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This EPISODE encompasses Two MANGA chapters from Volume 2»
VOL.1 #009: Phantoms of the Dead / #010: Solar Dragon
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.
Why does the start of this episode repeat several scenes from the previous one (4)?
EPs 1-4 were released in Japan as a “movie” compiled into one sitting of around 2 hours and aired on the slot for movies in Nippon TV. As such, for many viewers there, chapter 5 was a “continuation”. So probably the producers and studio thought it was a good idea to create this kind of “recap” before going on with the story.
In this Episode at timestamp [2:26]TIMELINE: Has really Fern been with Frieren “half of her life”?
In fact, Fern has known Frieren since she was around 9 years old, and now she’s six months older than 16. Almost half of her life, but not quite!
OPENING Challenge:
Can you find these images during the Opening…?
Find these Three Images from the Aura arc, during the intro song:
- Graf (Count) Granat looking from his castle.
- Frieren unleashing all her mana.
- Aura reflected on Frieren’s staff.
In this Episode at timestamp [4:48]When and where are we now?
28 years AHD, in the Willie Region: we are in a small town near a mountain pass that’ll take us to the Riegel Canyon where Stark lives.
These are still “the Central Lands”.
In this Episode at timestamp [6:26]What does undead mean in Frieren?
As Frieren states, those are corpses controlled by magic.
So while not exactly “undead”, the warriors controlled with magic by Aura would fit the bill for what Frieren mentions here, don’t they?
In this Episode at timestamp [6:46]What do we know about the “Einsam”?
Frieren has at least once met these monsters, the “Einsam” —in German meaning “lonely”— many years ago. We don’t know if she met them while journeying with the party of heroes, over 80 years ago. They probably lived also in the Northern Plateau, as stated in EP.18.
As we see in the Manga, Einsam are a kind of phantom-demons that prefer only the taste of humans (they are “picky”: demons can subsist on other flesh apparently). They act cunningly on people and prey on humans using the illusions of the dead from their memories. They seem to know where to attack best, using places far enough from villages or towns that are strategic paths people use, across forests or mountains. The moment you’re near them, they start to read your memories to prepare the best way to lure you, as cruel as it might seem.
Their appearance is really frightening, with slim bodies and extremely long hair, and hands cuffed with some (likely magical) broken chains. They float above a mana cloud and are vulnerable to offensive spells.
In this Episode at timestamp [7:06]Frieren quirks: is she joking using “dark humour” sometimes?
Frieren sometimes jokes about leaving people to their fate and die… only to find that Fern takes it seriously and gives her an earful.
It will happen in the cursed village at the beginning of EP.15.
In this Episode at timestamp [7:45]Are only monsters capable of illusion magic?.
Nope: there are (human) mages and demons that specialize in that abilities. But, they are rare indeed. We’ll only see them a few times in Frieren’s journey.
Episode at timestamp [8:45]Did Flamme beg for her life so often?
Well, from EP.10 we know she was very much the kind of mage that tried to deceive demons, instead of fighting head-on. Begging for her life was surely a trick to get near and/or buy time, to prepare her spell and take their opponents with their guard down… or sometimes even to flee —she did consider that as a valid strategy as she said to Frieren when she first met her.
If the Einsam used memories of Flamme to recreate her, and Frieren was in front of “her” ready to attack, it’s likely they retrieved that trick of her master from the elf memories. Even if Frieren knew it was an illusion, it’s no fun to shoot the image of a beloved master or friend.
What TRACK of the OST is played during the next scenes?»
“Phantoms of the Dead”
In this Episode at timestamp [10:08]Did you notice what does ‘Heiter’ say to Fern using her memories?
Among the memories that the Einsam uses to lure Fern, is the one when Heiter gifts to Fern her staff. It is so beloved for her, that is an element that the “phantom” of the priest mentions during this scene. It even says that, at first, she slept with it every night. In EP.27 we’ll see the actual moment where Fern receives the staff as a gift, and how much she cherishes it.
(This is new info: not included in the manga).
In this Episode at timestamp [10:44]Too perfect illusions?
These phantoms are very well crafted… so much that they betray themselves! Himmel says “blast me”, which is exactly what he’ll say if he knew he was a dangerous illusion. Maybe they expect to create the opposite effect, and even if Frieren is surprised at such words, so faithful to the Hero himself… but at the end of the day, she knows it is just a very cunning deception.
Also: Frieren’s thoughts are nowadays more focused on Himmel, no wonder the Einsam make him “reappear” before our great mage. He and Flamme were the two persons she has cared most in her life, anyway.
See you at Aureole, Heiter!
Aureole could grant to Fern the opportunity to Fern to exchange some more conversations with the late priest. What will he tell her when they talk?
2nd part of EP.05 » The Solar Dragon
In this Episode at timestamp [11:44]The Riegel Canyon
The mountain pass leads to the Riegel Canyon, and at that part of the Wille Region is the town we see from here on.
In this Episode at timestamp [11:50]What do we know about DRAGONS in this world?
There are many kinds of dragons in this world. We’ll learn about them more in season 2, but the original party of heroes faced several: as stated in the “fear scene” that shows Eisen the first time they battled against one (EP.19).
The solar dragon has scales resistant to magic, and is fast and menacing, breathing fire even.
They are clever creatures that are aware of their weaknesses (powerful warriors can beat them) and make their nests using also magical powerful objects —which is one of the things that Frieren covets more than anything! The elf mage asks Fern not to hit the nest because of that very reason.
Curious that in Japanese the translation could be “mirror dragon”, which means the scales reflect the sunlight and that, makes it also a “solar dragon”. Or could it be that it also reflects magic, like the Chaos flower that Sein fights in EP. 15?
Also: the party of Heroes also faced a solar dragon once, as seen in the ultrabrief flashback montage of EP.10.
In this Episode at timestamp [13:10]Why do they initially flee from the beast?
As the dragon seems dangerous, strong, a fast flyer and quite resistant to magic, the logical conclusion for Frieren is to look for a frontliner, and not try to kill them on their own, to get Fern out of danger probably. Luckily enough, there’s one strong warrior reaaaally close. 😉
Manga panel: the distressed countenance of Fern when the dragon approaches, is cute but concerning.
In this Episode at timestamp [13:45]When did Eisen talk to Frieren about Stark…?
These scenes happened at the same scenery of the previous episode, during the exploration of the Voll Basin.
If we look closely, we can see Fern sleeping nearby (right down corner) with Frieren’s suitcase around.
In this Episode at timestamp [14:28]Magic to see through clothes? Someone is afraid of it!
We’ll see Fern mentioning that spell to Übel on episode 21.
The green-haired mage is not very much scared of anything… but this magic makes her flee, deep into the cave they’re in!
Hey, there are dogs somewhere?
We told you in EP.02 that cats are mostly the pets we see in Frieren, and to this date, we haven’t spotted a single dog onscreen. But during this scene we can hear them bark!
In this Episode at timestamp [14:54]How do we pronounce ‘Stark’?
The pronunciation of Stark (‘strong’ in German) is more in line with “Schtark”… which is curiously what we often hear on the English dub of the series.
In this Episode at timestamp [15:04]Stark’s age and experience.
Stark fled from his master over three years ago, being quite young at the time (around 13-14 years old). He probably lived with Eisen over 4-5 years.
He never had fought against monsters, which explains his null experience against any threat: let alone a dragon!
In this Episode at timestamp [15:41]Does Frieren know for sure what Stark is made of?
Take into account that, all this time, Frieren suspects the truth as she has first-hand information on what Eisen told her: that he is a coward but a phenomenal warrior also. So her facial expressions reveal the doubts but also her expectations.
In this Episode at timestamp [16:23]Worst lie ever…? Also: Stark’s scar.
Stark claims that he made that scar on his forehead fighting against a dark dragon (or shadow dragon). The one with that valuable horn, that Himmel took care of one in EP01. Those dark dragons are so rare to find, that Stark is making a most unbelievable claim indeed.
Also: The scar on the warrior’s forehead will be a matter of consequence in the next episode. It will be treated like a combat wound too during EP.15, when the Orden family forces him to impersonate the noble’s son.
In this Episode at timestamp [16:57]Did Eisen go to look after Stark at any point?
At first, the red-haired warrior thinks his master sent Frieren and Fern to make amends. He tells them his first truth in a while: he left without telling him.
Eisen probably felt guilty: and we might conclude that he DID try to locate his disciple, as he tells Frieren exactly where to find him. But he did not try to talk to him or make him come back. Maybe to teach him a lesson on fighting for himself…?
In this Episode at timestamp [17:36]The “funny magic” to make a stone Golem.
Have we seen Frieren’s use the magic to invoke a Golem from stones somewhere else? Yep, that’s the very same magic she uses to create a giant Golem in EP.26 to fight against her replica, using the stones from the dungeon final chamber.
Also, in EP. 02 she did mention to Fern that she started to collect spells because of the same reason: someone (Himmel) praised her for this little funny moments using “unimportant” magic. He was a “fool” for doing that? We don’t think so. On the contrary: he was very fond of her “childish” spells that made their adventure more “ridiculous”.
What TRACK of the OST is played at this moment?»
“The Warrior’s Path”
In this Episode at timestamp [18:12]Does Stark really want to kill the dragon?
Stark has apparently thought of killing the dragon and moving on for some time, but thinks he is not able to do it himself, so he is more that glad to accept the deal from the elf mage.
In this Episode at timestamp [18:28]Does really Frieren need the dragon to be distracted in order to get rid of him?
Not necessarily, but otherwise, it makes killing it way harder. She often required the original party’s warriors to help and distract foes, before preparing her powerful spells to kill monsters or even demons. So yes, she’s always in a better position to fight if she has some “team playing” happening.
In this Episode at timestamp [18:28]Stark the coward warrior: first time we notice.
In fact, the dispute with Eisen that led to Stark’s scar was all about him NOT wanting to fight monsters because of fear.
In this Episode at timestamp [16:34]Which girl has a crush on Stark? (look for her in the photos below).
Is the girl on the left —with the bowl haircut and pigtails (wearing a blue dress)— blushing next to Stark?
Yes she isss… it’s “her hero” after all!
In this Episode at timestamp [19:30]The terrifying look of contempt of Fern!
No comment, she can be so scary at times!
In this Episode at timestamp [19:30]Can Frieren sense the strength of Stark?
Frieren knows he can handle the dragon, because of Eisen’s trust in him. But also, did he grab to her so strongly that she could feel his strength? (Who knows).
Also, the fissure in the canyon is a good measure of how strong can he be if he uses his best move (the Lighting Strike).
What TRACK of the OST is played at this moment?»
“The Warrior’s Path” (again).
In this Episode at timestamp [20:31]Lookalikes from other popular anime?
The cook’s wife reminds us a lot of another anime with an elf in it… doesn’t she look a bit like Laio’s sister (Falin) from “Delicious in Dungeon”?
In this Episode at timestamp [20:39]Frieren has a knack for meat sometimes!
A big dish of meat is one of Frieren’s occasional pleasures, like the huge meat heap in EP.22!
In this Episode at timestamp [20:50]Fern’s first fight against a monster…
We’ll see that first fight of Fern —with some curious errors and disaccords between MANGA vs ANIME, in next episode…
In this Episode at timestamp [21:05]She’s not that cute little girl anymore…
Yes, Fern has lost that child cuteness and politeness: she’s now quite direct and, sometimes, even scary for Frieren.
Moonlight sonata
Ah that full moon, the beauty and silent companion of many wondrous scenes in this anime!
(Also, you can spot some lovely moons outside a window featured during the outtro song!)
In this Episode at timestamp [21:52]About Stark running away from his village.
Eisen also fled from his village when demons attacked. But Stark was a very young kid and his brother urged him to run (EP.12), so Eisen was probably the bigger coward here…
Lost in translation? In the English dub Eisen states that “monsters” attacked Stark’s village. But the subtitling corrects that mistake and reads as “demons”.
In this Episode at timestamp [22:46]Lightning strike!
We’ll see more of this awesome Lighting Strike in the next few episodes. Yayy!
Also: can you think of other times we’ll see Stark using that technique?
Is that Eisen’s ax?
Nope: Eisen’s ax has not that pointy ending at one extreme. Stark has a weapon based and inspired on the one his master uses, but it is NOT the same weapon, and he did not steal his master’s personal ax or anything similar.
END of EPISODE'S #05 GUIDEENDING CHALLENGE.
Can you spot the two creatures in the Ending that could resemble a dragon (or a giant snake)?
Next Guide for EP. 06 will be published around November 2nd, 2025
