REVIEW: ‘Fire Force’ Season 3 Episode 11 — “The Great Kaiju Battlefront”

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11, “The Great Kaiju Battlefront,” sees a surprising development in the wake of the previous episode’s ending. The giant pillar that rocked Tokyo as it erupted from the ocean isn’t the only strange thing to emerge from the watery depths. A giant Kaiju has appeared with it, and classically, it is headed for Tokyo.

You’d think the center of attention in an episode featuring the towering threat of a kaiju-sized infernal would be said monster, but the primary threat of the episode is easily outshone by the characters who arrive to stop it. While Shinra (Gakuto Kajiwara, Honkai: Star Rail) does speed off to confront the monster, familiar faces like Juggernaut (Katsuyuki Konishi, Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut), Ogun, and Yuichiro also arrive on the scene to end the looming rampage.

Seeing these familiar faces step into battle is the highlight of Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11. The colorful personalities bring a lot of fun punch to what is otherwise a by-the-numbers kaiju encounter. Seeing Ogun screaming across the water on his board and Yuichiro bantering about the weak as he grumbles under his supervisor’s thumb brought excitement and chuckles to the moment.

The kaiju in Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11 feels trite.

The visual approach to the clash does a great job of building both the scale and raw power of the threat, as well as the various pyrokentics that face it. Explosions and attacks are all animated well, especially the kaiju’s big fire-breath attack.

While it feels like an homage to the iconic kaiju, seeing another giant monster hit Tokyo with a huge, charged-up fireball feels a bit trite. That its power would be fire-based is a given, but it would’ve been nice if some originality could’ve been brought into its design. As it is, everything from the creature’s posture to the glowing back spikes feels too worn out. Which is surprising, given how rarely the series lacks for creativity.

Another setback for Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11 is how it handles Shinra. The lead character’s sole function is to throw himself in front of one of Juggernaut’s attacks, which allows him to be grabbed by a nearby White Clad. This moment is bad because there is no clear indicator for why Shinra felt he needed to go to such extremes to block this shot.

Scop claims Shinra did it so the ensuing attack wouldn’t destroy the pillar, but there is no indication of why that would happen. Fire Force members had been bombarding the creature without a single shot coming close to the pillar. And Juggernaut doesn’t seem to have the firepower to shoot clear through it. This lack of clarity makes the moment feel like a contrived plot point to allow Shinra to fall into enemy hands.

The end of Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11 is a bit shaky.

The other shaky point in this episode is the ending reveal that the White Clad want the kaiju destroyed, because, of course, they do. The tired trope of villains having every moment of a scenario planned out, masterfully manipulating their foes, falls as flat here as it does most places.

It would be better for the creature’s appearance to be a surprise to everyone than for it to play out this way. Having such levels of forethought in their planning only makes their inevitable oversight of a crucial element, leading to their downfall, feel all the more ridiculous.

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11 delivers action and familiar faces, even as it stumbles with its narrative. It provides a fun watch, so long as you don’t think too hard about it. Which, to be fair, is frequently the series’ way of doing things.

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 11 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

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