An Anime Review of 'Fire Force'

Fire Force is a twenty four episode, summer 2019 anime that is based on the manga by Ookubo Atsushi. It is a show that is produced by David Productions, the same studio behind the Jojo's adaptation. One of the main reasons why I was interested in this show was because of the mangaka behind the story. His previous work, Soul Eater, is still one of my favourite manga, and I still like much of the Soul Eater adaptation. I had a high level of anticipation going into this show, and I can say that they were not only met, they were thoroughly exceeded.

The story revolves around Shinra and the firefighters at Station 8. Only, the fires that they put out are people themselves. The world that the story is taking place in is one that is recovering after a human extinction level apocalyptic event where the entire world was on fire. Since then, not only do people have the ability to use fire upon command, on occasion a human would spontaneously combust and go on a mindless rampage destroying everything with fire. This is where the firefighters come in to fight the fire and the individual.

The show starts out quite episodic in nature as we are slowly introduced to the characters we are following, and the mechanics and lore of the world the narrative is taking place in. Despite the episodic structure early on, the seeds of the overall narrative are being planted. Steadily the show shifts from an episodic event of the week structure, to an arc based narrative. The narrative that is taking shape, despite the humor of the show, is incredibly dark in its tone. In fact the humor is much needed to make the content somewhat absorbable.

The characters are fantastic, each of them have clear and distinct personalities with their own behavioural quirks that makes them entertaining to watch. Whether the show is comedic or taking itself seriously the characters are flexible enough to be able to pull off both tones effectively. There is a comradery that is built up over the course of the show, not only among the members of Station 8, but also among members from other stations. Seeing the different personalities interest with each other is one of the many highlights of the show. My favourite character in the show is without a doubt Maki.

The visuals are incredible, Ookubo Asushi's art style combined with the colour palate the show employed makes every frame of the show pop out of the screen. The character designs are fantastic as each character model compliments the personality of the character they embody. What really made the show fascinating to me is the framing of the show. While most anime adheres to a strict and conventional framing style such as over the shoulder, Fire Force uses POV (point of view). What makes this even more interesting is the fact that they use this framing in moments that are unconventional, most often at times when a character is not speaking, or where there is a lull in the conversation. One of my favourite shots is one of Tamaki in POV and she is simply reacting to events for nearly 30 seconds. The standard of animation to convey these emotions is amazing and I was riveted to the screen.

To continue with the visuals, there are a lot of still frames, with no movement at all from either the characters or from the frame itself, one particular example involved two characters talking for multiple minutes with the same still image. There are many instances where a lot of time is spent on a static frame with multiple characters talking. While the actual framing is interesting enough that it did not affect my enjoyment over as a result of the quality of the dialogue, it is something I would consider to be an issue. Conversely, it is done often enough to make it seem as if it can be argued as either a stylistic choice or a matter of budget and time constraints.

The show more than makes up for this issue of static framing by making the fight scenes incredible, both from a visual standpoint and a narrative, emotional standpoint. There is an incredible amount of flair present in the way these fights are presented. In addition, it is also quite graphic and touches on some taboo and mature themes. There were more than a few instances where the frame was censored due to the images they were conveying.

The soundtrack of the show is magnificent and I have found myself listening to it often, along with the openings and endings whenever I am working.

This is a show that I was thoroughly invested in, so much so to the point that I was constantly surprised when the episode ended. It is intense, and visually stunning, accompanied with an intricate narrative that I was invested in and I was glad to hear a second season is on the way. I highly recommend it, however be warned as stated earlier that it is quite graphic in visuals and themes. Fire Force is available to watch on Crunchyroll.