English Dub Review: Fire Force “Dragon and Knight Surge Toward the Heavens”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Arthur the Knight King faces his nemesis Dragon in one final battle that will take them both the edges of hope and despair.

OUR TAKE

After last week gave us the absolute worst episode of Fire Force (so far, but I doubt we’ll be hitting depths like that for the finale), this week kicks off the final five episodes of the series by bringing us a good palette cleanser, providing Arthur with the mythical last confrontation with Dragon. It may feel a bit less impactful considering Dragon was only introduced earlier in this season, but it makes up for it when you consider something: Dragon, who has made his whole identity being the embodiment of despair and destruction, is Arthur’s perfect counterpart for his own aspirations/delusions about being a knight. That kind of diminishes Dragon as his own character but in exchange makes this last battle all about Arthur going all out, reaching heights of power that he had never come close to before, all in the hope of inspiring others to keep fighting and reclaim their lives and world. From his first appearance in the second episode of the series, Arthur’s gimmick of acting like a knight has varied from mildly amusing to downright annoying. It was easy to compare him to a less interesting version of Soul Eater’s Black Star, who had equally high aspirations and arrogance, but was a complete character by the time Fire Force started.

But as we’ve seen throughout this story, especially leading up to its climax, delusions about hope and a better world are exactly what people need to make those delusions into reality. Arthur’s view of everything in medieval terms may have driven viewers and his fellow soldiers up a wall at times, but they ended up providing him with the means to be an excellent fighter and show up for his comrades as a result. And now, with reality literally crumbling around them, racing forward with the hope things will work out may just be the thing everyone needs to save the world, even at the cost of their lives. Yeah, Arthur ends this battle with one hand and bisected at the torso, but crazier things have happened, so maybe we’ll see him again, or at least something that will remind us of him and all he’s done. We’d be FOOLS to think otherwise. And with that, Shinra awakens from his forced slumber, leaving us with four episodes remaining to see how our Devil Hero will turn things around for humanity, or change the world into something new, but familiar.