"The way we live reflects those that are important to us." I think the last episode of the season beautifully showed how many people Frieren changed during the exam arc from Kanne and Lawine being thankful for her mentorship to Denken no longer being as jaded from losing his wife as a young man and now himself taking on a role in mentoring the next generation to Fern choosing a simply laundry spell as the one she learns from Serie as she grows appreciative of her master's philosophy of collecting spells that have meaning to the one she cares for like creating a flower field for Himmel or the berry spell for Eisen.

Serie said she doesn't care about Flamme, teaching human mages is useless etc but also keep coming back to Flamme's grave to make flowers.. this little elf brat

Exam arc was worth it just to see her get stuck in multiple mimics out of sheer stubbornness.

I know it's good because it's bringing old anime youtubers out of the woodwork

While Frieren & Fern was taking the exam, Stark was all alone in the village helping the folks with the small things like how Himmel did in the past. At the end we got a little clue when Fern ask Stark that everyone in the villages seems to know him very well. 😂

Himmel is to Frieren what single season anime characters are to us.

Frieren breaking an almost impenetrable barrier just so Kanne is not restricted to use her specialised water base magic, os peak mom move.

It is genuinely surprising how many anime viewers assume 28 episodes is the climax of such a wonderful story and work by the creators. The manga has enough material to make another 28 episodes easily. The "exam arc" is but a setup for the reality check that is still to come. The reason I'm so drawned to this new masterpiece is because of how "lived in" and realistic the story feels despite being High Fantasy. This is not a story than can be predicted, that's all I will say.

not only the exam arc is outstanding on its own, but it's also fundamental in establishing so many characters and plot points for future arcs, people are not ready for what's to come 🙏

What makes the exam arc different from most animes with "similar" flows, is that we actually got to know every character by giving each and every one of them equal amounts of screentime, and that alone made it that much more enjoyable

I didn't think the exam arc deviated from the beauty of the original plot. It was completely necessary with the plot's progression and set up in such a way that they could not go any further without completing it. It delved deeper into each character and their motivations and even more of the world that came from the Hero's party defeating the demon king. It's so beautiful.

"Just like how in the middle of living a good life, Himmel ended up saving the world before he knew it." WHAT A BANGER OF A LINE GOAT GOAT GOAT GOAT GOAT

Its a surprise to me to hear people "disliked" the last part of Frieren. To me it was a crescendo. Yes, it had more combat, but it was not exactly overburdened by it. Every battle had a good reason and they were animated quite well. They all served a purpose and showcased each Mage's personality. It is only natural that there's some form of organization in a world of magic as well. It is a way of life and it is likely to be necessary to govern to some degree. Much like there is the Church for Clerics and likely some organization for Warriors as well. It just builds the world a bit. And man, the beauty of the animation is alone reason for this arc to have so much battles. None of them are as high stakes as the previous battles, but they are beautiful.. and we got to see Frieren at her peak. Vastly more powerful than Fern, but Fern still was the deciding factor. I love seeing this development myself. In a few years when we get part 2, I will be sinking my teeth right into that as I did now. I was sold on Frieren within a few seconds when I watched the teaser.. and I am sold on season 2 still.

I thought the exam arc was a perfect way of showing how much Fern cares for Frieren. From the way she's emotionally detached when with other people, to when she becomes jealous of Frieren latching onto others, to the moment where she has to fight Frieren. There's a whole ed dedicated to Frieren and Fern's connection, and I think that's pretty neat.

The things that Frieren has gained from Himmel are many and numerous but I feel that the acceptance of change that you attributed to Himmel has existed even pre-Himmel for her. For example, in the flashback between her and Serie, she says she looks forward to the era of humans where she would get to see so many new spells and mages. I suppose one can attribute this to Flamme as she was the other big game changer for Frieren besides Himmel. I will go as far as to say that it was Flamme's tutelage that made Frieren even capable of connecting with humans way down the line. I just feel across this whole fandom we might be underestimating Flamme's impact on Frieren.

On the subject of Zoltraak vs. the exam arc and Fern being the icon for the next generation of mages, I think it's incredibly cool that Zoltraak has basically looped around to being sleeper OP again. Mages developed powerful anti-magic shields to beat Zoltraak and then developed an offensive magic style that utilizes physical elements to beat anti-magic shields - but since these spells are so slow, a fast Zoltraak ends up beating them. Qual even hints at this conclusion in his episode, and the exam arc and Fern is the proof of concept. What was once old and outdated is now new and optimal.

Fern needed this Arc to develop her Master/Foster Mom relationship with Frieren. Also she had to realize further her standing in the world of magic and as a person with what she can and can't do with her skill. Like Frieren said in the fight against her copy: " Only I know how frightening I can be" which is a pretty hardcore line if you think about how her name is Frieren the Slayer in the Demons domain. In Magic: Fern had to see for herself what her "Master" is capable of and why she is still her master by a landslide that is all but just the metasupport for the social component to imprint the Master/Apprentice (& Mother/Daughter in a way) connection. If you watch the whole season again you'll notice that Fern herself never says that Frieren is her Master. But after she got her staff repaired, understood how Frieren deals things emotionally in conclusion to everything seen before in the season and stood against Serie she tells her proudly from the chest "I am Miss Frieren's student" for the first time. And also later to Frieren face to face with the response "naturally" This is also further enforced at the scene with Richter when he asks if she is Frieren's student and Stark had to answer because she didn't respond. (Even when Eisen asked "is she a good master?" - "I don't know" - "Fern, she is a good Master" and Fern agreed it was never said from her pov)

"To be remembered is to live on through others". You had me crying with this one so, liked, and subbed. Loved everything you said in here, and even more so how eloquently you did such a thing.

To me, something remarkable about frieren is, that it does NOT do anything revolutionary. No crazy twist on a genre, nothing genre defining. But what a lot of people forget is, that tropes and conventions exist because they work, or have worked in the past. A lot of times, stories that rely on tropes are lazy and uncreative, only treading what has worked before in hopes of an appealing setting. Frieren however takes tropes and old story elements and actually puts the work in to make them excel. Character growth, attention to detail, solid and believable worldbuilding. Same with the exam arc. Exam arcs have become a trope because they are beloved in many iconic anime and are an excellent storytelling tool. But you still have to put in the work to use the potential of an exam arc, which frieren does and many others do not.

I picked up the manga when ch41 released, the beginning of the exam arc. I started reading it on a whim at 3 am after my roommate woke me up by cooking something in the kitchen at such an unholy time of day. And I can't thank him enough for that. I was absolute enamored by the first chapter. And then the next, and the next, and when I got to the sunrise chapter, I could start seeing a feint gloom on the horizon. At that time, during the heights of Covid, I only just recently moved away from home to study in university. I was living in the top floor of an old building and the ceiling was angled, with only a skylight to illuminate the room (and wake me up at 8am every morning). I was struggling with loneliness, but looking back it was also a quite happy point in my life, I got to play video games with my friends every day. So far each chapter had gotten me to cry, but I knew this coincidence was special. So, just like Frieren, I stood up, got on my bed, and watched the sunrise. Frieren has by far my favourite prologue and first few chapters/episodes out of anything I've seen. It manages to so succinctly tackle the core ideas of the series, and all of them deeply connect with me. It's a masterclass in storytelling with absolutely phenomenal foreshadowing at the start of every single little adventure, the highlight being the seed rats in ep2 that lead us to my favourite scene of the series. When it started to diverge in the first major arc of the series, I got worried. Will it devolve into battle shounen? Will they be able to give a complete message without diluting it? To be fair, there is some diluting, but that is not an issue. Because after the Aura "fight" and the, again, absolutely beautiful setup to Frieren's mana reveal, I have complete and absolute faith in the authors. The exam arc is definitely my least favourite in the manga, but seeing it all animated, with the best production we've ever seen in a 2+ cour anime, I get it. I get how it all connects back into the core themes, and you put all of that perfectly. Thank you for this video. I'm so glad you're back.

I loved the series from the beginning. I was caught by the feel-good nostalgic style from episode 1, could feel tears welling up when Himmel was buried, and I was estatic when Fern shot through the rock. I felt anger and bewilderment when Stark showed his cowardice the first time, and in awe when Eisen said he was *afraid* of that little, redheaded bull of a man. The very same that would bend a massive dragon to his will seconds later. Their stories and everyday life is full of engagements, reality to a degree, and the trifles of life. When it came out that Himmel, the Hero that slayed the Demon King, didn't even have the Hero's Sword because he couldn’t lift it from the stone, that was when one of my most loved moments happened. He did that as a "fake hero", but he did it nonetheless. The exam was absolutely the logical point to take, for Fern to fully realise herself as a mage, and I'm surprised and saddened that anyone would think of this series as boring or mid...

I think as frieren stays with humans, she will eventually become more open midned. She'll start to see magic in many different ways and evolve past her point of "we need to think about how to defend against zoltrak" remember. Fern is teaching her to live fast, enjoy the moment, and respect the flow of time. Those lessons will eventually catch up to frieren.

I loved the exam arc. Such a shame it wasn't as well received. Thank you for taking some time to help them see its importance.

This is why Frieren is so much a superior mage than Serie is or ever will be. Serie claimed that it was Frieren's fault that so many people made it through to the third test, then proceeded to instantly fail a lot of them. The reality is that Frieren didnt get them there, they got themselves there. All Frieren did was recognize their own capabilities and facilitate it. Its the entire reason *WHY* she studied the barrier in the first test. It didnt benefit her, it didnt hinder her opponent, all it did was facilitate the capabilities of someone who was looked down upon as weak by everyone else, showing just how powerful and proficient she was. The same person that Serie didnt hesitate to fail without a second thought is indeed someone who is more than worthy of the title of first class mage and getting to that point. She did it on her own merit. Frieren's existence in the second test likewise didnt help anyone. She was even put as the final obstacle in the way of everyone. Her and fern being there just allowed everyone to actually sit down and think about how to proceed, and each show their own strength to pass the test. She also stood as the final test for Fern to show how far she has come. Fern had to be the one to finish the fight, which she did. She managed to strike the proper opening, take advantage of Frieren's weakness that only she was capable of. Sure, Frieren got the final *final* hit in, but the damage would have been fatal to flesh and blood Frieren, and the opening only existed because of Fern's success. Serie is the better "battle mage", but she hasnt killed anywhere near the same number of demons, hasnt killed the demon lord, didnt save the world, didnt experience the total joy awaiting those who seek it. If Frieren and Serie actually fought, Frieren would likely be the victor.

I had all notifications turned on and it didn’t tell me you uploaded I’m so happy I missed your content man I so very much hope you’ve been doing good

I love your analysis of the exam arc, other characters made connections, too. Denken appreciated Richter and Laufen so much he treats them as his son and granddaughter he never had. Wirbel despite his cold nature looks after his inexperienced party. Ubel tries to emphatize with Land (albeit maybe for selfish purposes) and even Serie admitted her mistakes after chastising the current 1st class mages for passing too many participants. To me, the exam arc is great world building. Since magic is a big part of the story its important to understand the politics of a world where magic exists and how it is controlled and regulated. All we knew prior is that Frieren learned magic from Flamme, and Fern learned from her. Now we learn that magic colleges, associations and bureacracy exists that even Frieren now only found out that Fern had to take an exam to get a license. Its kinda like learning how to make video games. Back then there were no game engines or software, you had to figure out how to use basic computer programming code. Now there are schools and courses that teach almost every aspect of game design and video games are now a billion dollar industry.

To be honest, this show has one of the best exam arcs of any anime I've ever watched I think very few anime can ever top this when it comes to the exam arc

Thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s been a while since Ive seen your videos on my feed. I enjoy your content and hope to see more.

Good to have you back Kamimashita. You’re a Himmel to me.

amazing video! this was a really good perspective to hear added to the conversation

The manga is still going and builds on what came before. There is an arc (you will know when you see it) that REALLY shows how Frieren has changed and continues to change. sm

Happy to see you come back with an absolutely banger

OMG! This is how you do Clickbait! I thought this was going to be just an edgey anti-confirmist hot take. But here you are making me be happy to find out that it was a great clickbait title.

The channel is finally alive!

People dislike the tournament arc? Youre the first person to give that notion to me at all. I think it's by far the best part of the second half the show.

The exam is the best arch in the anime. It introduces a bunch of interesting characters like Denken, Übel Wyrbel Serie and a cupple more. Allso expand the magic system and shows us how other mages beside Ferne and Frieren think fight and live and that's not even talking about the awesome fights

Such a great perspective on such a great series, the general hate towards this arc is so baffling to me and I think you raise a lot of good points, honestly besides how hard hitting the first 2/3 episodes are these final few were by far the most investing to me, probably my favourite moment in this season outside of Episode 1 was the little scene of Fern smiling as she watched Frieren explore the hidden room of the dungeon during the second round, and in general Himmel and now by extension Frierens view on the importance of enjoying the dungeon a floor at a time really spoke to me, and honestly changed my view of the show a lot, I wasn't growing bored of the show or anything like I know some people were but it made me appreciate every episode individually and not just as a stepping stone to getting to some conclusion, in my time zone the episodes would come out on a Friday evening so watching Frieren was always the first thing I got to do after a week of work and for the last few months became this nice regular part of my weekly schedule, also must say Fern stole the show for me in this arc, and wasn't until it concluded I realsied just how little we knew about Fern and her true feelings until this arc, and with a mages reason to pursue magic almost being a metaphor for ones meaning in life the fact Fern was at her happiest watching Frieren be happy and that the final line of her interview was that she was Frierens student it really paints a picture of how much Frieren has effected Fern for the better and given her life meaning beyond meeting expectations or paying back debts like she did at the start of the series, and is so heartwarming, sorry for the long ass comment if you've even read this far, have been struggling to script a video of my own on the series so got ideas flying all over the place, Also its so great to see you uploading again even if this is just a one off

I fear you have made maybe the only good Frieren video on the platform despite being out of "practice" - a truly damning indictment for the rest of us. This is the best encapsulation of the mage exam arc as it relates to the themes of the opening episodes that I've seen to this point, and made beautifully personal in the process. Excellent work as always my brother.

Fieren remind the joy of watching my first anime again its also remind me to not so snobby about anime and there is anime for everyone.

Beautifully said. As an anime-only watcher I never doubted for a second how astoundingly well written this show was, and now I'm comforted to know that many others feel the same.

If people complain about the exam arc they are completely blind to the greatness of it, and should be ashamed of their ignorance!

I think along with the way it blends and builds upon the character stuff already mentioned, the one thing that I'm a bit more impartial to the arc, or at least warm up to its existence, is that it's also in my view a necessary evil. In that, up to that point as well we hear the whispers and murmurings of like, mages, the existence of other mages and the concept that magic is this widespread thing. But other than perhaps Sein, who uses more like faith-based magic, we don't really get to see the extent of that. Not only does the arc sit us down and introduce us to that world building of having all of these varied kinds of magics which imo is cool, but it also confirms and allows us to see for ourselves what the magic world is like. With the journey aspect there's a good chance we otherwise would have barely or never encountered the breadth of what the world has to offer. This is a conglomeration of all of these (supposedly, sorry that one guy who just sat in the dungeon and cried) pretty good mages to even attempt and get here, and getting a taste of this I think is cool. And yeah like mentioned its not like we lose out on every aspect that the show has done, like we frequently still got so much of what we've come to love with the blending of time and memory and how that plays and intermingles with the events. It's just a different flavour and I can totally understand why that sets things off kilter, but, it is what it is. Nice Runescape reference

Dude, really good video! Thank you!

People complaigning about the exam arc didnt understand that its that without it we couldnt establish so many interresting character in so little time. Lets take Sein as an exemple, for one character that will definitively return we needed like 5 episodes. With the exam arc in 10 ep we got, in order of importance based on my own feeling : Übel (that one will probably beat Frieren one day), Denken, Serie, the first class mage as a whole, Wirbel, Land, Method, Kanne and Lawrine, Richter..... Exam is a neet plot device to introduce tons of new character without forcing And also Frieren wasnt really about only peacefull life. Its just about life itself. And as its life it got many slow moment coupled with tons of hard moment like Lugner fight or the exam.

I am not an anime connoisseur. I was attracted to Frieren because of its story, it's beautiful animation and the different perspective (what DO heroes do after completing their quests?). It never occurred to me that the exam would be a controversial turn in the narrative. It's always interesting to hear others' perspectives on a story, particularly one that I enjoy. And there are some real haters out there. But nothing they say changes my perspective on the story. It's more like a soccer fan critiqueing baseball, which I love. You know ... whatever. Anyway, loved your analysis and it gave me a new perspective on the story and the clear path in the writing.

Finally back to making YT videos... Today is a good day.

❤️‍🔥 Thank you for this treasure!

The exam arc really opened up for plenty of potential with where the story can go for sure.

It's basically Frieren's Chuunin exams, which is to say an efficient way to introduce a large number of characters who will feature in all the later arcs, while also showing what is possible in the series' power system. An exam/tournament arc is simply the most narratively convenient way of doing this.

I guess I'm in the minority. I was disappointed when I realized I was suddenly in the beginning of yet another 'exam arc trope'. But I still loved the anime tho.

You articulated everything that makes this arc "Frieren" so well. This is one of the best video essays I've seen. You have a new sub. What music did you use in the background? It fits so well.

sheesh i cant wait for s2

Such a good video, bring on the Frieren praise!

Thanks for putting into words my exact thoughts. In my case, I didnt doubt Frieren because up to that point the direction had been flawless so it wasn't a surprise to me when a classic exam arc served the purpose of strenghtening and expanding the ideas and theme of the the story in a more condensed way while also giving the deserved spotlight (in a little subtle way at first) to Fern. I think the only thing that I feel may have made people have some mixed feelings about it is Stark's screentime, which I can understand and I've seen lots of reactors that love him lmao.

You're still alive!

“Let’s get this over with” is the exact phrase frieren warns us about. By making us think that and then proving us wrong the show forces us to rethink our perception

wonderful video thank you

nailed it i went into the arc feeling it sounded like another exam arc but afterwards I was like now that's how you do it

Ayo what's the song that plays during the outro? That piano melody goes hard.

Good video man!

i didnt realize the exam arc was even able to be underrated. it was by far my favorite arc and ive prolly watched every episode in it at least 4 times

I was surprised that the season would end with the exam, but I agree it gave some good context. I hope they do another season, maybe it’s already been announced

Really well said 💚

I loved the exam arc and am surprised to learn people didn't

Can you explain about fluctuative on mana’s serie?

My fav anime youtuber finally back, covering the best anime of all time

The Mage Exam arc was critical to me for the world building as well. Because it's first time their world od magic is showcased and explained to its fullest.

This serie its just perfection beyond the time. A endless story about ourselfs. I love it so much that make me feel really sad when i remember that the season end. I BARELY can rewatch the anime withou crying like a children. Anyway, its a masterpiece.

I had so much fun during the whole 28 episodes and cried too I hope priest daddy comes back

I felt the same way going into the exam arc, but quickly got over it within the first couple episodes of the first test. Loved all the new Mage characters that got introduced too.

What annoyed me with the exam arc is how incredibly how short it was. But it was great to see that people who found each other for the first time there became lifelong friends. Denken got a granddaughter to spoil, and he also got a friend who runs a mage's general goods store. The green haired girl got someone to rely on, Wirbel who look like a psychopath turns out to be wanting to be like Himmel, like the side characters have actual personalities and developed even just for a short amount of time (it's like the whole plot of Frieren) I really hope there's a season 2

Great video! But I can't believe you changed Äußerst name to Auberst xD

I feel like people thought it was a shonen battle arc when it was really about showing how magic is perceived by the world beyond our main characters. We learned about how magic works and the attitudes of the mages in the current generation towards magic. We saw the actual scope of what Frieren is capable of and the strengths and weaknesses of the current generation of mages It's fights were as fun and interesting as the others in the show and it had just as many interesting character interactions as other parts of the story. Denken was an absolute icon! Just because it had some of the trappings of conventional shonen made people think it somehow had anything in common with it when it really never stopped being itself

“Wait, isn’t this dude hasn’t uploaded in ages” (Check the channel) Holy sh- finally a new video. Love your take as always

My faith in the show dropped during the exam arc too. I am not sure if it's a good defensive point - if the culmination is fantastic then everything before it is justifable. I felt tired to hear too much "science" details about magic, annoyed by the sudden drop of so many new characters (and too many of them seemed quite annoying, one more "cool" and more powerful than another or so blank you could be sure for him to be gone in a next scene). It looked like a cheap attempt to have more material for more episodes rather than a honest story. It got better with time but I hate to feel not caring about a character because someone threw him at me in a too big crowd. They took away a lot of screen time from connections I already cared about - Fern, Stark and Frieren. I think exam arc was a good idea but I am uncertain it was as well developed as other beautiful aspects of Frieren. Anyway thank you for sharing your point of view! Loved to hear it and you have some nice thoughts about this arc. Frieren is such a beauitful show. Rare animated gem to me

8:40 I think the "acceptance of change" bit came more from Flamme than Himmel.

Frieren is a commentary on how we revere the "immortal" characters in fantasy stories like elves, grand wizards, demons and spirits while not truly apprecriating how much humanity contributes. Freiren shows us that humans take on tragedy and given enough time and resources there is no God humanity will not eventually be able to kill. Frieren's throwaway line saying she expects to be killed by a human mage someday is foreshadowed in the manga where Seire is targeted for assassination. Humans are fascinating in how imperfect and weak we are. Give us the motivation to do something and we will accomplish it incrementally.

The series isnt over with this arc as it continues in the manga.

I never had any dought about the 1 class magie arc. I trusted the story to stay within its own theme it was building to.

First, the Auberst arc is another trope (the gatekeeping of the next part of the adventure) so it's consistent with the whole theme in the series. Second, it also serves to further diffuse Frieren's place as "top dog overpowered PC on new game+" feeling people may have from several past episodes in which she seems to be tying up loose ends easily (to be fair, she gives that air due to her usual expresionless looks). Third, it's also a defeat, of sorts, that completely removes any feeling of mary sue the character may have outside of her isolationist cocoon (possibly an effect of a very long live with powerful magic that lets you bring forth changes on the world with only your mind), not only because she does not get the 1st class mage title (which she didn't care about aside as a way to be allowed to travel further north), nor because her clone gets plastered in an epic battle in which Fern was the critical sniper (kudos for the black hole spell!), but because of how the magic system levels most powerful mages equally we get shown in the Ûbel Vs Sense's clone fight. Suddenly, the story is no longer a Lord of The Rings after Sauron's fall with an unfettered Gandalf going around with superpowered novices, but risk becomes everpresent again... as an appetizer for Golden Land arc, no less!

wait, I just realized, one of Series students favorite spell is the spell to catch birds... 12:12

Did I miss it or did you anywhere in the video explain the video title?

I don't think Serie is concerned about the functionality of a spell over its sheer destructive power-- or at least its functionality in a fight. Remember Fern saying how displeased she looked when handing her the laundry spell. I dunno, that seems like pretty great functionality in my book. And, that both Ubel and Wirbel-- one who has the eyes of a killer and the other who only sees magic as a "tool for killing"-- were passed with the least hesitation. The exam arc was some interesting world-building, if a little cliche'd, I won't deny that. But there's something else we in the audience were supposed to pick up on, and we were told it to our faces, time and time again: That the imagination is the most powerful thing in the world-- at the very least the most critical component of magic. It almost feels deliberate, to me, that it was hidden in plain sight, behind all the other things going on. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realize it's been an underlying theme throughout the series, with the exam arc bringing it to the forefront.

I also thought at the beginning that an exam arch is so cliche, but the more it advanced, the more meaningful it became. So I started thinking about why I hated so much, and I came into the conclusion that it was every time Kanna and Lawine are on the screen or given the spot. They’re so boring and irritating that I just couldn’t help myself but sigh of frustration whenever they start fighting with each other. Maybe Lawine could have a more interesting backstory, but every time Kanna was on its own, she does nothing and you can clearly see her “no thoughts head empty” energy. She’s just the girl that makes Lawine take any action.

Just wait till the next arc, its better than anything we've seen so far.

You back???!!!!

The exam arc is what made the show

I love the agreeing and considering conversations people have when it comes to frieren. No arguing over whose the strongest and no weird fandoms or saying "but this character from this completely random anime is stronger". I think thats the art of frieren, everyone agrees with the series no matter what the topic is. Kts just that impactful of a show.

I feel like it shows that Fern is catching up. Even after defeating the clone, Fern loses. There is still more growth for her.

is also interesting how flamme students made it into the history and serie students didnt. The closest to Himmel we have in the modern era must be Stark or the dude Sein is looking for i think it was Gorilla.

You are alive lmao

The exam part was great, just like rest. We see how stupidly strong she is, we see her mentor two others, we see the results of her masters push to bring magic to humanity, we see Fern grow, we see other types of magic, and it was a logical limitation.... you cannot go into the wilds without a powerful enough mage. All of it made sense and served a purpose.

nice video!

Initially I was bit roll-eyes with the Exam arc, and it does get off to a bit of a slow start, but actually I warmed up to it very quickly. For one, not a single one of the characters introduced is wasted; every single one has some kind of character arc, and I really enjoyed that. Denken, Laufen, Richter, Wirbel, Ubel, Land, Kanne and Lawine all get plenty of time to shine and to be honest, could probably make for decent spin-offs. Watching Denken, Laufen and Richter travelling on their own journey, or Ubel constantly flirting with Land while they travel and play silly battles of wills constantly could be a great 8-Episode watch. Even Sense fascinated me more and more. And as I watched I realised this was more about Fern than Frieren, about demonstrating how truly powerful she actually is. Her character can be aloof at times, so those little moments and flashbacks where she shows how much she cares about those close to her was great. And we did get to see some of what makes Frieren tick as well, and her contrast to Serie. My only real complaint about the show is how Stark doesn't get enough time to show his metal and Sein departed a bit too quickly, both of those feel like there's a LOT more mileage in their characters.

You would think just the fact that she's an elf, a species almost nobody in the present time has even seen would serve as an identity in its own right.

The exam arc reminded me of how important the Chunin Exam Arc was in OG Naruto

15:29 - as a great man once said "When do you think people die?... it's when you are forgotten by others" - Dr. Hiriluk

Watching the show a second time, I realized that the key figure of the series is not Freiren herself but Himmel. From the very start after he passes away, we are met by people who are deeply moved by Himmel's actions in life. When we get flashbacks of the original party it isn't them destroying the Dragon. Its Himmel providing wise thoughts. The impact of Himmel is even felt through Wirbel in the Exam. Of course we see Freiren realizing the wisdom of Himmel. I mean every event in the series is prefaced by " ___ years after the death of Himmel"

Some of the lines in this video hit HARD!

The exam arc to me funnily enough feels exactlt like an a real life exam. Everything we learned during the first half, put into practice during the show exam. Everything about Fern and Frieren, the world, the past, the concepts and messages. All coming together to help us understand what the broader world is like and operates.