. But in this section, I want to discuss the things we see in the new OP, not simply whether it’s good or not.

But if I were to pick a best Fire Force OP, MAYDAY by coldrain is a better song so the second OP of season 1 wins.

Right at the start of the OP, we get to see what appears to be a new antagonist and follower of the Evangelist. She can seemingly turn her entire body into flame, which might mean that she’s a next-generation (fourth generation) pyrokinetic.

There’s also another new antagonist shown who uses purple lightning. And as we all know from Avatar the Last Airbender: Lightning is just fire. Disclaimer: Lightning and fire are actually both types of plasma, lightning is not a subgroup of fire.

Iris from the anime series Fire Force season 2
Iris

Continuing on with antagonists, there’s also a pink-haired girl who seems to have some sort of eyes that control flames. And continuing on with this eye trend, we see that both Joker and the captain of the First Company may have similar fire-controlling eyes. The fact that they each have only one and they’re opposite eyes may be a clue.

I really hope this goes the Naruto: Shippuden route and turns into a series all about stealing other people’s magic eyes.

And the last thing I want to point out is that other Fire Force companies we haven’t really seen before are featured in this OP as well. I think we briefly saw the Second Company in the first season, but from what I remember, the Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh are all being revealed for the first time here.

The Third Company is notably missing from the OP entirely.

Based on the next episode preview, it looks like the first arc of this season is going to focus on the Fourth, so maybe the Sixth and Seventh will play a role later on.

Conclusion

I think once we get back into the actual plot of the series, the second season of Fire Force is going to be better than the first. I’m expecting some better fights and more engaging story elements. But even if it’s just like the first season, that’s still good enough for me.

What did you think of the first episode? Did you need that refresher on all the members of Company 8? Do you want to buy the annual Fire Force nude calendar? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button ❤ down below. Also, follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank HeavyROMAN for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.

Leave a Comment