Description:
A call mistakenly comes in to Company 8 to rescue a dog out of a tree, to which Shinra and Arthur respond. However, when an Infernal suddenly appears at the district courthouse, the two must play catch-up to join the rest of the company.
Appearance:
Let’s get right into it.
My favorite moment in this episode is undoubtedly watching Obi and Hinawa hit Shinra with the Mommy/Daddy combo to get him to go after the Infernal. It appears as though Obi acts as the Father figure, acting as a guiding light for Shinra and the rest of Company 8 whereas Hinawa is a strict Mother figure, getting their butts in gear and punishing them when necessary.
This dynamic hits home for me. When I worked as a supervisor, one of my best friends (who shall remain nameless even though she knows who she is) and I used this same tactic all the time. I was the soft-spoken father figure, and she brought the heat as the more strict mother. It always worked out for those we had to look after because there was always both available to those who worked under us.
Execution:
The entire point of this episode was to reveal Special Fire Force Company 5 and their personality as a group. Their Captain, Princess Hibana, comes across as this dominatrix-esque woman who runs her Company like…well, a princess. We can see that her Company does what she wants without hesitation or question. While we do not know their abilities or motives, we can already tell that Company 5 and Company 8 will most likely come to blows sooner or later.
While what the episode is conveying seems relatively simple, further thought on it is very telling. Obviously, in any organization, there are people in positions of leadership whose personalities vary greatly. For example, the Captain of Company 1, who was revealed in the previous episode, comes across as a stoic man who also commands great respect while Princess Hibana seems more like the type of leader who rules with an iron fist. Comparing these two with Obi, who is more of the fun-loving yet serious leader, you can plainly see that these personalities could clash at a certain point.
Another thing I want to mention is the loyalty the Companies have for their Captains. The Companies can be viewed as different divisions within a department and each division has a supervisor (Captain) with people who work under them. Each of the underlings have this mentality of “I can mess with my Captain, but I’ll wreck you if you mess with my Captain”. This dynamic gives me feels, so I thought it was worth mentioning.
Taste:
My thoughts on this episode are relatively simple. The show has now transitioned into a phase where it shows us opposing forces within the same department that our protagonist and his friends will have to deal with by fighting, negation, or teamwork. It adds a layer to the narrative and tells us that we are not just dealing with the Fire Force and the Infernals, but also the Fire Force and the Fire Force.
