Fire Force 2 Episode 22 – The Real Deal

Posted on by Irina

I realize we still have two episodes to go but I’m just going to say it right now. Fire Force needs another season. Not only is the series visibly improving as it goes along, but the story is clearly not finished.

And it’s not gonna get finished in 2 episodes. It’s just not! I guess they could have explored the city and killed everyone. That would have brought on a very quick conclusion. Gutsy too. Maybe they did and this is some Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge shenanigans. But even then, way too many intriguing questions were brought up. This show is making me sort of happy frustrated. It’s an odd feeling, to say the least.

I’ve said it before and I’ll likely say it again. Fire Force has probably the best blocking and framing I have seen in an anime. It never ceases to amaze me and by now I’m getting close to 50 episodes in. Also, I didn’t quite realize at the time just how creepy Sho looks as a doll. The entire scene was extremely unsettling but the image itself is even freakier than I remembered.

I have always enjoyed it when Shinra and Arthur work together. And I’m sort of stretching the meaning of the word “together”. Arthur is a man apart. He’s in his own world. Maybe even his own universe. When Giovanni mentioned something akin to reading his mind, I figured Fire Force had already won that one. Just sit back and let the bad guy get a brain tumour. That’s probably the best you can hope for if you try to read Arthur’s mind!

I was afraid the episode would get crowded. Arthur and Shinra had a boss battle to get through, meanwhile, the rest of the team has to stop an explosion that could level the entire city. Thing’s weren’t looking good on that front at all, I might add. And of course, Maki has to come back. Are you surprised this entire post isn’t just me writing Maki’s back over and over again? It could still end up being that!

I must say, Maki’s return as well as neutralizing the explosion all happened way quicker and with fewer complications than I expected. Then again the entire episode flew by in a few minutes so I can’t quite trust my sense of time here. As for the complications, after a couple of the bloodiest episodes the series has ever had, and the highest good guy body count, maybe there were enough complications already.

Look at that aerial shot of bleu haired Ritsu on a blue-tiled floor. The square and diamond patents creating a visual foil to her own circular presence which is subtly highlighted by the curved headband. Her shadow only slightly in front and to the side. It’s just a pretty composition. Ok, I get excited about weird things. I know…

I thought the slight feminist message when Maki was talking with her brother just missed the mark. I’ll come back to this in a bit. It felt shoehorned and out of nowhere. I don’t remember this ever being an actual gender issue. I just thought the brother was worried for his little sister. He doesn’t seem to care at all about all the other women in company 8. To me, it was a tone death monet. However, since I really enjoyed watching the Oze siblings work together, it was also soon forgotten!… Until now…

Two really interesting new plot threads were dropped on us this episode. First the very creepy faith of Sho. Now to me, Fire Force at its core has always been a tale of two brothers. It was Shinra trying to reclaim the only family he has and with that forgive himself and reconcile with his abilities. I figure that once that arc is done, the main story will be over and the series either has to end or start with something completely new. I also figure without that, the series isn’t over at all!

Sho as an incredibly powerful enemy is one thing, but putting him as a damsel in distress just brings up so many possibilities. I assume he was starting to ask too many questions which is why he ended up this way but even if he snaps out of it, there’s no guarantee he’ll be on Shira’s side. In some ways, having him all docile like this is a good thing for Shinra. he may not be able to win in physical combat but now he can just steal his brother back.

The second point is that awesome super Konro has a deeper link to this whole mess than we know. Which probably means bringing back company 7 in some capacity. I’m always for that. I love those weirdos!

And I said we’d get back to the shoehorned feminist moment between Maki and Takigi. Well at the end of the episode there was a brief exchange between General Oze and his wife. He simply asked if she had any misgivings about having chosen to become a housewife. He actually asks her about her feelings and the conversation heavily implies that it was her choice. She says no but that her daughter is different. The scene had the same type of messaging but in my opinion, was done so much better. They should have just kept this moment in and let Takigi not want his sister to be in company 8 because she’s his sister. Nothing else.

That’s just my opinion though. Also, great episode, two to go and it seems like they might be just plain fun!

In case you’re interested, here are my reviews for the great season of Fire Force

4 thoughts on “Fire Force 2 Episode 22 – The Real Deal”

  1. Pingback: Fire Force Season 2 Ep 22 Review - Best In Show | Crow's World of Anime

  2. Hm, the moment between Maki and her brother was pretty much what I expected; it felt consistent but didn’t particularly stand out. It’s only part of the picture, though. There’s also this sense that she’s not “sufficiently” feminine if she’s all that muscular and stuff, that keeps popping up as a conflict, which is the flipside. It’s conflicting role expactations, and the sense that you have to choose. And I thought overall that was pretty well done as a non-focus element, but nothing I’d say that stands out.

    I loved how excited Giovanni got when hearing that he’d approached the Adolla link. Fun scene; great villain right here. We’re also getting to what makes the 7th special; I’ve been waiting for a development on that front.

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