English Dub Review: Fire Force “Signs of Upheaval”

 


OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)
Benimaru continues training Shinra and Arthur on how to use their Hysterical Strength, though he only manages to get that out of Shinra once Shinra is completely exhausted. This also triggers another Adolla Link, which helps him to see visions of his mother and brother, but also Captain Hague of Company 4 being killed. This turns out to be true, as Hague is targeted by a golden armed member of the White Clad and torturously killed, though his death is ruled a suicide as a cover. This likely means that other people with an Adolla Link like Konro will be targeted next, so Benimaru allies Company 7 with the Empire properly to protect him. Hibana also has questions about the doppelganger demon Infernal he faced, though that will have to wait. As this is happening, the White Clad, including the now recovered Sho, look over the city from their base, ready to enact the next phase of their plan.

OUR TAKE
Fire Force wraps up its second season with what is more set up for the next than much of a finale on its own. Compared to the previous season’s finale, which actually felt like both a wrap up of previous events and setting up future ones, this was mainly about getting folks hyped for whenever the third season may come out. That release is currently unconfirmed, mostly because there isn’t enough material to adapt quite yet, but based on the pacing of these existing two seasons (90 chapters in Season 1 and 84 in Season 2) as well as the fact that the manga is currently closing in on its finale, it’s looking like the next season will most likely be the last. A shame that we won’t be able to get it same time next year like we have for the previous two, though hopefully it will be worth the wait.

As for the episode itself, it’s a fine episode on its own, just not a great season finale. It’s not a terrible one, however, since it does revisit things from the beginning of this season and the end of the last one. We first met Captain Hague in the second episode of the season, so seeing his death as a sign of greater threats to come is an interesting way to bring things full circle. On the other hand, it’s a bit of a let down to only now see Sho back in action when the openings made it seem like he would be a bigger part of things this season. Same to a lesser extent with Burns, who did get some prominence in the first half during his arc with Benimaru and Joker, but then fell back into the background for the second. I guess it didn’t really HARM the story, but it is a bit of a disappointment.

Although, if the goal was to get me chomping at the bit for more of this series, it certainly worked. I’ve enjoyed this season and the show overall for the most part, and with things ramping up towards a big conclusion next time, the hype is pretty high. Six captains left to fight, two pillars left to find, and less than 100 chapters left to adapt. But before we can look forward, we must look back, as we cover the season as a whole in the Season Review.