English Dub Review: Fire Force “Corna (Sign of the Devil)”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

The battles rage on from multiple parts of the town, with Shinra still fighting Charon while the joint forces face the Demon Infernal. Shinra observes Charon’s movements and how his explosions have come out, eventually figuring out that he’s a Second Generation Pyrokinetic. This means that he can control fire in a unique way, unlike Shinra being a Third Generation who can simply generate his own fire. But in Charon’s case, his ability allows him to build up the damage dealt to him and then releasing it as an attack. So basically Lucario in Smash Bros Brawl. Shinra tries to go on the defensive to minimize what can be thrown back at him, but Charon just gets his goons to beat himself up so he can build energy that way. So, Shinra tries using the “Corna” sign that should generate explosions in his fire as attacks. He remembers Captain Obi describing that the two horns used to be a symbol for Rock Music, which has been gone since the days of the old world, though they’re also known as devil horns. And while he might not like the name, Shinra determines to become a devil, but one who FIGHTS evil, using a new attack: Flames of Hell. This knocks Charon out…for a few minutes before he cleans Shinra’s clock again.

Meanwhile, Hinawa, Karim, Licht, and the rest continue their efforts to stop the Demon Infernal. This is no easy feat, as the only ones who are known to have defeated a Demon are Benimaru and Konro, neither of whom are present. Karim’s ice technique doesn’t seem to slow it down, so Licht comes up with his own plan. He’ll the Second Gen pyrokinesis, with Maki at the center, to gather all the currently raging fires together while luring the Demon to the center of town and trapping it in a tornado of fire, also known as a firestorm. But the target stops mere feet away from the spot, forcing them to use Vulcan’s high powered fire extinguisher to push it in. Thanks to the combined power of several companies, the Demon is defeated and the fires are put out in one move. But Shinra is still up against Charon nearby.

OUR TAKE

This arc begins to wind down with both big fights reaching their respective climaxes. Shinra, while still not quite gaining the upper hand on Charon, now has a new technique on hand in future battles (which was also utilized in the current ED, though I had no idea it was going to be an actual attack!) and most everyone else gets a moment to shine by showing that, while the Demon Infernals are still major obstacles, they can also be defeated by the combined forces of the Fire Force. There is also Arthur off fighting Haumea somewhere else, though that seems more of a distraction than crucial to the plot at this point. And with all of that put together, we get an episode that is pretty much firing on all cylinders and showing off as much as it possibly could. It’s not like a very important plot moment and so is limited in that, but in terms of balancing two fight scenes, it makes sure to give both enough time to breathe and that everyone involved gets a chance to carry the load.

And while I do like how Shinra’s fight developed (and needed more space to describe how it was going on), I’m gonna have to say that the fight with the Demon Infernal was probably the highlight of the episode. Aside from it giving characters other than Shinra their time in the spotlight, it also shows that it’s not just Shinra and Arthur who are forces to reckon with. This series has, so far, been pretty good with holding off on the power escalation as best it can. Meaning that, while Shinra is indeed getting stronger, everyone else who either has a locked in moveset or just isn’t powered at all like Obi or Licht can contribute to a fight with their own established prowess. That can be overlooked more often than you might think in these stories, especially when a few main characters get picked out to be the main focus forever and everyone else is basically tossed aside. And we did get to see plenty of them fight in the last few episodes of Season 1, but it’s nice to know that’s not a one time thing.

Next week looks like it will be the end of this arc, though the preview suggests that Inca’s probably leaving with the White Clad, possibly for the reasons of wanting danger in her life which being in safe custody likely wouldn’t provide. She’s got her own special move that already makes a threat, so getting with the bad guys who already have a cult full of threatening powers means they likely just got a big boost in their fire power, but we’ll have to check next week to find out.