Fire Force breaks the 4th Wall with a shocking season 3 part 1 finale

The Fire Force season 3 part 1 ending on Friday, June 20, 2025, opened up to one of the biggest pushes forward in the series' narrative. With the ongoing popular anime series by David Production drawing towards the conclusion, the ending delivered on the anticipation from the fandom.

One of the biggest highlights from the latest episode, ending the Fire Force season 3 part 1, was its ingenious revelation of the connection between the Great Cataclysm and the real world through a crafty break in the 4th wall. The revelation through Shinra's Adolla Link raised the bar for the upcoming part 2 of the third season.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Fire Force anime and manga.

Fire Force ingeniously delivers by breaking the 4th wall in the latest episode

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Episode 12 of Fire Force season 3 part 1, The Madness of the Distant Past, was an action-packed episode overall with one of the biggest progressions in the series' narrative so far. With several characters being featured in the ending episode, it also ends with one of the biggest revelations, connecting the real world with the anime's narrative.

By the end of the episode, Shinra and Iris enter into an Adolla Link with each other. As Shinra asks Iris about the future regarding the upcoming second Great Cataclysm, Iris reveals that she can only see a certain future with no alternate possibilities. However, she suggests that Shinra use his speed and travel into the past, particularly before the first Great Cataclysm.

Shinra then uses his hyper speed to jump into the past along with Inca, after she confirmed that Shinra would be able to. As Shinra and Inca made it to the past, into a world before the Great Cataclysm and one without any Spontaneous Human Combustion, the episode started turning into greyscale and introduced an unexpected twist.

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Rather than following through with the general animation theme, it switched to a slideshow of pictures of Tokyo. Furthermore, with Shinra's dialogue, "What are those beings that look like people?", David Production craftily breaks the 4th wall, intertwining the real world with the anime world of Fire Force.

The sequence is not just a switch-up in animation and trying to come up with something ingenuine, but also a narrative that reveals that the human world is a part of the series' narrative, and the Great Cataclysm takes place in the current timeline in real life. The Fire Force series starts after our current world is engulfed in flames by the Great Cataclysm.

Not only did this revelation create an ingenious backbone for the series' storyline, but it also created a great opening for the upcoming part 2, leaving the fans with a much better grasp on the scope of the plot. A deep dive into the history of the Great Cataclysm, and linking it up to the real world by breaking the 4th wall, was both a unique and creative move by David Production.

Final thoughts

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The revelation of the Great Cataclysm's history through Shinra's perspective was an unexpected move by the production house, which worked in their favour. It also sets the tone for the upcoming Fire Force season 3 part 2, raising the anticipation bar even further, giving fans something more to look forward to while expecting twists.

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About the author

Ribhu Ghosh is an Anime Journalist at Sportskeeda. With a degree in Journalism under the Calcutta University, his deep-rooted passion for anime and manga led him to pursue a career in writing about the same.

Along with his 6 years of experience as an illustrator and digital artist for various overseas anime studios and companies, he also aspires to write storylines. Ribhu's creative journey has been profoundly influenced by renowned mangakas such as Sui Ishida, Masashi Kishimoto, Kohei Horikoshi, and Koyoharu Gotouge.

Ribhu's enthusiasm for storytelling and illustration is evident in his meticulous approach to reporting. He values accuracy and relevance and always prioritizes thorough research.

If given a chance, he would return to 2014 and be a part of the Tokyo Ghoul series, as he admires its action scenes, story, plot twists, art, and adaptation from the manga.

When he's not writing, Ribhu enjoys illustrating, playing chess, and engaging in outdoor activities like badminton. His diverse interests extend to music, cooking, reading, and gaming, all of which complement his passion for entertainment.

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Edited by Bharath S