Episode 20 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End premiered last week and it showcased how Fern is unbalanced against other mages. While she may be a third-class mage, Fern is definitely capable of handling more than what someone at that rank is expected to do. Moreover, this episode wasn’t entirely about Fern but it’s actually more about Wirbel. The episode also left on a cliffhanger with Frieren’s party about to fight Denken’s party.
Fern is unhinged in this episode, firing a flurry of magic spells at her opponent Ehre who never had an opening of a window to attack. And it’s not like her opponent is just some random one either, as Ehre tends to be the strongest at her party, even stronger than Wirbel seems to be quite capable of a few tricks up his sleeve when it comes to winning. This just goes to show how powerful Fern has become and it’s no surprise as Frieren is her teacher after all. Seeing her stoic face while relentlessly barraging Ehre with a ton of magic attacks is all the evidence we need to where she got her teachings. What’s also funny is that while almost everyone does the anime thing wherein they say their “cool” spell names before casting, Fern attacks without saying it making her more savage. On top of that, she even lied to Wirbel to save her teammate’s life.
Speaking of Wirbel, he may look like an intimidating person but he embodies an archetype of a cool-looking yet somewhat foolish character. I couldn’t say he’s entirely a good person as he tried to kill Ubel for the sake of passing the exams but his actions seem to be dumb. Having to fight demons is one thing, but doing it all because you promised some girl you like that you don’t even remember their name when you were 4 years old is a bit far-fetched. He did admit though that he’s a fool and that makes him likable to some degree because at least he’s aware. What’s even more hilarious is that his skill is perfect for the first round of exams as he can catch stilles with ease but unfortunately, they never see one until at the very end when their whole team is worn out from fighting Fern’s team. Talk about a boy failure of a character.
As I previously said earlier, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End episode 20 ended on a cliffhanger with Frieren’s party about to have a clash with Denken’s team. With the latter successfully stealing the stille from Frieren, all they have to do now is to stall until the round is over, thereby causing Frieren and her team to not proceed into the next round. After Richter tipped and made the land rise, separating Frieren from Lawine and Kanne, epic music suddenly surged into the scene making it an epic cliffhanger.
While I am extremely hyped for the next episode, something that is bothering me is what Kanne is going to do amidst all this. She’s practically useless at this stage in the fight as there’s barely any water left in the area — all thanks to Lawine who froze the lake due to Frieren’s plan from the previous episode. We might get answers in the next episode because since the first round began, the series has subtly emphasized Kanne and her water magic.
Screenshots taken from Muse Asia
© Yamada Kanehito, Abe Tsukasa /Shogakukan / “Sousou no Frieren” Production Committee