Fire Force | First Impressions | Yes, It’s LIT

July 15, 2019

I believe it’s safe to say that everyone was blown away by Fire Force’s explosive introduction. Just the first few minutes alone was a Sakuga wet dream. As much as I like the series so far, I thought I would talk about the risk of being too predictable and talk about some neat things I noticed.

Fire Force has an interesting premise as they are special firefighters that actually fight humans suffering from spontaneous combustion. I really didn’t know what to think of it at first since we also have another firefighting anime from trigger coming out this year called Promare. I don’t really know too much about Promare except the sneak peek we got at Anime Expo last year so I won’t try to do any comparison here.

Outside of the first few minutes, the OP instantly grabbed my attention. I’ve never heard of this band before but they sound like most of what I’m listening to now, so I’m in the process of finding that song. The animation seemed like an OP only story. This is something I prefer honestly. You are getting a preview of what the potential of the cast is, in battle and the dangers they will have to overcome. This presentation without the risk of major spoilers is what I like to see.

As much as the OP does a great job of not spoiling much for the audience, the story seems to be a little too predictable. I feel that any consistent anime fan can put most of the pieces together of what this team will have to deal with. Shinra’s background story painted a great picture of his early struggles but not much left to surprise me later. Yeah, this thing that attacked his home may be what they face later and I truly doubt his brother is dead. “There weren’t even any bones left from his little brother Sho”. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT THAT ONE! Pretty sure whatever being killed his mother took his brother and will likely be an enemy of his as well in the future.

I haven’t read the manga and I know absolutely nothing so just take this as a grain of salt. I just hope that the story is not too easy to read moving forward. I even think Oubi Akitaru may know more about Shinra than we think just from the first episode. But I guess half the fun of these stories is trying to guess what will happen next and hope these events are well written, exceeding our expectations.

Another interesting thing about this series for me was being able to determine who was the director without looking at the staff behind it. Yuki Yase has a very unique style for me. He worked on Nisekoi, Maekakucity Actors and Nisemonegatari. I remember reading somewhere that many veterans from Shaft were working on this project but now I’m starting to see their styles bleed through and it’s just wonderful to see.

Overall, I’m excited to see where this roller coaster ride takes us. I also want to know more about her!

I don’t know how I feel about The Anime Awards this year. There are so many great contenders. Not to say that this is one but I feel that 2019 has been such a strong year for anime and I hope we keep trending higher with quality. I would love to hear your thoughts on Fire Force and how you feel about it being somewhat predictable. Or you could just tell me I’m crazy. Either way is fine with me! Enjoy your weekend everyone!