Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Rewatch Episode 27 Discussion
# Episode 27: [Age of Humans/An Era of Humans](https://files.catbox.moe/x7yps7.jpg)
***
[Previous episode](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1q2ajgh/frieren_beyond_journeys_end_rewatch_episode_26/) | [Index](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1p44gd9/frieren_beyond_journeys_end_rewatch_announcement/) | [Next episode](https://files.catbox.moe/lwcphj.jpg)
***
## Links, useful info:
[MAL](https://myanimelist.net/anime/52991)
[Anilist](https://anilist.co/anime/154587/Frieren-Beyond-Journeys-End/)
[Anidb](https://anidb.net/anime/17617)
[Kitsu](https://kitsu.app/anime/46474)
[Livechart](https://www.livechart.me/anime/11376)
[ANN](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=26334)
[AP](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/frieren-beyond-journeys-end)
***
## Streams:
[Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5XQX4/frieren-beyond-journeys-end)
[bilibili](https://www.bilibili.tv/en/media/2090295)
[Hulu](https://www.hulu.com/series/1d4725f8-06d1-43fb-a077-72143ac5502f)
[Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/81726714)
[Prime Video](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0PHTCTLN7E6QH3XNVJ6K2NBCCT)
***
## Currently disclosed information:
### Seiyuu of the day corner
Our final session is actually is just an extra in my opinion.
1) Cho
The last name I do want to talk overall in this rewatch about is Cho (real name: Shigeru Nagashima) whose role credited as "Art of War old man", [the random old fella](https://files.catbox.moe/7qnyv5.jpg) who happens to be Stark's "teacher" here, and has a very few lines overall. If there is anything major role here for him, then that is Brook in One Piece. Other noteable roles might be are Uchiyamada Hiroshi in Great Teacher Onizuka, Jaken in Inuyasha, The Principal in Hidamari Sketch, Principal Shinonome in Nichijou, Sukegawa Denroku in Hanasaku Iroha, Mame in A Letter to Momo, Matal Mogamett in Magi, Yamashita Kazuo in Kengan Ashura, Regro Burnedead in Mashle, Morlock in Handyman Saitou in Another World, Shishou in Apothecary Diaries, Saotome Genma in the Ranma 1/2 remake, Houko in Jigokuraku and many more.
2) As for Falsch's VA, looking at all the stuff, he is kinda everywhere, but mostly background and tertiary characters. Seiji in Uglymug Epicfighter might be the exception, as it is a major and a main role. There are other roles he has here in this show. First is the church father from episode 9, and the merchant from episode 14.
***
## Questions for the day:
1) Do you think Fern's staff can be restored or it's beyond repair?
2) Any idea what this old dude could teaches to Stark?
3) Do you think Lawine and Kanne will retry the exam three years later? Will they have any successes in the future?
4) How did Richter repair the staff? How easy or hard was that?
5) How unusual is the third exam?
6) Serie taking matters in her hands by being the lead examinee, is this some kind of anti-Frieren countermeasure?
7) Do you think that Serie's decision-making who can pass or not is very arbitrary?
8) Frieren joining the hero party, is this how she repayed the debt to Himmel when she saved him?
9) Can you imagine a what-if scenario that Fern accepts Serie's offer to become her apprentice?
10) Frieren failed, do you agree that she saw this outcome already when arrived at Äußert?
***
## Highlights from yesterday:
1) u/Magnafeana imagine Sense could use her hair to climb on heights like a spider:
> Spider-Sense. Spider-Sense. Does whatever a spider can.
Indeed
2) ~~Mario Jr.~~ u/LeminaAusa explained why Übel's signature skill is so cool and OP:
> This episode also contains one of my absolute favourite scenes in Frieren: the full revelation of Übel's Reelseiden spell and how her unique mentality allows her to utilise this fairly simple to accomplish extraordinary feats. This is really my absolute favourite example of something I've talked about before that I love in this show, namely the importance of visualisation in magic. Übel's spell is almost completely based on this visualisation principle: if she thinks it can be cut, it can be cut. Fabric? Made to be cut. Hair? Totally easy to cut. Übel doesn't let her intellectual knowledge about defensive magics get into her head, instead she's mastered the visualisation so strongly that Sense's clone melts like butter. Both the flashback scene with Übel and Sense and Übel taking down Sense's clone are just so immensely satisfying.
3) While Frieren being the bait, and Fern the main attacker from behind is the main tactic, and u/JustAnswerAQuestion comprehends why this works every single time:
> All the human mages have a cliche speciality that they rely on, and unfortunately, so does Fern. It's her sneak attack. She used it on Luegner. On Frieren. And Methode.
4) For u/Barbed_Dildo, Fern's attitude to magic is plain simple:
> It's about how Fern uses magic. I think Frieren has the most interesting approach to magic I've ever seen. It's not a bullshit way to solve problems, it's studied and researched and developed and evolves with the world around it. The 'age of humans' is because humans can develop magic faster than demons or elves. A devastating spell developed over centuries by a demon has been co-opted by humans and over just decades has become mundane.
> The personalisation of magic is such an interesting part of that, too. People develop magic along their own interests and strengths to try to gain an advantage, some trick to gain the upper hand in battle.
> Not Fern. Fern doesn't care for magic. She didn't come to it through interest, but through survival. Beyond that, Frieren forbids her to use anything other than basic offensive and defensive magic in battle. She doesn't do that because she can't be bothered teaching her anything else, it's because anything else is unnecessary. Having a range of spells to choose from slows you down. Fern doesn't think in battle, she just hits. She hits harder and faster than anyone else. Other mage's battle magic can be described as unique, or flashy, or underhanded, or elaborate; Fern's can be described as speed, surprise, and violence.
> In this episode (I think), Methode is talking about who the most dangerous clones are, and with all of the mages in there, one at the top of the list with Denken, Serie, and Frieren, is the 18 year old who only uses basic magic. She isn't dangerous because of her flashy spells or wide experience, just her sheer ability to deliver violence.
> Frieren is the bogeyman, and Fern is Don Fucking Frye.
Remember, everything has a purpose here.
***
## Disclaimer notice:
Dear rewatchers, please be nice to the first-time watchers or the manga readers to the anime-onlies by simply not spoilering anything. But if you want to discuss spoiler-territory things, use spoiler tags instead. Thank you for your understanding.
For example [this is] >!a spoiler!<
***
[Until then...stay tuned!](https://v.animethemes.moe/SousouNoFrieren-ED1v2.webm)
***
[Previous episode](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1q2ajgh/frieren_beyond_journeys_end_rewatch_episode_26/) | [Index](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1p44gd9/frieren_beyond_journeys_end_rewatch_announcement/) | [Next episode](https://files.catbox.moe/lwcphj.jpg)
***
## Links, useful info:
[MAL](https://myanimelist.net/anime/52991)
[Anilist](https://anilist.co/anime/154587/Frieren-Beyond-Journeys-End/)
[Anidb](https://anidb.net/anime/17617)
[Kitsu](https://kitsu.app/anime/46474)
[Livechart](https://www.livechart.me/anime/11376)
[ANN](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=26334)
[AP](https://www.anime-planet.com/anime/frieren-beyond-journeys-end)
***
## Streams:
[Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5XQX4/frieren-beyond-journeys-end)
[bilibili](https://www.bilibili.tv/en/media/2090295)
[Hulu](https://www.hulu.com/series/1d4725f8-06d1-43fb-a077-72143ac5502f)
[Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/81726714)
[Prime Video](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0PHTCTLN7E6QH3XNVJ6K2NBCCT)
***
## Currently disclosed information:
### Seiyuu of the day corner
Our final session is actually is just an extra in my opinion.
1) Cho
The last name I do want to talk overall in this rewatch about is Cho (real name: Shigeru Nagashima) whose role credited as "Art of War old man", [the random old fella](https://files.catbox.moe/7qnyv5.jpg) who happens to be Stark's "teacher" here, and has a very few lines overall. If there is anything major role here for him, then that is Brook in One Piece. Other noteable roles might be are Uchiyamada Hiroshi in Great Teacher Onizuka, Jaken in Inuyasha, The Principal in Hidamari Sketch, Principal Shinonome in Nichijou, Sukegawa Denroku in Hanasaku Iroha, Mame in A Letter to Momo, Matal Mogamett in Magi, Yamashita Kazuo in Kengan Ashura, Regro Burnedead in Mashle, Morlock in Handyman Saitou in Another World, Shishou in Apothecary Diaries, Saotome Genma in the Ranma 1/2 remake, Houko in Jigokuraku and many more.
2) As for Falsch's VA, looking at all the stuff, he is kinda everywhere, but mostly background and tertiary characters. Seiji in Uglymug Epicfighter might be the exception, as it is a major and a main role. There are other roles he has here in this show. First is the church father from episode 9, and the merchant from episode 14.
***
## Questions for the day:
1) Do you think Fern's staff can be restored or it's beyond repair?
2) Any idea what this old dude could teaches to Stark?
3) Do you think Lawine and Kanne will retry the exam three years later? Will they have any successes in the future?
4) How did Richter repair the staff? How easy or hard was that?
5) How unusual is the third exam?
6) Serie taking matters in her hands by being the lead examinee, is this some kind of anti-Frieren countermeasure?
7) Do you think that Serie's decision-making who can pass or not is very arbitrary?
8) Frieren joining the hero party, is this how she repayed the debt to Himmel when she saved him?
9) Can you imagine a what-if scenario that Fern accepts Serie's offer to become her apprentice?
10) Frieren failed, do you agree that she saw this outcome already when arrived at Äußert?
***
## Highlights from yesterday:
1) u/Magnafeana imagine Sense could use her hair to climb on heights like a spider:
> Spider-Sense. Spider-Sense. Does whatever a spider can.
Indeed
2) ~~Mario Jr.~~ u/LeminaAusa explained why Übel's signature skill is so cool and OP:
> This episode also contains one of my absolute favourite scenes in Frieren: the full revelation of Übel's Reelseiden spell and how her unique mentality allows her to utilise this fairly simple to accomplish extraordinary feats. This is really my absolute favourite example of something I've talked about before that I love in this show, namely the importance of visualisation in magic. Übel's spell is almost completely based on this visualisation principle: if she thinks it can be cut, it can be cut. Fabric? Made to be cut. Hair? Totally easy to cut. Übel doesn't let her intellectual knowledge about defensive magics get into her head, instead she's mastered the visualisation so strongly that Sense's clone melts like butter. Both the flashback scene with Übel and Sense and Übel taking down Sense's clone are just so immensely satisfying.
3) While Frieren being the bait, and Fern the main attacker from behind is the main tactic, and u/JustAnswerAQuestion comprehends why this works every single time:
> All the human mages have a cliche speciality that they rely on, and unfortunately, so does Fern. It's her sneak attack. She used it on Luegner. On Frieren. And Methode.
4) For u/Barbed_Dildo, Fern's attitude to magic is plain simple:
> It's about how Fern uses magic. I think Frieren has the most interesting approach to magic I've ever seen. It's not a bullshit way to solve problems, it's studied and researched and developed and evolves with the world around it. The 'age of humans' is because humans can develop magic faster than demons or elves. A devastating spell developed over centuries by a demon has been co-opted by humans and over just decades has become mundane.
> The personalisation of magic is such an interesting part of that, too. People develop magic along their own interests and strengths to try to gain an advantage, some trick to gain the upper hand in battle.
> Not Fern. Fern doesn't care for magic. She didn't come to it through interest, but through survival. Beyond that, Frieren forbids her to use anything other than basic offensive and defensive magic in battle. She doesn't do that because she can't be bothered teaching her anything else, it's because anything else is unnecessary. Having a range of spells to choose from slows you down. Fern doesn't think in battle, she just hits. She hits harder and faster than anyone else. Other mage's battle magic can be described as unique, or flashy, or underhanded, or elaborate; Fern's can be described as speed, surprise, and violence.
> In this episode (I think), Methode is talking about who the most dangerous clones are, and with all of the mages in there, one at the top of the list with Denken, Serie, and Frieren, is the 18 year old who only uses basic magic. She isn't dangerous because of her flashy spells or wide experience, just her sheer ability to deliver violence.
> Frieren is the bogeyman, and Fern is Don Fucking Frye.
Remember, everything has a purpose here.
***
## Disclaimer notice:
Dear rewatchers, please be nice to the first-time watchers or the manga readers to the anime-onlies by simply not spoilering anything. But if you want to discuss spoiler-territory things, use spoiler tags instead. Thank you for your understanding.
For example [this is] >!a spoiler!<
***
[Until then...stay tuned!](https://v.animethemes.moe/SousouNoFrieren-ED1v2.webm)
Commentaires
**First Timer**
I thought the Zen master had declared that Stark had achieved enlightenment, or emptiness, or whatever Zen does.
Also a few days ago I went back to compare his character design to Old-Himmel, just to be sure.
She's right, remember what happened to Ron Weasley's wand. You can't just duct tape it.
Obviously, Fern should take a piece of the staff as a talisman.
Okay, I see that Laufen is *always* eating bread.
If he's unlucky by losing, then you're lucky for winning!
I figured Frieren was going to let Denken go with her if he failed.
"If you can't, you can't" -- Maybe Frieren is figuring out how humans work at last.
Okay, so my theory about Serie is eliminating human mages to restore her vision of the world was wrong. Still a good theory.
Also, the 2nd test final boss wouldn't have been so hard if Frieren wasn't there.
Yesterday I commented on humans and their specialization, (wishing after the fact I had used the phrase one-trick pony) and included Fern in that. I now include Frieren. Her life-time specialization is her mana suppression.
Wait, did we see this scene with Frieren and smol Himmel way back at the start of the show?
Fern knows exactly what mana suppression looks like.
I really liked Serie's and Frieren's interactions. A useless spell, and a useless skill, doomed the Demon King. Serie never understood the true potential of magic.
Actually, I have to strike that. Serie has been suppressing her mana for 1000 - 2000 years. She taught it to Flamme. She sees some value in it.
Serie says she would be good to Fern, but she would not be a good master, like Frieren. Serie will never understand her students.
Because she firmly believes it must be a privilege to the chosen few.
I forgot about Stark's master. I wonder what did he tell him this time
Richter showing he's a dick even with his customers, I dunno how he's still in business.
Frieren showing she does care about the sentimental value over Fern's staff melted my heart :(
Serie might say the flower spell is the most useless one but we just saw it's 1) the most important one and 2) it must be her favorite. I mean, look at all the flowers in that room. She sure is tsundere
He is just popping up from time to time.
> Richter showing he's a dick even with his customers, I dunno how he's still in business.
He might be fed up with many things. Or maybe he is loaded with orders as well?
> Frieren showing she does care about the sentimental value over Fern's staff melted my heart :(
If she was convinced enough the staff is actually can be repaired. And we knew what an angry and sad Fern is.
> Serie might say the flower spell is the most useless one but we just saw it's 1) the most important one and 2) it must be her favorite. I mean, look at all the flowers in that room. She sure is tsundere
For Serie, it might be useless because it has no practical value. Important because thanks to Flamme. Flowers in the room, that garden belongs to the CMA. And tsundere indeed.
The focus of the 1st episode of Fern's staff was well done. Of course that staff was precious to Fern because it is the one that Heiter gave her. What Heiter said about Frieren and gauging feelings is true. She has trouble connecting with other people's emotions, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care. Of course, as Richter hinted, it would have made more sense to get a new staff, but obviously we know the amount of love Frieren put into that staff. This is where we really see Frieren trying to understand the human side of emotions.
The two that met an unfortunate end in this exam are Lawine & Richter. Denken knows more than anyone that what happened to those two could have happened to anyone outside Frieren. Denken trying to show that he cares, and much like Frieren he is awkward about it.
The 3rd exam is being proctored by Serie and much of her logic makes sense. The 2nd exam was greatly influenced by Frieren being here. She knew how to tackle our replica, meaning the path to success in this exam would be a lot easier than if she didn't participate. Kanne is one example where we have noticed that Lawine has shown to be a more promising mage than her, but Lawine had bad luck.
Serie as mentioned by Frieren has some outstanding magic intuition. So of course she's calling Flamme's flower spell worthless. It was that flower spell that got Himmel into the beauty of magic. You could even say that spell is what made him into the hero he is. At the very least we know that spell brought him to reconnect with Frieren and thus with Eisen & Heiter they defeated the Demon King. The big point is that always looking at things logically isn't always the most appropriate.
It should be no surprise Serie would fail Frieren based on both her skewing the results in the exam and, even more so, how their opinions on magic look so different. Still, Frieren mentions that Series will pass Frieren no matter what. It is really to the point that Sense said before how much potential Fern has for a mage. Her outlook on magic itself isn't too certain that it would turn off Serie like it did in her conversation with Frieren. Of course, good on Frieren to coach Fern before because they need Fern to pass to continue their journey and didn't want Fern to feel pressured to comply when she didn't want to. Though it is quite interesting, it is through Frieren's teaching that Fern would notice that Serie's mana fluctuates.
This episode adapted chapters 56 & 57, finishing up volume 6 as well as the part of chapter 58 after Series passes Fern. I really liked how they expanded the scene where Fern sees her staff fixed on her bed. Also, the flashback with Himmel was beautifully adapted.
* It got fixed.
Any idea what this old dude could teaches to Stark?
* Maybe he is a fan.
Do you think Lawine and Kanne will retry the exam three years later? Will they have any successes in the future?
* Yes. Hopefully.
How did Richter repair the staff? How easy or hard was that?
* I guess he can manipulate physical elements so not a huge surprise/
How unusual is the third exam?
* As unsual as Frieren taking the mage exam
Serie taking matters in her hands by being the lead examinee, is this some kind of anti-Frieren countermeasure?
* Just her way of ensuring no one unworthy becomes a first-class mage.
Do you think that Serie's decision-making who can pass or not is very arbitrary?
* I mean that is kind of the point.
Frieren joining the hero party, is this how she repayed the debt to Himmel when she saved him?
* It felt more of a desire out of Himmel then anything.
Can you imagine a what-if scenario that Fern accepts Serie's offer to become her apprentice?
* It would be out of character if Fern did. One thing Fern has shown that is she is very loyal.
Frieren failed, do you agree that she saw this outcome already when arrived at Äußert?
* I don't think she realized it then, but more so the mention that Serie was leading the 3rd stage of the exam.
**First Timer: Beyond Dubbed’s End**
I thought it was a flashback, but nope. Old Dude made a reprise.
Aw her staff 😞
Yuri headpats being me joy fufu 😚
Richter and Denken’s relationship has been this sleeper hit for me.
…is Richter Tony Stark?
She is such an ugly sleeper, I love Frieren so much 😭
What is that quote, “be more afraid of the old men in a job that claims the young” or something like that.
I don’t know why but the Serie toe flexing had me nervous. With the mimics and now the foot, you can never be too careful.
I wonder if he *can’t* see it, or he can, and that’s why he’s been cautious or “timid”. There’s safety in obscurity and allat.
Wait waaaaat?! *Waaaaaaaaaaat?!*
Serie’s fit would make for some great PJs.
Congratulations, Fern!
***
**A Spell for Additional Thoughts**
I really do see why ND friends have enjoyed this series. Especially Heiter’s words about Frieren and Fern seeing that Frieren understands remind me of conversations and situations over the years.
I’m surprised Himmel knew Frieren. That’s incredible.
Serie surprises me, and I’m very curious about her background. She finds the flower spell—and seemingly non-combat spells—to be useless. There’s implications that she still valued Flamme and Flamme’s favorite spell. What all happened in Serie’s lifetime? What is her goal?
She acts like such a granny, but I like it.
***
**QotD**
1. It can and it has.
2.
3. I hope they do. I think, by the time they return, something will have changed with exams.
4. It took dedication to be able to reconstruct a staff and having to visualize what that staff even looked like. That’s like doing a puzzle but more challenging.
5. Very. They didn’t have to do the third exam like this before.
6. She doesn’t want mages who don’t meet her standards to become first class. Frieren is the catalyst for why so many mages past, and she’s representative of Serie’s own weakness.
7. Very.
8. I don’t think there was any debt between them.
9. Nope. I’d have to read a fanfic AU for that.
10. No. I thought she would pass, and then this association would become a thorn in her side.
Best episode of the exam arc. Third test was the best one because it was character focused. And the characters in focus were primarily our MCs and Serie - the most interesting ones.
We got to meet Stark (and that random strange old man who gives him training advice) again and while he didn't have a lot to do. It was nice seeing him with Fern again. Him holding all those skewers demolished by Fern gave me a chuckle. I love when this show has this kind of understated humour.
Richter has grown on me. I felt bad for him. He really was just unlucky. It could've happened to any of them. Denken's way of giving him encouragement wasn't as bad as Laufen made it out to be. It was pretty heartfelt, I thought.
Frieren getting Fern's staff fixed for her was just the sort of sweet thing you'd expect of her. I love the relationship these two have. Reminds me of my own with my mother tbh.
Serie being the proctor of the final exam was unexpected. No wonder we only needed 2 episodes to wrap it up. Or just one? Will we get to see what happens to Denken next time?
I didn't expect Frieren to fail. Glad Fern made it through though. So they have their first-class mage and passage to the North. Season 2 will be them journeying again then, which I'm looking forward to. Wonder what the final episode will be though. Just wrapping up loose ends? The restart of their journey?
I'd like to see more of this first first-mage, Lernen. He seems intriguing. But I am not sure we'll see more of him. Also, if Serie's mana is fluctuating, does that mean she's suppressing her mana too? That her mana is much bigger than the already crazy size of it? How crazy powerful is Serie? And how old? She was already quite old when Frieren was small.
Also interesting that Serie tried to steal Fern away from Frieren even though just a little before that she tells herself she shouldn't take on human students. This means Fern is just that good that Serie couldn't pass over the chance to train her in her own image, no? I dread to think how Fern would turn out if she'd agreed to be Serie's student.
And finally, loved the flashback showing how Flamme's flower field spell was what brought Himmel and Frieren together. That spell really is what separates the kind and powerful ones from the Serie-like scary powerful ones in this story. And I love that. It shows how being soft-hearted and loving beauty is not a weakness but a strength. Ambition is the slippery slope. Not being ambitious but just loving magic for the sake of the beauty it can create and for the joy in searching for new spells or for the sake of the people you love - that's the kind of person I would trust. But it's not just ambition that's the problem - Flamme had an ambition that she accomplished too - it's what you want to do with your power/magic. It's whether you love peace or war. The answer seems like a no brainer but sadly isn't for a lot of people.
But if Fern passed, it must be mission complete, right?
Frieren of course doesn't care one way or the other. She was already telling Fern to do it so she wouldn't have to right at the start. So no harm and mission accomplished.
I'm just wondering if the other mages wouldn't be surprised that Serie failed Frieren given they've all seen how powerful she is.
And with that, we're basically at the end of the Exam arc, at least as far as Frieren and Fern's involvement since there's a few characters that haven't learned their fate yet. It's not as extravagant as the first couple stages, but I did appreciate what they were going for more this time around.
The first half of the episode brought things back to more of a character focus, closer to the type of story from before the Exam arc, and it worked really well IMO. It once again emphasizes Frieren's difference in perspective compared to Fern's human perspective, as she doesn't really see the point in trying to fix a wand that's *that* broken. But since she sees how much it means to Fern, she still goes to see Richter to try and get it repaired. The parts where Fern first learns about it from Richter, and then comes back to find the repaired staff and looks at Frieren with such deep gratitude were beautiful moments.
As for the actual final stage of the exam, it's both surprising and not so surprising (given how few episodes were left) that it turned out to be so streamlined. I do like how the emphasis is put on Frieren's and Fern's reasoning for the former's love of spells, and the latter's loyalty to Frieren as her teacher. It struck me the first time watching this part (and again this time) that Fern is basically Serie's great-granddaughter when thinking about the familial lineage of their magic line. And as such, Serie is getting to see the end results of Flamme's dreams come to fruition after being resistant to it for so long, so it says a lot that she's willing to accept her as a first-class mage, and offer her the position as her apprentice.
Then when she gets home and sees the staff she realizes how much she does care, shes just bad at expressing it.
So when in a much higher pressure situation moments later, she proudly declares she is Frieren's student and turns down Serie.
When the show first aired, I wondered how on Earth they were going to get through the third exam with only two episodes remaining. (I had not yet read the manga)
The final exam just being a vibe check is both hilarious, and... actually kind of genius?
The first two were all about strength and skill. Serie's interviews are about character and strength of will. In a world where magic is based on imagination, do you imagine yourself as being of that caliber? Or do you look at Serie's colossal mana and shy away?
Serie is Frieren's #1 hater, and makes no qualms about it. Imagine being so salty after a thousand years that you show up personally just to make sure no Frierens join the 'No Frierens Allowed' club.
(I'm fairly certain Serie is just being a prideful tsundere.)
The two great mages are very different in how they view magic. Serie is old and crotchety and stuck in her ways, and thinks it should be a tool for war as it was in ages past. Frieren is young and idealistic, and thinks it should be something beautiful for everyone to enjoy in peace.
We learn that Flamme's silly spell to make a field of flowers ended up being instrumental in the defeat of the Demon Lord. (Also, no wonder Himmel never got together with Frieren. He had the blue hair curse *and* the childhood friend curse. It was doomed from the start.)
Lernen says Frieren's mana is equal to Serie's. But unbeknownst to him, Serie's is *also* concealed. She must have a truly unfathomable amount.
Poor Richter. First Denken and Laufen come in and make him feel bad about failing the exam, take everything off the shelves and pile it up without buying anything, and offer him a half-eaten donut. And then Frieren comes in with a crappy job that he doesn't want to do. But he does it anyway when she hurts his pride.
Retail is hard. No wonder Richter is the way he is.
> (I'm fairly certain Serie is just being a prideful tsundere.)
> The two great mages are very different in how they view magic. Serie is old and crotchety and stuck in her ways, and thinks it should be a tool for war as it was in ages past. Frieren is young and idealistic, and thinks it should be something beautiful for everyone to enjoy in peace.
Probably because Frieren is still following the Flamme school of thought.
> We learn that Flamme's silly spell to make a field of flowers ended up being instrumental in the defeat of the Demon Lord. (Also, no wonder Himmel never got together with Frieren. He had the blue hair curse and the childhood friend curse. It was doomed from the start.)
Too bad it is a a fate which differs a man and elf. And why is curse being a blue hair? And also childhood friends should be the winning heroes for once, not always the losing side.
I'm not sure *exactly* how true it is, since I don't watch many romances, but those are both jokes I've heard a lot about romance animes.
* I gotta say, Denken and Laufen’s relationship is so wholesome. It genuinely makes my heart feel warm.
* **One of the details I didn’t quite get on my first rewatch** was why, and for whom, Denken stacked those books and the crystal. A lot of people believe they were meant for Richter, but I believe they were placed there for Frieren. After seeing Fern’s staff break during the second exam, Denken likely realized that Frieren would go to Richter for repairs, since he would probably be the only one who had both the skills to do the job and the willingness to take it. I also think Denken knew Richter had a propensity for accepting sentimental requests, something he realized earlier when he convinced Richter to help him at the restaurant the moment he mentioned his deceased wife.
* If you noticed, when Richter was assembling the staff, right after saying he never said he couldn’t do it, Frieren is clearly holding one of the three books Denken stacked for her.
* Man, Serie is such a great character. She has a gravitas and aura that feel incredibly profound, and I’ve rarely seen an anime character as convincing as her in this role.
* By the way, there is a lot of symbolism in this episode with the types and colors of flowers we see. One that stood out clearly was the use of the white daisy to symbolize the love Frieren has for Himmel.
This was completely baffling to me, and now that you mention it, it is completely baffling to me. I will have to rewatch.
I just took it as him browsing then not putting it back into place.
Them being for Frieren seems like a bit of a stretch to me though. He'd have to know she'd walk in right after him and before Richter could put the items back in place. Not sure how he could time them precisely for her.
Also, Frieren picked up a book from the display in the middle, if it was one of Denken's she would have had to move the jar first. There were other books there.
Frieren is the ultimate grimoire enthusiast, and that was shown to Denken and the rest of the test-takers when she got caught by the mimic after they defeated Frieren’s clone and entered the treasure room. To me, it also makes no sense that he would stack those books for Richter, since it’s his library and he already knows all of the books and items in it.
>Also, Frieren picked up a book from the display in the middle, if it was one of Denken's she would have had to move the jar first.
There was a way she could have removed the jar and taken the book easily, since it was the same color as one of the stacked books, if I recall correctly.
And I don't believe that Denken took a cursory look around the show and pulled out items of interest for Frieren. If there was anything of interest to Frieren in there I'm sure she would have found it, but I doubt there was, Richter isn't suspicious enough.
Frieren didn't seem particularly interested in the book she picked up, anyway.
That seems less likely than selecting a few books that he knows are relevant for Richter. He is offering his experience and judgement, that is of value to Richter, not Frieren.
Well we mostly get to see how some o those eliminated deal with it, Fern gets her staff fixed, and gets to be a class 1 mage.
Before we move onto the final exam, we go on a little sidequest to save Fern's staff. Poor Fern. It was rather cute to see little tiny Fern trying to wield that huge ass staff when Heiter first gave it to her, and her emotional state in the beginning of the episode is a good indication of exactly how much the staff meant to her.
Thankfully, with the help of the talents of Richter and the cajoling of Frieren, Fern's staff is restored! For all of his bitching, I bet Richter is probably rather pleased after pulling off such a complicated repair job. Also, I'm amusing that we finally had the opportunity to focus on the concept of a mage's staff for the first time in the show, and yet we still don't really know all that much about them.
Also in this in between time, we get to see Richter and Lawine sulking about their loss in the second exam, as well as Denken/Laufen and Kanna consoling them, respectively. At least Richter lives in town so he won't even have to travel to try the exam again in three years! Also, as an ex-retail worker, I couldn't help but sigh at Denken making a pile of stuff on the counter like he was going to buy it all and then just walking off out of the store without buying anything.
[](#kaguyasigh)
And so we come to the final test, which is hilarious in its brevity and simplicity: Serie "interviews" everyone (in quotes because some of those so-called interviews seemed rather short!) and personally decides whether they pass or fail.
Really, it's a very elegant solution. As Frieren herself points out, Serie is choosing based on her intuition (mostly) and her intuition is never wrong. It might seem like something of a cop-out (and I kinda thought so myself at first to be honest) but it really does make a lot of sense. It helped me to think it out from a bit more of a logical perspective, that Serie herself was the founder of the CMA and she knows exactly what is needed to become a first-class mage if anyone does, and her very long years of knowledge and experience about magic give her a very broad depth of knowledge to see and judge things off of. Serie has an incredibly brusque manner, and she fails people with a single word and a wave of the hand, but the speed and callousness of her responses hide the more deeper observations, calculations, and determinations that Serie is making internally.
That said, no one is perfect, and Serie is no exception. She very obviously has some serious biases where Frieren is concerned, and if she judged Frieren solely the way that she judged the other participants, I'm sure Frieren would have passed with flying judgment. But the history between the two of them has very obviously soured them to one another (not that I blame Frieren for her feelings towards Serie in the slightest), and Frieren knew there would be no winning this exam for her and there wasn't. But we did get an interesting scene between Frieren and Serie, and of course the lovely story of the meeting between Frieren and Himmel and more of the importance of the spell to create a field of flowers.
The meeting between Fern and Serie is just perfect.
In the end, out of our remaining candidates, we know that Fern has passed and Kanna, Dünste, Laufen, Scharf, and Ehre all failing. The remaining candidates have yet to be examined and likely will be at the start of the next episode: Denken, Wirbel, Land, Übel, and Methode.
PS: I didn't have a good point to mention this above but I absolutely love how Serie was all talking down about Frieren learning to control her mana release and how inefficient and a waste of time it was... only for it to be very shortly revealed later that Serie herself is doing the same thing. But I do also find it interesting that this a rather notable difference compared to how Flamme thought of it 1000 years ago when she started teaching Frieren the trick, and yet both opinions are outwardly negative while still being discussed by the people who themselves use the same trick. It's definitely an interesting parallel. But of course, now that I think about it, it must have been Serie who taught Flamme the trick in the first place.
Finale time tomorrow!
S1) Definitely the case of a sort of hilarious cameo. Even the old man himself is rather amusing. He's definitely been around for ages, already voicing an old man in the days of Excel Saga. Sadly, most of the roles I've seen him in are either minor or I haven't seen in ages (such as the aforementioned Excel Saga), with one notable example being Shishou in The Apothecary Diaries. Also have to give him props for voicing old man evoker Estarriola in GBF.
S2) Kento Shiraishi is definitely more of a new and upcoming seiyuu, so I guess we'll see what he gets up to in the future! I've seen a handful of the show's he been in, but nothing where he's had a large enough role to make an impression on me, though of course you have to start somewhere.
1) Well, we kinda know that it was able to be repaired now, but I do think they did a good job of setting up what a difficult job it would be.
2) The importance of being mysterious to the young people.
3) I mean, honestly, it was pretty obvious from the moment they were introduced that Lawine and Kanna, in their current state, were not ready to be first-class mages; they lacked the emotional maturity if nothing else. In another three years' time, perhaps they'll be in a bit of a better position for it.
4) It definitely seems like it was a hard, or at least time-consuming, process.
5) Probably pretty unusual, but I think they did a good job of establishing the reasoning behind it.
6) While I do think Serie abused her position in this matter to make sure that Frieren didn't pass, I really don't think that was her main reasoning behind it, more just a serendipitous bonus.
7) I wrote about this a lot more above, but I definitely do not think it was arbitrary and instead I believe it was probably an accurate and efficient test, if not very exciting. It's more Serie's blunt manner that makes it seem more flippant.
8) I'm of the opinion that there were a lot of complicated factors that led to Frieren joining the party, with this being one of them.
9) There would be a lot of sitcom-like miscommunications and being emotional at each other in awkward ways. I'd probably watch it.
10) I mean, on some level, it seemed like Frieren was always ambivalent about passing the exam, seeing it as more of a means to an end. I don't think she necessarily foresaw that she wouldn't pass until she learned the details of the 3rd exam (otherwise I don't think she'd have bothered with the first couple exams), but it does seems like she always had some kind of misgivings about it, so perhaps there was a bit of intuition there.
Another exam stage over, another few days of respite again.
Stark is still taught by that weird old man, Fern is sad because her favorite cherished item (the staff) is broken into multiple pieces and looks like it is beyond salvation. It is really important to her, because Heiter gave it to her when she was young. A newer replacement would not be a good substituent for her, not at all, never. But there is some hope for saving it, because Richter is a shop owner, and specializes in maghic-related businesses. He can accept an order that fixes some magical things, right? Yes he can, but a staff like this is somewhat a tall order. And actually done it. Guess it was expensive.
Then here is the third exam. Twelve examinee reached this point (Frieren included), and Serie sees this time to intervene. Extraordinary times calls extraordinary measures, as she says, which means time to take up matters into her own hands. She will be the main examinee. It is quite simple, it is basically an interview, with no rules. Serie knows Frieren already, that is not even that experienced, her existence to kill demons, and the mana concelament, but fundamental differences on individual level I suppose. She didn not changed at all.
Kanne failed already, because Serie's intimidating aura scared her, which not worthy for a first-rank mage. Some others failed as well. And here comes Frieren. And she failed because of that stupid flower-making spell, which is her favorite spell (and for Flamme as well). But this useless spell actually had some worthiness after all: Frieren was the one who helped a young Himmel to find his way back to home, and showing a never-forgettable beautiful thing to see, in the form of this spell.
And looks like Fern is readided already for this. She said some things what should be prepared for, even the old elf instincts always right. And she was right, offered a once-in-a-lifetime offer to become her apprentice, but refused. As expected, Fern passed. Serie realized that Frieren is the better teacher for her.
> 1) Do you think Fern's staff can be restored or it's beyond repair?
If possible, then yes, it can be saved.
> 2) Any idea what this old dude could teaches to Stark?
Life and martial arts instructions I suppose.
> 3) Do you think Lawine and Kanne will retry the exam three years later? Will they have any successes in the future?
There is another time, they will use that opportunity. They are still young, so there is a lots of time to do it. They might have better chance there.
> 4) How did Richter repair the staff? How easy or hard was that?
Specified magic, I might say somewhat hard.
> 5) How unusual is the third exam?
Being an interview, that counts.
> 6) Serie taking matters in her hands by being the lead examinee, is this some kind of anti-Frieren countermeasure?
If she noticed her, then yes.
> 7) Do you think that Serie's decision-making who can pass or not is very arbitrary?
Very arbitrary, as it is her decison who can pass or not, by differing every single time depends on examinee.
> 8) Frieren joining the hero party, is this how she repayed the debt to Himmel when she saved him?
If I say so.
> 9) Can you imagine a what-if scenario that Fern accepts Serie's offer to become her apprentice?
Probably not, as Fern is extremely loyal to Frieren. Maybe Serie would be really strict as well.
> 10) Frieren failed, do you agree that she saw this outcome already when arrived at Äußert?
If she said so, maybe already knew Serie is heavily involved here.