Did Fern do the unthinkable and defeated replica Frieren?!

First things first..

RIP AKIRA TORIYAMA! 😭😭😭

Without Akira Toriyama, anime wouldn’t be the ‘ANIME’ of today. No matter what anyone has to say about Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z IS THE MOST ICONIC Anime of ALL TIME! His manga and anime, along with other iconic works like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest are all apart of our childhoods. From the 80s, 90s, 2000s+, this man created legendary characters and inspired many other people to create their own iconic works of art.

I love how Frieren’s biggest lessons are about legacy and it makes me connect to the passing of the GOAT mangaka, Akira Toriyama. Like Himmel the Hero and Kraft the Monk, I hope to see statues of this man with his most legendary characters.

– We love and miss you 鳥山先生!

Now, to lighten up the mood! Let’s have some fun with this episode of Frieren, as there are many parallels between this story’s biggest lessons tying into an iconic creator like Akira Toriyama’s legacy.

Recap and Reaction

The ultimate battle is here! Just as it looked like Fern finished off the replica Frieren, it was still not enough. As Frieren and Fern continue to fight the replica Frieren, Denken and the others must slow down all of their clones before they all end up where Frieren and Fern are fighting.

Opener

“One day, you will die by the hands of the Demon King or a human.” There is no better quote that summed up what culminated into Fern’s climatic moment of triumph, except..

While it would be easy to crown Fern as the representation of humanity’s advancement—if we are being real, it’s hard to expect a centuries old being in Frieren, that has been honing her mana all of this time to be “did in” so easily. However, this doesn’t takeaway the massive message the story is telling us from Serie’s prediction of humanity’s advancement culminating into a character like Fern.

It isn’t Over Until it’s Over

Just as it seemed like Fern would be the one to take out the replica Frieren, the battle continues on. The fight continues on as the beautiful animation shows the replica Frieren summoning a fiery planetary-like spell, counter-attacking Frieren. Frieren parries its attack with a spell of her own. Using the rubble, Frieren summons a massive robotic-like figure to stand on to fire her spells back. Fern attacks from behind as the replica Frieren blocks it, Frieren reveals that everything that has occurred so far is “within their expectations.” This fight will have to end by their test of ‘attrition.’

Frieren is one of the best examples of amazing manga adaptations. It’s hard to get over how beautiful Frieren and the fighting is.

Stopping the Other Clones

The scene shifts to the replica Lawine and Kanne walking down a hallway in the dungeon. Richter mentions that Methode’s deductions shows that they would be here. As Lawine and Richter are keeping tabs on them, they get ready to make their move as they trade barbs to “not hold each other back.” Lawine makes the first move using her freezing spells.

As Lawine makes her move, it flashes back to Denken and others coming up with their strategy. Denken confirms that Methode figured out where most of the replicas would be. Like hinted in the previous episodes before, what Sense wanted was for everyone to cooperate and work together. The scene pans to her as Denken leads the group in determining everyone’s weaknesses and use the knowledge that they have as a team to gain the advantage.

Scene by scene, it shows Lawine & Richter freezing the replica Lawine & Kanne as Richter loads up for his attack. Then, Dunste attacks replica Richter with an explosive attack. Once the replica Richter counters Dunste, Kanne comes flying around to flank replica Richter. As each scene proceeds to show everyone’s teammate, Denken acts as a narrator, explaining how they will win. Having the advantage of preparation and knowledge, they can use their “numbers advantage” on certain clones. Laufen takes on replica Methode and says to herself “how easy it is.” Lawine & Richter seem to have the upper hand against replica Lawine & Kanne.

I love the dynamics between Richter & Lawine here. Two characters that have every right to not like each other, work together. Storytelling-wise, I love the quick jumpcuts and flashbacks that this episode will feature. The story always seems way more dramatic when the timeline gets fiddled with.

Concerning Unknowns

Going back in time just a little bit further before Frieren and Fern entered the room with replica Frieren, Methode brings up one little concern. She brings up the fact that she ‘senses’ less replicas than actual test-takers with the main concern of not being able to sense replica Sense. To which, Frieren confirms that she can’t sense her either and to be on high alert of the replica Sense. To make matters seem more dire and risky is the unknown whereabouts of replica Fern & Denken, as these characters are more proficient at concealing their mana.

Like in a previous episode, Richter blames Sense’s presence as an unfair advantage that he alluded to earlier that they could technically try to force Sense to help. Since this is a test, Sense reaffirms that First-Class Mages should be able to overcome “unfair disadvantages.” Sense hardly sees their situation as any kind of real ‘adversity,’ suggesting that they could literally pass if they just protected Frieren & Fern from getting ambushed. Just as Sense says how this is such a ‘peaceful’ exam, it jump cuts to the replica Lawine getting completely impaled by Richter’s attack and replica Kanne getting sliced in half.

My goodness there are a lot of flashbacks of flashbacks to flashbacks of something that happened from the previous episode. I’m not saying that any of this is filler. I just find it funny that it feels like a ‘flashback-inception.’ Instead of flashing back hundreds of years, why not flashback from like 10 minutes ago in present time?

Not Everything Can Go as Planned..

Even though everyone is doing their part and doing everything that they can to be the most prepared, it still isn’t a enough. Just as Lawine starts to feel uneasy as both Richter and herself defeated the replica Lawine & Kanne,

SURPRISE!

Replica Sense sneak attacks Lawine by impaling her with her hair from behind in a shockingly brutal fashion. Richter felt as though he never let down his mana detection, but it still wasn’t able to ‘sense’ replica Sense. Richter tries to defend himself, but he too could not stand a chance against replica Sense as it impale parts of his body.

Sense being ‘peaceful,’ sounds like an oxymoron at this point. Those escape golems feel like cheat codes at this point. A character or two that matters should actually die and not just the NPCs from the previous exam.

Richter being real about their situation, tells Lawine that she should use her escape golem along with him. Sometimes you just have to accept defeat as they can just try again in three years. Denken fails to make it in time to aid them as he sees the golems carry both Lawine & Richter to safety. Even Denken realizes he stands no chance against replica Sense. With her back turned, he can’t detect any openings.

This entire dynamic between Richter & Lawine is the best. Richter wanted to kill Lawine & Kanne in the previous exam and Lawine rightfully, doesn’t like him. Although they have their differences, they are now working as a team. Because of that character development from the down time between the first & second exam, we realize as an audience that Richter isn’t such a bad person. He still offer his prudent advice to Lawine to try to look out for her. Even though they both failed the exam, it felt like both characters grew in this failure.

Doing What is ‘Necessary’

Although Denken feels like he’s a very tough position, he still needs to stall for Frieren & Fern. Before he takes any action Land & Ubel find Denken sizing up the replica Sense. Ubel questions what Denken’s next actionable steps would be since he is no match for replica Sense. Then, she asks if they really have to defeat the replicas to beat the dungeon? Denken starts to bring up the plan with Frieren, but Ubel stops him short and reiterates if this truly is ‘necessary.’ Ubel nonchalantly tells Denken as she grabs her staff that she will “defeat it.”

Land brings up the obvious concern that Denken is unequivocally the strongest out of all of them, reminding her that she couldn’t even beat Wirbel. Ubel acknowledges her “inexperience as a Third-Class Mage.” She brings up a crucial advantage she has in ‘Reelseiden.’ This ability allows her to “cut almost anything,” which she is alluding to to be Sense’s biggest weakness.

Remember Sense’s test! Ubel may have questionable morals and ethics, but her ability to ’empathize’ and logically deduce the reality of her circumstances is a credit to her ‘level-headedness’ that a character like her wouldn’t typically imply. Just as Richter & Lawine’s character development looks to be closed in a bitter-sweet ending, there is clearly a larger arc that is continually building upon Ubel’s character.

Ubel is SCARY

Ubel’s ability is dependent on her ‘thinking’ she can cut something and not cutting something when she thinks she cannot. Land brings a good point from her match with Wirbel that simple defensive spells can easily stop that attack. She acknowledges that Land was likely watching their match, but corrects him that it still comes down to if she can ‘visualize’ cutting something.

Ubel approaches the replica Sense that is suspended in the air and confirms that the binding spell, “Sorganeil,” does not work due to her hair blocking parts of her body. Feeling the blood-lust, Ubel licks her lips and uses her spell, “Reelseiden.”

Ubel, the Killer Genius

Before revealing the action from Ubel & Sense’s fight, the scene jump cuts to Sense revealing how the outcome of the fight between her replica and Ubel will end, as it “wouldn’t be much of a match at all.” It flashes back to the time we have all been waiting for, what actually happened at the last exam when Ubel killed someone?

During the Second-Class Mage Exam, the First-Class Mage, Burg proctored the 2nd exam. Specializing in defensive magic, no one had been able to ‘injure’ him during his time as a First-Class Mage. He used a spell to create a cloak using his mana called, the “Immovable Cloak” Infused with tons of defensive spells, it was a cloak where “no magical attack” should be able to get past it. The test that Burg administered involved participates to use offensive magic against Burg. If he staggered back even one step, then the test taker would pass. However, there were restrictions like “not killing him” or you will fail. With that being said, it was Ubel’s turn to use her spells against burg.

Ubel, a “no named” mage who only just became a third-class mage, with playful smirk on her face, sliced Burg in half with gruesome ease. It skips to when Sense had Ubel talk to her in her office. In a slight annoyance of her summoning, Ubel acknowledged that she would be disqualified and wanted to leave. Still, Sense wanted to know just how she was able to defeat Burg.

Ubel asks Sense if “she has ever sewn before?” Sense has not as Ubel references that she probably comes from a wealthy family. Ubel recalled a time where she used to watch her sister sew all the time using scissors. With scissors in her hand, with a demented expression reflecting off the metal of the scissors, she slides it across the table in front of Sense to show how it’s done—telling Sense how much she enjoys the sound of the scissors scraping across the table. Like most of us with ‘sense,’ she knows that Ubel is clearly a person “out of her mind.” Nevertheless, Sense acknowledges that even a ‘dumb’ person can imagine cutting something with scissors. What it comes down to is Ubel using less logic, but more intuition and feelings to bypass those logical barriers. Sense acknowledges Ubel to be some kind of mad genius in this way. Before Ubel leaves after asking to be dismissed, she compliments Sense’s hair.

One of the big aspects of understanding magic in this show is how far your imagination can take you with magic. The more creative and innovative ways you can use your magic, the further you can take your abilities. This is likely to differentiate the differences between just having raw amounts of mana versus someone with less, but is more witty in their use of mana. Ubel references a time where she can use her visualization and creativity that goes hand-to-hand with her Reelseiden, that naturally calls upon that imagination to enhance it. Fundamentally, magic rewards creativity, which is a natural reward for Ubel’s Reelseiden. Having ‘logic’ seems to be what acts as a “power balancing limiter” for mages that can perfectly visualize.

This scene absolutely used all of the ‘senses’ to portray how much imagination it takes for Ubel to allow her to cut Burg. It’s Ubel’s ‘sociopathic’ enjoyment of killing someone that brings out that relative ease of what it takes for Ubel to visualize ‘cutting’ someone.

Ubel vs Sense

The scene shifts back to the present once again, Sense acknowledging how poor of a match up it is for her to go against Ubel. It was during that flashback that Sense may have already known that she would absolutely get destroyed by Ubel. Like how quickly and nonchalant it was for Ubel to slice Burg in half, replica Sense didn’t even get time onscreen to even fight back.

It flashes back again from Ubel’s perspective telling Sense how difficult it probably is for Sense to “maintain her hair.” Sense says, “it’s hell.” Jump cutting back to the present, Ubel says, “then you should probably cut it.”

With the all the creative opportunities using flashbacks opens up, the prior episode and this one utilized all the tricks possible. Messing with the chronology of the time has always been a fun way to tell a story as it creates a lot of mystery with tons of context. This short little fight featured a flashback that started with Sense and ended with Ubel referencing the same flashback. That is the creative storytelling satisfaction you get from ‘Frieren.’ Just epic.

Wirbel, Ehre & Scharf Meet Up w/ Methode

Methode runs into Wirbel, Ehre & Scharf. They are all caught up with the Speigel situation as she heals up Scharf. In the middle of conversation, Methode notices that replica Sense has been defeated by none other than Ubel. Scharf is surprised by this fact, but Wirbel notices right away that Ubel is a terrible match up for Sense. Methode analogizes mages fighting each other like “Rock-Paper-Scissors.”

Wirbel agrees to help Methode slow down the replicas, when he realizes that this would be the best outcome for the others and himself. Then, Methode warns him that they have to stop “two particular replica mages.” Methode requests that Wirbel go handle replica Denken, while she will handle Fern’s.

Wirbel is not letting go the “bad boy, boy band member that has it all” archetype. His backstory is even about being cool for a lady. Ever since his fight against Ubel, he has shown how intellectually perceptive he is and every scene since has displayed this. He knows when to call it quits, determine people’s strengths & weaknesses and can make hard decisions that go against what he naturally would want to do.

Ehre, having first hand experience at how powerful Fern is asks if Methode can really handle Fern by herself. Methode responds with all the answers as seeking out replica Fern would be easier if she looked for her alone, as she is able to focus solely on her mana detection. Having tested some binding spells on Fern earlier to complete success, she trusts her ability to enable the replica immobile.

One of the biggest lessons of this episode is about “match ups.” Fern is likely the 2nd strongest character out of all the participants, but she too has a weakness.

Nothing Goes as Planned.. Part 2

Once the scene ends with Wirbel commencing his plan with Methode, it felt like everything will go as planned again, except..

Nothing ever goes as planned.

Denken, Ubel and Land have ran into a little plot twist. Land is on his knees trapped in Sorganeil. Land asks Ubel if, “he’s seeing things?” To everyone’s surprise, replica Ubel is back with replica Land. Denken turns around and is faced with replica Kanne, Laufen and Lawine.

Ubel realizes that this fight might go on until the Spiegel monster is defeated. She echoes what Frieren mentioned at the beginning of the episode about this fight being a “battle of attrition.” Ubel couldn’t help but be more excited about this endless battle with Denken agreeing. However, the binded Land is feeling ‘slightly’ less excited about their current situation. Now, here comes the classic Frieren montage.

A story is no fun without some plot twists, right? When everything goes right for the characters, it makes for a boring story. Good thing Lawine and Richter took the ‘L’ earlier.

A ‘Frieren’ montage that wasn’t slice-of-life?! The montage shows footage of Kanne’s fight, Laufen fighting replica Methode, Methode about to be ambushed and then right back to where it all started, Frieren & Fern battling replica Frieren.

Frieren & Fern Facing Adversity Against Replica Frieren

Frieren just can’t seem to find an opening against her replica and Fern isn’t able to exploit her weakness. She says to herself that “she has to do it after all.” This creates another flashback scene with Frieren and Fern going over their strategy.

This first-person view of Frieren talking to Fern is a banger perspective for dramatization for what is about to happen.

The mana exploitation just won’t be enough to defeat Frieren. They must create an even bigger opening that Frieren will create herself, by showing her weakness—resulting in the replica Frieren revealing its weakness even more, by trying to exploit Frieren’s. During the flashback with Frieren’s hand on Fern’s shoulder, she asks her if, “she can really win?” Fern is worried if Frieren will take a fatal hit. Giving reassurance to Fern, Frieren tells her that “she will focus mainly on defense.” Fern asks the question, “how will they go about their plan?”

Then..

JUMP CUT!

If the pressure wasn’t already on Fern to win the battle for them, Frieren says that, “if Fern truly believes they can win, they will win.” Fern questions, “how Frieren can be so sure?” In Frieren’s stoic response, she said that “she has always underestimated her.”

2x timing up Fern’s climatic moment again!

Frieren Opens Up!

Frieren and replica Frieren continue trading big spells until Frieren opts to fully defend against the replica’s blast. Inch by inch, Frieren’s defense fades away as she starts to sustain wounds. Frieren’s defense goes completely down and the replica gets in her face to blast an incredibly powerful spell until Fern shoots an onslaught of blasts onto replica Frieren with the last beam being the mightiest. The replica looks to have taken a fatal shot as it is missing its arms. Fern couldn’t quite make out what is happening when she is blasted away into the wall.

This is where Fern realizes Frieren being the ultimate pinnacle of magic. But there is one uncharacteristic action the replica Frieren took and that is her completely giving herself up for the real Frieren to finish the job. Frieren praises Fern for a job well done and tells her that “it’s been 80 years since she had to show that side of her.”

Of course, this hints at the Hero’s Party fight against the Demon King and his forces. It’s likely one of the last important flashbacks this story has to offer and one that is starting to get teased starting now. For the most important fight in the history of this story, it makes complete sense to 360 a chronological hero’s journey by using the flashbacks to still end on what is usually the end of the hero’s journey. Frieren really is a flashback ‘inception.’

It’s Finally Over..

Frieren takes Fern’s hand to get her back up. Frieren goes through the gate and sees a purple diamond floating in the air. In one fell swoop, Frieren makes it disappear. Just as the Spiegel disappears, all of the replicas all vanished. Every group fighting against the replicas feel a sense of relief, highlighted by the ongoing comedic gag of Ehre and Scharf being on the ground with Scharf whining to Wirbel about “carrying him.”

Everyone gathers to the very bottom of the Ruins of the King’s Tomb where Sense is waiting for them. With a big smile on her face, Sense announces that they have completed raiding the dungeon and are all “worthy of becoming First-Class Mages!” She continues on that they have in-fact passed the second exam, where Denken interrupts her about the whereabouts of the two stars in Frieren & Fern. Once again, comedic relief strikes back! Frieren is trapped in another mimic treasure chest! Frieren screams out in agony at the dark and slimy insides of the chest as Fern can’t help but be embarrassed along with the the others looking on.

The other failed participants are outside the dungeon getting healed by their escape golems, as Edel makes the joke that these cheat codes can even heal them. Enough of those epic cliffhangers, the episode ends on a lighthearted joke as an escape golem is seen carrying another body up next to Richter while Edel is talking to him, with Richter asking, “who are you again?”

Last Thoughts

How Flashbacks, Flashbacks and More FLASHBACKS is a winner!

This episode really felt like “a thousand ways to use flashbacks to tell an awesome story.” With Every flashback featuring some kind of lesson. Flashback is a tool in a toolbox in the world of storytelling that really opened up my mind to how different perspectives from different characters from the same flashback can create an epic payoff. In the previous episode, going back in time with Serie, creating Fern’s moment from her telling Frieren that she would likely die by the hands of the Demon King or by a human was one way.

With Sense & Ubel, it shows how flashbacks can be used from different perspectives stemming from the same moment. These are two different instances that used entirely differently compared to the typical Himmel and the Hero’s Party flashbacks. Then, the flashback to end the fight against replica Frieren puts the cherry on top of a satisfactory ending for an arc that showed Fern may not exactly be stronger than Frieren, but she is already more than capable of being a real threat to her sensei.

Ubel’s “Killer Genius”

Ubel may just be the most interesting character in this entire arc as she has the most growth by the way of informing the audience, “what kind of character is she?” Every other character seems to have qualities and their little mini-arcs fully explored, while Ubel shows that she might just be a complete lunatic with the most mysterious personality and backstory out of all of the characters.

Also, Ubel is the perfect counter to Flamme’s gift to the world of magic. For most, it’s the symbol of the beauty of flowers. For others, that beauty of flowers may mean something entirely more sinister, as that ‘beauty’ depends on the perspective of the person. Ubel’s character seems to stem from someone that relies on her intuition versus logic as she is powered by empathy and a “different kind” of visualization. She is a character that serves the purpose of being a ‘hub’ for different tropes and lessons that is more indicative of a villain. Instead of a prototypical villain for this kind of arc, Ubel acts as a character that serves as a template with villainous tendencies, while the plot itself with the replicas become sufficient enough to provide all the characters with a conflict to overcome.

Fern’s Climax and Frieren is in-fact, Still The Mage that was a Part of the Hero’s Party that Defeated the Demon King

It only makes sense to end this arc with the two most beloved characters in the story, right? Everything that Serie said, culminated with that epic ending of the previous episode. This episode ended with what looked to be another “coming of age” moment for Fern. However, sometimes the master is the master for a reason and Frieren’s time as the strongest mage will have to continue. The journey continues, right? This arc showed that everything that Himmel the Hero represents across centuries of humanity, eventually birthing the next hero of peace in Fern is what legacies are all about. Although, it’s easy to conclude the simple fact of someone being stronger than stronger as the winner, but Fern is clearly not too far away from being Frieren’s equal.

There are three amazing points that stood out in this arc and episode. One being the crazy use of flashbacks, building this amazing weaving of the storyline. The other is that I can’t get enough of the spectacular animation, even though it’s still very few and far between. And the last being, Ubel’s and Fern’s character development. Ubel provides the most fascinating character that has a ‘crazy’ amount of directions she can go as a character. Honestly, she can just be a crazy good guy with ‘anti-hero’ tendencies. On the other hand, she can straight up be the next big villain. For Fern, she is as shonen as they come. The “passing of the torch” from master to student to “the coming of age,” Fern represents the classic trope in storytelling of the student surpassing her master. Frieren may be low on the action, but how the story is told is beyond impressive as there are plenty of satisfying climatic moments for both Frieren, Fern and Ubel.

Manga

This episode covers manga chapters 54 & 55.