I’d be lying if I said I was really invested in this phase of Sousou no Frieren. Still, there are elements of this part of the exam that are interesting on an intellectual level at least. It all comes down to Sense, really, and her motivations for staging this the way she did. Is it really her intention that no one at all pass, like that one mage guy (sorry, but this show is the Germanic name equivalent of Kingdom) suggested? And if so, why? Maybe she assigns impossible tests because in her mind they’re not impossible, presumably because they wouldn’t be for her. And if she can do it, why, anyone strong enough to be a first class mage should be able to as well.
Through a completely extraneous conversation seemingly thrown in strictly for exposition, we learn that the master of this dungeon is a being (demon?) named Spiegel. And perhaps more relevantly, that no one has ever beaten it. What I can’t help but notice is that by choosing to accompany the examinees into the dungeon, Sense ensures that her own replica will be among the foes the others have to fight. That strikes me as frankly unfair, because not only is her clone presumably stupidly strong, but she (presumably) has no intention of fighting it herself.
Seems like the whole point of this should be the candidates having to overcome evenly-matched opponents with their own faces and powers – by adding herself to the obstacles Sense really does seem to be trying to stack the deck against the examinees. It’s also interesting that so far, the pair she’s chosen to accompany has basically been unopposed (even Fern is suspicious of how easy it’s been). Dark Frieren has already confronted the Denken squad of course, and he’s smart enough not to try and take it head-on.
There are dribs and drabs check-ins with the various groupings here (and lost of suspicious candle shots). Ubel and Land’s skirmish reveals that the replicas can fully take on the appearance of their originals and talk. Three non-combat mages, Edel and two other guys (Hans and Franz, maybe?) are facing Sense’s duplicate and it’s looking like they have no chance against it. And that’s a problem since Edel is apparently the strongest in the class at hypnosis magic, which Denken theorizes might be a way to take on pseudo-Frieren. But her encounter reveals that the clones seemingly don’t have a mind as such, thus making them invulnerable to hypnosis. And Wirbel and his companions seem to be on the way to besting their shadow selves.
Frieren’s team takes a little detour to check out a secret room (no part left unexplored for her), and eventually meets up with Denkentachi. Methode is good at hypnosis and restraint magic but her exam of the real Frieren reveals that she’s basically invulnerable to those things. That leaves the group at a seeming impasse until Fern pipes up to offer that she might be able to kill Frieren (her duplicate anyway). In terms of weaknesses what we’ve seen so far has basically been mimics and oversleeping, so it’ll be interesting to see what Fern has come up with. And whether she’ll be willing to share it in open company, given that Frieren having her vulnerability revealed to a bunch of potential rivals could be considered a risky move.
tsirrus
February 25, 2024 at 12:23 amI disagree with your take on the purpose of the test, which you clearly defined in this part:
“Seems like the whole point of this should be the candidates having to overcome evenly-matched opponents with their own faces and powers – by adding herself to the obstacles Sense really does seem to be trying to stack the deck against the examinees.”
Sense clearly said in the previous episode that a First-Class mage makes the impossible possible.
Simply doing a mirror match is not enough. Sense being a pacifist simply sets the testing environment to avoid death, which she does by providing the golems-in-a-bottle, not passing. Since Genau and that other mage talked about the ruins, it’s highly unlikely that Sense didn’t know what was down there.
Also, we haven’t met dark-Fern yet. My guess is Lavine and Kanne are in for a rough encounter.
Nicc
February 25, 2024 at 11:23 amFirst, I’ll say that “Attack of the Clones” was the weakest of the “Star Wars” prequels. “The Phantom Menace” had its own issues, but “Attack of the Clones” was boring for long stretches. Anakin’s take on sand is spot-on, though. I was wondering what kind of strategy Denken, and company would come up with for dealing with clone Frieren. It turns out later that they couldn’t and are now waiting outside of the boss room for help.
So, the monster in the dungeon is named Spiegel (German for “mirror”, like the famous news magazine). Because it has never been defeated, the dungeon has never been conquered. It can replicate their targets exactly, though there are a few limitations. The clones resemble the original, but they still take the appearance of golems and so they’re easy to spot from sight. It’s not like Land’s cloning ability as the clone looks exactly like him. They’re also not capable of speech, though I think it would make them more unnerving if they could talk too.
I was wondering if Sense might be cloned too, and it turned out that she was. It certainly ups the difficulty level for a first-class mage to join the test. I agree that it’s not fair for the test takers, but having a first-class mage as the dungeon boss seems appropriate. We see what Land and Übel have been up to and they’ve been busy dealing with the clone of Übel. Land was ambushed by clone Übel was badly injured. It even stole his rescue golem and so he’s not able to escape that way. Übel decides to face her clone head-on. Just when it looked like her clone got the upper hand, the real Land returns and that gives her the opening to finish it off. Well, if that is “real” Land. His cloning ability is impressive as it can even clone any objects on him.
We also check in with some other groups. Kanne and Lawine are still making their way down. Wirbel and his group are fighting their doppelgangers, but they’re about to make a breakthrough and turn the tables. Frieren’s group seems to be facing few difficulties, something that Fern brings up. She finds a hidden room that doesn’t have any treasure, but the ancient mural is still a significant discovery.
They do eventually get down to the boss room where Denken and company are also waiting. Frieren is excited about the prospect of battling herself. They try to brainstorm some ideas, which include restraining or hypnosis. Indeed, as demonstrated by Methode, neither one is going to work. The hypnosis idea is stamped out for good as we later see the hypnosis specialist, Edel, and her group being attacked by the clone of Sense. Her hypnosis doesn’t work on the clone of Sense as it doesn’t have a mind. It seems that Fern has got an idea on how to kill the clone of Frieren. Right, other than mimics and sloth, the only other weakness I can think of is if somebody tosses in a grimoire that she’s never read before, which may distract her long enough to create an opening. Besides that, somehow creating an illusion of Himmel or the Hero Party? I also wondering if it’s possible to make use of those rescue golems. Getting “rescued” won’t be an issue if they’re going to be used as targets to be destroyed by clone Frieren. This show likes to take its time and so I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes a couple of episodes for this battle to play out.
Kurik
February 25, 2024 at 4:52 pmI wasn’t a fan of the first test, direction and annoying younguns but this second test is working for me. Loving seeing Frieren smile as Fern discovers the joys of dungeons and how the less annoying characters interact and explain the new magics. Couple things. Frieren is a master of dungeons hence why this has been easy for her crew. She knows all the tricks and what to look out for. During the training of Fern for her defensive magic I recall Frieren telling Fern her weakness. Something to do with how fast Fern can attack or some auch but it was speed related so suspect this is how to overcome her.