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This EPISODE adapts THREE MANGA chapters »
VOL.3 — chapters 21 “Coward” and 22 “The Scales of Obedience”.
HIDDEN ITEMS MARKED WITH THIS ICON, MIGHT CONTAIN MILD SPOILERS FROM THE MANGA. To show them, just click to expand (they’re hidden by default). They won’t ruin the experience of watching next seasons but might make them less surprising.
In this Episode at timestamp [0:00]Where and when are we at the start of the episode?
The episode starts in an unknown Forest (maybe on the Voll Basin?) where Frieren and Flamme are walking. Frieren is not yet used to call her “master” so not much time has elapsed. This takes place some time after the elf was rescued by her teacher —destroying those three powerful demon mages following them.
In this Episode at timestamp [0:20]Why does Frieren hesitate to call “master” (sensei) to Flamme?
There might be different reasons: 1) she probably doesn’t see herself as less powerful than her.
2) it has not been too long since they met, so it’s something she is not used to say at this point.
3) Also she’s not used to be anybody’s teacher, and has learned mostly by herself, reading scrolls and practicing.
Have you noticed how Frieren doesn’t force Fern to call her “master” either? Not a coincidence. She doesn’t like those kind of titles and she remembers how she didn’t feel comfortable with Flamme telling her to do so.
Is Flamme one of the 6 human mages with less mana than her, that defeated Frieren?
(She states that she lost against six human mages in EP18 by the way)
Probably so. Flamme could have slightly less mana than her at some point. Still, we can imagine that, during their training (or along with other human mages that Flamme trained) Frieren could have lost some matches against her/them.
Our elf-mage is powerful, true… but at this moment in history she hasn’t learned so many attack spells and has much less combat experience than other mages.
In this Episode at timestamp [0:29]Did “Basalt” really not say anything when he died?
Basalt the Throne, the general that annihilated that elven village, did not probably say much when he died. Frieren payed no attention to his last words anyway. Note: a General is not necessarily on the rank of being a “Great Demon” but it’s powerful and fearful enough.
In this Episode at timestamp [0:46]How were demons called before Flamme first called them so…?
The definition of demons in this world: monsters that speak to deceive… Flamme is the one that popularized the term to refer to them. What were they called before, over 1,000 years ago? We don’t know for sure… magic talking monsters?
In this Episode at timestamp [0:59]Getting rid of all demons: an extremist thought?
Both master and apprentice want them all to perish, and exterminate them as if they’re a plague. It might sound extreme, but they both hate them for all the harm they have caused to their families and races.
Flamme lost both parents (and maybe more family and friends); and Frieren has seen how the elves were almost led to extinction by the Demon King’s orders. By massacring women and children even. Is that not enough for them to hate their kind and play unfair?
Remember: elves are on the brink of disappearing as a race —so they suffered a true genocide too.
OPENING TRIVIA: Can you spot Frieren’s different clothing though the ages in the intro?
Pay attention to her attire before and after joining Himmel’s party…
(Tip: soon after joining Himmel, she chose to wear his master’s red earrings to honor her memory and revengeful cause).
What TRACK of the OST is played at the beginning of the episode?»
The episode itself starts with the ominous track “Ancient Magic”.
In this Episode at timestamp [2:46]Who made Aura retreat over 80 years ago…?
Lügner attributes the defeat of Aura 80 years ago to the whole party. Indeed, Himmel, Eisen and Heiter were mostly responsible for it, but the “flashy” spells of Frieren surely allowed them to advance towards the Sage and injure her.
In this Episode at timestamp [3:35]Fern reveals him the “final trick”.
The demon is going to die soon, so Fern decides to tell her about her teacher’s true intentions: to trick Aura and kill her.
In this Episode at timestamp [3:41]Why can’t he accept this information?
Lügner’s personal experience is biased, he thinks the elf mage does always attack head-on as she did to him decades ago.
In this Episode at timestamp [4:00]Too late to realize this, Lügner!
Fern is suppressing his mana as her master has taught her. Lügner has connected what the girl said with his this battle’s outcome.
Two plus two equals… but it’s too late for him
In this Episode at timestamp [4:22]Frieren uses a cowardly tactic?
Frieren knows well that this fight tactic is considered coward and underhanded. She considered it that way herself when she first learned about it from Flamme, as we saw at the beginning of the episode.
In this Episode at timestamp [4:46]The end of Basalt
Frieren, the figure in the left, has cast a spell that blasted even the earth and pushed Basalt (and his massive sword) against a huge tree, finishing him. But she is hurt and devastated.
WARNING: MILD SPOILER OF SEASON 02 from the MANGA (click to reveal)
We’ll meet another dangerous demon general in the first “action” arc of season 02. These creatures know how to use a sword… or even more?
In this Episode at timestamp [5:10]Even children killed mercilessly…
Notice how the scene reveals several swings around Frieren, where elven children used to play. She had to witness how demons killed them.
In this Episode at timestamp [5:50]Why is our elf mage so sure that Flamme is more powerful than her?
Let’s tie all the facts here.
For once, she has come to the village itself alone, and is acting without fear, moving around somewhat carelessly. She sounds sure of herself and her poise speaks volumes. Also, she can read mana very well.
So, if she hasn’t already fled knowing there are strong demons surrounding the area… she must be a powerful mage indeed. Frieren’s hunch is justified.
Remember: Himmel also says (later in this episode) that it was “just a hunch” stating that our elf mage was powerful. But he knew her from before, so it was not such a kind of hunch, more like a suspicion based on experience (intuition). And much like Himmel, Frieren’s intuition is telling her the same: that Flamme, is much, much more than what she appears to be.
In this Episode at timestamp [6:57]Flamme is great at tracking mana too
Flamme’s mana detection is in fact so good and active, she has spotted those three demons from afar, the moment they chose not to hide their mana.
In this Episode at timestamp [7:34]Would have the demons let Flamme escape really?
We don’t believe for a minute they would have let the human mage —who was helping another mage, an elf fugitive— escape alive, right?
Remember, we could say “they lie for a living”!
In this Episode at timestamp [6:42]Why does the Demon King want to exterminate elves?
As of this time, humanity hasn’t progressed so much in magic. So they are no rivals for the demons in that respect. But elves live longer than demons and have the potential to catch up to their level. If they let more elven children to grow and learn to be powerful mages like Frieren, their rule over the continent and supremacy in magic could be challenged.
And if the Demon King knows about Serie and her knowledge and power, he probably fears that she could train more elves to be like her.
WARNING: CONSPIRACY THEORY BASED ON WHAT WE WILL KNOW IN EP02 of SEASON 02
If demons have a prophet or there is someone that could foresee that far into the future (and we will learn in season 2: yes, there are means to know the future)… it well could be that the Demon King knows beforehand that an elf mage will be instrumental in his own death: 1,000 years later.
So the logical choice for a cruel ruler like him, is to annihilate all elves to prevent his own death and try to change his fate.
Too far-fetched? We know: but it is an interesting theory nonetheless.
Episode at timestamp [8:04]What a blast!
The shockwave causes the wind to flow though the valleys after Flamme’s “nuking spell”. WOW!!
In this Episode at timestamp [8:40]The Mana suppression technique
From this moment on, we will learn more about the Mana suppression technique. Aura is so doomed and unprepared for it!
Suppression to hide mana temporarily is quite common within the demon, elf or human realm. But the idea to suppress it permanently was “unheard of” until Flamme the “outside-the-box” mage tried it herself for some years. We can safely assume that her former master, Serie, learned and employed the technique herself sometime later, for centuries (see EP.28).
In this Episode at timestamp [9:10]What do we know of ancient magic written records…?
At this point in history, we see no grimoires because books aren’t invented as such (only codices, their predecessors). But our gray-haired mage is reading scrolls about magic already. She’s been always eager to learn both theory and practice, as she said to Fern in EP.03 “Killing Magic”.
Most of this “pre-grimoires” are written in elfic language (as we’ll learn in season 2), but most good mages learn to read it as part of their training and formation. Some grimoires were ciphered with lost methods, like the one Heiter made Frieren study —allegedly belonging to Ewig the Sage.
In this Episode at timestamp [9:29]Where did Flamme lived?
This is the same spot where the episode started, probably in the Voll Basin region where Flamme lived for some time. Talking with her and learning from her master while walking, was probably something Serie also did with Flamme. Which reminds us of her speech to Frieren though the woods in EP. 25.
In this Episode at timestamp [9:41]Why did Frieren lose interest in magic over the later centuries?
Frieren probably lost somewhat the interest in magic after having to “dishonor” it for so many years. It’s a protection mechanism to not suffer so much thinking about what she does.
Also, the death of her master and some incidents —probably losing against human, elf & demon mages— might have affected her throughout the later centuries.
In this Episode at timestamp [10:06]Practising suppression
Staying inside a circular spot to practice mana restriction is something we saw Frieren do with Fern in episode 02.
In this Episode at timestamp [10:06]Is Frieren so constantly sleepy because mana suppression is tiresome?
It is never stated, but it could totally explain it. Also, when you live so long and have all the time in the world, is easier to “waste your life” sleeping for hours and hours.
Anyhow, she is so keen to sleep that much (after doing it for centuries) that now is likely a bad habit she probably can’t correct easily.
In this Episode at timestamp [10:43]How is Aura capable of noticing that Lügner is dead?
She is very perceptive of Mana, and is used to notice his “executioner” power around her. Also, if she is thinking now her victory over Frieren is sure, it’s likely she is focusing on her “next step” which would be conquering the Granat city after her lieutenant gets to deactivate the barrier.
But now her hope to do that is lost!
What TRACK are we hearing (again)?»
“Ancient Magic”
[From this point on, we see the adaptation of Chapter 22 of the manga: The Scales of Obedience]
In this Episode at timestamp [11:01]Does Aura notice that Frieren mana diminishes?
Even releasing soldiers with Mana, Frieren’s real power has been restrained. She normally keeps it to a tenth of its total, but that doesn’t mean she can’t lower it even more(see with the Stille in EP.19)
If that’s what she’s doing now: she is really into fooling Aura, by making her think his mana is even less now.
In this Episode at timestamp [11:43]Aura: a ‘Great Demon’
The title “Great Demon” is used for those that have lived and trained for centuries long, and have such power that can even rival in some respects with those of the Seven Sages.
In this Episode at timestamp [12:05]Frieren: “I pity you!”
As Aura is unable to supress her mana, she is not better than any other demon. Her pride is going to be her fall.
Frieren is probably already thinking what command is she going to give the demon when her magic backfires.
In this Episode at timestamp [12:11]“Auserlese” the spell of obedience.
In German: Auserlesen means “selected”, “chosen” or “exquisite”; and “ausersehen” is a formal verb for “choosing”.
The scales choose the most powerful opponent with their two souls confronted.
In this Episode at timestamp [12:33]What’s the true nature of demons in this fantasy world?
We get some snippets here: from the dialogue between the Legendary Mage and her student.
- they are VERY individualistic, though they form some temporary connections to complete missions or fight against a common enemy.
- they create hierarchies based on power (mana), so the Demon King as the most powerful is the higher rank and uses his authority to command the “armies” they create.
- their pride and arrogance (especially from those who are mages) hinders their ability to explore alternative methods of deceiving the enem — such as suppressing their mana for a long time.
- cruelty and predatory tactics are their “forte” and they lie to deceive, especially humans.
- they love magic and some devote their entire lives to specialize and study one type of magic, but, selfishly and foolishly, they do NOT share their knowledge among their kind.
In this Episode at timestamp [13:09]Fun fact: did not Frieren have a spell related to red Apples?
Not yet but (mild spoiler), she will get one eventually during Season 02.
In this Episode at timestamp [13:53]Weaker demons are pariahs then…
Yes, those poor without dignity in the human realm, remind us of the weak demons that get ostracized within their ranks.
In this Episode at timestamp [14:40]Time passes by…
Three years after being rescued by Flamme, our elf girl has a good control over her mana. But this is only the beginning.
ALTERNATIVE story: In the PRELUDE (prequel) novel, in chapter 5, we get some more insights on what the training of Frieren with her master might have involved.
50 years more have passed, and the master has grown old. She’s probably around 80 years now. She does not regret teaching many of her techniques to Frieren.
In this Episode at timestamp [15:06]Has the love of magic diminished in Frieren’s heart?
Probably a bit, because she is still upset about having to hide her real power, and because of the bitterness of losing all her elven relatives and friends.
She probably lost some of her joy of learning magic, and regained it only moderately because of learning little spells like the one that creates a field of flowers.
She needed almost a millennia and the praise of Himmel to completely revert her lukewarm attitude towards magic.
In this Episode at timestamp [15:25]“Magic fit for revenge”, which spells would be that?
Did Flamme taught her most of the fighting spells that we see Frieren use against her replica in EPs.25 and 26? (Judradjim “Destructive Lightning” and Vollzanbel “Hellfire Summoning”). We might conclude so…
In this Episode at timestamp [15:31]Why does Flamme trust so much in Frieren to complete the victory over the Demon King?
Flamme has a lot of confidence on the potential of her disciple, not only because she has a long life to live… she also has the right attitude about fighting. As she told Serie, almost 50 years before: she is the mage for a peaceful era.
And to compel her to love peaceful times and spells, the Legendary Mage starts —better late than never— to teach her something that is not related to war or conflict: to create beautiful fields of flowers.
Manga vs. Anime: in the manga we can see how Flamme’s parents taught her to make a beautiful field of flowers. Tragically, she lost them both to a demon attack, probably shortly after. On the anime though, she mentions this, but there’s not flashback to it.
In this Episode at timestamp [16:31]Why does Frieren have to live in obscurity (for centuries) to defeat the Demon King?
Think it carefully: demons are not so overproud not to make arrangements to defeat a well-know powerful enemy. If her real power, mana and intentions get to be famous before the time comes, she would have to face more powerful enemies at the same time —maybe several Sages of Destruction together!
Only by being inconspicuous, she and the party will travel unnoticed until the right time comes.
In this Episode at timestamp [15:20]Flamme’s grave
Flamme’s grave will be a recurring visual in the series. Featured at the ending (ED) of the second part (cour) of the season, when Frieren is lying at its side. Also, it will be one of the graves that we can spot at the very end of the final episode of Season 1.
A true reflection of how much influence this human mage had over Frieren. She truly missed her, and probably suffered her loss so much, that she chose not to feel closer to any other being: until Himmel appeared in her life, that is.
What TRACK of the OST is played during this beautiful montage?»
“For 1,000 years” one of our favorite pieces. Oh the GOOSEBUMPS!!
In this Episode at timestamp [16:20]What a beautiful montage!
We have listed several glimpses within this emotional montage at this Episode:
- Civilization starts to grow around the forest where our elf chooses to live in.
- A snowman is her only company during this winter!
- Our elf has a shawl to keep her wam, while practicing mana suppression.
- Although living in obscurity, she trains from time to time fighting monsters.
- Seasons come and pass, and time fly by…
- In warmer seasons she uses a shorter simple dress. She builds a cabin in this forest, using cutting magic (the one she used against Dhrat), and floating spells (like those Fern and her will later employ to clean the beach in EP.04
- In her cabin Frieren’s keeps researching magic and even leaves some items needed for summoning. Probably that’s where the blue raven in EP.01 left the Dark Dragon horn.
- This white creature that reminds us of a fluffy “Snorlax” is such a cutie… We don’t know its name, but we would lovely buy his “plushie” version anytime.
- This fortified city is probably near the Royal Capital within the Central Lands, we don’t know its exact location but Himmel and Heiter’s village is also around this area.
MANGA vs. ANIME: in the manga the fluffy creature has a more menacing appearance. Uggg.
In this Episode at timestamp [17:45]Himmel has been looking for the elf mage he knew as a kid!
He asks around and finds her. He does not tell the others the story about his childhood adventure, maybe he feels embarrassed about himself or thinks it will make for a bad first impression to mention it then. Anyhow, he knows the elf has lived long and is surely more than what meets the eye. (see EP.27 when Frieren talks to Serie).
In this Episode at timestamp [18:24]HIDDEN IMAGES: In a few seconds!
In just one/two seconds we can see amazing glimpses of the journey of the party…Use the frame-by-frame player mode or you’ll miss them!
- 1] Fighting together a Solar Dragon… maybe their first one the one Eisen was feeling fear the night before as we see in the flashback of early EP.19.
- 2] Facing Qual, where Frieren’s sealing spell was used to survive the encounter.
- 3] Driving Aura away, a moment over 80 years ago where she was almost killed by Himmel. No wonder she fled and never appeared back until hearing the news of the Hero’s death!
- 4] The Party arriving at the Demon King’s castle, the most Epic moment of their adventure for sure.
MANGA vs. ANIME: Have you wondered what did the Demon King looked like?
This panel in the Chapter 22 reveals his visual appearance: a two horned formidable warrior with a massive armor and all the serenity of a grand foe. He’s probably (as Serie says in EP.27) evaluating all of them, and figuring out that the elf mage has a slight fluctuation of her mana, probably due to her nerves.
In this Episode at timestamp [18:58]Frieren the unknown, mysterious elf
After Flamme’s death and before she journeyed with the party of heroes, Frieren was a stranger to almost any human, demon… or elf!
In fact, Kraft will question about her past in the next episode (EP11) , asking “…and before that (defeating the Demon King)?”
He is perplexed that such a great mage wasn’t known at all before that grandiose feat. Even her age has not revealed to anybody until this point.
(Fern even asks in EP.04 if she is as old as to have lived in prehistoric times).
Anyhow: her mana confuses the Lady Sage of Destruction that believes she has trained no more than “a mere” 100 years. How she has been fooled!
[SOUNDTRACK] The glorious piece “Frieren the Slayer” is the heroic music that we can hear along this scene.
Featuring the demise of one of the last Sages of Destruction, Aura the Guillotine. The musical theme is used in full here.
(Also part of this track is featured on another EPIC moment when Frieren’s replica is defeated in EP.26 “The Height of Magic).
In this Episode at timestamp [19:56]Aura the Guillotine is confident that she would behead “The Slayer” herself.
But as happened with Qual, her magic is about to backfire.
In this Episode at timestamp [20:21]How many undead soldiers were released by Frieren from Aura’s control?
We don’t have the number, but in a shot afterward we saw the elf mage surrounded by as many as 16 warriors on the ground. We can safely assume she has freed 4-5 times that figure, maybe 60 or more.
Thus, leading Aura to think her enemy has wasted a vast amount of mana. Still, Aura had a big army that she hasn’t used fully against Frieren. Such a huge, arrogant mistake!
In this Episode at timestamp [21:07]Frieren focus and mana control excels here…
Great demons see Mana more accurately than normal ones. Still, it took the greatest of them, the Demon King, to figure out the eve-suppression of mana from our elf.
When keeping calm and in control, Frieren’s ability is almost undetectable. Lernen was indeed lucky to see the fluctuation in her power (EPs.18+28), but only because she had an emotional moment when they arrived to inscribe for the first-class mage exam, probably.
In this Episode at timestamp [22:16]Poster frames in Frieren!
The beautiful shot of Master and Apprentice talking in that street with the shadows of hanging clothes masking them is no less than SUPERB!
Great quotes in Frieren:
“Just as demons deceive humans with their words, you must deceive them with your Mana”—Flamme.
In this Episode at timestamp [22:26]The “Aura kill yourself” quote
“Aura kill yourself” is the preferred quote of many voice actors of the Frieren character indeed. See this behind-the-scenes with Mallorie Rodak, English VA for Frieren.
Frieren does not take the time to kill her, she can behead herself for all she cares!
A fitting revenge for the “Guillotine’…
Also, when ordered to “kill herself”, the Sage knows exactly that her weak point is… not in the body or heart, but in her head.
In this Episode at timestamp [22:30]Why not gather the scales of obedience as a weapon or spell?
Its magic is beyond comprehension for humans or even great mages. There’s no point in trying to learn it, less alone now that Aura is going to be “mana smoke”.
They are probably just a catalyst to use the “Auserlese” spell, much like a staff helps focus mana on spells.
Also, it’s a disgusting and dangerous magic in Frieren’s opinion, conceived to force others to do to your will. She does not want any part on such evil tactics.
END of EPISODE'S #10 GUIDEED CHALLENGE.
Is there any image in the ending that evokes a demon-like figure?
YES: the horned flying dragon reminds us to Qual somewhat.
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Wait for the GUIDE of EP11: Next week.