The Fire Hunter – Season 2 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Lunar Sickles

Episode 1 of The Fire Hunter Season 2 starts with the narrator recapping events that took place in season one. Then, we cut to Akira and Kanata comforting Kun and Touko. Akari notices a bloody sickle and asks Touko if she defeated a flame fiend with it. Touko doesn’t remember what happened but she informs Akira about what happened before that. Then, a signal goes off in the capital. Akari tells Touko and Kun the flame fiends have arrived and she believes the Spiders are controlling them. 

Akira tells Touko to flee with Kun since she knows this place will soon turn into an all-out battleground. Touko suggests that Akira should also depart since she feels she’s destined to become the next “lord of the fire hunters.” Akira refutes Touko’s claim and states that’s not the mission she set out to accomplish. Akira, Temari, and Kanata plan to battle the fiends. The narrator takes over and highlights what’s happening between the fire hunters, their animal partners, and the flame fiends. 

As Akira fends off a few flame fiends, she notices Touko join in the fray and slay a flame fiend herself. As more fire hunters and flame fiends perish left and right, Akira rushes over to grab Touko. Suddenly, Koushi arrives with two more fire hunters and some bottled lightning to defeat the flame fiends in the area. Koushi, Akira, Touko, Roroku, and the others hide somewhere. Roroku urges Akira to go to the palace before the Spiders reach it. 

Roroku leaves with his companion and two fire hunters attack Kon. Remember he used to be a member of the Spiders. Before they murder Kon, Koushi’s sister (Hinako) arrives and murders the hunters. Hinako looks at Koushi, grabs Kon, and flees. Koushi tells Akira to follow him somewhere for treatment purposes. In a vision, Touko speaks with the Flickering Flame. The Flickering Flame tells Touko that the only ones who perished are its older sister, Toukohanahime, and other humans. 

Upon further discussion, Touko realizes she’s currently speaking with the Flickering Flame. On Earth, Koushi treats Akira’s wounds and Akira vows not to let Touko use her sickle again. Kanata grabs Touko’s sickle and presents it to Hinako. Hinako flees and before Koushi runs after her, Akira stops him. Koushi realizes Hinako’s the same as before and believes the gods similarly remade her as the treefolk. He thinks the doctor who was treating Hinako (at the time) is a god and isn’t the only one in the Okibis’ mansion. 

Akira plans to appeal to the Lady Goddess while Koushi promises to visit the Ibushi cultivation plant. Although Akira says Koushi doesn’t need to stand by old man Okibi’s side anymore, Koushi feels he’s responsible for creating the weapon they’re using and wants to see this through to the end. Then, the two discuss Koushi’s father Haijuu, and the idea behind the lord of the fire hunters having the strength to change the world. 

Koushi brings up Mr. Okibi again since his reasons for the weapon align with the idea of having power that can challenge the gods. Akira feels they should seek an individual who’d be the right fit to become the new fire hunter lord. Our heroes bump into a man and a group of kids. Akira asks the gentleman if they can take Touko along with them. The gentleman accepts and leaves. Akira tells Kon to stay by Koushi’s side and Koushi tells Akira to be careful. 

Koushi, Kon, and Kanata travel through the capital’s food plant. Koushi says he’ll be leaving Kon and Kanata here. Koushi leaves and gets startled by Hibari. The two chat about the weather and if the gods were involved with it. Then, Hibari claims the Spiders have entered the capital. Hibari notes the Spiders used the fiends to divert everyone’s attention from them and believes some human conspirators helped them enter the city. 

Hibari mentions hidden passages and argues the Spiders are using them to enter the capital. The episode closes with the spiders getting ready to enter the capital. 

The Episode Review

The Fire Hunter finally returns after its nearly year-long break. While it doesn’t look like the anime improved much from a visual standpoint, its alluring world-building components remain. That’s not to say this episode didn’t contain any thrilling action segments though. Seeing Touko, Rokuro, and Akira fight off numerous fiends together was delightful. 

It illustrates how dreadful our human characters’ circumstances have become. While its imagery and animation could’ve been polished up more to portray that feeling better, what we receive is decent enough to get a few folks’ hearts racing. Additionally, this episode’s recap portions were handled well. They provided viewers with enough info to get them up to speed on our heroes’s developments.

Moreover, the episode sets fans up with a thrilling clash between the capital and the spiders. If executed properly, this could help the series recapture former viewers’ attention, especially those who dropped the series due to its excessive explanatory-heavy chapters and poor visual quality. Overall, this was a compelling episode to sit through and I’m interested to see how Touko and her allies’ adventure will end this season.