OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Company 7 begins making repairs to the town after the battle, so Company 8 helps out in hopes of getting in their good graces about the investigation into the Evangelist. They at least seem to get on the good side of Konro, Benimaru’s second in command who even said captain thinks should be in charge, and soon Benimaru changes his tune on him too. Later in the day, Shinra goes to ask him to see Obi, presumably about the investigation. And it turns out they were right on the money, as some of the White Clad are indeed in Asakusa and plan to get them off their trail. They do so by disguising themselves as Obi and Hinawa and talking about turning Kantaro (the old man from the last episode) and the rest of the district into Infernals so that Benimaru will overhear.

Benimaru soon gives chase, much to the real Obi and Hinawa’s confusion. Fortunately, Obi manages to hold his own in a fight even without powers, with Konro convincing him to let everyone make their case. Naturally, Obi and Hinawa have no recollection of saying these things OR asking to talk to Benimaru, which confuses Shinra because he remembers being asked by Obi to have the captain’s talk. While they work that out, Konro tells Company 8 about how he overheated while fighting a demonic Infernal sometime before Company 7 was formed.

OUR TAKE

After a two week break (making it the second break the show has taken in only a dozen episodes) Fire Force returns to continue the Asakusa Arc. I initially thought this was Funimation giving up on the same-day Simuldub, but it turns out it was due to a sporting event, the “IAAF World Athletics Championship”, going on in the show’s timeslot. It’s possible that this and the delay of the third episode might be contributing to the show’s poor DVD sales in Japan, and who knows how that will impact its production after this first season is concluded.

And it’s unfortunate if it does because this episode carries a lot of the intrigue that started with the last one as we learn more about the unique ideology of Company 7 and their captain. It seems that, much like Company 8, the seventh is not a particularly favored group with the higher-ups, but rather a bunch of unorthodox ruffians who have a strong sense to protect their people with their abilities. The previous episode highlighted their casual attitude towards death and destruction for the purpose of preserving the remaining lives around them, but they also value strength as a means to settle disputes. They also seem to be what is referred to as “proto-nationalists”, a term floated a couple of times before that points to the more traditional Japanese architecture and customs in Asakusa that might have been phased out in other districts. And it looks like we’ll be finding out more next episode how Company 7 got their start, much like we saw of Company 8 before.

It’s also important to see the major differences between the companies and their captains in addition to their resemblance, which is both displayed in the brief tussle between most of 8 and Benimaru. They both share a fierce determination to fight and defend their own groups, but while Benimaru has the upper hand in pyrokinesis abilities, Obi has to fight him in just his armor to prove a point. Also interesting is that Benimaru doesn’t seem to think he deserves to be captain over Konro, the far more level headed of the two, but Konro thinks differently. It can’t just be that Konro essentially crippled himself in the battle we see in the flashback, so I imagine this arc will be just as much about developing Benimaru’s character as it is continuing the plot to find the Evangelist. Which hopefully we can get to without any further breaks.

Score 8/10