English Dub Review: Fire Force “A Three-Way Melee”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

In response to Shinra using his Adolla Burst, Nataku’s Adolla Link activates, signaling the White Clad to make their way there. Licht also calls for back up from Company 8, but they’re stopped on the way by Puppeteer, a strange woman who controls robotic puppets called Dominions. She faces Maki and Vulcan, though the latter gets into an argument with her about whether or not mechs should be kid friendly. Eventually the White Clad arrive to collect Nataku, but Puppeteer calls for her Punisher.

OUR TAKE

The episode title lives up to its name as Company 8 now has to contest with both Haijima and the White Clad in the hunt for Nataku, who has now emerged as the Sixth Pillar. Though while this does bring the White Clad back into the story after being absent for quite awhile, Haijima and its new characters aren’t about to be overshadowed. We got a crazy first impression of Kurono last time, so this week gives the spotlight to Puppeteer (who I honestly thought I had just forgotten the name of, but sure enough her name is just her job) and her fight between Maki and Vulcan, two characters who I feel like don’t get as much time to fight as everyone else, so I’m glad to see them getting some focus now. And it’s an interesting match up as Maki is consistently shown to be someone who has an innocent nature despite having muscles that could lift a truck while Vulcan has his own kid-like obsessions with his inventions, so it’s interesting to see them facing what is essentially a daycare owner playing with toys. It also gives Vulcan a chance to have a fight he’s in not be about his backstory but still make use of his character, which I appreciate. It’s still Haijima, so it’s kind of connected to his backstory, though it doesn’t make his fights stuck in that gimmick.

And as mentioned, this episode brings the White Clad back into focus, including Inca coming back to the battlefield for the first time since joining them. Since this and her arc were both about convincing an emerging Pillar to join one of their teams, it’ll be interesting to see how this plays out compared to then, especially since Nataku definitely seems to be a different sort of character than her, even if they look to be similar levels of unhinged. We also learn that, at least among the White Clad, that each Pillar is given their own “protector”, with Haumea having Charon, Sho having Arrow, and Inca having a new girl named Ritsu. I don’t really know how to feel about this detail since it seems a bit arbitrary, though it could end up playing into the bigger plan when we get to it. It also makes you wonder who Shinra or the First Pillar in Amaterasu’s protectors would be. Nataku’s seems to be Kurono in some bizarre way, though we’ll get into their messed up relationship later in the arc. For now, things are really heating up in Fire Force just the way I like it.