Review of Fire Force

Fire Force is a refreshing shounen that offers classic experience for shounen advocates: typical fan-service, action-packed scenes, beautiful fighting animations, and intriguing overarching plot. It's something that I've put on hold for awhile, mainly because watching the first few episodes felt like every other shounen and offers no "unique" value, but I'm glad I was able to finish the first season at the very least. Story: 6/10 Fire Force's story is intriguing yet bland in every way possible. You have the world turned turmoil because of a mysterious phenomenon: people becoming flaming monsters. Initially, it sounds generic, but the way the author weavesthe story of our protagonist into the world and how the supporting cast are involved, is written pretty well. I really liked the intrigue and mystique, however you will get put off by the pacing of this story as everything progresses with no proper development of the identity of these special "Fire Force" members, gravity of the flaming monsters, and regular people around. However, for what its worth, the story is what kept me interested in how our MC and his friends continue to explore the mystery of this phenomenon.

Art: 9/10

Wow, the art-style and animation by David Productions is, to no surprise,, top-notched. I really enjoyed the vibrant color palettes and beautiful expressions of character design. The visual effects really made the experience much more enjoyable with the badass animations in some of the fights.

Sound: 6/10

I can't particularly remember any sounds during fights that stood out, but the opening and ending songs were very good. The timing of these audio cues were synced well in certain moments, with some effects for fighting-techniques sounding so good.

Character: 6/10

Yeah, at the end of the day, this is a shounen and with that, there is a hard road ahead for authors attempting to characterize a good shounen character. To be honest, I like the main character a lot. He's a bit generic with his tragic backstory that everyone will see and roll their eyes, but his mindset, his loyalty to the Fire Force and to the goals he wants to achieve, makes it a bit more bearable for the audience to care. For me, that's what made it more enjoyable, with him and all, but with the poor pacing, it diminishes the effect of liking him.

The other characters, besides the Captain Obi and the Lieutenant Hinawa, are a more shallow. There is some development, which you'll see, but it's sort of... missing later on. You don't really see growth, you don't see the emotions of the supporting characters and how they truly play a role in the party. It's sort of ashame, but that is the curse of shounens. To further the two exceptions, they're a bit more interesting. They're not your ordinary supporting characters that are there to service the main character, but they're there to unite the Fire Force together and forge a bond between each member. Their backstories shine out of the others.

Enjoyment: 7/10

I enjoyed this show. It's a fun experience with some great fighting scenes, but the pacing and no-breather between "arcs" makes it really really hard to be attached emotionally to the characters and into the story.

Overall: 7/10

Would I recommend this? Yes. It's a good experience that people who love fighting/action-packed shounen with some decent comedy and character development. But, aside from the fighting and art/sound, it falls short of making it memorable imo.

Thanks for reading!