Fire Force triumphantly returned with Season 3 after more than four years, but perhaps some things should’ve been left behind in 2020. The series is now focusing on the truth behind the world, with the Fire Force Company 8 dealing with new and more powerful enemies. The tension is building up fast, and things will only get worse when all eight pillars appear. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance and Shinra in the middle of the chaos, the story only gets into its final stretch. However, if there’s one thing about the series that completely ruins the mood and disrupts the incredible flow, it’s Tamaki Kotatsu’s lecher lure.
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Anime and manga series, especially Shonen, which are specifically targeted towards a young male audience, often include fan service to boost reader engagement. Fire Force is no different, but even small doses of her gag should’ve been tolerable. Fire Force Season 3 was a perfect opportunity to slowly phase out something unnecessary in the show, but unfortunately, it only keeps getting worse. Anime-only fans may be unaware, but it won’t likely stop until the bitter end of the series.
[RELATED: Crunchyroll Announces English Dub Releases for Fire Force Season 3 and More]
Tamaki’s Gag Has Always Been a Problem, But This Scene Was Straight-Up Weird
Tamaki is a third-generation pyrokinetic, a nun, and a Fire Soldier in Fire Force. Although she doesn’t start out as particularly powerful, and she is gullible enough to get fooled by Rekka, she keeps working hard to become better. Despite her flaws, she trains relentlessly to become a better Fire Soldier. At this point in the story, she becomes a much more capable fighter as well, but all her good qualities are overshadowed by her nonsensical, fanservice-coded gag: Tamaki trips over nothing, and magically, all her clothes are removed. Additionally, other hijinks ensue, such as falling on top of Shinra, which will create another set of awkward or suggestive situations. While these are somewhat common tropes in the medium to an extent, their application here feels out of place by comparison. Those scenes make no sense and are always added at the most random moments.
Furthermore, Tamaki is only seventeen, so a lot of global fans find it unsettling to sexualize a teenager to this extent, certainly a contentious topic by itself. It’s too over-the-top and often lands her in embarrassing situations. Since her abilities give her cat ears and a tail, in Episode 4, Maki and Vulcan needed fire to make some equipment, so they melted the iron from where Tamaki’s tail sprouts out. The scene was criticized on social media for being strange, with several anime fans pointing out that this gag is the very reason they don’t watch Fire Force. The post went viral immediately, with a lot of valid criticism instead of unjustified hate.
Fire Force Doesn’t Need Fan Service to Be Good
Certain series like Fairy Tail rely heavily on fan service for almost every character, and fans have embraced that as part of its charm, especially with how well-executed it can be. On the other hand, famous shonen series such as One Piece and Bleach include certain fan service, but they’re not enough to overshadow the main aspects of a character. In Fire Force, Ohkubo only added Tamaki as a gag character, and that’s all her presence dictates โ a gag literally no one wants. Unironically, Fire Force is one of those series that has a plot interesting enough to keep viewers engaged despite the illogical gag.
It has a wide fanbase, and a majority of the people who dislike the series are because of the overusage of Tamaki’s lecher lure. The series has strong worldbuilding, a unique power system, overpowered characters, and captivating mysteries that make it one of the best Shonen shows ever. The story begins with the fire soldiers dealing with cases of human combustion, which appear to occur naturally. Slowly, the truth behind the human combustion unravels along with the appearance of the White Clad, an organization worshipping the Evangelist that’s from another dimension entirely.
The third and final season is divided into two parts, which will feature some of the most intense moments in the story. The blend of mystery plus action is good enough on its own that any moment with Tamaki just feels forced and out of place. Later on, the story even explains how her lecher lure is linked to her ability, but it doesn’t change the fact that her gag still leaves a bad taste in our mouths.
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