Fire Force (Episode 12) – Eve of Hostilities in Asakusa
The 8th stick around and help to the 7th’s district to recover from the Infernal. There appears to be some ground being made between the two Special Fire Force companies, but then Benimaru witnesses something that threatens the peace!
What did you watch?
It feels like it’s been forever since we last saw an episode of Fire Force when in reality it’s only been three weeks. The unusual break was a cause for concern, but it has come back so we can hopefully get back to enjoying the story. This is episode 12 of Fire Force and we’re continuing the investigation into the Evangelist and the lead that brought them to the 7th’s district. I am once more joined by Yomu from Umai Yomu Anime Blog. There will be spoilers.
What happened?
Shinra asked Obi if he could help with the repairs in the 7th District after the Infernal incident. Obi agreed and everyone pitched in. In no time at all, they got things moving along nicely and the bonds between Company 7 and 8 had already begun to grow with Hikage and Hinata taking a shine to Shinra and his fiery spinning top. It definitely wasn’t break dancing! Benimaru asked to see Obi, presumably to allow them to begin their investigation, but once he found him, he overheard Obi and Hinawa talking about how they had created the Infernal.
Benimaru lost his cool and attacked, but it wasn’t the real Obi and Hinawa. The fakes disappeared into the smoke, leaving the real ones to run for their lives. Shinra and Maki saw the blast and rushed to help. Soon, the entire 8th Company was present and ready to fight. Benimaru fought with an intensity that was only matched by Obi despite him not having any pyrokinetic powers. Konro stepped in and stopped the fight, demanding that Benimaru listens to them before fighting.
Hey, Yomu, thanks for coming back after the bizarre break. It would appear that the writers read these discussions as they must have taken a two-week break to address your concerns about the 8th District being unmanned. You can always count on Hibana at a time like this! Gravel… I mean Yomu, will be in bold.
What did you think?
Yep, that’s the first thing I noticed as well. “Good thing Fire Force 5 is holding down the fort!”, haha.
I thought that this was exactly the type of episode we needed. Not only did we finally get to see Captain Obi step up after quite some time, but we also got to see a special connection form between Fire Forces 7 and 8. While I had to get back into things after the show went on a two-week hiatus, I was glad to see where things ended up after all was said and done.
Agreed, the break didn’t help anything and we’re both binge-watchers by nature so having extra time off was a bit of a buzz kill. It was a good episode in terms of action and bringing the two forces together. I have a reservation about one aspect, but we’ll get into that in a moment. Anyhow, it was nice to be back.
What was your favourite moment?
Watching Captain Obi step up to the plate, tanking flames and projectiles but standing strong. While the odds were stacked against him, and it’s clear that he wouldn’t be able to win against Benimaru in a prolonged fight, it was really exciting to watch him go at it. There’s always something to be said about characters that manage to be resourceful and rely on regular human strength alone, in settings like this where most people possess superhuman abilities.
I got a kick from watching Hibana make her crew redecorate Company 8 Headquarters and giving prominence to Shinra’s desk, but I have to agree that Obi taking on Benimaru when he was clearly outmatched and would have eventually been defeated was awesome. I think he earned some respect from Benimaru for fighting that way with no powers.
What was your least favourite moment?
As touching as it was, I just can’t get behind flashbacks. Most of the time I think they drag on too long and contain information that we often already knew based on what had already been given away in the present. So I’m just going to go with the flashback between Benimaru and his flame winged friend.
Ah, your flashback vendetta. I should have seen that coming. I quite enjoyed that part and am looking forward to seeing the resolution in the next episode. For me, I felt like the transition between the fake Obi and Hinawa and the real Obi and Hinawa was a little jarring and seemed almost implausible. One second Benimaru was attacking the fakes standing right in front of him and then the real ones were running out of the cloud of smoke. It could have been set up a little cleaner.
Who was your favourite character?
While Hibana could easily take it, for the humour she brought, I think it’s fairly natural that I choose Captain Obi here. I feel like we could really use an anime that has a protagonist who has to rely solely on being extremely resourceful and cunning to survive in a world of superhumans… We may not have that exact anime just yet though, so I’m going to settle with Captain Obi and what he managed to do here.
I’ll back up that sentiment. It has to be Hibana… I mean Obi. He is just your average guy that is constantly training and preparing of the worst. We’ve seen how he looks after his equipment and how often and far he takes his training. The guy is a role model for those that we’re naturally gifted.
Who was your least favourite character?
I liked pretty much everyone this time, so I’ll just scapegoat Iris for not really adding much to the scene she was in. Not that she’d be able to stop Hibana from doing what she wanted anyway.
I feel like Tamaki has lost her way since we first met her at the Rookie Firefighter Games. She seemed to be fairly tough and infinitely confident, but now she is lower than Arthur in the strength department. Tamaki has fallen back and needs to step up again.
Would you like some more?
I would like some more consistency in weekly releases. And then I’d like to see where this series goes, assuming it can stay on the air!
I feel the same way. There seemed to be an air of pessimism around Fire Force and I was worried that we wouldn’t even finish the first season. It’s great that they took the time to address your concerns, but it was just a minor issue and we’d rather get on with finding the Evangelist. I am worried that even with twenty-four episodes we won’t get to the end of the story and given the troubles it seems to be facing, I very much doubt there will be a second season.
Yep. It’s hard to say if Fire Force will be able to keep it up, especially when it’s facing off against Dr. Stone.
Anyways, for the anime itself, one thing that’s interested me now is Tamaki. Sure, she seemed strong when we first saw her, but now I’m wondering if she has just always been this weak. She’s never exactly accomplished anything, or taken on any notable opponents. Her powers are flashy, but she’s yet to really demonstrate power with them. Perhaps everyone (us included) has had the wrong idea about her from the start?
Well, we always have Maki! She was in fine form in this episode and was probably runner up to Hibana… I mean Obi for my favourite character of the week. I will also agree that we need to move forward with the story and flashbacks aren’t really the way to do that. There’s still so much we need to find out, like what is going on with the world outside of Japan and where did Arthur go? Also, how are there two more people that look like Obi and Hinawa? Was that another firepower, maybe a mirage of some sort? We need answers….
Well considering the two white-cloaked men on the rooftop, I imagine it was exactly that, some sort of illusion. And yeah, that flashback stings for me mainly because we know what the result is going to be – so are the details really important anymore? Perhaps if Fire Force felt like a sure thing it wouldn’t be as big of an issue, but with this uneasiness surrounding the shows very existence, it feels like they need to get a move on as you mention.
Unfortunately, though I’m sure that animation like this has been drafted up and worked on many, many months in advance so they couldn’t exactly change the story on a whim. Anyways, let’s hope that things work out for the sake of this show because, despite the real-world implications, it’s been a very fun and extremely high-quality anime to follow thus far!
Agreed, I’m surprised that it’s not doing that well, especially as it’s an interesting premise and the visuals are spectacular. There’s been some very nicely made anime of late and this is up there on that front. I’m hoping it surprises us all and has a really strong second half that makes people sit up and take notice. There are images of giant Infernals in the opening and I would love to see some epic battles about now.
Good point. Perhaps one issue is just not enough action, like what you’d typically get in a “classic” shounen. Feels like every time we see a good fight the anime takes a step back and gives us 1-2 episodes of dialogue/intrigue. Maybe they just need to turn up the heat for a little while…
It needs to pull a Demon Slayer episode 19 where everyone will take note and forget all of the things they didn’t like about the show. Give us the full episode epic fight that any good shounen series deserves. Anything else you’d like to see?
No more flashbacks.
Sounds fair.
Other reviews in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – Shinra Kusakabe Enlists
- Episode 2 – The Heart of a Fire Soldier
- Episode 3 – The Rookie Fire Soldier Games
- Episode 4 – The Hero and the Princess
- Episode 5 – The Battle Begins
- Episode 6 – The Spark of Promise
- Episode 7 – The Investigation of the 1st Commences
- Episode 8 – Infernal Insects
- Episode 9 – The Spreading Malice
- Episode 10 – The Promise
- Episode 11 – Formation of Special Fire Force Company 8 – The Mightiest Hikeshi
- Episode 12 – Eve of Hostilities in Asakusa
- Episode 13 – The Trap Is Set
- Episode 14 – For Whom the Flames Burn
- Episode 15 – The Blacksmith’s Dream
- Episode 16 – We Are Family
- Episode 17 – Black and White and Gray
- Episode 18 – The Secrets of Pyrokinesis
- Episode 19 – Into the Nether
- Episode 20 – Wearing His Pride
- Episode 21 – Those Connected
- Episode 22 – A Brother’s Determination
- Episode 23 – Smile
- Episode 24 – The Burning Past
- Season Two
- Episode 25 – A Fire Soldier’s Fight
- Episode 26 – Flames of Madness
- Episode 27 – A New Flashpoint
- Episode 28 – Groping Through the Fire
- Episode 29 – Corna (Sign of the Devil) / A Secret Plan
- Episode 30 – The Time to Choose
- Episode 31 – Road to the Oasis
- Episode 32 – Smoldering Malevolence
- Episode 33 – The Core
- Episode 34 – The Woman in Black
- Episode 35 – Dark Hero
- Episode 36 – Shadows Cast by Divine Light
- Episode 37 – A Pair of One-Eyes
- Episode 38 – The Ashen Reaper
- Episode 39 – A Three-Way Melee
- Episode 40 – Mind Blown
- Episode 41 – Boys, Be Weak
- Episode 42 – The Holy Woman’s Anguish / The Man, Assault
- Episode 43 – The Oze Family
- Episode 44 – Weapon of Destruction
- Episode 45 – Enemy Contact
- Episode 46 – Plot for Extinction
- Episode 47 – Firecat
- Episode 48 – Signs of Upheaval
- Bonus Posts
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