Fire Force

Episode 31

By the time the credits rolled on “Road to the Oasis”, I was positively stunned. This was a complete game changer for Fire Force, a kind of unprecedented achievement that I never actually thought the series would be able to accomplish. Sure, other episodes have had more impactful action, or spicier cuts of red-hot sakuga bliss, but this here is altogether on another level: In this seventh episode of Fire Force's second season, Tamaki gets quite a lot of dialogue and screen-time, and not once, not one single time, was she undressed, groped, savagely beaten, or otherwise degraded and humiliated.

There's also this whole deal with the team getting stoned out of their gourds on the mainland's volcanic gasses before doing battle with a behemoth worm monster, making friends with a bunch of talking animals, and discovering a hidden sister-reactor to the legendary Amaterasu that is being guarded by an inhuman Infernal presence. I should probably talk about that too, but I can't understate how much we need to focus on what is really important here, which is that Fire Force just demonstrated that it is, in fact, capable of meeting the bare minimum of standards when it comes to respecting its female characters. Finally, I can open that champagne I was mysteriously gifted when Fire Force first premiered, a very expensive bottle of Laurent-Perrier that had attached to it an anonymous note reading: “This may only be opened if Fire Force goes a full twenty-minutes without exploiting Tamaki's sexual humiliation for laughs. Heed me, and drink well should this miracle occur.” This was an oddly specific and confusing set of instructions at the time, since I didn't even know who Tamaki was, but now I can only thank this wealthy stranger for their prophetic gift.

As for the rest of the episode, it's another straightforward but delightfully goofy romp with the Fire Force crew, who are simply stoked to be exploring the vast, unfamiliar wilds of the Chinese mainland. Arthur, Shinra, and Ogun are so overwhelmed with the experience that they straight up start eating handfuls of dirt, which is surprising in how unsurprising it is, while Takeru is just delighted to be reunited with his mother back on the family farm, though they've been beset by vegetable thieves as of late. This seems almost like a completely random aside when the episode starts, but “Road to the Oasis” ties it all back together when the crew eventually discovers that the thief is a talking mole with a flame coming out of its butt, who's friends with a similarly intelligent crow, and the two end up leading them to the verdant oasis that hides a secret human reactor that may be both the source of the lands rejuvenation, as well as the origin of its destruction.

If that sounds like a wild turn for Fire Force to take, that's because it is, and the strangeness is heightened by the fact that the task force spends the whole episode acting like zonked-out jackasses, save for Licht, who is the only one who bothered to wear a gas mask and protect him from the local volcanic fumes. This whole middle section is honestly delightful, giving an excuse for Fire Force to flaunt its comedic chops and flair for action, even when all the gang is doing is going on the anime equivalent of a stoner road trip. Everyone displays a different state of altered consciousness that should be familiar to those of us who happen to live in a state or country where mind-altering substances are legal and readily available: Shinra and Takeru basically have the giggles, except their tomfoolery comes with the capacity to blow shit up with their magic powers; Ogun just wants to dance; Arthur believes that he has found total enlightenment; and Pan does that thing where he's basically levelheaded, except now his whole body is operating at a crooked slant. Tamaki straight up goes right into Sillysville with her pretend phone call back to mom, which I may or may not be able to personally relate to (also, you can tell that whomever at Studio David that got assigned this particular cut had a blast animating Stoned Tamaki).

The world-building with the talking animals is also fun, and I'm pretty sure the show is making sure we know that none of it is a byproduct of the force's volcano fume fun times, since the stone-cold sober Licht sees and hears all of it too. I love being able to see more of how this world was totally transformed by the Great Cataclysm, and I'm all for Fire Force going into an even more overtly fantastical direction. Talking animal friends are fun, and spooky animal Infernals make for a great time too! Since most of “Road to the Oasis” is setup for the conflict that is going to play out next week, there isn't a whole lot to analyze or speculate on. Every one of the Fire Force members is aware of the significance that the Tabernacle reactor represents, and we'll just have to see whether or not this secret paradise that they've found is a blessing or a curse.

Rating:

Odds and Ends

• UPDATE: Literally seconds before I finished writing this review, a thunderclap rang in the distance (even though there isn't a cloud in the sky) and my doorbell rang. There was nobody at the door when I arrived, but I did, however, find another ornately wrapped bottle of champagne, this one an impossibly pricey, century-old Moët & Chandon. The note that came with it, scrawled in that familiar, enigmatic handwriting, read thusly: “This, the rarest of all champagnes, may only be consumed if Fire Force is able to keep its streak of non-degrading fanservice up for three episodes in a row (Even I, the Unseen Oracle of Anime Boobies and Booze, know better than to ask any more than that).” Weird! Well, I sure hope Fire Force doesn't let me down, or otherwise I'll be forced to throw this nearly priceless bottle of champagne into the trash!

Fire Force is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation .

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.