Maki, Maki, Maki! Those of you who have been following my Fire Force posts may have noticed that I have a bit of a thing for Maki. And by thing, I mean enormous and desperate crush. That’s saying quite something since Maki shares a series with Hibana. And it’s real though to take your eyes off Hibana.
But there’s something about Maki’s earnest persona and sweet demeanour that’s just number 1 in my heart. I also like that she could beat up anyone who was mean to me. This is going to turn into some questionable Maki fanfiction if I’m not careful.
Also, Maki’s entire family is pretty much the best. Her father is amazing and really knows how to treat a daughter. Her sibling relationship with her brother was adorable. And the gap with his insufferable baby talk really worked well. And her mom. Well, we have a contender. I would have said, we know where Maki gets it from, but Maki clearly takes after her father.
We had only heard about Maki’s background in the fantastic season 1 episode that revealed Hinawa’s backstory. All we knew is that she came from an elite military family and that it put a lot of pressure on her. I expected the usual hard behind dad that is tough but fair with his only child. Instead, we saw a loving fun family that honestly enjoy each other’s company.
Which means that Maki in fact joined the army entirely out of her own accord. Her dad does like to keep an eye on her but I have a feeling he would have been thrilled if she had picked any non dangerous career. But seeing as her brother is in law enforcement, it seems serving the people runs in their blood. This made Maki stronger for me. She is the only main character in Fire Force so far that doesn’t have a tragic backstory to fall back on. Nice!
This is neither here nor there but am I the only one that thinks that Maki’s brother looks a little like Hinawa. Imagine him with glasses.
It seems the Evangelist have finally made enough trouble to get themselves noticed by people outside of Fire Force. As soon as the scene went to brother Oze investigating the Nether, I started feeling on edge. I figured that if he was part of that family, he would be tough but still, what can an ordinary human do against the white-clad.
It’s telling that when they discovered that underground lab I wondered for a second if it was Victor’s. There was a table for human experimentation and all. Of course, it wasn’t Victor’s lab but just the fact that the thought crossed my mind tells you something about what type of character he is.
Naturally, things went wrong. And of course, Oze was injured. That was pretty much a given. I had to remind myself that Fire Force is meant for audiences of most ages and probably wouldn’t feature a gratuitous death like that. I won’t pretend that I wasn,t super relieved to see him in that hospital room nonetheless.
In hindsight, I should have expected Maki t get separated from the rest. It’s a classic move. Get one of our main characters out of the picture so they can rejoin the group at just the right moment and everyone rejoice! But it still sux a bit. I mean look how bummed Maki is. Her little secretary friend is calling it a job fit for a princess. But Maki may be many things, a princess she is not. I mean that with a ton of love.
Maki’s strength has always been very specific. And I’m not talking about the muscles. Those are good too. Maki is patient, deliberate and dedicated. She’s also stubborn. Maki is the type of person who just practices until she gets it right, no matter how long it takes. And she has an incredible temperament that seems immune to both depression and pride. Now that we know where she grew up, it’s not that surprising.
When Maki is surrounded by the goofballs at company 8, those strengths really shine. They need her soothing presence. But in the military setting. As a bored secretary. Everything that’s best about her is dulled. So I have simply chosen to adopt Arthur’s logic here. Because Arthur logic is best logic. I am refusing to accept that Maki is gone and I have decided that she will rejoin the team next episode.
Also, the episode flew by before I knew it. Fantastically consistent season we are having.
In case you’re interested, here are my reviews for the great season of Fire Force
- Fire Force 2 Episode 1 – A Great Start
- Fire Force 2 Episode 2 – The Return of the Knight King
- Fire Force 2 Episode 3 – Bombshell Gorilla
- Fire Force 2 Episode 4 – Day of The Living Ash
- Fire Force 2 Episode 5 – Firestorm
- Fire Force 2 Episode 6 – Backdraft
- Fire Force 2 Episode 7 – Tabernacle
- Fire Force 2 Episode 8 – Mixed Messages
- Fire Force 2 Episode 9 – titless
- Fire Force 2 Episode 10 – Orthodoxy
- Fire Force 2 Episode 11 – Wild Card
- Fire Force 2 Episode 12 – Beni-J
- Fire Force 2 Episode 13 – Scriptures
- Fire Force 2 Episode 14 – The Devil You Know
- Fire Force 2 Episode 15 – Free For All
- Fire Force 2 Episode 16 – The Enemy of my Enemy
- Fire Force 2 Episode 17 – Protectors
- Fire Force 2 Episode 18 – Crisis of Faith
I didn’t notice that Maki’s brother looks a little like Hinawa, but now that you mention it I can’t unsee it. It’s interesting how deflated Maki got when Hinawa said she should go home. He’s so socially awkward, that you should never read into his words. So he thinks she should take the job… but why? Do they need an inside contact, if the military starts getting involved? He almost certainly didn’t say what Maki imputed. (But Obi didn’t intervene or elaborate either, while he was clearly present. Something’s up.)
It’s also interesting that her father thinks they tricked her into joining. I mean the episode has basically paved the way back already.
And Arthur basically says what everyone watching the show thinks. Heh.
I’m not sure what the show is trying to say by making the audience surrogate a delusional doofus but I’m o.k. with it
I know how it feels when you seriously admire an anime character. Great blog!
Thank you! I do admire quite a few of them