Sousou no Frieren – 08 – Random Interest

「葬送のフリーレン」 (Sōsō no Furīren)
“Frieren the Slayer”

It seems absurd to say that we’ve almost completed one month of Sousou no Frieren, but we’re halfway there. Thus, I believe it’s appropriate to begin formulating some broad conclusions. As of right now, I think it’s quite decent, but not great enough in my opinion because of the weak character development. The minor characters are typically more intriguing than the leads, and it excels at things like mood, world-building, and major concepts. Overall, there are significantly more advantages than disadvantages, and I completely understand why it is such a box office and critical success. Simply said, I don’t believe it to be a masterpiece on par with Pluto or the Vinland Saga.

Having said that, I’m pleased by Frieren’s variety in the last few episodes—and that’s a very high standard. This was a feature I was unaware of, and I’m glad the tone changed because there was a chance it would have become monotonous if that approach had persisted for 28 episodes. This is the Frieren that goes by that name, and although I don’t agree with the loose English rendering of “Frieren the Slayer,” the idea remains the same: she’s a badass. She doesn’t need to brag about her strength because she already knows it and doesn’t give a damn if anyone else agrees. And that’s why she seems a little terrifying.

Draht discovered that for sure. Recall that Draht pursued Frieren voluntarily, and Lügner was actually pretty annoyed by this as it undermined his entire strategy. It was funny to hear everyone say that most magicians would “lose their head” as a result of his wire strike. Since he wasn’t even close to being in her weight class, Frieren wasn’t particularly bothered by Draht at all. The only issue was that, because demon corpses disintegrate into mana upon death, slaying her guard made it awkward for her to remain and relax in her cage.

At the same time, Stark is trembling with terror at the prospect of facing Lügner (I briefly wondered if he had really soiled himself). However, as they say, courage is the ability to feel fear but nonetheless carry out necessary actions. Every time, he succeeds in the end. Frieren refuses to assist Stark and Fern in taking on Lügner and Linie when they run across the escaped Frieren on the street. Though it appears that she is simply running away, she actually has much more ambitious ambitions. All she does is encourage. When she discussed how much she hated to confront powerful opponents, she gave a rare smile that could be interpreted in a few different ways.

Give credit to Graf Granat. He was astute enough to accurately interpret the circumstances in the dungeon and Draht’s absence in order to piece together what most likely transpired. By then, the jig is up, and Lügner has finally shown his magic—blood magic—which he uses to eliminate every one of Granat’s guards. But in order to learn how to remove Flamme’s barrier from the town, he needs the Graf to be alive. Here, Lügner becomes rather verbose, saying that devils dedicate their entire lives to the study of a single kind of magic, and that for this reason, he despises “geniuses” (such as Flamme) who possess the ability to reset the system with enduring flashes of inspiration.

Once more, Stark’s genuine bravery is demonstrated as he and Fern get into the palace and eventually face Lügner and Linie alone in order to divert Fern’s attention. Given this advantage, Fern is powerful enough to assault Lügner and cause significant damage, but Granat is running low and Linie is still fully charged, so Stark advises retreating rather than engaging in a fight to the death at this moment. Lügner recognizes Fern immediately because of Fern’s style: Sousou no Frieren. Call her the undertaker, the slayer, or whatever you like; her name is undoubtedly legendary among people of her type.

Frieren had always intended to face Aura alone, and she didn’t want Fern or Stark to be involved. We can suppose that Aura is significantly stronger than the other two demons because she had no choice but to leave them to them. We are aware that Frieren believes she is stronger than Aura, but since she hasn’t been in stasis for the previous 28 years, it is likely that she has been training for their rematch—something Frieren hasn’t shown any indication of. When these two square up, I think we can all anticipate a noisy confrontation.

Full-length images: 36.

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