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This Week in Anime - Is Fire Force Worth Watching?

geepee wrote:

DavetheUsher wrote: That just means the show is going to be very popular, get more seasons, and the prudish people complaining about it will be eating crow if past examples of this exact same situation are anything to go by Which is part of the fun,heheheh

Be careful not to cut yourselves on that edge, kids

I've always found it curious how childishly defensive people can get when someone says they dislike their favorite anime tiddies. Though I guess it's a kind of childishness that matches the demographic this kind of fanservice is targetting. There didn't even seem to be a lot of conversation around the show until these problems started growing too big to ignore, only then did this army of fanservice defenders start cropping up

I already dumped my opinion on everything I thought was wrong with this arc -and increasingly, the show as a whole- over on the episode review thread, so i won't repeat it here, but something I've been wondering is what even is the practical functionality of Tamaki's fire cat ears? Obviously she's designed like that primarily for the sake of fanservice, but a half decent writer would at least try to come up with a justification for having them there, so is this something that's gonna come up later at some point?

CrowLia wrote:

but something I've been wondering is what even is the practical functionality of Tamaki's fire cat ears? Obviously she's designed like that primarily for the sake of fanservice, but a half decent writer would at least try to come up with a justification for having them there, so is this something that's gonna come up later at some point?

It's an aesthetic choice like a tattoo, scar, horns, etc. . An aesthetic doesn't have to have a 'practical functionality'. At best, it should just not be a detriment.

It should be noted that episode six literally pulls an Index by having the lead use the power of self-righteousness to punch a nun into submission. As unintentionally ridiculous as I found that scene in the moment, I think it sets a pretty reasonable line over whether this is the type of show you can respect or draw meaning from.

asneakysnake wrote:

I think tamaki’s fanservice is supposed to be so dumb and so over the top it can only be seen as commentary on shonen fanservice as a whole. Whether that makes it more palatable or not is up to the individual viewer. Shinra’s embarrassed shark-grin when this occurs is pretty funny imo since he's not at all into it.

This. People just watch the show and say "fanservice bad". You can obviously tell when they are having overblown fanservice scenes (I.E. Tamaki) for the sake of satire, and when they are going for straight fanservice (I.E. Girls talking in a shower for sake of talking in a shower).

I think tamaki’s fanservice is supposed to be so dumb and so over the top it can only be seen as commentary on shonen fanservice as a whole. Whether that makes it more palatable or not is up to the individual viewer. Shinra’s embarrassed shark-grin when this occurs is pretty funny imo since he's not at all into it.

That's like stealing something and when your caught claiming that it was a commentary on crime.
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Banjo Main wrote:

asneakysnake wrote: I think tamaki’s fanservice is supposed to be so dumb and so over the top it can only be seen as commentary on shonen fanservice as a whole. Whether that makes it more palatable or not is up to the individual viewer. Shinra’s embarrassed shark-grin when this occurs is pretty funny imo since he's not at all into it. This. People just watch the show and say "fanservice bad". You can obviously tell when they are having overblown fanservice scenes (I.E. Tamaki) for the sake of satire, and when they are going for straight fanservice (I.E. Girls talking in a shower for sake of talking in a shower).

You've mentioned a couple times that Tamaki's lucky letcher thing is "satire" so could you explain? If it's satire of other contrived fanservice, what precisely about that is it trying to criticize? If it's trying to comment on the dehumanizing aspect of it, that seems at odds with all the shower scenes or Hibana feeling up Iris or the other shots of cleavage or the main girls in their underwear. If it's trying to be so over the top it can't be enjoyed sincerely for titillation, it's definitely not trying hard enough in an anime landscape with Food Wars and Fairy Tail

From my perspective it just comes off as a more self aware, 4th wall breaking version of the same boob and butt pratfalls you'd find in Yuuna & the Haunted Hot springs or We Never Learn. Which isn't really satire because, as the shirt says

Banjo Main wrote:

I mean all of their grievances were just nitpicking honestly.

They stated that the plot is both rambling and rushed, never settling on any of the interesting concepts or world building that it brushes past, while the characters are either background, one-note comedic, cartoonishly crazy, or in the case of the females, mostly exist to be sexually or verbally humiliated. Those aren't nitpicks. If the plot is incoherent mush and the characterisation is infantile and mean-spirited, what else is left? I mean the production is largely stellar and some of the designs are nice, but if that was all I wanted from an anime I'd just watch Redline for the tenth+ time and have myself a far better time than enduring whatever Fire Force vomits out.

I held out until the most recent episode, hoping it would eventually settle on something, anything remotely interesting, only to be met with by weekly disappointment. Plus, even if the 'it gets better I swear!' promises materialize in later arcs, it likely still woudn't remove many the core issues I have with the show; chief among them being that I haven't seen a shounen series with as much casual disrespect for its cast since Bakuman (granted, I haven't seen some of the more infamous properties like Fairy Tail & Highschool DxD). I'm all for a shounen series to remind me of my youth, but being a hyperactive, unconsciously misogynist twelve year old edgelord is a part of my life I'd rather put behind me.

Banjo Main wrote:

asneakysnake wrote: I think tamaki’s fanservice is supposed to be so dumb and so over the top it can only be seen as commentary on shonen fanservice as a whole. Whether that makes it more palatable or not is up to the individual viewer. Shinra’s embarrassed shark-grin when this occurs is pretty funny imo since he's not at all into it. This. People just watch the show and say "fanservice bad". You can obviously tell when they are having overblown fanservice scenes (I.E. Tamaki) for the sake of satire, and when they are going for straight fanservice (I.E. Girls talking in a shower for sake of talking in a shower).

You've mentioned a couple times that Tamaki's lucky letcher thing is "satire" so could you explain? If it's satire of other contrived fanservice, what precisely about that is it trying to criticize? If it's trying to comment on the dehumanizing aspect of it, that seems at odds with all the shower scenes or Hibana feeling up Iris or the other shots of cleavage or the main girls in their underwear. If it's trying to be so over the top it can't be enjoyed sincerely for titillation, it's definitely not trying hard enough in an anime landscape with Food Wars and Fairy Tail

From my perspective it just comes off as a more self aware, 4th wall breaking version of the same boob and butt pratfalls you'd find in Yuuna & the Haunted Hot springs or We Never Learn. Which isn't really satire because, as the shirt says

He probably meant "comedic" but I can see what he means. Fanservice or not, you can't judge a SHOUNEN anime because of fanservice. It's just part of the package and us Seinen people should enjoy the rest or watch something else.

I mean, the fanservice is stupid/annoying but it seems to be designed as comedy anyway.

I mean, what do people expect when they say they want "better" characters?

>57 replies

Either the article was really that bad, or the show is more contentious than I first thought.