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Dec 22, 2020
CONTAINS MINIMAL SPOILERS (REFERRING TO CHARACTERS + ARCS BY NAME):
It's funny, I'm aware of the flaws of Fire Force but I still really enjoy the series. What is it about Fire Force that draws me like a moth to a flame?
Let's go from the best to the worst aspects imo:
Sound (10/10): As stated by many others, regardless of their final verdict, a lot seem to agree that the sfx are brilliant. Whether it be in the action sequences or funny little moments, they seem to be well-placed and unique. I enjoy most of the voice actors/actresses (I watch both sub + dub), and I still
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enjoy the recurring OST from Season 1.
Art (9/10): Another strong part of the series. The animation carries over its strengths from S1, especially the notorious fight scenes. I must say that despite the occasional awkward still-shots, I've always enjoyed the eccentric style of Fire Force. It seems that appealing to the senses (audio, visuals) might well be the show's specialty. Great job David Productions!
Characters (8/10): I was pleasantly surprised by the turn the characters took compared to S1. My favourites since S1 are Obi and Vulcan, but this season has been great to get to know characters like Joker, Maki, and even Tamaki to some extent (a long-time bone to pick by many watchers). In terms of character arcs, I really liked Maki and Joker's little arcs, to see their backgrounds and delve deeper into their stories. There's been some nice moments with the 8th's scientist Licht, embracing his place in the 8th after having an unclear agenda, reporting back to Joker, almost like an outsider looking in. Nice to finally see Tamaki doing some more serious training, though I'm hoping this is only the very very beginning of her development. Shinra and Arthur are just as usual.
On the 'villain' side, I do like Charon for his soft, protective tendency beneath his brutish exterior, and to see the icy Arrow be a complete pushover to Haumea was interesting. Almost makes me wonder why she joined the White Clad. I don't know what to think of the child-abuser guy. But one thing that disappointed me a bit was the complete absence of Sho. He was one of the main factors pushing the story ahead, and yes being Haumea's 'doll' was probably to highlight his vulnerability, but I found that a bit unexplained. Unlike Arrow, he has an Adolla burst, so why is he a pushover to Haumea? He can literally stop time. Oh well, hopefully the extent of Haumea's power will be explained next season.
Story (6/10): Speaking of 'pushing the story ahead', I think the finale still leaves quite a lot to be desired. People complained about it in S1, but looking back I think it was a lot more cohesive than the events this season. I loved the first few EPs - to see different characters work together and devise immediate plans was EPIC!! Really special to see Licht's scientific input rather than just charging in as usual. And Obi + Vulcan's moment killed me!
Then, there was the introduction of Inca. Definitely not my favourite villain. She just does her thing then is mostly in the background.
But my least favourite arc this season has to be the Chinese Peninsula Arc. It was so long and the character line-up so bland imo. No Obi, Maki, Hinawa, Vulcan etc. Licht being stuck with Arthur felt unusual. Some mole-dude, a few talking animals... Ogun's rapid punch attack was impressive in the first few seconds but it was milked far too quickly, and I felt his character was so similar to Shinra's. I struggled paying attention through this arc. The atmosphere just felt so out of place, though it was clear the author tried to change things up a bit. Unfortunately, I think it fell short, but I understand the effort.
I breathed a sigh of relief when they were back with the 8th. From then, the progression of the arcs felt a bit disjointed, but I enjoyed each one. Joker's was absolutely mental, a change in tone that I think worked really well. The Three-Way-Melee was a really fun twist, albeit a bit all-over-the-place (understandably). Maki's was nice, and Tamaki got a bit in the end along with a new power introduced for Shinra and Arthur to practise. It seemed a bit far-fetched that they could do it within the first training session, but hopefully the concept will be developed through the series.
Enjoyment (8/10): As I said, Fire Force is an unusual case where I can enjoy it despite it's weaknesses. I loved the OPs, with Spark Again by Aimer being my favourite of the two (it gives me chills!), but I also liked Torch of Liberty because each character seemed to have a moment in it. The EDs... I can't remember the first but the last one was unique (like... an Arthur Animal Crossing sprite?)
Overall (7/10): I really like Fire Force. I find the set up to be interesting enough to keep me following the series. The characters have really been further fleshed out this season. The pacing and story-direction were the only things I thought fell a little flat. As mentioned by other watchers, there's so much going on that sometimes the story path is unclear, but hopefully there won't be too many new characters and events next season so the story could have a more direct focus.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 6, 2020
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ANIME SPOILERS (SEASONS 1-4)
Note: As a manga reader who has only read up to vol 13, I will only be referencing plot from the anime.
After watching ep 25 (His Start: Endeavour Vs. High-End Nomu) I can say it was an episode with undoubted potential, but the impact was reduced due to the complete absence of build up. I will emphasise on the story, characters and overall enjoyment in this review as I think those are the main areas to discuss.
Story: 5/10
To me, S4's narrative was weaker than previously. The story felt incoherent; more like a collection of ideas with some great moments,
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but few of them were tied together well. However, the concept was so awesome and I don't think it was terrible, but when considering aspects such as pacing, the consequences and the events proceeding the Shie Hassaikai Arc, it all feels dragged out, rushed at the end and majorly inconsequential all at the same time.
The writing of the Shie Hassaikai Arc => Endeavour Vs High-End Nomu Arc is inconsistent, not brought together as a complete narrative, and had plot holes (particularly when only one hero was guarding Overhaul + the drugs - the only reason the LOV managed to get their hands on it by the end of the Arc, which was the major plot progression of the whole season). Most events felt inconsequential. But also note the pacing issues - the Shie Hassaikai Arc took up so many episodes that it began to wear me down, and the beginning really dragged. The moral of Gentle + La Brava's shenanigans could have been communicated by using the LOV rather than introducing 2 new characters. The remedial classes + School Festival could have taken up a max of 4-5 eps, leaving the rest to actually build up to Endeavour Vs High-End Nomu. I understand the slice-of-life purpose to let the viewer relax a bit, but I wouldn't have felt so drained if the Overhaul Arc took up less episodes anyway, and suddenly there's a huge battle with characters we've barely seen this season.
One thing I loved about S1-3 is that there was something so simple yet intelligent about them, about the importance of certain relationships and how they completely change the course of the story. Although there was attempt to further develop Shoto's relationship with his dad in S4, it didn't alter any event. I don't think Endeavour even thought of Shoto during his fight with Nomu - imagine if his guilt + regrets suddenly rose when coming so close to death, that would've been, although cliche, something! Remember that in S2, Shoto beginning to let go of his feelings towards his dad enabled him to use his fire, which he would have to learn to use in combat from then on starting with the battle against Stain. There were simple concepts that created complexities within the various relationships, and speculations about a traitor and further tensions were introduced. That simple intelligence has felt lost this season - character developments + relationships weren't intertwined with the plot very much.
Another thought - each main character took turns in fighting Overhaul, which felt a bit unrealistic. I think to have all the main characters come together to fight him would've been so cool and allow for some epic teamwork + unique combos, on top of showing how strong Overhaul was. Seeing the characters interact + strategise together is one of the best things about the series for me, so hopefully more of that next time round (I'm so excited to see what the Class 1-A Vs. 1-B battle brings!)
S3's narrative was executed far better imo - the storytelling in the first half of the season was cohesive. One event led to another perfectly, and there was still room for smaller side stories + relationship building along the way (Kirishima's bond w/ Bakugo as the key to the rescue, Tsu's conflicting feelings when she couldn't stop the rescue squad, Bakugo's feelings of guilt about the whole incident, Deku trying to develop an individual character rather than emulating All Might, characters' emotional vulnerabilities reminding the audience of the weight of the modern society on these teens' shoulders etc).
They go camping => LOV attack (introduces prospect of a 'traitor' leaking their location) => Bakugo gets kidnapped => Kirishima initiates Bakugo rescue mission (heroes simultaneously plan to save him) => rescue squad saves Bakugo => All Might encounters + fights AFO during Bakugo rescue mission => All Might wins and notions to Deku that 'you're next' as Bakugo's continuous suspicions begin to over boil => provisional licensing arc where Bakugo and Todoroki fail, crucial morals of the overall message about natural talent vs. curbing one's ego => Bakugo admits feelings of guilt + pent up frustrations, fights Deku, finally finds out truth of OFA (impactful, this has created suspense amongst Deku, All Might + the viewer since Season 1). The League's use of Bakugo as a pawn was quite a significant use of his character, especially being one of the most powerful of 1-A)
^ See how one event leads to another coherently, every event affecting the next, like dominoes.
Art: 7/10
I've always loved the cheerful palette and character designs of MHA. Horikoshi definitely knows how to intensify facial expressions to perfectly express a character's mood, whether its joy, despair, agony, or surprise. But as mentioned by many, in the anime there are many shots where some faces are very still for long periods. I'm pretty sure at one point they forgot to animate Kirishima's face for a full 20 seconds or so during the School Festival Arc - he was part of a scene post-performance where they were receiving praise, and his face was completely still and he wasn't even smiling haha. It was kind of funny though. I really liked how the fights were animated, like the previous 3 seasons.
Sound: 9/10
I'll admit this is my first ever review, so I'm not very seasoned when it comes to analysing every aspect of something I watch. I've always liked the MHA soundtrack, and I think they were used very well in the most climatic moments. The voice acting was consistently strong, damn Justin Cook sounds so cool, and dang the delivery of the line "can't I do anything??" gave me chills (yea I watch MHA dubbed don't @ me). Overhaul's voice suited him well, and I like Fat Gum's and Hawks' too!
Characters: 5/10
I was so hyped for S4 as MHA is one of my favourite shows, but for me, most of the characters involved weren't developed as well as they could have been (apart from Kiri's epic mini arc), but of course there was... uh... Jiro realising she can do music alongside hero work...? And... that clown-fest with Gentle + La Brava...? And... Aoyama force-feeding Deku cheese because they're similar...?. Even Mirio, as awesome as he is, could have been fleshed out beyond his positivity + determination. Positivity in characters is best portrayed when balanced with more negative traits as well. He lost his quirk and was like "it's okay, Eri can just bring it back in a few years! Yee" Note that the difficulties of being quirkless have been referenced throughout the series: pre-OFA Deku, Ragdoll's despair after losing her quirk, Kirishima saying to Suneater that losing a quirk is a "total nightmare for a hero", which made Mirio's reaction more unconvincing (unless there's a side to him we haven't seen?). On the other end of the spectrum is Suneater/Amajiki - although he can be adorable, his pessimism and self-degrading comments tend to arise at inappropriate moments, which is sometimes off-putting. After winning a fight against some street thugs, he asked "was that okay? It felt terrible". Even Kirishima, when praising him, sounded like he was thinking "seriously...?". Dude, you're one of the Big 3 at UA - a title every hero-course student would strive for. But at least he showed some more pride during his 3 v 1 battle, which was satisfying to see. However, Mirio and Amajiki's extremes do not reduce my enjoyment of the characters, those are just small details which make them slightly unrealistic. I understand that the exaggeration makes the show what it is, and the chemistry between Mirio + Amajiki is very sweet!
I think the season would have benefited from one or two major character developments extending through the whole season (which was an effective approach taken previously). Endeavour had a couple of moments before his battle, but he literally only asked All Might about 'what makes a symbol of peace' and tries to make up with Shoto a little. We could have also gotten to know Hawks better during the build up to the fight.
I don't even need to go into Tsu + Uraraka's 'moments'. The only time the girls got attention was during the Festival Arc: Mina's dancing, Jiro's singing and the fashion show. Zero combat. I must say though I'm glad they've introduced Miruko as a strong, cocky female character - I was pleasantly surprised to see such a different face, especially for MHA.
I think MHA has made better use of its unique, exciting characters in the past. In S3 for instance, it was clear that Bakugo's growth was a major part of the plot line and was consistently carried through the entire season. God, the build up to that line: "WHY DID I BECOME THE REASON FOR ALL MIGHT'S END?!" kills me every time, especially in the manga - props to Horikoshi! However, S4 did not achieve this level of depth with any character (though I did like Bakugo's line about not looking down on others, but that's just one line). Things just kept happening with different characters with no time to fully develop any character. (Almost Kirishima, but his viewpoint was unfortunately dropped straight after his incredible battle with Rappa, disappointing for me as he's my favourite character in all of anime :( I do think his story was done brilliantly - I was bawling - but I also fear that will be his last moment for a long time, though again I haven't read the manga past the anime)
Like the great and mighty Syndrome once said - "when everyone's super, no one will be".
It's a similar concept - people have pointed out that everyone is becoming a main character. This leads to little overall development amongst individuals, and more characters are constantly being introduced. I'm glad to hear focus will go back to the whole of Class A and B in the upcoming arc.
Overall enjoyment: 6.5/10
Although I felt the story and character development was generally underwhelming, when it came to the parts I enjoyed - I seriously did enjoy them. Like I mentioned, Kirishima's story was the highlight for me, especially since I've been a fan of him before his backstory because he is a seriously inspiring, lovable and relatable character. He has helped me to build on elements of my own character and motivate me, so thanks so much Horikoshi for bringing us the best shark boi! I did also enjoy the school festival and seeing Eri's recovery. So there were definitely strong, simple yet powerful elements of the story. I really liked the concepts of S4, and I do have hopes that S5 will be executed better. I should mention that OP 6 'Polaris' is definitely amongst my favourite OPs - I think it was seriously well done (if only Kirishima had a bigger moment during it though, like imagine if he was looking through a mirror reflecting his middle-school self all angsty and stressed, like DAMN that would've been epic!). God, seeing it for the first time was gob-smacking, so hats off to Bones for that (it was sometimes the highlight of the episode for me!) There are those reviews that complain about complainers complaining, but some of us input because we love the show and want to see it flourish. But whatever happens, I couldn't ever drop My Hero Academia - it's way too close to my heart!
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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