Why do shows that stand out for being distinctive try so hard to be conventional?
I’m sure the charge of a self-fulfilling prophecy could be laid, but I confess I didn’t find this episode of Sousou no Frieren to be especially compelling. It was fine, but I already get the sense that the series is straying from the themes that made it click for me. Like Mahoutsukai no Yome I think Frieren tends to be better the less conventional it tries to be. And even if this is more a “Hunter Exam” than “Hogwarts” arc (Goc help up, may it not last as long as either) it smacks of conventionality from the moment it kicks off.
For starters, the Frierengumi arrives in Äußerst (thank Heaven for copy and paste), the great magical city of the north. Also arriving is Übel (Hasegawa Iukumi), though not before a meeting in the woods with our old friend Kraft. He appears to save her from a group of bandits, but it’s pretty clear from the start he’s actually saving them. If this is the hunter exam she’s Hisoka, disqualified from the last exam for killing the proctor. I guess the Mage’s Guild doesn’t prohibit someone from re-taking the exam for that any more than the Hunter Association does, so Übel is back and mugging for the camera.
The exam, as it turns out, is only offered once every three years (how lucky that it’s only two months off when Frierentachi arrive). The hitch is that one must be a fifth-class mage or higher to take it, and Frieren is officially no class at all. Initially she’s prepared to leave it to third-class mage Fern, who lacks confidence despite being the youngest ever to be third-class with a perfect score, but Fern’s argument that the cost of hiring a mage companion would eat into their snack money is persuasive. Fortunately one of the boffins at the guild recognizes the holy emblem pendant she carries despite it already having been outdated when she was traveling with the heroes’ party (that comment about the others dying so soon was pretty thoughtless, but that’s Frieren).
If you’re wondering about Stark’s role in all this, well, as expected it’s basically zero (him sleeping through their research/training was rather symbolic, I thought). As the exam kicks off we meet a few of the other entrants, most prominently Kanne (Waki Azumi) and Lawine (Suzushiro Sayumi), who get paired off with Frieren for the three-mage team alignment of the first test (Fern gets the sociopath in her party). Watching two characters I don’t know bicker about stuff I don’t care about for half the episode didn’t hold much appeal for me, but these two look and act like modern anime characters so I’m sure they’re fulfilling their intended role.
That first test is to capture a little orange bird called a stille, which unsurprisingly only Frieren from her party has heard of. And to do so with all three members being present at the end. The stille is more than meets the eye – strong enough to shatter a magical ice trap and fly faster than the speed of sound – but there’s not much drama about how this will turn out. Togashi certainly made this format work, but he did so at the beginning of the series when everything and everyone was new to us. And he was totally fearless in the way he went about executing the plot (and some of the characters). That’s a pretty high bar for Sousou no Frieren to clear to make this arc engaging, but maybe it will surprise me.
SeijiSensei
January 13, 2024 at 9:18 pmWatching two characters I don’t know bicker about stuff I don’t care about for half the episode didn’t hold much appeal for me, but these two look and act like modern anime characters so I’m sure they’re fulfilling their intended role.
Truer words were never spoken. I saw a couple of people on Suki say they liked these characters. I just want them to go away.
Snowball
January 13, 2024 at 11:32 pmAlso, when they are bickering their facial expressions are so bland, I don’t feel their frustration with each other. I was really put off by them in the trailer, but it’s even worse in the actual series.
Haraga
January 13, 2024 at 11:59 pmI’ve been catching up to newer anime as I’ve been out of loop for about a year, and just at the point where I catch up with Frieren and it is transitioning into my personal “truly great” territory, this episode happens.
It is as if your average anime writer was asked to execute on the same concept, I had an impression I was watching a different show. The previous shounenish arc was executed much more delicately. I just hope the series gets it out of its system soon and we’re back to the usual greatness.
Kurik
January 14, 2024 at 7:34 amTotally agree with the general sentiment. Not liking these new characters at all and have little interest in them. Want this arc done proto if it’s gonna be this bad. Why oh why…Feel like my anticipated wait for this week episode was all for nothing
mercronos
January 14, 2024 at 12:27 amI think there can be space for an anime to be a lot of things. Sousou no Frieren is surely one that is able to hold a particulary big space. I throughly enjoyed everything so far.
The ones bickering stroke me as iritating, but shouldn’t it actually be that? hahah And Fern only got third class while waiting for the first class exam right?
Nicc
January 14, 2024 at 8:10 amAlright, the group finally reaches the outskirts of Äußerst, though they still have to go by carriage for the rest of the way. They’re not the only ones headed there as we also see a mage named Übel who’s taking a break on the side of the road until she’s accosted by bandits. Kraft shows up again and seems to save the day, except that you’re right that he was saving those bandits. It seems that she has been using other bandits as target practice while on the way to the magic city and Kraft notes that it’s not her first rodeo. We later learn that she killed a proctor the last time she took the first-class exam and apparently that doesn’t disqualify her from trying the test again. Frieren later notes that mages are rare nowadays, but I guess that a proctor getting killed is an acceptable loss.
So, they get more details regarding the test. It’s takes place once every three years and they arrived two months before, good timing. There is a class/rank minimum to take the test which Frieren doesn’t have (Or any documentation she’s carrying are a few hundred years out-of-date from organizations that no longer exist) and she’s about leave it to Fern (A third-class mage under the current system), but then somebody recognized the holy emblem that she was carrying around. It’s an old emblem, but it apparently still checks out and she is allowed to take the exam.
Now, it’s time for studying and for practice. Yep, Stark doesn’t get anything to do, and I hope that he’s getting in some practice of his own at the nearby forst. I do hope that he doesn’t spend the arc being benched. Maybe there will be an upcoming test where the mages have to form a party of adventures and, hey, here’s a fighter who’s got free time.
The first test arrives, and we meet some of the other featured characters for this arc. Übel is there too and she might want to hold off on killing any examiners this time around. Everybody is spilt into groups of three and she gets teamed up with a troublesome pair in Kanne and Lawine. Not only do they know each other, but they’re also bickering rivals. Yep, Frieren is going to have a rough time. They’re the featured trio for the rest of the episode. Their quest is to capture a small bird called a stille, but it’s no ordinary bird as it’s a tough fella and can fly at supersonic speeds. At least Frieren has heard of it before and that helps a bit. For all of their bickering, Kanne and Lawine do have excellent teamwork and manage to briefly catch one. However, there’s always a bigger bird and Kanne found herself being trapped by one before Frieren saved the day. Due to something in the sky that Kanne saw earlier, it looks like Frieren has got a plan on how to get one of those little birds.
Agreed, I’m not really feeling it with the two of them so far and I really hope there’s more depth to them than what we’ve been presented. In the meantime, I’m thinking that capturing the bird is one thing and that keeping it in that cage is another.