Review of Fire Force
I see way too many negative reviews for this show and not enough completed reviews that I strongly agree with, so here goes. Fire Force is an awesome show that captures the cool action, fun characters, and powerful emotions I look for in anime. I was skeptical of this show due to its mixed reviews, but I’m pleased to say it was fun and exciting show from the start. In just the first episode this show had me on the edge of my seat. Many of the following episodes would proceed to push me even further to hop off my seat onto my feat. Does thisnormally happen with me when watching anime? Very rarely. That is a testament to just how hype this show is.
The stakes are high, as are the emotions at many times. Fire Force establishes a world where some unfortunate humans turn into infernals, demon-like creatures who became a danger along with the fires that must be stopped by the fire soldiers. Our main protagonist Shinra lost a lot to these fires in the past, and has made it his mission to become a fire soldier who can save the day for others so no one has to experience the pain he has. Some of this premise may sound generic, but if you are a fan of the shonen action genre I think you will find that Fire Force does a good job in executing what the genre does best. I found Shinra, although cheesy at times, overall a cool and endearing protagonist must akin to his contemporaries such as Deku, Asta, and Tanjirou.
Along with Shinra, Fire Force has a cast of lovable characters that you meet within the Fire Soldiers, as well as some interesting antagonists. The main cast around Shinra were a nice team, with each member being a character who adds value to the show that made the overall dynamic great.
The plot of this story actually explores some interesting directions that I wasn’t expecting it to go. There is a lot of mystery to this world with random human combustions and various fire force factions that may be pursuing their own ambitions and hiding secrets from each other. In this first season of Fire Force I was happy to see this world explored to a fair degree in having a glance into several factions within the world in order to unravel more of this mystery.
The biggest kicker of this show that I must reiterate, its so freaking hype! The fight scenes in this show are downright amazing. The animation is consistently crisp making these fight scenes look even cooler. The sound effects were awesome which added even more punch to the fights. The power system has more depth and diversity to it than what I was expecting considering it mainly revolves around fire. Watching Shinra with all of his acrobatic moves along with his fire powers brought me back to the days of watching firebenders in Avatar, which was an absolute joy. The hype moments are so well executed in building up emotions and delivering epic payoffs.
Opening 1 is an absolute banger btw.
My complaints? I have a few. My primary complaint is that there are some awkward fanservice moments that pop up in the show. Luckily, these moments of fanservice aren’t too constant in the show, but when they do take place they sure are cringy to see. Next, I will say there are a couple particular moments I can think of where the writing is a bit uneven and awkward, but thats bound to happen in almost any show. Aside from that, there aren’t too many other complaints I have with this show. It does a pretty good job overall in every category of story, characters, visuals, and music. (especially visuals!)
After watching Fire Force, I can safely say it's worth giving a try. I think there are a bit too many negative reviews of this show out there which may give the impression that this show is not good or not even worth trying. I skipped over this anime until now because of this, but after watching let me just tell you to give it a shot! Don’t make a preemptive judgement and let others decide what you think before trying it out for yourself!
I'll end by saying I’m grateful for this show. Fire Force meets that wonderful feeling of a exciting, emotional, action-packed anime. This show was an absolute blast and so entertaining every single episode. I witnessed some of the coolest fights I’ve ever seen in anime. I experienced some of the most adrenaline filled moments I’ve ever felt in anime. I strongly suggest you give this one a shot if you enjoy this type of anime.