I’m not sure if it’s just me or if I’m tired or Fire Force just makes no sense to me, but I honestly could not wrap my head around what happened in the second half of the episode. But I’ll get to that later. This episode was decent as I definitely enjoyed the first half the most since Hinawa bias we get to see how the 8th was formed and what exactly Obi did that was against regulations. Well, at least I THINK that’s what they were referring to earlier in the series or it could have been something completely different.
Hinawa was definitely fleshed out more as a character with a little of his backstory. I’m surprised by how much he emoted considering we’ve only seen him with the same blank expression on his face. It’s also very heartwarming to find that how much he cares for other people since he felt like he couldn’t shoot his friend with an unbaptized gun. Not to mention we learn exactly why Hinawa is more ruthless against people than he is on infernals. Considering how Infernals are basically feeling their entire bodies burn alive, it’s really no wonder why Hinawa feels more pity for them and would rather end their lives quickly instead of using brute force. Not to mention those other fire force members in the 3rd seemed to only care about the amount of points they get from taking out an Infernal, which probably did not sit well with Hinawa. It’s kind of like the saying of “who really is the monster and who is the man?”.
I also felt really bad for Hinawa since that seemed like his only friend at the time. His friend seemed like a pretty chill guy. It also probably meant a lot to Hinawa when Obi told him that he’s “a good man”. The look on Hinawa’s face nearly broke me.
Speaking of which, it was absolutely HORRIBLE to see how (in the past at least) that the fire force only cared about the amount of points rather than actually helping the people who are basically in sheer agony of having their body burned. It definitely said a lot to how Obi responded to the situation that he cares about the people turned into Infernals and their loved ones. Which has been shown since the very beginning of the series. And while we basically already knew why Obi created the 8th, it was still a nice sentiment to hear. Especially after how he and Hinawa worked together to take down that one Infernal the the 3rd ignored. I kind of wish we got to see the point system earlier in the series and how the other fire force divisions took actions based on it. It probably would have done a better job at showing just how different the 8th is compared to the other divisions.
I just felt so bad for that one woman who was basically waved off by the 3rd division since her husband was stationary and wouldn’t give them a lot of points. That felt so heartless and Obi was right to call them out on it, even if they didn’t change their tune. And while it was against the rules, I did appreciate that both Obi and Hinawa went out of their way to help the husband and the wife because it was to actually help them rather than gaining any merit. And that their biggest motive is “cherishing human lives.”
I was actually surprised that this entire episode wasn’t a flashback. At this point, I would have actually preferred it be one since we were able to learn so much about Hinawa and a little bit more about Obi. Especially when it was hinted that the 8th’s first Infernal may have had a connection to the Evangelist. But I digress. The next half of the episode focused more on the 7th division’s captain. I must have not been paying that close attention because I did not realize that the 7th captain, Benimaru had two different eyes. Anyways, while the guy acts like he doesn’t care whatsoever, his actions told a different story. Instead of just ignoring the old woman’s gift, he took it with him and shared it amongst his division. And despite seemingly have brushed off that one guy’s offer to go out drinking with him, he seemed genuinely distraught to find that he had turned into an infernal. He even commented on how he just barely convinced him to go. He definitely seems to care for the people more than he lets on. Especially since he even sat down and ate the daifuku that the old lady prepared despite complaining on how it’s too sweet for him.
Now, this is where I got thoroughly confused. I watched it several times, but I still couldn’t make out what is happening or why it was happening. He basically threw his weapon and destroyed several blocks??? I’m like: Okay, sure, you guys can rebuild homes but why was he just throwing attacks out almost randomly??? Maybe it was just the directing that was being weird, I don’t know. Destroying the blocks didn’t look like it helped in any way. If someone has an answer for this, please enlighten me.
Besides the weird scene direction and continuity, Benimaru’s abilities are interesting since he’s able to use both 2nd and 3rd generation of pyrokinesis. However, because of the directing, it was difficult to really see how he was able to use his abilities. Hopefully we’ll see more of how he puts his abilities to use in the future.
Also, I think Shinra is acting a little too high and mighty. Though I suppose it makes sense as he took down both Hibana and Rekka as what they were doing was morally wrong. However, I think he was a little too quick to judge Benimaru on how he did things. While he wasn’t being cooperative, it was a little presumptuous of Shinra to call him a “do-nothing.” Not to mention it was definitely out of line for Shinra to basically yell at Benimaru he’s going to beat him down so he’d acknowledge him. Um, exactly what right do you have to say that, Shinra? And why did no one stop him? He wasn’t even doing anything that would be considered wrong compared to what Hibana and Rekka did. Shinra, you need to chill out and stop trying to pick fights with the captains. Yes he was being stubborn in not trusting the 8th to help, but I don’t think that warranted Shinra’s actions.
Not a bad episode despite it being really weird in the second half. It was nice to be able to take a look into Hinawa’s past and see what exactly fueled his motives. I do hope that Benimaru will turn out to be a powerful ally rather than an enemy. Since it seems like the 8th is seemingly just collecting allies at this point, which is probably a good plan. Though I guess you can say that Hibana and Karim were unexpected allies. But I guess we’ll see if Benimaru will side with the 8th or not.
To answer your question about Benimaru…. he’s actually just very reckless. A lot of his fights cause property damage, though he claims its a “ritual” to send Infernals off. It helps he actually bothers to help rebuild the stuff he destroys.
That’s kind of Benimaru’s character in a nutshell. He has a good heart and is the strongest Fire Soldier, but he doesn’t think things through and tends to cause a lot of damage is the process. Think of him like a less loud and preachy Natsu from Fairy Tail.
Though it also makes sense considering he’s an oddity even among the other captains. It was said in Episode 10 that unlike the other ones who elisted in the Fire Force, Benimaru and the 7th Brigade were more like a gang that just got brought into the Fire Force. They don’t care for the empire nor do they worship the Sun God, they just do what they want and take care of the mess they make themselves. So it’s understandable he’d be less restrained than the others.
Really, it seems the only reason the Fire Force employs Benimaru and his group is because, whether they like it or not, Benimaru is the strongest Fire Soldier in the entire empire, stronger than Shinra, Arthur, Tamaki, Maki, and Hinawa combined. He’s their ace in the hole so they can’t afford to let him roam free.
Ah that makes sense yeah. Especially why Benimaru just does not seem to care about anything related to the Fire Force. Looking it that way, I really can’t blame Benimaru for how he acts since he didn’t even want to be part of it in the first place. The only thing he cares about is protecting his district and I think that’s fine for him.
My reading of Shinra’s challenge to Benimaru based on the dialogue was that Benimaru had been granted special privileges because he is such a powerful Fire Soldier. Basically Benimaru gets to run things his way because he can kick anyone’s ass. If people have to bend to Benimaru’s will because of how strong Benimaru is then it’s only fair that Benimaru has to bend a little if Shinra can kick his ass. Whether or not Shinra could actually win is another question.
I didn’t fully understand the reasoning behind it but the destruction of the buildings wasn’t neccessary to defeat the infernal. It was just a form of ritual. I think the gist of it was “we have to kill this poor sucker but we’re going to make a big song and dance out of it to send him off”.
I don’t think the points system was an across the board thing for all the Fire Force divisions. I think it was something the Captain of that division made up for his team. I can even understand it to an extent. It probably takes a huge emotional toll on a lot of Fire Force soldiers having to kill what are essentially innocent victims. Like that Captain said it drains morale. Making it into a competition and assigning points might help distract the soldiers from dwelling too much on the fact they are euthanizing innocent victims.
From what the other commenter said, it may seem like Benimaru was basically forced into his position so he doesn’t really have that much respect for anything the Fire Force does or how they run things. So it makes sense as to why he behaves the way that he does. And yeah, the destruction of the blocks was basically a ritual of sorts.
While I can understand that take on the point system, how it is portrayed in the anime make it seem like the members ONLY care about points. Especially how snarky and gleeful some of the members were about it.
So Fire Force will be taking a 2 week break and will be continuing on October 11th so no Fire Force post this week or next week!