Warning! Massive spoilers for Fire Force’s final episode to follow! 17 long years after it ended its original run, a legendary Shonen anime has made its comeback with a surprising anime return hidden in another Shonen franchise’s grand finale. It’s been seven years of buildup since the anime began, but Atsushi Ohkubo’s Fire Force has now officially ended its run with the release of its final episode. On its way out, the anime started to warp reality around Shinra Kusakabe and the other characters as humanity’s collective imagination began to change the world.

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When the anime adaptation for Ohkubo’s Fire Force first began, fans had noticed aesthetic similarities to his prior work but the connections started to take a more concrete shape in the final episodes. But with the series finale, these connections became even more real than ever as Soul Eater’s characters have returned to anime after 17 long years. As it turns out, Fire Force is actually a full prequel to Soul Eater as Shinra was the one who created its world.

Soul Eater World Returns in Fire Force Series Finale

Fire Force Season 3 Episode 25 sees Shinra Bansho Man (which is Shinra’s final form unlocked with a Soul Resonance with his mother and brother Sho) recreate the Earth multiple times after it was wiped out by the Great Cataclysm. He finally settles on a brand new version of Earth that no longer threatened by spontaneous combustion, and makes it a world where people are no longer afraid of death. This results in “Soul World” with a world where those with powerful souls unlock new abilities. This takes a small connection to Soul Eater and makes it much more real.

It’s here that fans not only see the full incarnation of Death much like in Soul Eater, but then its characters pop up as well. There’s a small cameo from Blair in her cat form, and fans can see how Fire Force‘s characters eventually change the world into the one we see in that series with the emergence of witches through Inca, Rekka deciding to focus on martial arts leading to the start of the Star clan and more. But the biggest reveals come right at the end with a 25 year time skip.

Is Soul Eater Getting a New Anime?

In the epilogue taking place 25 years after the end of the series, Shinra and the rest of the Special Fire Force Company 8 have taken on whole new roles in this new version of Earth. Shinra saving the world has become a story told to future generations, and that future generation is revealed to be all of the main characters from Soul Eater. Fans get brief looks at younger versions of Maka, Soul, Black Star, and even Death the Kid, and it’s a direct tie into that future series. Which does excite fans about the future.

Soul Eater‘s TV anime is one of the biggest revival requests that anime fans have had over the last 17 years. The series never really got a fair shake with its anime adaptation either as while it had over 50 episodes, it went onto its own original finale. We have never gotten a fully faithful Soul Eater anime in full, and after the franchise’s return here, that fact is only more egregious now. Hopefully, this is the start of something bigger on the horizon.

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