Are you ready for more fantasy adventures with Frieren the Elf and her new party? I’m finally close to being caught up to the most recent episodes of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. After these next few episodes, I’ll probably switch to writing weekly episode reviews for Frieren installments as they are released. For today, though, let’s finish up with my notes on episodes 15 to 18!
Notes on Episode 15: Smells like Trouble
The first half of the episode was about Frieren and company encountering a cursed town. Everyone in the town was asleep and wouldn’t wake up. The curse slowly put everyone to sleep except Sein, who had to fight the monster responsible for the curse. He used priest magic to wake Frieren up for five seconds. That was all the time she needed to finish off the monster with a powerful blast.
Frieren’s badassery is always amazing. But in this episode, Sein was even more impressive. The whole group would have died without his quick thinking and Priest magic. Speaking of Priest magic, it’s interesting that it’s so different from human magic. Normal humans don’t understand how it works. Only those who dedicate themselves to the scriptures can use Priest magic. Since there is a functional magic system supposedly inspired by the Goddess, maybe she really does exist.
The second half of the episode showed Stark getting temporarily “adopted” by a nobleman named Lord Orden. He is paying a lot of gold for Stark to impersonate his dead warrior son at a social event. The purpose it to keep up the army’s morale. In order for him to pull off the social event, Stark learns nobility etiquette and basic skills like ballroom dance. Fern also learns and accompanies him to the social event.
While he was training, Stark had some good moments getting to know Lord Orden, who had lost his son. Then, after three months, it was finally time for the social event. Stark and Fern danced together. It was a beautiful and cute scene. When the event ended, Orden offered to let Stark keep living with him, but Stark politely declined. The group received their reward (plus a grimoire for Frieren) and their adventure continued.
Notes on Episode 16: Long-Lived Friends
The group of adventurers stop in a town so Frieren can visit an old friend: a Dwarf named Voll. He is nearly four hundred years old, even though most Dwarves only live to about three hundred. Voll spends his days guarding a certain northern village, defending it from demons. Generations ago, he fell in love with a human woman. They got married, and Voll promised to always protect her village. He honored that promise for life.
After Frieren spends a week with Voll, the group moves on. All this time, Sein has been looking for clues about his childhood friend, who was known as “Gorilla Warrior” (birth name unknown). One day, a townsperson remembers meeting Gorilla Warrior and tells Sein to ask the grumpy old lady who lives on the hill. The old lady knowns something about Gorilla Warrior, but won’t spill the beans until Sein and company do a bunch of errands and odd-jobs for her.
One of the things the old lady wants them to do is clean an old statue of forgotten heroes. Sein remembers seeing a statue of the same warriors – a very tall, buff Elf and a priest with a goatee. It looks a lot like Gorilla Warrior and Sein. The Elf in the statue was actually Kraft the Monk. He was a hero so long ago that nobody remembers it anymore. We don’t know who the priest statue is, but it really looks a lot like Sein.
The statue is cleaned and polished, so the old lady finally shares her information about Gorilla Warrior. The last thing she heard was that he was bound for a city to the northeast called Tur. Frieren needs to go to Auberst to get her mage license, and Tur is far out of the way. Thus, it’s time for Sein to decide what to do: will he stay with the group who are headed to Auberst, or branch off on his own to find his friend in Tur? The episode ends with this question hanging in the air.
Notes on Episode 17: Take Care
For the first part of the episode, the group gets trapped in a village due to a blizzard. It’s winter again. Sein delays his decision until after the month-long cold-front. During their time in the village, Stark and Fern have another fight. Sein mediates and helps them make up. He privately wishes they would just start dating, as that would relieve some of the tension between the two young adults. Of course, Fern and Stark would never think to actually become a couple.
After the worst of the winter weather, the adventurers continue their journey – minus one member. Sein decides to go toward Tur in order to track down his old friend, Gorilla Warrior. The farewell is quick and unemotional, but as he walks away, Sein sadly realizes how quiet it is to travel alone. I’m going to miss this character.
In the second part of the episode, Fern gets sick with a cold and a high fever. Luckily, there is someone living nearby in a stone cabin. She takes care of Fern while Stark and Frieren gather herbs to make medicine. One of the ingredients is a mushroom that grows under a beautiful cherry-icicle tree. It really is a gorgeous tree. Freiren holds Fern’s hand while she’s suffering with the fever. It may be a little embarrassing, but it’s calming and comforting. Fern takes the medicine and soon gets better.
Notes on Episode 18: First Class Mage Exam
As Frieren and her group of adventurers approach the city of Auberst, other mages are also on their way to take the first class mage exam. One such mage is Ubel (pronounced Yoo-bel), a young human woman with green hair. When bandits approach Ubel, Kraft the Monk appears and “saves” her by chasing off the bandits. In reality, he was saving the bandits, because he knew Ubel had killed others on the way when it may not have been necessary.
I think it was reasonable of Kraft to save those people given that we know nothing about them. Maybe they are redeemable. But he was also reasonable to clarify that he’s not here to lecture Ubel. Even if he disagrees with her choice, he won’t tell her not to kill in self-defense. Kraft is a really good guy. I wish we would get more time with him. Unfortunately, however, he went his own way, leaving the killer mage Ubel to herself.
Frieren and Fern both decide to take the mage exam, though Frieren only got accepted because she had a “holy emblem” that was used as mage license over a hundred years ago. The mage contestants are divided into groups of three. Unfortunately, Fern is in group #4 with Ubel and one male mage. Frieren’s group doesn’t look promising either. The other members are two teenage girls, Lawine and Kanne, who won’t stop fighting.
To pass the mage exam, Frieren and her two temporary companions must capture a bird called a Shille, which can fly at the speed of sound and is extremely hard to catch. The group must have the bird in a wooden cage and return with all party members alive. At first, things are tough for Frieren and her group. Kanne almost gets killed by a flying monster, but Frieren saves her. The episode ends with Kanne saying she noticed something that could allow them to catch the Shille easily.
To my surprise, I ended up liking Kanne and Lawine. I figured at first that they would be really annoying, and they are a bit aggravating for sure, but they are also both interesting characters. Their love-hate relationship and how they manage to work together is entertaining. Anyway, with this episode complete, I am finally caught up to Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End! I look forward to episode 19, which comes out tomorrow!
Thanks for reading~
PATREON
