Description:
The Rookie Fire Soldier Games Begins! Shinra and Arthur, as well as rookies from the other Divisions, compete to test their abilities. However, there is a mysterious man who confronts Shinra with some information that thickens the plot.
Appearance:
My favorite thing about this episode? Tamaki Kotatsu the flame neko, obviously!
But seriously, if I had to pick out what I liked most about this episode (outside of flame neko best girl), it would have to be watching Shinra fight. It reminded me almost instantly of some of the fire bending movies in Avatar: The Last Airbender. I don’t know if that was the intent of the animators, but it hit me right in the nostalgia and made me sit upright in my chair like Azula was about to hit me with lightning.
Execution:
This episode’s true value lies in its dialogue. We get some information about two very major things that the show will cover.
Firstly, the fire that took Shinra’s mother and younger brother. It is told to us that there is a likelihood that Shinra’s younger brother, Sho, is still alive. What that means for the future of the show, I can’t even begin to guess, but it’s damn important. Not only that, but it is also implied that what happened to Shinra’s family was part of a plot. Which directly leads me to the next important thing.
Big Brother Obi reveals to us how the Special Fire Force Companies work. Apparently, the Force was created by combining three bodies—The Holy Sol Temple, the Tokyo Armed Forces, and the Fire Defense Agency. Each of them has different levels of influence over each of the Companies. The Holy Sol Temple has most control over the 1st, the 2nd reports directly to the Armed Forces, the real power in the 5th belongs to the company that makes all the Companies equipment, Haijima Industries. Because the Force is set up this way, there is a lot of information that one Company will know but won’t share with another. However, the 8th Company’s objective is to investigate Companies 1-7 and find out the truth that the other Companies are trying to hide.
This just plottens the thick and makes me exceptionally curious about what we are going to find out.
Taste:
As an avid anime, television, and movie watcher, I am no stranger to exposition. In my opinion, all of the exposition in this episode was absolutely necessary and absolutely intriguing. It’s like that one drop of water after a long work out that doesn’t quench your thirst at all, but just makes you more thirsty.
I shall be awaiting episode 4 with bated breath.
