Enen no Shouboutai – 13, 14

Episode 13

Episode 14

「仕組まれた罠 / 誰が為の炎」 (Shikumareta Wana / Da ga Tame no Honō)
“The Trap Is Set / For Whom The Flame Burns”

I had started reviewing episode thirteen a few weeks ago when I realized it would only represent part of the story. Now, the arc completed, I can do this storyline justice.

First off, we know the 8th came to Asakusa to investigate Infernals and overall happenings in the district. However, they couldn’t conduct their search without Benimaru’s approval. After they received his blessing, Benimaru ‘catches’ them plotting against the people of Asakusa.

However, we know the White-Clad organization was really behind the recent appearance of the Infernal. And that’s where Yona comes in. Somehow, the world rules in this series make it so Yona is able to remodel a person’s face by heating up their blood vessels and doing things that sound excruciatingly painful. He calls himself an artist of all things… He’s behind the many unfortunate misunderstandings and tensions arising between the proto-nationalist people.

This is extremely frustrating to captain Beni-chan who we now know was handed the position by lieutenant Konro, the previous captain. After the battle (two years prior) that left Konro is his current deteriorating state, he reasoned with the Empire and founded the 7th Fire Force Brigade with Beni-chan at the helm. The two made for a powerful team back then. Now though, Benimaru has a whole team behind him and the aid of most of the Fire Force 8 members.

A chain of events, including the sudden appearance of multiple Infernals in the midst of all the chaos, lead Shinra and Arthur to stray from their pack and chase the culprits behind the terrorist attack. Shinra is quick to figure out that he’s their target but he doesn’t let that deter him from going after them. He finally, alongside Arthur, meets face to face with Haran (the hooded White Clad member) and Arrow (the White Clad member with flaming arrows). They are quickly outmatched after Haran sacrifices his life and swallows a trigger bug, turning himself into a horned Infernal.

What a great set up that all was. High stakes and high risks coming at you from every corner. With one of the twins missing, I can definitely say I was on the edge of my seat by the time I streamed the next episode.

Benimaru is the lead in episode fourteen. He steps up when his town is in dire need of guidance and he succeeds in rallying support from his fellow Fire Force companions. He joins Shinra and Arthur against the Demon Class Infernal and he, with no surprise, lands the finishing blow.

But my favourite part of the episode was discovering Hinata and Hikage could turn into cute little flaming foxes. That and Benimaru’s smile. I agree with the rest of the cast of characters when they say his smile is out of character but it’s refreshing and very much welcome after such a heavy arc.

Benimaru’s route into the role of Captain isn’t all we learned in this episode. There were other things that opened the door into realms of possibilities. For one, we have Shinra’s ability to sense other pyrokinetic users. That connection between him and Lieutenant Konro was an unexpected curveball. I didn’t think this series could add more to the mix, but it did and succeeded in doing so. This is definitely not a complaint. I like the possibilities this opens up and I wonder how Shinra will fare in discovering this new ‘6th sense.’ Without it, he wouldn’t have reached Benimaru in time, or at all.

Second, we find out that the commander of the White-Clad Organization, Shinra’s baby brother, also possesses an Adolla Burst, which means there’s even more at stake than we thought. It looks like brothers will eventually have to butt heads and put on a ‘my gun is bigger than your gun’ show, but not before we learn more about his brother of course.

Next, we also find out Arthur isn’t as dense and dumb as he seems. Somehow, he was quite intuitive and was the only person to figure out Hikage wasn’t the real Hikage. How? It was never explained but it does leave me to wonder what else he might have in store for us.

And lastly, it seems Shinra will have a new catchphrase. Oh, please let it be his new catchphrase as I tire of hearing the old ‘hero’ one: “Mine are the flames that will preserve humankind.”

Yes, yes they are. And I believe it.