Fire Force Fans Can't Agree On Whether Or Not This Derails The Show
As the popularity of anime continues to take off, shows like "Fire Force" have gained a huge foothold as a result. Set in an alternate reality where much of Earth has been consumed by raging flames, the series follows a group of pyrokinetic warriors and investigative units as they try to prevent the raging inferno from consuming even more people.
The series comes from Atsushi Okubo, who also created the mega-hit manga "Soul Eater" and is even meant to be a prequel to that franchise in some ways. Though it's somewhat unclear how the worlds of "Fire Force" and "Soul Eater" connect at this point, it has been confirmed that the two definitely take place in the same reality (via Anime Senpai). Either way, fans are burning with passion for "Fire Force" as they eagerly await the newest season of the show. However, there's one element of the series that some viewers definitely wish would go up in smoke.
Fans think Fire Force has too much fanservice
On the r/firebrigade subreddit, fans discussed the problems with the pandering moments that permeate "Fire Force." "Does the fan service become any less overt or any more tolerable in the next season," asked u/KopakaWitThaGlocka in their thread. The user pointed out specifically how shots of sexy characters placed into compromising positions can often take the meaning out of any emotional depth or build-up of tension in key scenes. "The fan-service in this show just comes off poorly placed, never executed at the right time, and tone-deaf to the plot or moment at hand," they concluded.
u/disablednerd was quick to jump in and encourage the OP to persevere with the show. "I'd say it doesn't get in the way as much later, though. Like they don't use it as much to undercut tension, like in the Rekka fight," they pointed out. Meanwhile, u/wetsheetsmafia was quick to negate the notion that scenes with fan service are ever well constructed in any show. "'Poorly placed' is funny AF because I still haven't seen an anime where I was like, 'Wow! That Fanservice was perfectly placed.'"
"This is the biggest flaw in Fire Force," agreed u/jack-sector2814. "The poorly executed fan service is what makes Season 1 (or at least a good portion of it) kinda mid, but in Season 2 they improve significantly in that department, and the anime gets a lot better as a result!" they clarified.
Weekly Shonen editor was compelled by this world
Even if the fan service can be a sticking point for some viewers, the series remains both popular and addictive for much of its audience. Megumu Tsuchiya, an editor of Weekly Shonen Magazine, where the "Fire Force" manga series originally premiered, sat down with Funimation to discuss what he found most enticing about the story.
"I had this image inside my head that just blew my mind," Tsuchiya said. "It was when he told me, 'In the story, the firefighters have to kill the people who catch fire by spontaneous combustion, but these people are also victims of the fires they're in." Moral complexity can certainly make a world more compelling, and this editor obviously picked up on that element.
"There's no doubt that the readers will find this world to be fascinating," Tsuchiya remembered thinking to himself. Well, he was definitely right about that, and even if viewers occasionally quibble with how much "Fire Force" is spoon-feeding them titillating moments, the series has been successful enough to garner an upcoming third season.