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Fire Force
Episode 27

by James Beckett,

How would you rate episode 27 of
Fire Force ?
Community score: 4.5

My theory about how Fire Force's second season is making some big improvements with its pacing continues to gain traction this week with “A New Flashpoint”, an episode that is all about introducing even more tension and complications into the already twisted up fight against the Evangelist, and doing a damned fine job of it to boot. In its first run, Fire Force often struggled to stitch together it's more successful standalone episodes with its clumsier long-form storytelling, but everything is humming along quickly and smoothly so far this year. We've got some tidbits of exposition and character building for our Company 8 boys, some more presence on the part of the villainous White Clad, and most importantly, the introduction of a new and important player in the ongoing game of conspiracy and big-ass explosions: Her name is Inca, aka the Fireground Thief, aka aka the Fifth Pillar, bearer of the latest Adolla Link/Burst. She's also just a teensy bit cuckoo-for-Coco-Puffs, though I'm sure that won't cause any problems at all for our would-be Heroes and Knights.

Inca is an excellent character, and almost more for what she represents than who she actually is at the moment. You may have been clued-in by her bugged-out eyes, pink hair, nightmarish visions of the First Pillar, and general propensity for robbing people blind while saving them from the fire she can sniff out with her self-proclaimed “Fourth Generation” Pyro powers, but just in case: Inca's maybe not the most emotionally stable girl on the block. Generally speaking, I can usually take or leave this brand of “anime crazy”, since it often feels very artificial and contrived, but credit to Fire Force for making Inca so gosh-darned likeable, even when she's getting all rosy-cheeked at the thought of all those explosions that may or may not kill the people whose lives she apparently values so much. Atsushi Ōkubo's generally spot-on knack for designing weirdo characters you can't help but find interesting is a big help here, and Inca's particular Pyrokinetic abilities manifest in a visually delightful way, with her tracing the Start/Finish lines of the flames like some kind touch-screen game.

All of that is fine and dandy, but I'm mostly interested in Inca as a pawn for either the Fire Force or the Evangelist. I'm a sucker for chaotic neutral characters who could side with either party in a conflict depending on which way the wind blows, which Inca absolutely is. Granted, she seems borderline sociopathic in her willingness to fleece the victims of fires, which would make her a good fit for the Evangelist's crew. Then again, she also looks genuinely shocked when her pal Pacho gets brutally murdered by the White Clad fellow who offers her a spot among their ranks (have we seen a kill that bloody on the show before? I'm tempted to say we haven't). It's clear that some combination of personal conflicts and fire-adjacent trauma shaped Inca into who she is now – which literally every character in Fire Force can relate to, I'm sure — and I'm keen to see which side eventually wins her over, and whether she sticks with them for good.

Oh, and I'm sure we'll get even more kickass explosions and fight-scenes out of it, which is always a good thing as far as I'm concerned. With a central threat that is more clearly defined than ever and stakes that have never been higher, Fire Force seems to finally be living up to a version of the promise showed in its earliest episodes. It may not be as classically artful as I once thought it could be, but it's becoming increasingly confident in its role as “The Really Weird and Stupidly Fun Shonen Anime.” I say, bring it on. Lord knows we need more “weird but fun” things this summer.

Rating:

Odds and Ends

• One of my favorite jokes was Aurthur taking a swipe at Shinra with his sword when Shinra apologized for the whole “getting possessed by Iris' demonic doppelganger and trying to kill everyone” thing. Is it genuine character growth, or further evidence that Shinra's soul has been consumed by the flames? You make the call.

• Another great scene is the Captain's meeting with the Fire Defense Chief, which doesn't amount to much other than Obi being told that he and the rest of the 8th continue to be on their own in the hunt for the Fifth Pillar and the other Evangelist schemes. The Chief thinks Obi's willingness to accept this disappointing news and walk away is a sign of growing up, to which Obi simply responds “I'm only more quick to suppress my dissatisfaction and give up than I was before. I don't think I'm more mature.” “Then what do you consider growing up?” the Chief asks. Obi answers: “The depth and breadth of one's love.” For as dumb and shallow as Fire Force often is, every now and then it pulls out golden moments like this, and I'm reminded of how good it can be.

• I absolutely love the different creepy effects the show uses for the First Pillar's different visitations, with Inca seeing a cracked-apart comic-book version of her, while Shinra glimpses her through the nightmare static of some VHS horror movie. More of this, please.

Fire Force is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation .

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.


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