Spoiler Alert !!!Spoilers for Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 Episode 4 ahead!
Sure, Episode 4 had good action & animation, but storytelling? That’s where I have to hold the horses. Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 has been great so far, and even this episode wasn’t outright bad; it even had a few solid revelations as well, like how the Cataclysm can be avoided.
However, at the same time, I feel there were a few severe issues in the episode. Like, it was really hard to make sense out of a lot of stuff on a first watch. But my biggest gripe with the episode was that I couldn’t fully feel the seriousness while watching it. Why? Mainly because the anime itself doesn’t seem to take itself seriously most of the time.
At this point, I genuinely don’t know whether I’m supposed to watch it with full focus or treat it as a laid-back show. One moment, things get intense with the Eighth Pillar rising and the appearance of Raffles I; the next, it cuts to comedic sound effects.
I’m not trying to nitpick here, but the episode often threw me off guard with sudden jokes and unnecessary dialogue right in the middle of world-ending stakes. And even if I try to look past that, Sho’s explanation of how to save the world still felt a little too cheesy.
Sho Explains a Very Idealistic Way to Stop the Great Cataclysm
Of course, there’s a lot that doesn’t make sense, but Sho’s explanation actually did. Basically, it’s we who can prevent the Great Cataclysm. In previous episodes, it was confirmed that the way people imagine things is what gets reflected onto the Fire Force‘s world itself.
Because of that, as long as people believe the world will be destroyed, the Cataclysm becomes unavoidable. So, as Sho explains to Shinra, the only way to prevent it is by changing how people think. By filling them with hope and positivity. How can that be achieved? By Shinra becoming a hero, one whom everyone admires and places their faith in.
Also, Sho, being the good younger brother, is going to do everything he can to help Shinra become that hero. Sounds good, right? But isn’t this all a bit too idealistic? What once seemed like an unstoppable, world-ending phenomenon suddenly turns out to be preventable with the power of plot armor. Like, using positivity to defeat fear, innit?
Turning Shinra Into a Devil Is the Key to Evangelist’s Endgame
Shinra in a still from Fire Force Season 3 Episode 16 | Credits: David Production
Even if I accept that what Sho said is the only way to save the world, the storyline clearly does not want it to happen easily. Instead of people admiring Shinra after he kills Raffles I, they start cursing him. Why did he kill their savior, the almighty Raffles I?
Everyone believes Raffles I, the creator of this world, is their savior. So even if he wanted the destruction of the world, people were ready to accept it. But when Shinra goes against Raffles’ will, the commonfolk become completely furious. And now you know where this leads.
Shinra is almost certainly going to become a devil. People are already calling him one for killing Raffles (well, was that even the real Raffles to begin with?). Now, with their collective belief declaring Shinra evil, there is no way he would not turn into one, where people’s belief is the ultimate power. Even the episode ends with him disappearing midair!
Maybe the Evangelist has taken him into their custody to obtain his Adolla Burst, since turning Shinra into a devil would also benefit their plan to destroy the world. At this point, I genuinely have no idea where the story is headed next. Would Sister Iris’ awakened power be any useful later on? Let’s see.
Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
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