Fire Force Season 3 ‒ Episodes 1-3

The main few episodes of Fire Force‘s lengthy-awaited return are — whereas you are going to pardon the terribly self-indulgent pun — a runt a slack burn, despite the fact that that is no longer primarily a inferior ingredient. In spite of all the pieces, the first episode of Season 3 has to discover viewers back up on a epic they couldn’t have revisited since 2019. Then, as soon as we’re all caught up on the recent articulate of Firm 8 and the battle against the White Clad, Fire Force has to location up the greatest battle our heroes have yet faced. In the wake of his lifestyles-altering expertise within the realm of Adolla, Captain Burns has defected to the White Clad to lend his strength in their apocalyptic endeavors. This ends in Obi being kidnapped and threatened with Insect transformation, which forces each person in Firm 8 to change into rebels against the Empire and crew up with the likes of Licht and Joker to free their beloved chief. The stakes have by no arrangement been greater, so it stands to reason that it would grab just a few episodes for the mark to set apart all of the items back onto the board and placement this epic’s huge closing sport into circulation.

Here’s the legal files: Fire Force is level-headed a damned beautiful example of circulation-plod anime goodness, and Studio David is reclaiming the mantle of adapting Atsushi Ohkubo‘s opus with out missing a beat (effectively…basically). Admire I outlined in my Preview Recordsdata coverage of the premiere , absence has most positively made my coronary heart develop fonder of these ridiculous dorks and the equally ridiculous epic that they are a share of. Shinra and the rest of Firm 8 feel love familiar friends at this level, and my excitement at getting to simply utter time with them whereas they bicker and scheme and blow stuff up with their magic fire powers makes it loads less complicated for me to miss things that after felt love critical bugbears.

Does the epic’s juvenile humor level-headed as soon as in a whereas clash with its increasingly more ambitious storytelling targets? Sure. Perform I level-headed roll my eyes on the equally sophomoric treatment of its fanservice moments and the odd costume designs that Fire Force foists upon its female characters? Yep. The difference between the James Beckett of 2019 and the James Beckett that writes these reviews in 2025, despite the fact that, is that 2025 James precise can’t be anxious as critical by those components when he’s level-headed having this critical fun. Per chance a share of it’s the overwhelming deluge of bland, soulless gentle recent adaptations that I’ve needed to veil as I’ve gotten deeper into my 30s. At this level, even a willfully dull and over-the-top persona is preferable to a comic strip that makes consume of precision-engineered, algorithm-fueled science to drain itself of any recognizable persona in any arrangement.

Plus, Fire Force is exclusively reaping the advantages of being a effectively-regarded as circulation anime that has within the discontinuance reached the closing stages of liftoff as it approaches its closing epic climax. After so many episodes of breadcrumb dropping and drip-fed exposition, the mark is initiating to destroy away and lift the stakes to an properly thrilling level. The descent into the Nether in Season 2 was colossal fun and all, but Firm 8 becoming the “darkish hero” vigilantes that must fight against the empire itself feels so arrangement more private and impactful. No longer easiest does the distance itself feel love it’s brimming with likely, but the solid of Firm 8 has by no arrangement felt more love the scrappy family of weirdos that Fire Force always posits them to be. Licht and Joker feel love lengthy-misplaced, rather terrible uncles that these children are going to pray to point out them primarily blow things up, and you perceive that I cherished seeing Hinawa dive headfirst into his recent role as the de facto chief of a band of seditious treasonists. “Blow up the penal advanced!” indeed.

All of the anticipation and buildup is rate it, then, when the gang within the discontinuance does approach on the penal advanced to blow it the hell up and finish Burns from turning Captain Obi into some horrific Infernal. It be the explicit circulation-movie setup, with Shinra and Joker taking on Burns on the rooftops whereas the rest of the crew affords with the creepy Gold and her goons on the ground (excluding for Arthur, who has naturally wandered off somewhere legal when he’s critical most). For as moving and interesting as this first main fight of the season is, despite the fact that, I originate wish to verbalize my easiest main complaint with this batch of episodes, which is that the bettering and production values grab a noticeable hit as soon as the sparks begin to sprint between the White Clad and Firm 8. It be nothing so inferior as to shatter the episode entirely, but there is a primarily palpable sense of the timing of the edits precise being…off, especially when Tamaki and Maki originate their first assault against Gold. The personality modeling and circulation cuts also lack the same old polish that Studio David can bring when they’re primarily cooking, too.

My hope is that here’s precise a case of the crew sacrificing just among the usual control for Episode 3 on epic of they’re giving that arrangement more attention Episode 4 as an animation showcase. It wouldn’t be the first time that Fire Force deliberately cooled its jets sooner than boosting into overdrive. So, whereas the tough presentation here is regrettable, it could perchance well precise repay within the end.

Score:

Stray Embers

• Crunchyroll has reunited the English solid from previous seasons for these recent episodes, and they’re all doing precise as legal a job as always with taking pictures the essence of these deeply dull yet very shapely heroes. Derick Snow performs Shinra’s feisty earnestness very effectively; Jeremy Inman retains Obi’s grit and resolution; Jad Saxton excels at handing over Tamaki’s layers of self-consciousness and snark, which is a critical wanted incompatibility to all of the meatheads she is surrounded by; and Eric Vale does great work in channeling the sheer, overwhelming dunderheadedness of Arthur, each person’s current delusional LARPer who kills fire monsters with his badass sword. I’m to listen to more of Caitlin Glass‘ work as Haumea, since this season looks to be giving her arrangement more cowl time and prominence now that the White Clad are out within the originate and, you perceive, making an try to explode all of the planet.

James is a author with many solutions and emotions about anime and utterly different pop-culture, that can even be realized on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.

Fire Force is within the meanwhile streaming on Crunchyroll on Fridays.