Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Fire Force Season 2 Ep 6 Review – Quick Summary
In Fire Force Season 2 Ep 6, “The Time to Choose,” despite the terrific beating he had endured, Shinra refused to let Charon just walk off with Inca. Shinra pitched his case right to her, telling her that with her power, she could easily slip her bonds. Her decision came a quite a shock. Meanwhile, Akitaru Obi had come to the conclusion that having too little information meant they were always reacting to the Evangelist’s plans. He asked Victor Licht to lead a new research project. You’ll never guessed who volunteered to help him!
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Best in Show Moment for Fire Force Season 2 Ep 6
Shinra had to confront the limits of his heroism. It was a powerful moment of character growth. Now that he knows his limits, he can start to exceed them. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: How Can Shinra be a Hero…
In the previous episode, Inca made something crystal clear. She did not want Shinra to rescue her. At all. In fact, she told him that she preferred a dangerous life to a safe one. Shinra, as a self-proclaimed hero, couldn’t even understand what she was saying.
To put this into context: Shinra’s heroism had previously so impressed Hibana that she’d opened her heart to him. Talk about positive reinforcement! Now, though? Inca’s quite a different case.
Shinra didn’t know anything about Inca’s internal dialogue, where she’d convinced herself that if she didn’t see the lines showing her how to produce flames, then that meant she wouldn’t. All he knew was that he was witnessing the same people who had kidnapped his brother Sho about to kidnap someone else. Her attitude made it even worse. He tried to appeal to her sense of empathy and humanity by pointing out that the Evangelist’s people were willing to murder dozens of innocents just to get a chance to kidnap her. Shinra didn’t understand how she could so dishonor their memories.
“You think I care about that?” she screamed back at him (05:43).
Shinra had no idea how to interpret what Inca was saying. It was almost like she was talking in an alien language. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Shinra was at a complete loss. Charon’s punch that sent him into the wall was almost a kindness. It gave him time to gather his thoughts.
The thoughts he gathered immediately compared Inca to Sho. Though he didn’t understand, he could clearly see that Inca wanted to go with the White Clads. In what had to be a sickening idea to Shinra, he wondered if Sho, too, preferred to stay where he was. He rejected the idea, at least consciously, and at least for now.
But I don’t know if he was sure.
Delivery: For Someone Who Doesn’t Want to be Saved?
I live for moments that push a character to their limits — then push once more. His fight with Charon had taken him to his psychological limit. Inca’s dismissal pushed him over the edge. Watching his reaction might be the best part of the series so far.
Shinra didn’t brush it aside. After the fight, he could barely look Akitaru in the face when he asked if Shinra was okay. Shinra could only lament his personal and their collective failures to know what the Evangelist was planning. When the surviving towns folk thanked Special Fire Company 8 for saving them, he couldn’t feel the rush of pride that he did in my third favorite moment from the first episode of the series. He could only think of the people he could not save.
This is a very different Shinra than the one who so happily accepted the praise of survivors back in the first episode. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
To me, Shinra confronted the limits of his hopes to be a hero when he asked himself (11:40), “Even if there had been no Evangelist, could I have saved Inca, in any real sense?” I talked about the time when I had to confront the limitations of who I thought I was in this post. Just like I had to do, Shinra has to confront his limitations before he can understand what he can do.
And then push beyond it.
It was tough to watch the young man have to fight through that moment, but it was worthwhile from a character development perspective. I’m really looking forward to where he goes now!
What did you think of Inca’s decision? What was your Best in Show moment? Let me know in the comments!
Fire Force Season 2 Ep 6: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Enen no Shouboutai: Ni no Shou – Episode 6 discussion
- Doublesama: FIRE FORCE SEASON 2 EPISODE 6
- I Drink and Watch Anime: Fire Force 2 Episode 6 – Backdraft
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 1 Review: A Fire Soldier’s Fight
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Flames of Madness
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 3 Review: A New Flashpoint
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Groping through the Fire
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Corna (Sign of the Devil) / A Secret Plan
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 6 Review: The Time to Choose
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Road to the Oasis
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Smoldering Malevolence
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 9 Review: The Core
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 10 Review: The Woman in Black
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 11 Review: Dark Hero
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 12 Review: Shadows Cast by Divine Light
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 13 Review: A Pair of One-Eyes
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 14 Review: The Ashen Reaper
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 15 Review: A Three-Way Melee
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 16 Review: Mind Blown
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 17 Review: Boys, Be Weak
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 18 Review: The Holy Woman’s Anguish / The Man, Assault
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 19 Review: The Oze Family
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 20 Review: Weapon of Destruction
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 21 Review: Enemy Contact
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 22 Review: Plot for Extinction
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 23 Review: Firecat
- Fire Force Season 2 Episode 24: Signs of Upheaval
