Fire Force (Episode 43) – The Oze Family

After Maki’s brother was injured investigating a White Clad laboratory in the Nether, her father, General Oze assigns the Second to investigate the Nether and flush them out, with the help of the Eighth!
Fire Force (Episode 43) – The Oze Family
What happened?
It’s a special occasion at the Oze household. Maki and her brother Takigi have returned to have dinner as a family. Her mother has put on quite the feast for the occasion and her father is delighted to see his little girl again. As you might expect, things quickly get out of control until Maki’s mother stamps her authority on the occasion and brings them all back in line. One of the topics of discussion is the Nether as Takigi is investigating some missing people and believes they are being taken to the Nether.
Takigi is granted a search warrant and heads underground. They soon find what they’re looking for, including several insects used for creating Infernals and a dead Infernal, even though its core is still intact. They then find a White Clad, but it blows itself up and tries to take them with it. Luckily, they both survived, but it was enough to make General Oze want to get involved.
He assigned Special Fire Force Two to investigate the Nether and asks the Eighth to accompany them since they have experience of the Nether. There is one catch. Maki is to return to the military under General Oze. She wants to stay, but Hinawa convinces her to go. Before she knows it, Maki is sitting at a desk as a secretary, bored and frustrated while the Eighth prepare for the investigation without her.

What did you think?

Well, it looks like we’re heading to the Nether for the final five episodes of the second season. I can only hope it’s as good as the last time we went to the Nether and were treated to some incredible fights. I am disappointed that Maki has been taken out of the action, however, I can’t help but think she will return at some point. She has been grossly underutilized this season, especially if that opening scene with her was anything to go by. Maki is a goddess! Anyhow… Hey, Yomu. Did anything catch your eye in this episode?

It’s interesting to see the military popping up out of seemingly nowhere to get involved in the action. And with that, this real sudden plot line with Maki, that honestly felt like it happened too fast. Some buildup or foreshadowing would have gone a long way in making this new development feel more natural. But it was cool to see Maki’s family, and I suspect we’ll be seeing more of them, at least her father and brother.
And speaking of, what did you think of Maki’s father? Is he just overbearing and doting on his daughter, or does he perhaps know something we don’t that is driving him to protect his daughter?



Agreed, it was a bit out of the blue. I know we’ve seen flashbacks in the past of how Hinawa recruited Maki from the army, but seeing something a little more recently would have been good. Even the family dinner would have worked if they could have come up with a reason to have it. That said, I loved it when her mother stamped on the table to get them all to behave. They’re so alike.
It’ll be interesting if there is a military decision behind his actions and not just him trying to protect his little girl. She’s absolutely wasted behind a desk as a secretary. Hopefully, he knows that. The captain of the Second is even more eccentric than Obi when it comes to training so he should be entertaining. It’s funny how they’ve separated the Eighth between the attacks which are setting it up for the one-versus-one showdowns that we saw last season. Be interesting to see who ends up fighting who.
They briefly dropped Lisa into things when Shinra and Arthur were fighting so I’m half expecting her to become important in these fights. Maybe, she’ll get a chance to face her demons… namely, Giovanni.

Considering the military discovered that experiments were being carried out in the Nether, it’s entirely possible we get some Giovanni after all this time. Surely he has to make an appearance this season, right?
And it seems like you’re right about their reasons for separating everyone. Definitely looks like we’ll get some duels in the Nether. Perhaps we’ll see a rematch between Shinra and Sho? And it’d be interesting to see a fight with Inca, assuming she’s been able to train and is now a strong fighter with her ability. Maki will likely find a way to get into the mix too, even if it’s against her father’s wishes.
While I’m excited to see some action, I have to say, I really want to see the First Pillar again… haha. There’s no way that what we saw of her before was just a one-time event!

She could yet show up to give Shinra her blessing allowing him to fight at full power. Sho has been surprisingly absent this season too. I’m definitely looking forward to some action, especially if it’s anything like the fights from last season. Would be good to mix them up a bit though. As much as I love the Arrow versus Hinawa showdown, I’d like to see them do something a little different.




It’s possible she’ll end up linking with Shinra at a crucial moment and turn the tide, yeah. That sounds like something that’d happen in an anime like this. Either way, it’s hard to say exactly what will happen from here, except that whatever happens will involve some action!

Absolutely. One other thing that’s nagging at me was why Hinawa told Maki to go back to the military. He knows how strong she is so it seemed an odd move if it was just to protect her. What do you think he’s up to and does Maki’s Eighth badge have anything to do with it? A listening device maybe?

Good point, Hinawa seemed unnatural in that moment. It makes me feel like there’s something more to all of this. We don’t know much about the military, but it’s possible they are not as good as they currently seem.

Looks like we’re going to have to keep waiting for some real answers. It should be an exciting end to the season at least.


Bonus Gallery – Maki Oze
After watching this episode, I knew that this post would not be complete without a space to recognize all the hard work and dedication that Maki puts into making herself the unrivalled Fire Force Goddess! Enjoy!













Other posts 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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