In episode 25 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, the dungeon brawl intensifies as the spotlight falls on the climactic showdown against Frieren’s clone. With insights learned from fellow examinees, the contenders for first-class mage status finally unite to devise a strategic plan against this raid boss. Thanks to Fern’s keen observations and her experience of traveling with Frieren, they found an opening on how to potentially beat the powerful mage’s clone. The only downside it’s a very tiny window but it’s still an opportunity nonetheless.
While everyone was discussing how to defeat Frieren’s clone, the real one can’t help to reminisce about the time when she was having a similar session with Himmel and the others. This just goes to show how she treasures her memories shared with those three. The other plus side to this is that it offers a glimpse of how the hero’s party worked together in the past. Whether we see a parallel of this teamwork among the remaining examinees of the mage exams or not, there’s no doubt that they will need this kind of cooperation from each other. They’re facing a slayer of demons, after all, and the one who conquered the demon king.
Madhouse has done it once again. The fight scenes in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End episode 25 were truly intense and the animation was spectacular. Witnessing Frieren unleash her full power against her clone was nothing short of breathtaking. What stood out, even more, was how the episode handled flashbacks amid battle—an aspect that many action-shounen series I think are struggling with. Typically, flashbacks serve to heighten the tension as the hero faces imminent defeat or to add depth to the villain’s character before their inevitable downfall. However, Frieren takes a different approach. Its flashbacks are seamlessly woven into the narrative, offering world-building and more layers to its important characters. It’s also paced extremely well that it doesn’t feel dragging the fight or anything.
The flashback uncovered the important role Flamme played in introducing magic to humanity. Previously, magic was deemed taboo among humans because they saw that only demons used it. However, Flamme advocated for researching it further and persuaded the emperor to allow humans to delve into it a lot deeper. What drove her to go this far is because of her dream: she wanted to share the beauty of magic with her own kind, envisioning an era where anyone could wield its power. Thanks to Flamme’s efforts, we get to meet mages like Denken, Ubel, Sense, and especially Fern. Without Flamme, they wouldn’t even be here in the king’s tomb in the first place. Sadly though, Flamme is still human and she can only do so much in her lifetime, only seeing her dream start fulfilling but never getting to witness the end of it. Nevertheless, she “entrusted” Serie with continuing her legacy but she knew that Serie would ultimately decline due to her character, which the episode also shed some light on.
Serie and Flamme’s relationship does somewhat remind me of Frieren and Fern. Even though Serie is a bit of tsundere, not admitting that she actually cares for her human apprentice, she does bear some qualities like Frieren but they have very contrasting ideals. The flashback’s final scene was very clear that although they have a passion for magic, these two elves don’t share the same perspective when it comes to it at all. Due to Flamme’s dream slowly becoming a reality, Serie warns Frieren that the age of humanity is coming, and in terms of storytelling, this scene is very powerful.
While both elves continue their walk, Serie alerts Frieren not to slack off in her training, hinting that her only true threats are the demon king or a human mage. As Serie turns her back on the sunlight, she ominously predicts humanity’s rising strength, foreseeing a future where humans rival demons in magical prowess. In contrast, Frieren eagerly anticipates encountering new mages, basking in the sun’s warmth as she embraces the idea of a world where magic is widespread. This beautiful moment captures the stark contrast between Serie’s apprehension toward humanity’s potential and Frieren’s optimism for a future filled with mages of the new era.
Subtleties like this are what make Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End such an amazing series. And to think, this flashback was delivered in the best way possible– to deliver the final scene of Frieren smiling after Fern “Zoltraaking” her master’s replica to conclude the episode. It truly was a glorious end to another outstanding episode, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the episode that will end the reign of The Dangers in My Heart in our weekly polls.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End episode 25 screenshots via Muse Asia
© Yamada Kanehito, Abe Tsukasa /Shogakukan / “Sousou no Frieren” Production Committee
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