Fire Force Season 3

Episode 9

Last week, Fire Force paired its harrowing glimpse into the evil depths of Sister Sumire's role in the Evangelist's apocalyptic prophecies with a farcical little adventure of Vulcan, Lisa, Yu, and Arthur's to find the “orichalcum” to forge a new Excalibur. Naturally, Arthur's fundamental inability to process reality without a thick layer of RPG delusion slathered on top meant that this simple ARG made by his friends ended with an unnecessary quest to the very real and very dangerous Nether. This week, we see how that trip to the Nether plays out, and the results are unsurprisingly nonsensical, even as they lead to a surprisingly useful find for the crew. In Fire Force, it is impossible to separate the actions of a fate-ordained hero of legend from the barely coherent ramblings of a deeply traumatized idiot. I wouldn't have it any other way.

If there's anything to be disappointed in with “Holy Sword, Resurrected,” it's that nothing much at all comes from the tension of Arthur capping off his friendly scavenger hunt with a descent into the pits of the nether, at least so far as real threat is concerned. I'm not so ADHD-addled that I can't enjoy an episode of Fire Force that is completely devoid of action, but I also wouldn't complain if we got to toss a quick action beat or two into the mix if the opportunity presented itself. Instead, this is an episode that is almost entirely focused on delivering heaping helpings of broad comedy, some breadcrumbs of worldbuilding, and, if you squint really hard, the tiniest morsel of pathos. Business as usual for a Fire Force table-setting episode, in other words.

The center of all this comedy is, of course, Arthur's reunion with his parents, who have been chilling down here in the Nether for years to hide from debt collec... I mean, to hunt for the secret clues that will lead to the salvation of all mankind! That's certainly good enough of an explanation for ol' Arthur Boyle, even if poor Yu threatens to be consumed by madness over the sheer stupidity and cruelty of Ma and Pa Boyle. It's one thing for them to save their son from the fate of a nomadic, subterranean sewer rat, but the fact that they've had three more kids down here in the meantime makes it hard to accept that excuse at face value.

Sure, Arthur's dad may genuinely have some third-eye connection to the unseen forces that shape reality, so we can maybe give him credit for popping back into his son's life for long enough to drop off some spaceship parts to use for Excalibur 2.0, but then Arthur's family absconds again with nothing more than another goodbye note. It's both funny and tragic, and Maki's sudden appreciation for Arthur's all-consuming commitment to his delusions makes a little more sense now that we've finally met the shifty sewer dwellers that Company 8 has soundly replaced. If I'd been stuck with a family like that in a world like this, I might also prefer to live in a fantasy that builds me up to be someone as important as a Knight King.

Meanwhile, Shinra's attempts to tap into that third-eye magic make for little more than a tease for next week, but it's an enticing enough tease to warrant the time we spend on it. For years, Shinra's connection to his long-lost brother has been a thread that has done little more than string us all along from one plot revelation to the next. Could it be that we are finally going to get some bona fide character development for Shinra and Sho? Like I've said before, I'm not expecting Fire Force to suddenly begin crafting Attack on Titan-esque sequences of layered character drama, but I'll happily give the show kudos for allowing itself just a skosh more substance here in its final act.

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Fire Force is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Fridays.

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