This arc is really “so so” no Frieren.
I guess in theory, a breather episode (if we’re honest) should be right up Sousou no Frieren’s alley. A tonic for what ails this arc. But in practice that doesn’t quite hold up for me. Not a bad episode on the whole, but kind of a snooze – like the rest of this arc for me. Frieren is certainly good at quiet and reflective, but that really applies to when it’s pondering the big issues of existence. This came off more as time-wasting, which is pretty much no different from the rest of this arc apart from the lack of action.
In effect, it’s a check-in with the rest of the mages who got screen time in the first phase of the mage exam, who apart from Denken aren’t all that interesting. There’s a rare Stark appearance, but it’s mostly jokes at his expense and using him as a foil for Fern. Too much Fern is another of those trip-wires for this series, and she’s really at her most abrasive here. Fern has always been the stock anime character in Sousou no Frieren – the difference is that now she kind of fits right in instead of standing out like a sort thumb. And that’s not really progress.
I don’t got a whole lot else, TBH. Übel just isn’t working for me and this “empathize” angle with her magic doesn’t change that. Denken is pretty much playing the role of tetchy grandpa, Kanne and Lawine are cosplaying romcom characters as usual, and Richter is reluctantly thrust into the role of tour guide. There is a little aside with a local restaurant which holds a special place in the memories of Frieren and Denken (just how old is he supposed to be, anyway?) but it fails to capture the bittersweet melancholy passages from Frieren’s past have conjured up. Himmel and Stark both like omurice, in case there was any doubt that the story is tying the two of them together.
The next phase of the exam kicks off next week, so for better or worse (it feels like a wash) we’re back to that now. The proctor is Sense, who we’ve seen a few times bickering with Genau, and apparently no one has ever passed one of her exams (though she claims not to be a “sadist” like her colleague). A dungeon theme is the gist of it, apparently. When things are in a rut change at least offers the tantalizing prospect of improvement, so that’s my hopium for the moment.
Kurik
February 10, 2024 at 4:47 pmBest part of this episode for me was the flashbacks to Himmel and co and how it ties into current Frieren experiences. I think that’s still on point and moving to see. The rest was a wash as you said.
Nicc
February 11, 2024 at 1:45 pmFirst, I want to wish my fellow Lostinanimers, gung hay fat choy, sun tai gin hong! It’s the Lunar New Year again and it’s the Year of the Dragon. It’s a big change from the fluffy Rabbit to the mighty Dragon, the only mythical creature in the zodiac. Jinun from “Sengoku Youko” showed up at the right time. The Dragon is considered as the most auspicious one in the zodiac and so there’s going to be a baby bump this year. My grandma was born in a Dragon year, the only one of the family. May all of you have a happy and prosperous new year.
Yep, this was the breather episode as everybody rests up until the next test. All of the test takers will be rivals then, but they can still be friends in the time being. We learn what Stark has been up to, which is not a whole lot. He’s been drinking juice at night, though. He’s also been training (Maybe?) with some old master while offscreen. Wirbel latter borrows him for a quest.
Fern spends most of the episode being in a bad mood, so that means appeasement with lots of sweet things. So, she’s the type who eats dessert for dinner. Freiren eats a big stack of steaks (It’s a good thing it all goes to her ears) and omurice exists in this setting. To me, how Übel can copy the magic of others by emphatizing with them was somewhat interesting, which is how she was able to copy that binding spell from Wirbel. It looks like she’s trying to do the same with Land. Or, maybe that was just a pretext for the show to set up a crack ship.
What else, Denken is playing grandpa with Laufen, we see Ricther’s day job, and it looks like he lives in the city. Frieren and Fern spend some time with Kanne and Lawine. We also get the details about the upcoming second exam. It looks like it’ll be dungeon-diving time. However, they’ll be dealing with a proctor who never given anybody a passing grade. Right, she claims to be a pacifist, though I’m not sure what that means in context. Otherwise, yep, just a transition episode. With Fern and Frieren gone again soon, Stark can resume drinking juice at night.
Guardian Enzo
February 11, 2024 at 3:41 pm“juice”
Snowball
February 11, 2024 at 8:07 pmThank you! Happy Chinese new year!