Fire Force is the underrated gem of the winter 2026 anime season. While series like Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and Jujutsu Kaisen tend to monopolize headlines, Fire Force is an innovative, entertaining, and exciting anime that is reaching its conclusion with season 3. While production delays and a split cour schedule somewhat dented the hype around it, the conclusion of the adaptation of Atsushi Ohkubo’s manga is a major event, keeping fans on the edge of their seats. The only question is: When is Fire Force season 3 actually ending?
Surprisingly, not with episode 24. It was expected that the second cour of season 3 would be just as long as the first, bringing the total to 24 episodes, but this proved not to be the case. Episode 24, “Answer,” aired on March 28, and it was not the finale. The confrontation between Shinra and Sho on one side, and the Evangelist and Haumea on the other, continues in Adolla, in the aftermath of the shocking immolation of Earth.
[Ed. note: Spoilers for Fire Force season 3, episode 24.]
As they struggle to break through Haumea’s defenses, Shinra and Sho are joined by her mother, Mari Kusakabe, in her Infernal form. It’s revealed that Mari is the Evangelist’s Doppelganger, which allowed her to survive and maintain her personality. After a tearful reunion, Shinra discovers a new power, Soul Resonance, which allows him to fuse his soul with those of Sho and Mari, creating the all-powerful Shinrabanshoman, the embodiment of hope. If Soul Resonance sounds similar, it’s because the technique is prominently used in Ohkubo’s other manga, Soul Eater, which confirms that the world that Shinrabanshoman recreates in this episode is the one seen in the mangaka’s earlier series, thus making Fire Force a prequel of sorts.
However, episode 24 ended with Haumea still trying to stop Shinrabanshoman. As the receptacle of humanity’s subconscious, she still believes that the only answer to suffering is annihilation, and Shinra has not managed to convince her, nor did he deal with the Evangelist yet. This means that there is at least one other episode to go in the season, with episode 25 scheduled for release on April 3. According to a promotional video, this should be the final episode of the season, thus bringing Fire Force to its conclusion. If you are not familiar with this fantastic series yet, now is the time to catch up with one of the best shonen of this generation.
