The Fire Hunter

Episodes 6-7

I am once again tentatively interested in The Fire Hunter. I have a better grasp on what's going on, although I'd be lying if I said some of the specifics from past episodes didn't leak out of my head. Unfortunately, while the pieces are starting to snap together more clearly, the series struggles to maintain visual consistency. Characters go off model at various points even though they're merely speaking to one another, fight scenes are little more than stills dragged across the screen, and what should be a bustling capital is practically devoid of inhabitants. In one obvious moment, the colorist forgot to put in the whites of Kanata's eyes. It's unfortunate because each episode begins with the frankly stunning opening sequence. It includes multiple energetic action sequences that have not reoccurred since the show began.

The major development across both episodes is confirmation that magic and gods are real. I thought of it as folklore when Okibi talked about the gods and the descending clans in previous episodes. It was somewhat jarring to discover that, no, magic is real. This might seem nitpicky; we're already talking about a world where evolved beasts have flammable blood, humans combust when in contact with natural fire, and dragons go crazy. Up to this point, it seemed like the environment had toppled humanity's position at the top by introducing mythic-like beasts. This doesn't immediately suggest that gods are real and they have paper spies flouncing around town, nor that there's a whale made up of the souls of the dead.

The Fire Hunter's grounded visuals are often at odds with the more fantastical parts of its narrative. There's a lack of cohesiveness between the two, omitting the animation's problems. One part that eludes me (and may be reflective of not holding on to some world-building aspect from a previous episode) is why Koushi fears the gods' spies at all. It's my understanding that he's attempting to research and manufacture a weapon to thwart an impending attack against the capital and its Divine Clans from the Spider Clan. Unless these spies are directly tied to one of the gods working in collusion with the Spider Clan, I don't see where the conflict comes from. Would they disagree with Okibi's methods?

I have a lot of notes for these two episodes, but most are disconnected, and it's hard to tell what is meaningful foreshadowing and what is not. Touko remains stupid whenever it's convenient, like running away from the guard or suddenly instigating a sidequest to get medicine from treefolk in the Capital for Shouzou, even though he has a prescription. The book Koushi was looking through comes up again as he hilariously slides pages of airplanes and bombs to Okibi. This appears to be "lost knowledge" in this world.

If you overlook the artistic issues, The Fire Hunter's primary shortcoming is its lack of narrative tissue. There are small moments that feel satisfying, like Touko and Kaho bathing together, but the story wants to be bigger than its production can adequately manage. Hopefully, Touko and Koushi finally meeting will start to push things forward.

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The Fire Hunter is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.