Fire Force Season 2 Episode 14

Infiltrating Haijima Industries

Fire Force season 2 episode 14 begins the second cour of season two. In this arc, Company 8 is once again turning their attention to Haijima Industries, the organization that Dr. Giovanni was a member of.

After that whole thing with Dr. Giovanni came to an end last season, I honestly forgot there was unfinished business there. The series moved on from all of that pretty quickly and dove headfirst into the White Clad arc. As far as I remembered, he was killed and everything directly relating to him was solved.

Sure, Vulcan’s girlfriend (I don’t remember her name) is still traumatized. But that’s not really important right now.

Anyway, now that we’re headed into the heart of Haijima Industries, it means there’s probably going to be some supporting character development. Specifically, both Viktor and Captain Hibana have ties to Haijima.

I’m not entirely sure how Hibana is going to be incorporated into this arc, but it would almost be odd for her not to be. At the very least, she may be part of the rescue mission that’s likely to take place later on once things inevitably go south for Shinra and Viktor.

And speaking of things going south for Viktor, there have been so many death flags for him that his death is inevitable. Right?

I don’t think so, and I get the feeling most of you don’t either. Yes, the boss of Haijima put a hit out on him. And yes, even Viktor knows that his death has likely been ordered. But there are also two reasons why I don’t see that happening. First, Shinra won’t let it happen. Second, what would his death achieve?

Would Viktor dying here really impact the plot? I don’t think so. So it would be a waste.

Nataku

Nataku is the kid who was bitten/stung by one of the flame insects released by Rekka. Rather than turning into an infernal and dying, Nataku awakened pyrokinetic abilities and was subsequently taken in by Haijima Industries for evaluation and “medical attention.”

While Nataku doesn’t have an Adolla Burst yet, it would appear that he’s going to awaken one very soon. Shinra experienced an Adolla Link with him shortly after entering the facility, and as far as we know, an Adolla Burst is required for that.

Exactly how his Adolla Link is going to be awakened isn’t quite clear. Well, I think it’s clear that it’s going to be awakened through combat. But, what situation will that combat be in? Will it be one of the training fights? Or, will it be during the eventual fight to escape?

I think the situation surrounding his awakening is pretty important for the future of his character. In the first situation, the Adolla Burst is forced out of him. But in the second, he would be awakening it of his own volition to save himself and probably other children in the facility.

Nataku’s Adolla Burst aside, so far I’m not impressed with him as a character. I get that he’s a kid, so he’s not all that dynamic. But even so, he’s kind of strange — especially since he has the ghost of Rekka inside him as his personal cheerleader or something.

Also, haven’t I seen this whole arc before? A child was kidnapped by an organization so they could use the child’s powers for their nefarious schemes. Then, our hero breaks into the facility, rescues the child, and defeats the villain with the help of the child.

Oh yeah, that’s called My Hero Academia season 4.

The Ashen Reaper

Okay. We need to talk about Kurono, the apparent main antagonist of this arc. Did anyone else get serious pedophile vibes from him? He’s really creepy, talks about wanting to “play” with children, enjoys asserting his dominance over those weaker than himself (especially children), and forces children to refer to him as “Uncle Reaper.”

I honestly never expected the next antagonist in Fire Force to be a pedophile, and yet here we are.

Kurono’s interests aside, he’s a very unique character compared to all the other pyrokinetics we’ve come across so far. He suffers from tephrosis, which is the disintegration associated with using a third-generation pyrokinetic ability too frequently. However, that doesn’t stop him despite how severe his case is.

I believe back in season one we were told that continued use of one’s ability once tephrosis had set in would lead to death. But with Kurono, it’s still restricted to his right arm after multiple years of use.

Additionally, Kurono is the first “pyrokinetic” I can think of who doesn’t actually control fire. And yes, plasma counts as fire (or, more accurately, fire is plasma). Instead, he controls smoke.

Before anyone tries to argue that smoke is close enough, or that he controls fire to make smoke, no. First of all, smoke is not “close enough.” Smoke isn’t a plasma, which is what all the other pyrokinetics control in various forms.

Second, he does control the smoke, not the fire that makes the smoke. We know this because he’s able to freely control the smoke through the air and even form it into hardened weapons. And, despite my original thinking that the smoke ability was tied to his tephrosis, he is shown to be able to control it with his good hand as well.

Conclusion

What do you think of Fire Force season 2 episode 14? Do you think Viktor is going to die by the end of it? Is it going to play out exactly like the fourth season of My Hero Academia? And, what do you think of Kurono’s smoke ability? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.