Review of Fire Force

I like this anime, but I feel like it could've been better. Let's start with the positives, first. The main reason why I enjoyed this anime to the degree that I did was the psychokinesis and how the show utilized it. Typically, psychokinesis is always portrayed the same way: dude makes fire with his hands and does stuff. This anime does a lot more creative things with psychokinesis, as everyone's psychokinesis manifests in a different way, and there are some really cool stuff the show does with it. Another thing I really enjoyed when it comes to fire force is the story, concept, and worldbuilding. I love the part about how the companies essentially put the infernals out of their misery, and the moral implications the show addresses with that. I also love how each company is different and has their own goals. I can't wait to see more with what they do with the world.

There are some noticeable flaws when it comes to this anime, and it might pull you away from the series. First and foremost, this anime has a major problem with tonal dissonance. The second OP of the series, mayday, features the main cast just hangout out and standing there while hardcore metal plays in the background, and honestly that fits the show perfectly. There will be fight scenes filled with drama and suspense...only to be interrupted with a le funny arthur moment or an over the top fanservice moment, and this happens multiple times. This show wants to be both a serious action drama with real stakes and moral dilemas AND a satirical comedy with goofy, one-note characters. You can have comedic moments and serious moments, but NOT AT THE SAME TIME. And that's the problem with Fire Force: it never knows whether to serious or not, and that hurts many aspects of the show, such as the fight scenes and characters.

Speaking of the characters, a lot of them are pretty simple, a little too simple for a shounen with heavy themes and serious stakes. Half of the cast are comic reliefs with nothing else to them (Arthur, Tamaki, kinda Maki) and the other half lack strong personalities and don't really develop as characters (Shira, and the other two guys) I feel like the characters that get the most development are the leader and the glasses guy, but they rarely show up in anything other than the 2 episodes they mattered. I don't want to be TOO harsh on the characters, because I do believe that Shinra, Maki, the Leader and Glasses guy will get a lot of character development in season 2, and I actually really like Arthur and Maki as comic relief, even if they are a bit simple. But the fact that a whole season has passed and not one of the cast, not even Shinra, has gone through any development, says a lot about this season specifically.

One thing to note is that this anime has a lot of awkward, silent pauses, sometimes for no reason at all. I think it's supposed to be a thematic thing, but it's used horribly. I would use this kind of thing for somber moments when everyone is just sad, but it's used on all types of scenes. It makes me feel like there should be a laugh track placed there.

One more elephant in the room. This anime has some fanservice, and it is pretty obnoxious. It DOES get better (and actually funny) later in the season, but in the first half of the season, it was pretty bad. It goes back to the tonal dissonance part where they shove it in things where it really doesn't belong, such as fight scenes filled with suspense and emotion.

Even with it's flaws, I still like the show. For reccomendations, i'd say, if this review makes it look interesting, give it a watch, but it's not really a must-watch.