REVIEW: ‘Fire Force’ Season 3 Episode 21 — “Dragon And Knight Surge Towards The Heavens”

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21, “Dragon and Knight Surge Towards the Heavens,” sees a rematch between Arthur (Yûsuke Kobayashi, Fire Emblem: Three Houses) and Dragon (Masaki Aizawa, Mobile Suit Gundam: GQuuuuuuX) to determine whether Humanity’s hope will be rekindled or if nothing remains but despair. 

Forgoing its usual opening sequence, this episode dives into a heavily theatrical setup for its main event. It poetically explores the nature of both combatants, preparing the narrative for their clash. While the voice-over and writing emphasize a sense of gravitas for the upcoming fight, the visuals often conflict with this energy, leaving the opening a bit disjointed. 

This awkward opening isn’t the only moment in Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 that fails to fully land. As the battle begins, the episode briefly cuts away to explore Dragon’s past and why he has become despair personified. It is established that Dragon’s story begins long ago in Babylon. This is where things get a bit muddled.

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 confuses the timeline even more.

As the time and place are established, we see a young, animated Dragon wandering the desert. This doesn’t seem right, since it’s been established that before the first Great Cataclysm, 250 years before the series, the world was live-action. How can Dragon be in Babylonia and be animated? We then see him approached by the White Clad Faerie (Yûko Sanpei, Summer Time Rendering), who invites him to meet again in Japan in 200 years, so they can end the world together in the second Great Cataclysm. 

While Faerie’s presence answers the when question, it still doesn’t explain how Babylonia exists again. This confusing opening is really distracting. The timeline is already cloudy at best, and having Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 introducing new elements that make no sense does little to help the situation. 

The one great element that does come from this mess of a backstory is the origin of the despair that Dragon threatens to drown the world in. Dragon despairs because he can find no one worthy to fight him. He wanders through the world with no challenges or anything to engage with. He exists, but he can find no purpose. 

When Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 hits its stride, it is a glorious thing.

This is a striking explanation for a shonen anime character. So many shonen characters, and even entire series, revolve solely around becoming the undisputed best. Is fascinating to see Dragon achieve that goal only for it to be his fundamental curse.

The story begins picking up steam once it clears the hurdle of this backstory segue, although it is slow at first. The early moments of Arthur and Dragon’s fight are frequently paused by unnecessary narration, hindering the buildup of excitement and energy. Fortunately, this does pass, and the two combatants are eventually allowed to shine in their unfolding death match. 

Despite the stumbles getting off the starting line, when Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 hits its stride, it is a glorious thing. The will, the skill, and the sheer power wielded by both fighters are delivered with awesome visuals. From the first punches to the final planet-splitting strikes, the animation captures the raw force of the pair’s physical attacks perfectly. 

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 ascends to a higher level of storytelling as the battle desolves away.

Accompanying these physical manifestations of strength are superlative vocal performances by both Aizawa and Kobayashi. The voices and personalities of the combatants project just as much awesome might as their arms or the very elements of nature that the pair manipulates throughout the fight. 

With its final moments, Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 ascends to a higher level of storytelling as the battle desolves away. Arthur gets his best moment yet, as he showcases one more time that he is, and has always been, every inch the hero that Shinra is. As he calls out to his missing rival to finish what he has begun, Arthur’s arc is given its final moment, and it is one truly worthy of The Knight King. 

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 gets off to a rough start, but eventually lands on its feet. Once it gets going, the momentum builds until it reaches a crescendo that makes you forget about the struggles that opened the episode, allowing one of its core characters to have his best moment in the series. 

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 21 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

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