After seeing clips and art on imgur, I decided to try out
Fire Force. I am 3 episodes in and the premise is pretty cool. The
intro music is really nice. Its a post apocalyptic world, and in Tokyo people have started to spontaneous combust. When doing so they become fire zombies called "infernals." The government created a response team to put down these demonic entities and investigate in what causes this phenomenon. They are called the Fire Force and are deployed like, and alongside, the fire department. The fire department puts out the fires after the Fire Force puts down the infernal. Some people have been born with pyrokenetic powers. Some can manipulate existing fire and use them against the infernals, and some have developed X-men style abilities that are fire based and can create them. Most fire force companies consist of these individuals.
The story follows Fire Force Company 8 as they put down infernals and try to figure out the cause of spontaneous combustion. The leader of company 8 doesn't have any powers and is just a normal human. Our protagonist is Shinra, who is a recruit. He can shoot fire out of his feet which he uses to launch himself like a rocket, do fire kicks, and break dance fighting. He also has a nervous tick, kind of like the Joker, in that when he's nervous, anxious, or scared, he can't help but smile. This gets him into trouble a lot. He has a tragic past and wants to investigate the fire that killed his family. There are many other crew mates on the team including another rookie that can make a plasma sword and thinks he's King Arthur, a pyrokenetic woman that was recruited from the military, a nun, a no nonsense lieutenant that can manipulate guns, and the captain that has no powers which is uncommon in the Fire Force.
The first few episodes are great, with the second episode being a real gut puncher. The third episode is also great and deepens the mystery of the show. There is one glaring problem that shows up. A new character is introduced and the opening sequences indicates they will be joining the team. Maybe its just my problem and I just don't get it, but her character is just cringey. She dresses in a bikini under her fire suit and has this "clumsiness" where she'll trip and fall into a guy which results in him touching her boob or butt. She then berates them for sexual harassment. In her introduction scene I didn't even see her trip but in a blink of an eye, Shinra was just standing there awkwardly, and then his hand was under her bikini top and on her boob. He doesn't even know how it got there and he's not a lecherous character. She yells at him and "trips again" and now he has his hands on her butt. I just don't understand this type of character at all. It really breaks my immersion and is just awkward, and not in a funny way. Looking up the show, this is her entire character. She has the power to give herself fire cat powers, but other than that she's just there for fan service and to accidentally get groped.
