Without question the Kyoto Animation attack was a much greater tragedy for the victims and their families – probably the darkest day in anime history.  Still, I can’t help but feel badly for Enen no Shouboutai and the team behind it.  They did absolutely nothing wrong but because of the theme of Ookubo-sensei’s manga, it aired at the worst possible time.  I think the way this situation was handled – a one-week delay in the airing of the third episode, with a resumption today – was exactly correct.  It respected the moment without overreacting.  I just hope viewers are able to divorce the series from the tragedy, and judge it on its own merits.

As to those merits, I’m still more or less convinced Fire Force has them in not inconsiderable sum.  I understand what we’re going to get with Ookubo Atsushi, and searching for something more or different can only lead to disappointment.  A character like Tamaki Kotatsu – even if she’s voiced by the wonderful Yuuki Aoi – comes off initially as the most generic kind of shounen fanservice device.  I’m sure she’ll get an opportunity to do more than just pop out of her absurdly skimpy uniform and get felt up (though getting felt up seems to be her special ability) but the fact that she was introduced this way speaks volumes to how juvenile Ookubo can be as a writer.

Apart from that, though, what we got was really good.  More visually impressive action sequences – not just lavishly animated (in 2D, mostly) but stylishly choreographed.  More layering in the central premise, which is shaping up to be an interesting mystery.  A couple of new villains, and some genuine development for Shinra and interesting shading for Oubi.  All of that world-building will hopefully pay off in the long term, as this series is going to be around for a while and the more diversified it is now, the better its staying power is likely to be.

Lots of new faces turn up at the rookie games besides Tamaki.  First is first – as in the captain of the first company (Tamaki’s), Leonard (heh) Burns (Kusonoki Taiten).  He was present at the fire where Shinra’s mother and brother perished, and Shinra recognizes him immediately and tries to speak to him.  As soon as he hears the name Burns clearly knows who this boy is, but pretends not to remember and tries to avoid him.  Soon enough the games themselves start, which involve a fairly predictable mock burning building exercise.  But they’re hijacked by the villain we met last week – he calls himself Joker – who’s working with another baddie played by Sakaguchi Daisuke.

The context the conspiracy is being placed in has genuine intrigue to it.  The Fire Force is a tug-of-war between three main influences – religious, industrial and military.  The various companies represent this (the First is religious) and hide information from each other – and the Eighth was created under a captain in Oubi who has a track record as both a hero and rebel to keep tabs on the others and dig for the truth they’re hiding.  And Joker, who confronts Shinra (first to arrive thanks to his Devil’s Footprints) inside the building, lets slip the tasty little nugget that his little brother is still alive.

This business of the supposedly good organization being a mix of heroic and villainous elements is hardly revolutionary in shounen (or Ookubu manga), but this seems like a pretty solid iteration of it.  Shinra’s tug-of-war between his desire to be a hero and to know the truth is going to remain crucial I’m sure (he rejects Joker’s enticements to join him here), and I suspect those two desires are going to find themselves in conflict time and time again.  I like where this is going for the most part, and while it’s still early and the season is mostly bubble series at this point, Enen no Shouboutai is near the top of that group.