Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I suppose. And Togashi Yoshihiro is certainly used to it. I can’t but wonder though, who really thought a thrift shop Hunter Exam arc was what Sousou no Frieren needed just when it seemed to be finding its stride? I’ve seen it suggested that it could have been an editorial intervention, a calculated decision to stall for more time and extend the number of volumes as the series was selling well. I suppose that makes as much sense as anything, but there is a reason why writers write stories, not editors.
While Übel as a Hisoka figure is the arc’s most obviously epic fail, there are a number of reasons why what works for the goose doesn’t always work for the gander. There’s not much suspense to this, first of all. We know Frieren and Fern are going to survive, and they’ve already been established as basically unbeatable to boot. One of the cool elements of the original Hunter Exam arc (which was better-placed near the beginning of its series) was that there were characters obviously stronger and more experienced than the four heroes, meaning the threat felt real and that they had to be exceedingly sneaky and/or lucky to survive (never mind pass).
Perversely, I think this arc is working best in the moments that are theoretically anti-climaxes. Like the Wirbel-Übel fight petering out into nothing when the infallible Fern shows up, and Fern putting Ehre to sleep (and not even on-camera, at that). The third match of this group ends the same way, in fact, with the obviously stronger mage knocking the other one out. It all ends, hilariously, with Wirbel carrying his two enfeebled colleagues and then stumbling on a stille he can use his binding magic on, rendering all that kerfuffle basically irrelevant (a metaphor for the entire arc and its likely aftermath, perhaps).
I say this works best because at least it differentiates Sousou no Frieren from the series it’s obviously paying homage to. This show can’t be Hunter X Hunter, and it’s best that it not try so hard. Candidates killing other candidates for fun works for that series, but not for this one. Candidates hesitating at delivering the final blow and trying to win without doing so is more in-line with the identity Frieren has established for itself. The exam proctors certainly play as first-class DBs who don’t care who lives or dies (in that sense also echoing the source, though those were far more interesting as characters in their own right) but that doesn’t mean the mage candidates have to play along.
That all builds, naturally, to the one faceoff in this melee that hold some real intrigue – Frieren vs. Denken. Not as to who will/would win – that’s obvious. But how it will play out, because Denken is such an intriguing old gnome and we knew little about his teammates. His colleague Richter paints himself as ruthless, professing no hesitation in killing Kanne and Lawine (and no modestly in assuming it’ll be simple). Denken flat-out says (and Frieren agrees) passing the exam isn’t worth killing other mages. Especially a “couple of kids” like this. Richter edumacates Frieren about the real reason to pass this test – organization leader and “living grimoire” Serie (who also appears to be an elf) will grant anyone who passes one spell of their choosing. And she apparently knows all of them…
While the third member of Team Denken uses “Jilmer” (a hypersonic spell) to steal the stille and Richter uses his magic to isolate himself and the kids, Denken and Frieren finally have their moment. I don’t think either one would kill the other given the chance (which she’ll surely have), and we know Frieren will win any test of strength. So where will the drama come from in this showdown? I’m curious to find out, more so than about any other thread in this fabric, because at least these are two interesting characters with interesting perspectives.
Random dude
January 27, 2024 at 10:58 pmI think Frieren is always about the themes. About Frieren getting to know the people around her, about how those people inevitably leaves her, about how she sees humanity and how her world view changes as she interacts with humans more.
In that sense, I don’t think this arc is any different than what came before. The package is different but the content is the same. The show is still more concerned about exploring the characters and their world views (we learned a lot about Wirbel this time, for example) than the result of the fights. It’s the same when Frieren faces Denke’s team. There’s no tension. The show doesn’t cares bout that. What we get instead is an exploration of Denke’s world view.
That been the case, I’ve no complains about this arc. It ain’t Hunter x Hunter, and that’s fine, because that’s not what it’s trying to be.
Orion Taylor
January 28, 2024 at 12:14 amHaving read through the manga, I definitely agree that this is one of the weaker arcs (in general, whenever the series dips its toe into the shonen pool, quality takes a dip). That being said, I did feel that there were some interesting things going on. I think if anything, introducing Denken probably makes this arc worth it. What’s nice about Frieren is that it feels as if there is a near bottomless well of contemplative stories that can be written with this premise, so whenever there are detours/explorations into other types of stories, you always know that it won’t be that way forever, and the good stuff will come back soon.
Guardian Enzo
January 28, 2024 at 1:30 amCan’t be soon enough!
Bizeff
January 28, 2024 at 4:10 amTo be fair regarding Übel, Hisoka would be a lot less impressive if Netero was the MC as well.
Nicc
January 28, 2024 at 10:06 amThe battle between Fern’s group and Wirbel’s group wraps up. Fern overwhelms Ehre with beam spam, including a big finisher that we only see the aftermath of. Then, it’s Übel vs Wirbel and Wirbel is not as ruthless as he is reputed to be. Übel had him monologuing about his past, a classic mistake. This allows Fern to sneak up on him and bluff to him that Ehre is dead. He can’t read her poker face and so he lets Übel go, his team having lost anyways with one of them gone. It’s interesting that Übel didn’t flinch when Wirbel had her immobilized. This seems to indicate that this is not the first time that her head has been on the chopping block and that she may have some kind of trump card for this sort of situation. The last duel is between Land and Scharf and Scharf seems to winning handily, except that he has been wasting his magic on fighting a clone of Land. It looks like Land is quite good at it as Scharf couldn’t tell the difference.
Wirbel picks up the broken pieces of his team and learns that Ehre is actually alive. Then, a stile pretty much drops into their lap. Right, it seems that the battle was pretty much a waste, though I suppose we did get some backstory for Erhe and Wirbel. Then, we see Frieren’s group start to face off against Denken’s group. Laufen manages to steal their stile for Denken’s group and disappears. It looks like she won’t be participating in this battle. Denken and Frieren personally square off while Kanne and Lawine take on Richter. Fittingly, Richter has earth-based powers to create a quake to split the battlefield. I myself am more interested in whatever backstory we’ll see from Denken and the others than the battle itself, though Denken should have interesting abilities. Then, there’s Richter against the two girls. Richter is really trying to sell that he’ll kill them, despite Denken’s opposition. I thought that the girls would have been okay as Kanne was near a body of water until Richter changed that. I’m thinking that Fern will have to provide an assist to them somehow.