Enen no Shouboutai – 07

「第1調査開始」 (Dai Ichi Chōsa Kaish)
“The Investigation of the 1st Commences”

This one is going to be short considered this episode was the beginning of a new arc in Shinra’s quest to becoming a hero.

First off, good on him for finding himself a sugar mama. He’s happily indulging in the attention he’s receiving from Princess Hibana and I don’t blame him. As of right now, she’s my favourite character. But don’t forget, I’m a fickle one. Anyway, Hibana has officially flipped sides in the sense that she has committed herself to helping the 8th brigade with their investigation of the Fire Force. She shares her intel with Captain Obi and together, using members of their squads, they ‘infiltrate’ the 1st Brigade lead by Leonard Burns.

Their ‘infiltration’ isn’t very subtle. The 1st Brigade has already understood they’re under investigation by Captain Obi so with that, they play right into their hands. I’m not sure if the situation makes me more suspicious of them or not. Could Leonard and the members of the 1st really be turning people into Infernals?

As for members of the 1st, they might have well walked a catwalk and told us about their powers. This episode acted as a very evident introduction to a wide range of characters and the concept of ‘Lieutenant Priests.’ The new roaster of characters include Huo Yan Li (Hino Satoshi), Rekka Hoshimiya (Seki Tomokazu), Karim Flam (Okitsu Kazuyuki), and Takeru Noto (Konishi Katsuyuki) who each have distinct abilities, either as third-generation or second-generation pyrokinetics. Karim’s ice power definitely threw me off but it was impressive nonetheless. Using sound to turn heat into ice? That sure is some complicated science! The most impressive and maybe most overpowering ability, however, is Captain Burns’s.

Moving on, I personally feel the series should tone down the fan service in regards to the female characters. Are we going to get a shower scene every time a new chick appears in the story? The first half of the episode is dialogue heavy and I actually realized something. It’s lacking depth and meaning. The only person’s story I like is Hibana’s. Shinra’s backstory is pretty generic for a main character and other characters and their personalities are only grazed upon. There’s so much comedic relief it’s difficult to understand what role they play in the larger scheme of things. I will, however, mention that at the beginning of each episode I anxiously await the action scenes. They’re well animated and really entertaining!

After the first episode, I thought Enen no Shouboutai would be one of my top this season but as ‘story-heavy’ episodes emerge, I realize the series does certain things well and others not as much. I’ll keep watching because, as I said previously, it’s entertaining. And I really want to know more about the conspiracy.