I missed a chunk of your explanation because one of the close shots of Serie stopped my brain with the realization that she’s wearing the parts of Flamme’s earrings that Frieren’s earrings are missing. The level of detail in this show!
I noticed it around the 2:00 mark and then had to go back to another video to make sure Serie had no earrings in the flashbacks to Flamme’s time. Another reactor had pointed out that Frieren (current) wears the same earrings as Flamme (1,000 years ago), but Flamme’s have brassy bits above and below the jewels, and Frieren’s have them only above. So deductively, Serie’s brassy earrings are the missing pieces.@@onepromaster69yt82
But Serie doesnt like peace, it's why she didn't want to defeat the Demon king. If she would go out to battle and easily beat the demons then she would end up bringing peace and slowing magic development. Where as Frieren wants/needs to fight the demons because she wants peace
@@netoisthebest Not true, when she heard Macht finally went rogue, she immidiately arrived and went for the kill. Macht only survived because the other mages think they could do somthing about the curse. She doesn't care about weaker Demons but Macht and co are assuredly on her hit list. Given the heaviest hiiters on both sides hadn't showef up on the frontline for thousand of years, likely she and the Demon King had some way to keep each other at bay.
Excluding Frieren for 1000 years is likely to make Frieren one of the most remembered mages. As long as that organization exists it will have to teach it's receptionists to reject Frieren.
That’s a good point. But Goddess help Frieren if she isn’t right outside the organization’s doors to visit Grandma Serie the day after the ban is lifted.
I also think it is important to separate what Serie says with what she does. She *says* that Frieren is wasting her time and effort learning how to suppress her magic aura, yet SHE DOES THE VERY SAME THING. She gives the impression that she barely cares about her apprentices, yet she remembers all of their favorite spells and apparently many other tidbits about them. She tells Frieren that she can't be a 1st Class Mage, but Frieren is the one who trained Fern, and she is very impressed with Fern's potential. Interesting, isn't it?
I think it's important to recognize that Serie's suppressed mana is the same as Frieren's unsuppressed mana, and that that amount of mana is enough to scare most humans. Serie likely has such an extreme amount of mana that had she not learned how to perfectly suppress it she would probably be incapable of living among humans due to how terrifying they'd find her mana. Serie does genuinely think that Frieren wasted her time learning such extreme suppression, as like she said Frieren would've been a far more capable mage had she dedicated that time to learning magic instead of suppression, but that doesn't necessarily mean she disagrees with learning it period, just that Frieren learned it before it was "necessary" which majorly slowed down her growth as a mage.
I wonder if serie is doing the opposite of frieren. Instead of suppressing her mana she’s making it look like it’s more than it is since she does the opposite. Just a high thought I had
@@h20lucifer24 That wouldn't make any sense, we know the amount of mana someone has is well established to be directly related to how long the person has been using magic. For someone like Serie who has been practicing magic for vastly longer than Frieren has even been alive it would break the world building to have her have less mana than Frieren.
Serie basically chooses based on whether they are afraid of her or not. Everyone who failed was terrified of her power. Except for Frieren. Serie just knows that Frieren doesn't even care about being under her in the first place. Serie and Frieren don't like or hate each other. They view the whole world differently and they just decided not to be a bother to each other. Serie certainly wishes Frieren would join her side. But just accepts that Frieren isn't the same as her.
Frieren is Serie’s rebellious, hippy granddaughter that refuses to settle down with her in the massive organization that she built from the ground up, and instead is content wandering around the world like a vagabond.
What I enjoy about Serie is that she doesn't really practice what she preaches. Like she calls Frieren's approach to magic stupid, but knows pretty much every spell Frieren does even though they're 'useless' and despite looking down on mana suppression ALSO suppresses her mana. Then she gets all fussy about apprentices and outliving them but secretly remembers everything about them and continues to take on more. I'm just waiting for her to wave a stick at someone and yell at them to get off her lawn but then put out playground equipment for little kids or something.
In my opinion. Serie checks for what the participants would do against an impossible challenge (herself). Most saw the challenge and froze before taking action, thus failing. For those that passed, Wirbel and Derken at least considered the challenge before giving up, Ubel thinks she could take on the challenge, Land was trying to cheat through the challenge, Methode didnt even see her as a challenge, and Fern literally saw the correct way to solve the impossible challenge. The reason why she is so angry at Frieren is because she already passed another impossible challenge (demon lord) and literally choose to not even try to pass this one.
I like to think Serie failed Frieren because she wants Frieren to go on a journey collect those spell herself, since Frieren told Serie that the hard work of finding grimoire
@@11Karakan While that would be "fair", you have to remember that First Mages are not really just a rank, but also a group that works for Serie. It's not like having your driver's licence, they are actually suppoused to perform tasks for Serie and the Continental Mage Association. So this is a job - a prestigious, powerful job - so people are suppoused to want it. But Frieren clearly doesn't give less of a shit. She doesn't even care about the spell, she just wants to bypass a specific regulation. So Serie was essentially "if you don't actually want it, you won't have it" It's like Frieren wants to pass the BAR just so she can get a lawyer's discount on the bookstore,
Almost immediately after Serie fails Frieren, we are shown the flashback where Frieren delivers Flamme's will to Serie, and we have Serie saying to Frieren that taking 1000 years to make an important decision is no big deal to an elf. And almost in the very next scene we find out that Serie has banned Frieren from entering CMA facilities for exactly 1000 years. The juxtaposition of these two scenes right after the test scene puts an additional perspective on why Serie failed Frieren, which is that both Serie and Frieren, for differing reasons, do not think Frieren gaining the First Class Mage title at this specific moment is important in any way. Serie is basically saying to Frieren "go home, if you change your mind about it, come back in 1000 years and you can have the First Class Mage title then."
It does seem obvious which way Serie wants Frieren to go when that time comes. She wants her granddaughter to give up her wandering ways and settle down with her to help run and expand her budding empire. She’s such a hopeless tsundere.
Like Serie, Frieren is a Great Mage. Her taking the first class mage test is like a Navy SEAL trying to join the Boy Scouts because he's bored. that's why she fails her
@@Ekafeman Remember at the beginning how Frieren initially didn't want to even take the test at all, and just let Fern take it solo, but then Fern expressed doubt about her ability to pass. Frieren basically just took the test to provide moral support for Fern (whom she was confident from the beginning would be able to pass).
I've seen a lot of people say that Serie hasn't had people in her life that helped her like Flamme and Himmel did for Frieren. However, I think that while this may be somewhat true, it's also downplaying their true natures: (1) From what we've seen of Frieren, she has always been a kind and peaceful person. It was the massacre of her village that changed her. Flamme (at the end of her life) and Himmel (throughout their journey) helped her regain/remember that old self. While Serie has been less developed, but just going off of her existing scenes, she treats magic as a tool for killing and sees value in strength for strength's sake. So, I would say that they are still fundamentally different people and see the world differently. (2) Another difference is how they handle their emotions. Frieren is kind of a kuudere. She wasn't originally aware of her feelings for Himmel and the party (hence her cold demeanor), but when she becomes aware, she's pretty honest with her feelings. As opposed to Serie, who probably is aware of her feelings, and yet always puts up a heavy tsundere (mainly just tsun) act.
she wears it with everything around her everyone she cares about is incorporated into her environment from her spell list to the very garden she lives in
@@mesiagamer5217 Sure, Serie cares about her disciples to some extent. However, not only does she not express that properly to them, but she does the tsun act as well, which probably hurts them at least a little. Just look at Flamme and Lernen. Flamme most likely didn't dislike Serie, but she probably didn't enjoy spending time with her either, even though Serie was a mother-figure and mentor/teacher to her. We know this because Flamme never visited Serie once during her life after the meeting where she introduced Frieren to Serie. That's ~50 years of never visiting your master/foster-mother. There has to be a reason especially for Flamme who was such a wise and caring person. As for Lernen, he has been her disciple for ~50 years, and yet we can easily conclude that he's never been told "I'll remember you" or "I'm proud of you" or similar things from Serie. This has caused him enough anguish that became the reason for him wanting to go down in history by any means (even bad ones), until Frieren managed to set him straight by telling him the truth about Serie and her feelings. Something that Serie failed to do for her own disciple for ~50 years. Comparatively, Frieren was/is already a better master to Fern even though she's much younger and much less experienced in relationships/teaching/etc. Now, you could argue that Serie is cold because of her much longer life or defense mechanisms or other such reasons. But it's still a fact that she comes off as quite cold and we don't actually know for a fact how much of it is inherent to her as a person, and how much was learned through her vast life experiences. My own experience suggests that people rarely if ever change on a fundamental level regardless of how much life experience they get. They may act somewhat differently, but their core is still basically the same. This is also something that Heiter says more or less in the Ep14/Ch29 flashback to Frieren. Finally, please keep this discussion spoiler-free or at least properly give warnings before posting any manga spoilers, and also post them in such a way that it's not immediately visible to all (ie, hide them behind RUclips's "Read more"), since anime-onlys may end up seeing this as well.
I mean, it's worth noting that Serie taught Flamme. So saying that "Serie hasn't had people in her life that helped her like Flamme" is misleading. Flamme herself said in that flashback that Frieren was different to _both_ Serie and Flamme, that she was a mage who could and would thrive in a world without the Demon Lord. And also, notably, that this was the reason she's defeat the Demon Lord where Serie wouldn't bother and Flamme just couldn't. (Or however the reasoning went, the point is Flamme expected neither of them to take out the Demon Lord.) Now, Himmel's influence on the other hand...that probably did have a sizeable impact on Frieren's mindset and unwillingness to shift her views in line with Serie. Though, the fact that Flamme was noting the divergent mindset 1000 years before Himmel was even born means that he probably helped bring Frieren's philosophies and strong points to her own attention rather than being the inception of such things. Even Flamme probably can't claim too much credit; she was from what I can tell trying to help a young elf onto the path that her master was already walking and _failed spectacularly_ before realizing that her failure was actually probably a good thing. After all, no matter how militant her mindset about magic was, and how unflinchingly underhanded she was willing to be about anything that gave her an edge in combat...she was still the sort of person who most liked to just conjure up a field of flowers and drink in the beauty of the moment. And...well...it's not like Serie took _nothing_ from that relationship, either. Even 1000 years later, she still used that same flower spell to create a magnificent garden for herself, and was as focused on drinking in its beauty as she was in vibe-checking the test-takers. She seems to understand Frieren's point of view perfectly well, she just doesn't think it will help her reach the height of magic and so has (mostly) discarded it. And yet...she can't quite bring herself to fully commit, it seems, because some things are just beautiful enough that inefficiency be damned you've gotta admire them.
Also it’s directly pointed out she does care. She has an objective though. She’s training humans to be war mages. This isn’t a personal adventure for her. This is her job.
The impression I got from Serie is that when she says that she is a living grimoire, she meant it literally. That she is more interested in collecting spells than any individual person. I see her proctoring the last test as to view people's potential and ambition. And by that ambition, whether or not they could formulate a new spell.
Mana recognition is both a personality test and a capacity test. You have to have the capability to sense her fluctuations first and foremost, then on top of that you have to actually have the nerve to use that capability to assess her. Most other contestant have the nerve, but not the capability. Land has the nerve to think "can I trick her?", Ubel has the nerve to think "can I cut her?", Denken has the nerve to think "can I beat her?". Only Fern did both. Visualisation is important as a human mage, so Serie only gives a pass to the mages that believes (or assume) that they can surpass or at the very least match her in one aspect (trickery, disguise, fight).
When most mages look at Serie, they have one of two thoughts: 1) “What kind of monster is this?!” 2) “Hmm… how can I beat her…?” Those who think the former are immediately failed and dismissed. While the latter, even if only for a moment, think that there’s a chance of winning, and are passed and considered worthy of Serie’s attention. Menthode is an outlier. Either Serie really liked being called cute, or she was the perfect amount of unhinged for Serie to pass her.
@@coltonwilliams4153i dont entirely agree with that. Wirbel definitely thought shes a monster and that he could never beat her. What differentiates him, is he kept his composure. He accepted it as a fact and moved on. Thats why serie gave him a chance by asking him about his favourite spell. To which he gave a satisfying answer to her. One that is rational and combat oriented. Like a battle mage.
@@hulmhochberg8129 TBF Wirbel was more of a "Can this opponent be beaten? Hell no, moving on" At no point did he let fear cloud his rational thinking. The failed ones were scared on sight, he looked at the situation logically and came to a logical conclusion.
I think people will appreciate this arc more once season 2 drops because this arc introduced many characters who will be more relevant in season 2. But from what I've seen people already love this arc. All 136 chapters of frieren so far has been amazing. It is just one great arc after another
I could tell by the way we spent so much time with them that the new characters would be important later on. How does reading the manga affect watching the anime? Should I read the manga?
@@sooyster4033 Season 1 is almost a perfect adaptation of the manga. So if you want to continue the storyline then you can start reading from chapter 61 of the manga. Frieren manga is great overall. It gets even better after the events of season 1 in my opinion. But if you can wait 1-2 years for season 2 then it's worth it too since almost all the key staff members who made season 1 are also coming back to make a season 2
@@sooyster4033 the arc after where anime s1 ends is AMAZING. you absolutely should read it. its an absolute joy to love the manga and then watching the anime make it even better.
I just realized for the second test, what made it diabolical was Sense entered the dungeon with them ensuring there would be at least one first level mage to be defeated for the test takers. If there were three powerful mages there would be three powerful clones plus the sense clone...the scale is tipped in favor of the Dungeon.
I mean it was already true even without that considering there were traps too =p And the replica being equally matched does force cooperation already. If anything what it does is put a minimum cap on the power a group would need to be able to pass, if nobody can deal with sense they lose, which, fair enough, having to be able to beat a first class mage in the right conditions seems like a reasonable requirement for becoming one yourself.
Though I often wonder how it would go. Friern help the girls pass, who in turn had vital info about the core trap of the dungeon, which then allow them to come up with a decent plan. though I guess it might have change who would also be in the 1st round of winner too.
Also her garden where she likes spending time She called the magic to make a field of flowers useless, but it looks like she really enjoys looking at it
There’s no other reason for her to constantly complain about taking humans as her apprentices, while also perfectly memorizing her apprentices’ favorite spells, activities, and meals.
She also knew that Frieren didn't care to be a "first class mage" as to her it was just an ephemeral title granted by an organization that will change over time and ahe had already secured such a title with that amulet from the holy city that she had. There was just no point in making Frieren a "first class mage".
Fully agree, but it's still interesting and kind of hilarious that she failed her out of a difference in ideology. Does she have a solid reason for failing her or is she just petty af? who knows lol. Por qué no los dos?
I think some of the analysis around Serie almost infantalizes her. Serie knows what human connection is, the entire conversation she has with Frieren about Flamme shows it. The show goes out of its way to demonstrate that Serie remembers her apprentices. Serie, more than Frieren, has lived among humans. The difference is Serie has been worn down by it. She can't allow herself to truly be vulnerable because of how much losing her apprentices hurt. Frieren at this point hasn't even reconciled how losing Himmel has hurt her. Serie is frustrated with Frieren for a number of reasons, but at least some of it is demonstrably her belief that Frieren CANNOT understand human empathy, something she holds until she talks to Fern and realizes how Frieren has changed. Because remember, the last time they really talked, Frieren had just lost Flamme who she essentially stole away from Serie for 50 years. Serie is torn up by it, even if she can't admit it aloud we see her reminiscing about the young Flamme. But Frieren? Frieren doesn't even go look for Flamme's legacy for a thousand years. Serie gets human interaction. She's burdened herself to live with humans because Flamme asked her to and Serie couldn't refuse the wish of her beloved apprentice. And she loves her apprentices, enough to remember all of them at all stages of her life. Serie cannot express that well, or may not want to have to address that because of the sheer amount of loss she must've experienced in those thousand years of gathering and losing apprentices. A burden she believes Frieren can never understand.
I love how much discussion this series has sparked, it's just so cleverly thought out by the author. I'm very happy to live in this time to experience anime of such high caliber.
Freiren is arguably one of the deepest animes in the past couple years. There's soo much nuance I gathered just by watching it, each episode really left an impact on me, no wasted frames.
Something interesting to point out that i don't see discussed often is that Serie is able to read people immediately upon meeting them. What strikes me most about Methode's exam isn't that she isn't afraid of Serie or that she finds her cute, it's that Serie has to ask what Methode is thinking about. Being unable to read her as she so confidently did the others has some meaning i would imagine.
It's possible that Serie can read, but only gets limited context. She had to ask Methode because her thoughts were incomprehensible to someone like Serie, and had to ask Fern because it simply didn't occur to her that a fledgling mage could see the flicker in her aura.
Very nice video. What I´d seen it as, it´s that while of course it´s a vibe check (Frieren herself says it, Serie will choose based on her instincts, and her instincts are always right), Serie wants whoever manages to become a 1st range mage not to think "ok I´m at the top there´s nothing more to do", she wants people who will keep elevating magic. I think that list you gave of Serie´s criteria is very accurate. She wants people who doesn´t fear her, even if they admit defeat, if they don´t fear her mana, the participants will strive to go higher, Even Methode saying she sees her small and cute is a proof she´s not afraid of her. She wants to see potential of course. She says to Denken "I thought your fire had already burned but you still have it in you", because she thinks Denken can still go higher.
I enjoyed how one of the requirements was not being afraid of a superior mage. Someone with greater power is a problem to overcome, not something to cower from. That's the mentality she wants in First Class mages. After all magic makes the impossible possible, so someone who sees a great challenge as something to beat probably can.
Frieren is a great subversion of this new wave of Japanese fantasy (which is itself largely influenced by Western fantasy conventions). Serie is completely utilitarian with her magic, but Frieren's philosophy of kindness and compassion is seen in-universe as quite appealing. It really comes down to one's personal philosophy; there isn't a universal "correct" answer.
Always love videos about exploring Frieren! The most satisfying moment is when Fern asked Serie for the best laundry magic -Grandma- Mama Frieren is so proud xD
A I saw it Serie judges if a person has not only the skills, but also determination and dedication to get to the highest hights of magic and beyond. The reason why Frieren is disqualified is because she's mostly just playing around. She doesn't feel the urge to improve her magic beyond her limits, it's just her hobby kind of.
I like this video essay because it isn't just a summary. You actually went through the effort to connect this moment to the themes of show. Nice work! I wish more video essayist were like you.
You should look at Serie's actions instead of her words more, I think. She might talk a lot about efficiency and other stuff, yet she has collected and learned nearly every spell ever discovered. She might prefer to sit on her ass and not interfere directly, but she was a feared demon hunter. Serie dislikes a lot of things, and she did most of those herself at some point in her life. And she had more time than anyone to think about consequences of her decisions. Maybe, except for Kraft. Who also doesn't look overly eager to rush in action and enforce justice, despite having a good heart.
I just imagine serie understanding that eventually humans will rise up and the elves will no longer be needed in the world. Humans are greedy, arrogant, fearful and more. I imagine that some day organizations will rise up and try hunting down all elves or all overly strong individuals
The test actually only had one criteria. Ambition. The mages that could see themselves matching serie one day passed. Even if it was just for a moment and in any domain. If they wanted to even try taking her place in any way they passed. Thats why frieren didnt pass despite being the strongest. She has no ambition. She just has hobbies.
In raw power, Frieren is obviously outclassed by Serie, but Frieren is more of a team player than Serie, and that is how she might stand a chance against her.I think this is what OP meant when they said Frieren is Serie's match. It's not just about raw power. After all, Frieren has lost to opponents who had weaker auras than her.
When series 3 of Konosuba aired earlier this year, it occured to me that if Megumin had taken this test, she would have had a good chance of passing, thanks to her overwhelming confidence and laserlike focus on magic as a force for defeating powerful enemies.
Megumin in the Frieren magic system of power being apportioned to belief would be a literal nuclear bomb - the only time she ever waivers on her favouritism towards explosion magic, Kazuma bumped its power up more lol
There were hints, such as Ubel commenting on the clone taking the recall vial but he was nonchalant about it. But to your point, unless you had seen that Eidolon trick done before, it was not something one would expect.
Excellent review of the Exam arc. While some have criticised this ending, to introduce a brace of new characters, show them in action and how they behave under stress and then they don't have to tell the readers about them. In your face is always more memorable than narrative. There is actually a very serious question involved: Who is right? Frieren or Serie? "For when man has the power to do anything, then anything he will do." - Qifrey WHA 2025
It's also quite realistic, you would be surprised how many institutions in society have their version of a vibe test(though it is usually done over the course of a longer period of time) the petty little games included, deans and professors failing students purely to stroke their own egos or to maintain some artificial standard being prime examples.
In my opinion, the criteria for the last test is very simple: whether you have both the magical capability AND the mental preparedness of being a first class mage. The first one is easy, as most of the people there already proved themselves in the first two exams. The last exam is mainly filtering the second criteria, and it doesn't matter how they does it. You can just be bold (Land), abnormal (Übel), efficiently minded but still try to fight (Denken), can just fight regardless (Wirbel), simply don't care about power level (Methode), or focusing on her weak point instead of her obvious "she's million times stronger than you" magical power (Fern). She don't just want strong mages; she want ones that are actually capable of applying that strength regardless of situation. Even Frieren is no exception (or at least it isn't in her eyes), as she's too lax to use her full potential. It doesn't matter if she's objectively strong anyways, she's a disappointment in her eyes because she could've been so much more. In the first place, first-class mage are defined as mages that received the approval of Serie, which means most of them would be strong mages but their strength actually matters less than what people thought.
Frieren herself even describes herself as a mediocre mage. She hyper focused on mana suppression and killing demons for a 1000 years, but actually she just wants to chill and make flowers or sour grapes for her friends.
I think it is also very telling HOW people pass or fail the test The test is basically - you are thrown in a impossible challenge, and you have a split second to figure out how to tackle it. Kanne fails because she doesnt think she can do it. And creating a vision is the greatest part of magic Dunste, Laufen, Scharf and Ehre fail similarly - they are not yet capable of tackling something impossible Wirbel and Derken go through "how can I defeat this" moment, before figuring out it is impossible. They pass because they dont give up before trying Ubel is crazy hyperconfident, and not being able to defeat it never crosses her mind. She doesnt care if she dies trying Land also passes before he even begun - he made failing not part of the process, simply because he is not there. Serie respects that. Methode didnt even see her as a challenge. So she doesnt envision the failure. Fern realized that the challenge presented was not the real challenge. While Serie dislikes her, she can't deny that she is the only one that sees that she they would be playing chess, and not the checkers that is presented to everyone else. And Frieren.... well, Serie has a beef with her. Frieren doesnt want to be a first class mage - not in the way Serie wants first class mages. She just aced a test to be a rocket scientist, but she wants to be a dentist. Serie sees that, and basically tells her to come back the day she actually wants what Serie is offering.
Near the finale of the tournament I was expecting that traditional huge boss fight. But I was so unbothered and satisfied with the ending we did get, that I forgot I did not get a "finale boss fight" until your video popped up. That's excellent writing at work, both you and Frieren.
The scene with Himmle and the flowers and Series perspective is perfectly encapsulated by another wizard duo, Gandalf and Saruman. “Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.”
Thanks for the analysis of this actually complex bit of story-telling. I thought Serie failed Frieren because she was ticked that Frieren broke her "unbreakable barrier," even though that wasn't mentioned in their brief post-test conversation. It became apparent early-on that Frieren knew well in advance that Serie would never pass her as a First Class Mage.
Also take note of the reward fern took. The spell serie disregarded as useless. The spell to keep your clothes clean would be really useful in a fight against a demon that can use his blood to track you. The show keeps making the point that demons and those that value raw power above all are destined for doom
And without realizing it, that may be why Serie acknowledged Fern. Fern under Freiren's tutelage found new and inventive ways to use old spells, something near immortal Serie has long forgotten.
Power fantasies are all fun and enjoyable to consume in media But fantasy/fictional stories that focuses more on the world and it's stories will always be high up on my list things I love in media. This series is really good at telling not only freiren's story but everyone elses and even the influence they had on the world. I will say, hearing in the past the teaser of "story about a character after the demon lord's defeat" made me look but never really thought it to be something I'll love. But yet here I am saying that Freiren is one of the series that will always stick in my head
Serie's final test seemed to boil down to anyone who wasn't afraid of her after seeing her mana, and/or dared to challenge her after seeing her mana. The other questions were just to supplement her understanding of the states of mind like how she thought Fern was afraid of her (stating Fern is just like everybody else), but later learned she was actually seeing her fluctuations and not afraid of her. People who were clearly intent on fighting her like Ubel passed right away. People Serie were uncertain of their intentions like the girl who thought she was small and cute were questioned so Serie can understand their thoughts like she did with Fern. As long as they weren't afraid of her mana they would have passed no matter how they answered the question just like how Frieren would have failed now matter how she answered.
Serie is just a tsundere, and it takes like 200 years for her to open up to someone. Which means for most people, they are dead before she gets to her warm and kind stage.
I really love this show. It really is very different from most anime in the way it tells it's story and treats it's subjects. It feels respectful to both it's audience and it's characters in how they give you room to interpret the characters and make you think about what makes them them besides the superficial
Good analysis! I may be wrong or late to the party here but I've noticed tonight that Serie will have a bigger, more detailed smile than the main crew or especially Frieren. It seems though that its only when something interests her. Serie isn't just some egotistical elf brat she's incredibly old and clearly filled with wisdom. I love the idea of Serie being the version of Frieren who never met Himmel, but like is shown in her episodes she makes the connections necessary to remember all her past students as well as their favorite spells. It's possible that Frieren isn't just Serie that has met her Himmel, but Serie is a Frieren after *several* Himmels.
Well technically Serie doesn't see hiding mana to deceive one's enemy completely useless since it's clearly a technique almost purely for combat. That's why Serie herself "wasted" enough time to be able to do it even better than Frieren, despite having a much larger mana pool to hide. And though this is just my headcannon, it is probably something Serie taught to Flamme before Flamme passed it down to Frieren, both masters doing so as a combat skill.
Frieren not knowing that Serie is suppressing her mana mean that Serie was already suppressing it when Frieren met her 1000 years ago so yes she don't think that it's useless. It's probably Serie who told this magic to Flamme too I think
It could be the reverse. Just as the flower making magic, Flamme gave Serie enough impression that Serie is looking back at her fondly and decide to take up both spells as a way to try to "understand" Flamme. In a sense, Flamme is like Himmel to Frieren. However, Frieren decides to trace the humanity of Himmel while Serie is stuck tracing only the magic of Flamme.
@@pouf6463 I'm pretty sure Frieren knows that Serie is suppressing her mana. She's simply chosen not to comment on it. After all, Serie's suppressed mana is equal to Frieren's unsuppressed mana, and Frieren knows that Serie's true mana is much greater than her own.
The thing that Serie said was inefficient wasn't just hiding your mana. Hiding your mana temporarily during battle so your opponent has trouble tracking your movement or telling where and when an attack is coming from is a pretty standard combat tactic (which we in fact see Serie use in battle later in the manga). What Serie called inefficient was suppressing your mana ALL THE TIME and honing your skill at it to the point where even Demons can't tell that you are doing it. But the context of how she said it also matters. Because in the very next sentence after pronouncing that it was "inefficient" she goes on to say that it helped Frieren kill more demons. And what is Frieren most famous for? Killing the freakin DEMON KING. So just as with a lot of other things Serie has said, she said one thing out loud but immediately implied the very opposite with the next words out of her mouth. Another aspect of Serie's words on this subject is the context of who she is talking to. Namely her assembled First Class Mage students, and Lernen specifically. And she is basically telling them that to get as good as Frieren is at mana suppression takes longer than a human lifetime of training, unless you happen to be born with some innate talent at it to begin with. So she's also in Teacher Mode, basically telling her students not to try to copy Frieren, because it isn't practically achievable for a regular human being with a regular human lifespan.
The Differences between Frieren and Serie: A tangent (Long comment warning, read at your own discretion.) The whole special club Serie made was once something she scoffed at, a novel concept of "sharing" power in an organization, until her best student made it her dying wish. It just took her a while to get around to it. Some elves no matter how ancient are just perpetual contrarians like rebellious teenagers. 😂 She isn't all that different from Frieren in my perspective, the biggest difference is their ambitions (Frieren has little if any actual ambition towards power or aspirations of goals. She's just a little cute chaos goblin that is learning to love through her humans) Frieren blows the entire first class mage premise out of the water because the woman was trained by Flammel, the literal most powerful human mage to have ever lived, Serie's own apprentice. Put any First Class Mage against her, and they are loosing without question. They'll probably get one or a few good shots in sure, like we saw with the old mage dude in the show, but win? No. Which is why the final test is basically a vibe check for the others and a tsk tak towards Frieren for basically modding her testing game 😂 Tbh it's a little odd to me they'd even classify elves the same way as humans considering the difference in life spans and magical disposition. Frieren shows us how often these things change. Shouldn't the cute but ancient being that predates most humans guilds get a pass? Like they should be aware of who Frieren is, especially since elves aren't that common. One who managed to help Slay the Demon King should be on the books already. Not every elf is a powerful mage, but every elf mage we've seen so far has been ridiculously powerful. The whole final test she wasn't judging Frieren on her abilities, that's trivial when Serie knows what Frieren is capable of. She was only upset that Frieren's perspective of the world hadn't changed much, despite Himmel and the rest altering her understanding of time and relationships, she's always remained true to her personality and former mistress's teachings. Serie wants people around her who thirst for active goals, something she's found in select few humans, politics aspirations, dominance in society, to slay all of ones enemies etc... something that excites her. She's like a a min-maxxer with murder hobbo tendencies gamer while Frieren is the gamer who puts mods on that gender swaps every character because it's funny and is too busy exploring the map, hoarding ever spell or object in existence to do the actual main quest in a reasonable amount of time. Frieren has the chaotic little Stardew Valley farm that grows just enough to make money and spends her time in the mines or foraging random stuff, giving odd gifts and accidentally ending up married to someone, while Serie has the perfectly made farm down to the last square of dirt, finished all the mines in a speed run and has gotten so board of talking to the towns people she's basically stopped unless it's to get more achievements. They really are the same blue print of powerful potential, but ultimately one wants world domination but the predictablity of staying behind walls in single city most of the time. The other is just content to play with funny little spells, make pretty things grow, take decades to understand her emotions towards a man who loved her his entire life, adopt some children and travel on random adventures just for the heck of it. I really like their dynamic and different approaches to life. Serie is judging Frierens growth but in a way Frieren was judging Serie too, because while Frieren has been out in the world recently learning about humanity on a fundamental level, building relationships and allowing herself to discover what it is to love, Serie has kept her walls up, literally and metaphorically, having her students at arm's length when inside she value each one so much, but can't express it. While Frieren failed Serie's test, I believe Serie got a passable score to Frieren. Serie is an elven mage that likes and enjoys people but has fallen in love with magic. Frieren is an elven mage who likes and enjoys magic but has fallen in love with people. I think that's the most fitting summary of the core difference between the two.
Serie has a warrior mindset in which emotions are a hindrance. Getting in touch with one's emotions is probably something that she has delayed for thousands of years
I look at Serie and Frieren as two different outcomes of the same person. They both struggle with connection and reconciling the passage of time, but they've made opposing choices. They exist as two branches of the same tree, and we can see in them the two possible outcomes of their different mindsets even though we also see the overlap.
Serie plays the game of deceiving demons with mana herself. She is most likely even the one who taught that to Flamme and Frieren by that extend. She says that it is extremely time consuming and not worth the effort to her human students, which makes sense, because they don´t have that much time. Also, at least in the anime, there is no sign of anyone finding out about Fern suppressing her mana. Maybe she fooled even Serie with that.
Yeah. Lugner figures it out, but only because Fern's output would otherwise be impossible. He didn't sense her suppression. Notably, Linie didn't notice despite being a specialist in mana detection, even among demons. Makes sense, since Heiter knew Frieren's trick and likely taught Fern suppression in his Magic 101. It's not just second nature to Fern like it is for Frieren, it's *first* nature.
@AscendantOat Yeah, Heiter knew Frieren's trick, but it doesn't seem like he taught it to Fern. Maybe he couldn't get the concept across so he told Fern to simply erase all her mana. When Frieren was complaining that she always gets lost in those woods, to suddenly hear a little voice say "Can I help you?"must have startled her. The expression on her face as she stared at Fern, you could almost hear her thinking "Where did this little girl come from? And how come I can't detect her mana?" This leads me to believe that Fern was born with the ability.
I always interpreted it as Serie simply weighing frieren on a whole different scale from the other participants. She simply is just not as strong as she SHOULD be for her age. Serie herself is suppressing her mana and the sheer size of it is incredibly massive despite that. And for that, she was failed.
Serie and Frieren are old mages destined to be surpassed. They see the age of man on the horizon. Serie wants to be the one to shape that new age. Both of them recognize Fern as the mage who could usher in the age of man, which is why Serie wants Fern to be her apprentice. But being gentle and kind is why Frieren will shape the age of man with Fern, Magic can and should be more than a tool for killing.
Serie doesn't exactly want people to use magic for war. It is more that she seems to be looking for people who will impose their will on the world. Freiren doesn't love the field of flowers spell because she wants to fill the world with flowers or beautiful things, but because she uses it to recall both her master's happiness and magic's beautiful potential. Freiren makes a point in the series to collect magic to serve other people, while the first class mages nearly universally pursue magic as a path toward achieving personal goals. That is the difference between Freiren and Serie's fields of flowers. Serie has a lonely, beautiful garden with flowers divided from one another by order. But Freiren always casts the spell outdoors, unbound by borders, to connect with other people.
Its worth noting that serie is clearly a low key tsundere. She chastises those for having interest in peaceful spells, but she herself has created a room of flowers, I would believe in memoriam of her favorite and most inspirational student. She also still has the laundry spell, it's not like she threw it away. I think serie, is an interpretation of how people deal with the menace of time by detaching, but as living beings we can never 100% detach. Freiren is taking the opposite approach of in fact trying to acknowledge the feelings, which as indicated is somewhat un-elf-like. Apparently because when they do, they can just end up inconveniently crying for multiple weeks as they don't have a concept of time lol.
I really love this video and the in depth analysis of the final test, but the way you pronounce Serie’s name activates Siri on my iPad (the device I’m watching this on) almost every other time you say her name 😂 It’s honestly really funny. I’ve never experienced that before lol!
I think the actual test was if they had the potential to push magic forward, Frieren wants to rediscover lost magic not breaking new ground. Serie has seen so much she just wants to see something new and surprising, it wouldn't surprise me if she had advanced to being a god/demigod of some kind of magic knowledge given this trait
It also definitely lends credence to how effective of a teacher Freiren is for Fern. Without attending any actual school Fern has managed to become a first class mage at a very young age. When we see how few first class mages there are we get perspective of how far she’s come training with Freiren. More so than just fighting monsters since we know there are other adventurers. Others who fight demons.
this aged well after the newest chapter serie revealed that those who picked the magic that's unexpected bg serie are the ones that surpass her expectation
to add to your last point about kindness influencing everything, Fern was able to see Serie and show her immense potential as a nearly direct result of Frieren showing Himmel that spell. Frieren inspired Himmel to become the hero after their adventure, Heiter retires, takes in Fern even if Heiter would've taken in Fern regardless, it's because of the adventure that he can get Frieren to train her it's also because of the adventure that Frieren needs (someone)to take the mage exam resulting in Fern appearing before Serie
The thing with Fern's observation being the lynchpin is that it isn't something Frieren taught her. It's not about how she's grown. She's been Frieren's apprentice and Frieren's caretaker and will continue to be both. We don't need a tournament arc to show her growing as a powerful mage. We don't even need it to show her becoming independent. She's already shown the first, and the potential to be the second, and the lack of desire to go her own way. What we see instead is that she her place in life isn't just because Father Dad got his old elf friend to teach her to blow stuff up good. She has her own strengths even without Frieren's constant attentions.
Fern learned mana suppression and how to spot it from Freiren. Its funny how Serie hates Freiren's more peacful approach to magic, yet doesn't really deny how good she is as a mage and an instructor.
9:00 - tbf we knew that since Frieren mentioned that Fern has massive potential back during her training at Priest's place. She also mentioned Fern's incredible casting speed (? - maybe translation was not correct). And we also knew that from how she was able to fight equally and even overwhelm high level demon who lived for hundreds of years mastering his magic (Blood magic guy). Frieren's party is based af. Both in the past and in the present.
Well done. Nitpicking: 1. Feel like you have what it needs to be a first class mage is just visualization. 2. Well the "small and cute" opinion of Serie is not really the criteria; it just is a play over the corner way to express, that Serie's mana does not induce fear in the examinee. they are more like underpoints of visualization.
The second is especially true given how good Methode's mana detection is shown to be in the second test. She was the only one that could find Denken and Fern when they were hiding. On the flip side, it also means she would have been aware of and able to steel herself against Serie's massive mana before any of the other examiniees (barring Frieren, but she's already not intimidated by her - she wasn't even the first time they met).
I'm confused about your nitpick number 1. Are you asserting that visualization is all that's needed to be a first-class-mage? Or are you taking an issue with the video essay making that claim?
@@Diablos-pi2qy Well, I don't have an issue with the video, just that some points under the criteria Serie looks for in first-class mages are visualization just worded differently or boil down to visualization. Like the: "1. Do they feel like a first class mage?" It boils down to can they envision themselves being a first class mage, and another word for "envision" is visualize. Just as Serie says/explains to Kanne: "You can't even visualize yourself becoming a first-class mage. In the world of magic, what you can't envision cannot be." So asking if one feels like X is just a round about way to say can you envision you doing X can you visualize succeeding with X do you "feel confident". So long story short, yes visualization is what is needed to become a first-class mage.
@@Airwave2k2 I have to rewatch the video to double check the criteria. However, I just want to say that while visualization is definitely a must to be a first-class-mage, it's not the only condition for Serie imo. They also have to be decently strong or have enough potential for future growth (and not be Frieren). I doubt that Serie would accept a mage that is lacking in mana, technique, control, but excels at visualization.
Serie's checking to see how well people will handle threats that are beyond them, their self confidence, and if they'll be able to handle the pressure of living as a 1st class mage. If they're intimidated by her, they fail. If they can't even picture themselves as a first class mage after passing the two tests before getting a surprise third test, they fail.
I think its also demonstrated how Frieren had influenced Serie. After dismissing the magical suppression all those years ago we see that Serie did actually learn it and practises it herself. The bigger distinction between Serie and Frieren (via adopting her masters philosophy) is that Serie believes magic knowledge is something that should be hoarded and only sparingly shared (rewarding people with just one spell) because its a danger to elves dominance if magic becomes widespread knowledge to humans. Under Serie control there are very few human mages and the Exams are designed to fatally whittle them down even further.
Small critique: Serie also does the same Mana hide technique Frieren does, prob Flamme saw it and thats why she was chosen as apprentice in the First time, since i Don't think Serie would mock it if she would have taught it to her first apprentice.
I mean they do mention the test being done by Serie in person is almost never done was only done explicitly because it seemed that Frieren had disrupted things and carried her team further than they should have
I think there is another, deeper point to the difference between Frieren and Serie at play. Despite all her power, Serie would never have been able to kill the Demon King herself. As she says herself: "That which cant be imagined cannot be." As a true war-mage, the one thing she could not imagine would have been peace. Actually, thats what Flamme tells her when she and Frieren meet Serie. To bring forth an era of peace, you need a peace-loving mage.
In the end a what killed the demon king was a flower creation spell casted by a lonely elf tryig to calm a lost child in the middle of the night, while the most powerful mage was sit down on her trone of arrogance doing nothing.
Opinion of Serie actually has a slightly deeper meaning, because what Serie want in First Classes are mages who would not feel fear when presented with argubaly the most powerful being in existance. If someone thinks said being is cute instead of scary, this goes to show that that person is not afriad of Serie, thus passing Serie's criteria
Something I ALWAYS loved about Frieren is the random magic that exists that are the ones Frieren is hunting for. Fern really shows her master's quirks when she gets the magic to always keep your clothes clean from Serie and Frieren commends her on her choice. She could have gotten something to defeat pretty much any demon in their path in showy fashion, but no, a phenominally useful, random peasant utility spell. I know its meant more as a joke over the course of the series, but the peasant utility spells are the best ones. Who likes sour grapes? No one I know. What's the easiest way to play a joke on the grape lover in your life? Have them test and buy delicious, sweet grapes, and as soon as you touch them, turn them sour. Every. Single. Time. It's hilarious! Oitside of it being a silly jokenover the series, it really grounds the world in a similar way to Harry Potter. Why would they need to do X if they have magic to do it for them? It makes sense in Frieren's time where mages seem to be bought up by nations for use in war or to keep demons at bay. But clearly back in the day, mages were villiage level casters, that learned magic to better the lives of the people around them and make the toil of every day life a little easier. It's just a little nod and a wink to what we don't see, but I love it. The vibe check really encapsulates it. There are people that won't be an asset to Serie because of that mindset. People aiming to be a firat class mage for the purpose of gaining those spells and then probably just going home to live a peaceful life with a spell that mends holes in boats or a spell that changes the color of flowers in bouquets. Why would a person wanting to lead a peaceful life need a spell that creates a flaming tornado?
I don’t think Serie actually thinks poorly about Frieren. I’m more inclined to think she wants Frieren to continue on the path she’s on. If Serie meant the things she says then why does she still use Flamme’s flower spell? Why is she the leader of first class mages when she didn’t like the idea from Flamme’s will, but apparently still did it after destroying the will.
I honestly think most people are over thinking Series final test to make it more than it was. It was a childish notion from Serie that 12 people can't pass the test at once and that Frieren can't pass it either.
The way I read the final test is that Serie assesses every mage on the same metric: whether they can truly see themselves as a First Class Mage. Frieren failed this metric, because she couldn't see a scenario in which Serie passed her, and because she fundamentally disagrees with what being a first class mage actually means.
I would argue the Frieren diverges from Serie even earlier than meeting Himel. If Frieren wasn't taken under Flamme's wing, then I don't think she would've ever thought of magic as anything other than a weapon. After all, the spell that summons a flower field, was a gift from her teacher.
Serie isn't like a version of Frieren, that never met Himmel. She is like a Version of Frieren, that never spoke with anyone, including her own apprentice Flamme. Because it's Flamme, that gave the spark for Frierens character development.
Whats so morrally beautiful about this exam and fern passing it isnt some big power up or a deeper understanding of magic or anything. Its fern embracing the beauty of magic and the respect of both her master and her master's bully. Through this arc fern and the audience acknowledge 3 things • Fern is a prodigy with lots if potential Fern forces frieren to use a spell she hasnt used since she fought the demon king, dealing what is effectively the killing blow to a raid boss. And frieren nods to her power and is proud of what shes become. There is no longer any doubt whether or not fern is a competant mage or not. There is no debate, there is no arguement, fern is first class mage •Basic magic reigns supreme We see frieren conjuring blackholes, volcanos, golems, arc lightning and hell inferno, and the only thing that manages to damage clone frieren was basic offensive magic. Not once, not twice, but three consecutive times. Proving that you truly only need offense and defensive magic to defeat 99% of modern mages. The master of 1 defeats a novice of thousand. •Fern appreciate magic as an art and craft, not as tools and weapons. After all this, Fern's choice of spell was a rare laundry magic that makes her clothes smell nice. A simple, yet insurmountably useful spell for an adventurer. A lesson that teaches that magic is strong when it is the most used and useful, not when most destructive or advanced. The complexity of a simple refrigerator has changed the world ten fold compared to the nuclear bomb. Imagine a world without a fridge, how long would your milk last? You can imagine a world without nuclear fusion, sure you can, but youve been so accommodated by the fridge that you cant reall imagine a world without it. The little invention that better billions of lives across the world. That is the beauty of magic and conparitively-technology. Weve never seen frieren use her black hole spell once outside of trying to kill herself. Yet every episode we see the adventurers, their clothes are clean.
I sincerely believe and hope the show will go on to explain that Serie is failing Frieren repeatedly over this long period of time in a way not to punish her, but as a way to teach Frieren totally different from every other mage who all want to become a 1st class mage, but for those like Serie and Frieren who can become the absolute number 1 mage, especially if Serie was ever forced by circumstances or just simply wanted to step down from her position. Since the only person who could possibly take her place is the one person who has been trained from childhood to do the exact things Serie does, to the point that even Serie has begrudgingly respected her even though they have totally different opinions and opposing philosophical beliefs about magic.
Frieren is "relatively unskilled for her age" also means she's "relatively monstrous to the average human mage who can never reach her age". Flamme said Frieren was good at concealing her mana, Serie said it would take someone (any human) far too long to get good at it unless they were skilled at it. The thing about Serie is that she always talks down from above because she's been at the top for ages. She knows what works for her, and she probably wishes it worked for others lol Sorry, just had to get that out there. Great video, though. (But the background tracks changing almost as often as every other sentence can be a bit distracting.)
Thanks! Sorry about the music jumping around, pretty much everyone has pointed out haha, had some copyright problems uploading, the changes ended up a bit sloppy to cut out those bits
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I missed a chunk of your explanation because one of the close shots of Serie stopped my brain with the realization that she’s wearing the parts of Flamme’s earrings that Frieren’s earrings are missing. The level of detail in this show!
What time is that?
I noticed it around the 2:00 mark and then had to go back to another video to make sure Serie had no earrings in the flashbacks to Flamme’s time. Another reactor had pointed out that Frieren (current) wears the same earrings as Flamme (1,000 years ago), but Flamme’s have brassy bits above and below the jewels, and Frieren’s have them only above. So deductively, Serie’s brassy earrings are the missing pieces.@@onepromaster69yt82
@@onepromaster69yt82 2:20 shows each of their earrings in succession.
@@ArcOfPotato Go back to episode 4 and watch the first few scenes with Flamme.
@@HerbMallette nothing to see bro... wtf?
Serie wants to use magic for war while she sits on her ass. Frieren wants to use magic for peace while she slays demons.
Well, spoilers ahead - Serie claps some strongest demons
Because only demons of Sage level could give her any challenge.
Once a demon of that caliber appeared she went out and killed it with her all
Serie is the hikkikomori delusional chuunibyou Ranked 1 LoL player while Frieren is the grass toucher who keeps picking up Ws IRL
But Serie doesnt like peace, it's why she didn't want to defeat the Demon king. If she would go out to battle and easily beat the demons then she would end up bringing peace and slowing magic development. Where as Frieren wants/needs to fight the demons because she wants peace
@@netoisthebest
Not true, when she heard Macht finally went rogue, she immidiately arrived and went for the kill. Macht only survived because the other mages think they could do somthing about the curse.
She doesn't care about weaker Demons but Macht and co are assuredly on her hit list.
Given the heaviest hiiters on both sides hadn't showef up on the frontline for thousand of years, likely she and the Demon King had some way to keep each other at bay.
Excluding Frieren for 1000 years is likely to make Frieren one of the most remembered mages. As long as that organization exists it will have to teach it's receptionists to reject Frieren.
It is serve as protection from another broken Exam
That’s a good point. But Goddess help Frieren if she isn’t right outside the organization’s doors to visit Grandma Serie the day after the ban is lifted.
@@coltonwilliams4153 century or two after the ban is lifted. Remember they operate on Elf Time.
@@Алексей545-т6б or just given her the class 1 cert still dose the same thing.
@@crazeguy26 most likely... But could you imagine if Frieren had to proctor an exam? It would probably be okay, she's done a great job teaching Fern.
I also think it is important to separate what Serie says with what she does. She *says* that Frieren is wasting her time and effort learning how to suppress her magic aura, yet SHE DOES THE VERY SAME THING. She gives the impression that she barely cares about her apprentices, yet she remembers all of their favorite spells and apparently many other tidbits about them. She tells Frieren that she can't be a 1st Class Mage, but Frieren is the one who trained Fern, and she is very impressed with Fern's potential. Interesting, isn't it?
Serie is an overpowered tsundere
I think it's important to recognize that Serie's suppressed mana is the same as Frieren's unsuppressed mana, and that that amount of mana is enough to scare most humans. Serie likely has such an extreme amount of mana that had she not learned how to perfectly suppress it she would probably be incapable of living among humans due to how terrifying they'd find her mana. Serie does genuinely think that Frieren wasted her time learning such extreme suppression, as like she said Frieren would've been a far more capable mage had she dedicated that time to learning magic instead of suppression, but that doesn't necessarily mean she disagrees with learning it period, just that Frieren learned it before it was "necessary" which majorly slowed down her growth as a mage.
It's different. She's so powerful that it doesn't matter what she does.
I wonder if serie is doing the opposite of frieren. Instead of suppressing her mana she’s making it look like it’s more than it is since she does the opposite. Just a high thought I had
@@h20lucifer24 That wouldn't make any sense, we know the amount of mana someone has is well established to be directly related to how long the person has been using magic. For someone like Serie who has been practicing magic for vastly longer than Frieren has even been alive it would break the world building to have her have less mana than Frieren.
Serie basically chooses based on whether they are afraid of her or not. Everyone who failed was terrified of her power. Except for Frieren. Serie just knows that Frieren doesn't even care about being under her in the first place. Serie and Frieren don't like or hate each other. They view the whole world differently and they just decided not to be a bother to each other. Serie certainly wishes Frieren would join her side. But just accepts that Frieren isn't the same as her.
Basically cats.
@@felixtoulgoat3185 Not a coincidence they both make the cat face.
Frieren is Serie’s rebellious, hippy granddaughter that refuses to settle down with her in the massive organization that she built from the ground up, and instead is content wandering around the world like a vagabond.
I would ad the word "begrudgingly" before accepts, but pretty much.
Must've had some mixed feelings watching Frieren play such a large role in zoltrack research given how that seems right up Serie's alley.
What I enjoy about Serie is that she doesn't really practice what she preaches. Like she calls Frieren's approach to magic stupid, but knows pretty much every spell Frieren does even though they're 'useless' and despite looking down on mana suppression ALSO suppresses her mana. Then she gets all fussy about apprentices and outliving them but secretly remembers everything about them and continues to take on more.
I'm just waiting for her to wave a stick at someone and yell at them to get off her lawn but then put out playground equipment for little kids or something.
Yah this hits the nail on the head. why do you think she banned frieren from all the club houses or whatever. maybe just throw away childness?
In my opinion. Serie checks for what the participants would do against an impossible challenge (herself). Most saw the challenge and froze before taking action, thus failing. For those that passed, Wirbel and Derken at least considered the challenge before giving up, Ubel thinks she could take on the challenge, Land was trying to cheat through the challenge, Methode didnt even see her as a challenge, and Fern literally saw the correct way to solve the impossible challenge. The reason why she is so angry at Frieren is because she already passed another impossible challenge (demon lord) and literally choose to not even try to pass this one.
I think for Land it's more that she saw Land taking such ridiculous precautions and respecting the play.
@@drahoop she should add, "but if you want your reward get your ass in here"
Frieren should just get the 1st mage class by default, because demon king.
I like to think Serie failed Frieren because she wants Frieren to go on a journey collect those spell herself, since Frieren told Serie that the hard work of finding grimoire
@@11Karakan While that would be "fair", you have to remember that First Mages are not really just a rank, but also a group that works for Serie. It's not like having your driver's licence, they are actually suppoused to perform tasks for Serie and the Continental Mage Association. So this is a job - a prestigious, powerful job - so people are suppoused to want it. But Frieren clearly doesn't give less of a shit. She doesn't even care about the spell, she just wants to bypass a specific regulation. So Serie was essentially "if you don't actually want it, you won't have it"
It's like Frieren wants to pass the BAR just so she can get a lawyer's discount on the bookstore,
Almost immediately after Serie fails Frieren, we are shown the flashback where Frieren delivers Flamme's will to Serie, and we have Serie saying to Frieren that taking 1000 years to make an important decision is no big deal to an elf. And almost in the very next scene we find out that Serie has banned Frieren from entering CMA facilities for exactly 1000 years. The juxtaposition of these two scenes right after the test scene puts an additional perspective on why Serie failed Frieren, which is that both Serie and Frieren, for differing reasons, do not think Frieren gaining the First Class Mage title at this specific moment is important in any way. Serie is basically saying to Frieren "go home, if you change your mind about it, come back in 1000 years and you can have the First Class Mage title then."
It does seem obvious which way Serie wants Frieren to go when that time comes. She wants her granddaughter to give up her wandering ways and settle down with her to help run and expand her budding empire. She’s such a hopeless tsundere.
That's basically the same as saying to a human "if you still want it come back next week".
Like Serie, Frieren is a Great Mage. Her taking the first class mage test is like a Navy SEAL trying to join the Boy Scouts because he's bored. that's why she fails her
@@Ekafeman Remember at the beginning how Frieren initially didn't want to even take the test at all, and just let Fern take it solo, but then Fern expressed doubt about her ability to pass. Frieren basically just took the test to provide moral support for Fern (whom she was confident from the beginning would be able to pass).
Also the conclusión of the story is in 1000 year. The future the demon king right hand and the hero of the south forsee
I've seen a lot of people say that Serie hasn't had people in her life that helped her like Flamme and Himmel did for Frieren. However, I think that while this may be somewhat true, it's also downplaying their true natures:
(1) From what we've seen of Frieren, she has always been a kind and peaceful person. It was the massacre of her village that changed her. Flamme (at the end of her life) and Himmel (throughout their journey) helped her regain/remember that old self. While Serie has been less developed, but just going off of her existing scenes, she treats magic as a tool for killing and sees value in strength for strength's sake. So, I would say that they are still fundamentally different people and see the world differently.
(2) Another difference is how they handle their emotions. Frieren is kind of a kuudere. She wasn't originally aware of her feelings for Himmel and the party (hence her cold demeanor), but when she becomes aware, she's pretty honest with her feelings. As opposed to Serie, who probably is aware of her feelings, and yet always puts up a heavy tsundere (mainly just tsun) act.
she wears it with everything around her everyone she cares about is incorporated into her environment from her spell list to the very garden she lives in
@@mesiagamer5217 Sure, Serie cares about her disciples to some extent. However, not only does she not express that properly to them, but she does the tsun act as well, which probably hurts them at least a little. Just look at Flamme and Lernen.
Flamme most likely didn't dislike Serie, but she probably didn't enjoy spending time with her either, even though Serie was a mother-figure and mentor/teacher to her. We know this because Flamme never visited Serie once during her life after the meeting where she introduced Frieren to Serie. That's ~50 years of never visiting your master/foster-mother. There has to be a reason especially for Flamme who was such a wise and caring person.
As for Lernen, he has been her disciple for ~50 years, and yet we can easily conclude that he's never been told "I'll remember you" or "I'm proud of you" or similar things from Serie. This has caused him enough anguish that became the reason for him wanting to go down in history by any means (even bad ones), until Frieren managed to set him straight by telling him the truth about Serie and her feelings. Something that Serie failed to do for her own disciple for ~50 years. Comparatively, Frieren was/is already a better master to Fern even though she's much younger and much less experienced in relationships/teaching/etc.
Now, you could argue that Serie is cold because of her much longer life or defense mechanisms or other such reasons. But it's still a fact that she comes off as quite cold and we don't actually know for a fact how much of it is inherent to her as a person, and how much was learned through her vast life experiences. My own experience suggests that people rarely if ever change on a fundamental level regardless of how much life experience they get. They may act somewhat differently, but their core is still basically the same. This is also something that Heiter says more or less in the Ep14/Ch29 flashback to Frieren.
Finally, please keep this discussion spoiler-free or at least properly give warnings before posting any manga spoilers, and also post them in such a way that it's not immediately visible to all (ie, hide them behind RUclips's "Read more"), since anime-onlys may end up seeing this as well.
I mean, it's worth noting that Serie taught Flamme. So saying that "Serie hasn't had people in her life that helped her like Flamme" is misleading. Flamme herself said in that flashback that Frieren was different to _both_ Serie and Flamme, that she was a mage who could and would thrive in a world without the Demon Lord. And also, notably, that this was the reason she's defeat the Demon Lord where Serie wouldn't bother and Flamme just couldn't. (Or however the reasoning went, the point is Flamme expected neither of them to take out the Demon Lord.)
Now, Himmel's influence on the other hand...that probably did have a sizeable impact on Frieren's mindset and unwillingness to shift her views in line with Serie. Though, the fact that Flamme was noting the divergent mindset 1000 years before Himmel was even born means that he probably helped bring Frieren's philosophies and strong points to her own attention rather than being the inception of such things. Even Flamme probably can't claim too much credit; she was from what I can tell trying to help a young elf onto the path that her master was already walking and _failed spectacularly_ before realizing that her failure was actually probably a good thing. After all, no matter how militant her mindset about magic was, and how unflinchingly underhanded she was willing to be about anything that gave her an edge in combat...she was still the sort of person who most liked to just conjure up a field of flowers and drink in the beauty of the moment.
And...well...it's not like Serie took _nothing_ from that relationship, either. Even 1000 years later, she still used that same flower spell to create a magnificent garden for herself, and was as focused on drinking in its beauty as she was in vibe-checking the test-takers. She seems to understand Frieren's point of view perfectly well, she just doesn't think it will help her reach the height of magic and so has (mostly) discarded it. And yet...she can't quite bring herself to fully commit, it seems, because some things are just beautiful enough that inefficiency be damned you've gotta admire them.
@@ThePCguy17 Very well put. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading it. :)
Also it’s directly pointed out she does care.
She has an objective though. She’s training humans to be war mages. This isn’t a personal adventure for her. This is her job.
The impression I got from Serie is that when she says that she is a living grimoire, she meant it literally. That she is more interested in collecting spells than any individual person. I see her proctoring the last test as to view people's potential and ambition. And by that ambition, whether or not they could formulate a new spell.
Not sure I agree, but that does fit in with later info we get about why Frieren collects spells instead of making new ones.
444
Mana recognition is both a personality test and a capacity test. You have to have the capability to sense her fluctuations first and foremost, then on top of that you have to actually have the nerve to use that capability to assess her.
Most other contestant have the nerve, but not the capability. Land has the nerve to think "can I trick her?", Ubel has the nerve to think "can I cut her?", Denken has the nerve to think "can I beat her?". Only Fern did both.
Visualisation is important as a human mage, so Serie only gives a pass to the mages that believes (or assume) that they can surpass or at the very least match her in one aspect (trickery, disguise, fight).
When most mages look at Serie, they have one of two thoughts: 1) “What kind of monster is this?!” 2) “Hmm… how can I beat her…?” Those who think the former are immediately failed and dismissed. While the latter, even if only for a moment, think that there’s a chance of winning, and are passed and considered worthy of Serie’s attention.
Menthode is an outlier. Either Serie really liked being called cute, or she was the perfect amount of unhinged for Serie to pass her.
@@coltonwilliams4153i dont entirely agree with that.
Wirbel definitely thought shes a monster and that he could never beat her.
What differentiates him, is he kept his composure. He accepted it as a fact and moved on.
Thats why serie gave him a chance by asking him about his favourite spell.
To which he gave a satisfying answer to her. One that is rational and combat oriented.
Like a battle mage.
@@hulmhochberg8129 TBF Wirbel was more of a "Can this opponent be beaten? Hell no, moving on" At no point did he let fear cloud his rational thinking. The failed ones were scared on sight, he looked at the situation logically and came to a logical conclusion.
@@coltonwilliams4153 crazy and delusional people are more stronger in frieren's world😂
I think people will appreciate this arc more once season 2 drops because this arc introduced many characters who will be more relevant in season 2. But from what I've seen people already love this arc. All 136 chapters of frieren so far has been amazing. It is just one great arc after another
I could tell by the way we spent so much time with them that the new characters would be important later on.
How does reading the manga affect watching the anime? Should I read the manga?
@@sooyster4033 Season 1 is almost a perfect adaptation of the manga. So if you want to continue the storyline then you can start reading from chapter 61 of the manga. Frieren manga is great overall. It gets even better after the events of season 1 in my opinion. But if you can wait 1-2 years for season 2 then it's worth it too since almost all the key staff members who made season 1 are also coming back to make a season 2
@@sooyster4033 the arc after where anime s1 ends is AMAZING. you absolutely should read it. its an absolute joy to love the manga and then watching the anime make it even better.
how could anybody not love this arc, it was spectacular
I can’t believe they don’t already. I was hyped the entire second half of the season. Magic fights in this universe are crazy good.
I just realized for the second test, what made it diabolical was Sense entered the dungeon with them ensuring there would be at least one first level mage to be defeated for the test takers. If there were three powerful mages there would be three powerful clones plus the sense clone...the scale is tipped in favor of the Dungeon.
I mean it was already true even without that considering there were traps too =p
And the replica being equally matched does force cooperation already.
If anything what it does is put a minimum cap on the power a group would need to be able to pass, if nobody can deal with sense they lose, which, fair enough, having to be able to beat a first class mage in the right conditions seems like a reasonable requirement for becoming one yourself.
Under normal circumstances, senses clone would be were frierens clone stood.
"In order to become a first class mage, one must be able to overcome both adversity and unfairness. Frankly, this qualifies as neither." -Sense
Though I often wonder how it would go. Friern help the girls pass, who in turn had vital info about the core trap of the dungeon, which then allow them to come up with a decent plan. though I guess it might have change who would also be in the 1st round of winner too.
It’s why she has a low pass rate lol
Serie is a tsundere, she supresses her own magic herself. So she calls it useless but uses it herself.
truuuuuuu..... hadn't thought of that
Also her garden where she likes spending time
She called the magic to make a field of flowers useless, but it looks like she really enjoys looking at it
@@Phoenix77989 u know... dang..
You start digging a little you find all this character development 😆
There’s no other reason for her to constantly complain about taking humans as her apprentices, while also perfectly memorizing her apprentices’ favorite spells, activities, and meals.
She suppresses her mana, but so much leaks out that her leaked mana is the same as Frieren's when unleashed. Every demon would get splat by Serie.
She also knew that Frieren didn't care to be a "first class mage" as to her it was just an ephemeral title granted by an organization that will change over time and ahe had already secured such a title with that amulet from the holy city that she had. There was just no point in making Frieren a "first class mage".
I think you hit the nail on the head.
Fully agree, but it's still interesting and kind of hilarious that she failed her out of a difference in ideology. Does she have a solid reason for failing her or is she just petty af? who knows lol. Por qué no los dos?
@JeffDvrx "Her intuition is never wrong," Frieren.
'Hey bro i need to update my OP badge because the old guys died out or something idk'
+she's pissed frieren took away a potential disciple with talents that far surpassed any other human mage she has seen
I think some of the analysis around Serie almost infantalizes her. Serie knows what human connection is, the entire conversation she has with Frieren about Flamme shows it. The show goes out of its way to demonstrate that Serie remembers her apprentices. Serie, more than Frieren, has lived among humans. The difference is Serie has been worn down by it. She can't allow herself to truly be vulnerable because of how much losing her apprentices hurt. Frieren at this point hasn't even reconciled how losing Himmel has hurt her.
Serie is frustrated with Frieren for a number of reasons, but at least some of it is demonstrably her belief that Frieren CANNOT understand human empathy, something she holds until she talks to Fern and realizes how Frieren has changed. Because remember, the last time they really talked, Frieren had just lost Flamme who she essentially stole away from Serie for 50 years. Serie is torn up by it, even if she can't admit it aloud we see her reminiscing about the young Flamme. But Frieren? Frieren doesn't even go look for Flamme's legacy for a thousand years.
Serie gets human interaction. She's burdened herself to live with humans because Flamme asked her to and Serie couldn't refuse the wish of her beloved apprentice. And she loves her apprentices, enough to remember all of them at all stages of her life. Serie cannot express that well, or may not want to have to address that because of the sheer amount of loss she must've experienced in those thousand years of gathering and losing apprentices. A burden she believes Frieren can never understand.
This is a solid take.
I love how much discussion this series has sparked, it's just so cleverly thought out by the author. I'm very happy to live in this time to experience anime of such high caliber.
Freiren is arguably one of the deepest animes in the past couple years. There's soo much nuance I gathered just by watching it, each episode really left an impact on me, no wasted frames.
Something interesting to point out that i don't see discussed often is that Serie is able to read people immediately upon meeting them. What strikes me most about Methode's exam isn't that she isn't afraid of Serie or that she finds her cute, it's that Serie has to ask what Methode is thinking about. Being unable to read her as she so confidently did the others has some meaning i would imagine.
With Fern she thought she was scared though. Serie had to actually ask as well.
It's possible that Serie can read, but only gets limited context. She had to ask Methode because her thoughts were incomprehensible to someone like Serie, and had to ask Fern because it simply didn't occur to her that a fledgling mage could see the flicker in her aura.
Very nice video. What I´d seen it as, it´s that while of course it´s a vibe check (Frieren herself says it, Serie will choose based on her instincts, and her instincts are always right), Serie wants whoever manages to become a 1st range mage not to think "ok I´m at the top there´s nothing more to do", she wants people who will keep elevating magic. I think that list you gave of Serie´s criteria is very accurate. She wants people who doesn´t fear her, even if they admit defeat, if they don´t fear her mana, the participants will strive to go higher, Even Methode saying she sees her small and cute is a proof she´s not afraid of her. She wants to see potential of course. She says to Denken "I thought your fire had already burned but you still have it in you", because she thinks Denken can still go higher.
I think the best part of it was when Serie called out the guy drinking tea from his house
I enjoyed how one of the requirements was not being afraid of a superior mage. Someone with greater power is a problem to overcome, not something to cower from. That's the mentality she wants in First Class mages. After all magic makes the impossible possible, so someone who sees a great challenge as something to beat probably can.
Frieren is a great subversion of this new wave of Japanese fantasy (which is itself largely influenced by Western fantasy conventions). Serie is completely utilitarian with her magic, but Frieren's philosophy of kindness and compassion is seen in-universe as quite appealing. It really comes down to one's personal philosophy; there isn't a universal "correct" answer.
I do think it’s saying grander things than just this.
While that's nice to say, the story clearly implies Frieren is right and it's everywhere in the story with the themes
Always love videos about exploring Frieren!
The most satisfying moment is when Fern asked Serie for the best laundry magic
-Grandma- Mama Frieren is so proud xD
Laundry magic would be very useful. In the British winter, fuel prices going mad,let me insta dry my clothes
A I saw it Serie judges if a person has not only the skills, but also determination and dedication to get to the highest hights of magic and beyond. The reason why Frieren is disqualified is because she's mostly just playing around. She doesn't feel the urge to improve her magic beyond her limits, it's just her hobby kind of.
I like this video essay because it isn't just a summary. You actually went through the effort to connect this moment to the themes of show. Nice work! I wish more video essayist were like you.
You should look at Serie's actions instead of her words more, I think.
She might talk a lot about efficiency and other stuff, yet she has collected and learned nearly every spell ever discovered. She might prefer to sit on her ass and not interfere directly, but she was a feared demon hunter.
Serie dislikes a lot of things, and she did most of those herself at some point in her life. And she had more time than anyone to think about consequences of her decisions.
Maybe, except for Kraft. Who also doesn't look overly eager to rush in action and enforce justice, despite having a good heart.
I just imagine serie understanding that eventually humans will rise up and the elves will no longer be needed in the world. Humans are greedy, arrogant, fearful and more. I imagine that some day organizations will rise up and try hunting down all elves or all overly strong individuals
@@erickellar5867serie understands that the most isn't that what she talked about with frieren after flamme died.
@@erickellar5867 Season two will be touching on that.
She also talks a lot about the pointlessness of mana suppression and fooling demons while having suppressed he mana for so long that only Fern notices
She can end all evil herself but she chose not to coz it will get boring afterwards.
Every scene with Himmel, Flamme or Serie is a treat.
This.
The test actually only had one criteria.
Ambition.
The mages that could see themselves matching serie one day passed. Even if it was just for a moment and in any domain. If they wanted to even try taking her place in any way they passed.
Thats why frieren didnt pass despite being the strongest. She has no ambition. She just has hobbies.
It can be argued that even without ambition, Frieren has already matched Serie.
@@tsugaru_solos I mean, no, not really.
In raw power, Frieren is obviously outclassed by Serie, but Frieren is more of a team player than Serie, and that is how she might stand a chance against her.I think this is what OP meant when they said Frieren is Serie's match.
It's not just about raw power. After all, Frieren has lost to opponents who had weaker auras than her.
Turns out Serie just failed everyone before talking to frieren because she was angry over having to meet frieren
When series 3 of Konosuba aired earlier this year, it occured to me that if Megumin had taken this test, she would have had a good chance of passing, thanks to her overwhelming confidence and laserlike focus on magic as a force for defeating powerful enemies.
Megumin in the Frieren magic system of power being apportioned to belief would be a literal nuclear bomb - the only time she ever waivers on her favouritism towards explosion magic, Kazuma bumped its power up more lol
Megumin is best gremlin
Bro that fact we didn't know land was never there the whole exam is crazy
There were hints, such as Ubel commenting on the clone taking the recall vial but he was nonchalant about it. But to your point, unless you had seen that Eidolon trick done before, it was not something one would expect.
Excellent review of the Exam arc. While some have criticised this ending, to introduce a brace of new characters, show them in action and how they behave under stress and then they don't have to tell the readers about them. In your face is always more memorable than narrative. There is actually a very serious question involved: Who is right? Frieren or Serie? "For when man has the power to do anything, then anything he will do." - Qifrey WHA 2025
It's also quite realistic, you would be surprised how many institutions in society have their version of a vibe test(though it is usually done over the course of a longer period of time) the petty little games included, deans and professors failing students purely to stroke their own egos or to maintain some artificial standard being prime examples.
My favourite part of frierun is how himmel was rejected by the holy sword yet still went on to kill the demon king
In my opinion, the criteria for the last test is very simple: whether you have both the magical capability AND the mental preparedness of being a first class mage. The first one is easy, as most of the people there already proved themselves in the first two exams. The last exam is mainly filtering the second criteria, and it doesn't matter how they does it. You can just be bold (Land), abnormal (Übel), efficiently minded but still try to fight (Denken), can just fight regardless (Wirbel), simply don't care about power level (Methode), or focusing on her weak point instead of her obvious "she's million times stronger than you" magical power (Fern). She don't just want strong mages; she want ones that are actually capable of applying that strength regardless of situation.
Even Frieren is no exception (or at least it isn't in her eyes), as she's too lax to use her full potential. It doesn't matter if she's objectively strong anyways, she's a disappointment in her eyes because she could've been so much more. In the first place, first-class mage are defined as mages that received the approval of Serie, which means most of them would be strong mages but their strength actually matters less than what people thought.
Frieren herself even describes herself as a mediocre mage.
She hyper focused on mana suppression and killing demons for a 1000 years, but actually she just wants to chill and make flowers or sour grapes for her friends.
I think it is also very telling HOW people pass or fail the test
The test is basically - you are thrown in a impossible challenge, and you have a split second to figure out how to tackle it.
Kanne fails because she doesnt think she can do it. And creating a vision is the greatest part of magic
Dunste, Laufen, Scharf and Ehre fail similarly - they are not yet capable of tackling something impossible
Wirbel and Derken go through "how can I defeat this" moment, before figuring out it is impossible. They pass because they dont give up before trying
Ubel is crazy hyperconfident, and not being able to defeat it never crosses her mind. She doesnt care if she dies trying
Land also passes before he even begun - he made failing not part of the process, simply because he is not there. Serie respects that.
Methode didnt even see her as a challenge. So she doesnt envision the failure.
Fern realized that the challenge presented was not the real challenge. While Serie dislikes her, she can't deny that she is the only one that sees that she they would be playing chess, and not the checkers that is presented to everyone else.
And Frieren.... well, Serie has a beef with her. Frieren doesnt want to be a first class mage - not in the way Serie wants first class mages. She just aced a test to be a rocket scientist, but she wants to be a dentist. Serie sees that, and basically tells her to come back the day she actually wants what Serie is offering.
Near the finale of the tournament I was expecting that traditional huge boss fight. But I was so unbothered and satisfied with the ending we did get, that I forgot I did not get a "finale boss fight" until your video popped up. That's excellent writing at work, both you and Frieren.
The scene with Himmle and the flowers and Series perspective is perfectly encapsulated by another wizard duo, Gandalf and Saruman.
“Saruman believes that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love.”
Thanks for the analysis of this actually complex bit of story-telling. I thought Serie failed Frieren because she was ticked that Frieren broke her "unbreakable barrier," even though that wasn't mentioned in their brief post-test conversation. It became apparent early-on that Frieren knew well in advance that Serie would never pass her as a First Class Mage.
It’s a good point! I was quite blindly focused on that last test in this vid, barrier breaking is an all timer scene
Also take note of the reward fern took. The spell serie disregarded as useless. The spell to keep your clothes clean would be really useful in a fight against a demon that can use his blood to track you.
The show keeps making the point that demons and those that value raw power above all are destined for doom
And without realizing it, that may be why Serie acknowledged Fern. Fern under Freiren's tutelage found new and inventive ways to use old spells, something near immortal Serie has long forgotten.
Great video! I loved your insights! And the cutaways and graphics were well placed and very funny
Thanks!
Power fantasies are all fun and enjoyable to consume in media
But fantasy/fictional stories that focuses more on the world and it's stories will always be high up on my list things I love in media.
This series is really good at telling not only freiren's story but everyone elses and even the influence they had on the world.
I will say, hearing in the past the teaser of "story about a character after the demon lord's defeat" made me look but never really thought it to be something I'll love. But yet here I am saying that Freiren is one of the series that will always stick in my head
Serie's final test seemed to boil down to anyone who wasn't afraid of her after seeing her mana, and/or dared to challenge her after seeing her mana. The other questions were just to supplement her understanding of the states of mind like how she thought Fern was afraid of her (stating Fern is just like everybody else), but later learned she was actually seeing her fluctuations and not afraid of her.
People who were clearly intent on fighting her like Ubel passed right away.
People Serie were uncertain of their intentions like the girl who thought she was small and cute were questioned so Serie can understand their thoughts like she did with Fern.
As long as they weren't afraid of her mana they would have passed no matter how they answered the question just like how Frieren would have failed now matter how she answered.
"slows it down" and then proceded to give us the freren v freren fight
She was impressed with Fern cuz Fern was beyond reaction and already at observation
Serie is just a tsundere, and it takes like 200 years for her to open up to someone. Which means for most people, they are dead before she gets to her warm and kind stage.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how good this show was.
I really love this show. It really is very different from most anime in the way it tells it's story and treats it's subjects. It feels respectful to both it's audience and it's characters in how they give you room to interpret the characters and make you think about what makes them them besides the superficial
Good analysis! I may be wrong or late to the party here but I've noticed tonight that Serie will have a bigger, more detailed smile than the main crew or especially Frieren. It seems though that its only when something interests her. Serie isn't just some egotistical elf brat she's incredibly old and clearly filled with wisdom. I love the idea of Serie being the version of Frieren who never met Himmel, but like is shown in her episodes she makes the connections necessary to remember all her past students as well as their favorite spells. It's possible that Frieren isn't just Serie that has met her Himmel, but Serie is a Frieren after *several* Himmels.
Well technically Serie doesn't see hiding mana to deceive one's enemy completely useless since it's clearly a technique almost purely for combat.
That's why Serie herself "wasted" enough time to be able to do it even better than Frieren, despite having a much larger mana pool to hide.
And though this is just my headcannon, it is probably something Serie taught to Flamme before Flamme passed it down to Frieren, both masters doing so as a combat skill.
Frieren not knowing that Serie is suppressing her mana mean that Serie was already suppressing it when Frieren met her 1000 years ago so yes she don't think that it's useless.
It's probably Serie who told this magic to Flamme too I think
Im pretty sure we know that Serie and Frieren started doing this because of Flamme. Not the other way around.
It could be the reverse. Just as the flower making magic, Flamme gave Serie enough impression that Serie is looking back at her fondly and decide to take up both spells as a way to try to "understand" Flamme. In a sense, Flamme is like Himmel to Frieren. However, Frieren decides to trace the humanity of Himmel while Serie is stuck tracing only the magic of Flamme.
@@pouf6463 I'm pretty sure Frieren knows that Serie is suppressing her mana. She's simply chosen not to comment on it. After all, Serie's suppressed mana is equal to Frieren's unsuppressed mana, and Frieren knows that Serie's true mana is much greater than her own.
The thing that Serie said was inefficient wasn't just hiding your mana. Hiding your mana temporarily during battle so your opponent has trouble tracking your movement or telling where and when an attack is coming from is a pretty standard combat tactic (which we in fact see Serie use in battle later in the manga). What Serie called inefficient was suppressing your mana ALL THE TIME and honing your skill at it to the point where even Demons can't tell that you are doing it. But the context of how she said it also matters. Because in the very next sentence after pronouncing that it was "inefficient" she goes on to say that it helped Frieren kill more demons. And what is Frieren most famous for? Killing the freakin DEMON KING. So just as with a lot of other things Serie has said, she said one thing out loud but immediately implied the very opposite with the next words out of her mouth.
Another aspect of Serie's words on this subject is the context of who she is talking to. Namely her assembled First Class Mage students, and Lernen specifically. And she is basically telling them that to get as good as Frieren is at mana suppression takes longer than a human lifetime of training, unless you happen to be born with some innate talent at it to begin with. So she's also in Teacher Mode, basically telling her students not to try to copy Frieren, because it isn't practically achievable for a regular human being with a regular human lifespan.
The Differences between Frieren and Serie: A tangent
(Long comment warning, read at your own discretion.)
The whole special club Serie made was once something she scoffed at, a novel concept of "sharing" power in an organization, until her best student made it her dying wish. It just took her a while to get around to it. Some elves no matter how ancient are just perpetual contrarians like rebellious teenagers. 😂
She isn't all that different from Frieren in my perspective, the biggest difference is their ambitions (Frieren has little if any actual ambition towards power or aspirations of goals. She's just a little cute chaos goblin that is learning to love through her humans)
Frieren blows the entire first class mage premise out of the water because the woman was trained by Flammel, the literal most powerful human mage to have ever lived, Serie's own apprentice. Put any First Class Mage against her, and they are loosing without question. They'll probably get one or a few good shots in sure, like we saw with the old mage dude in the show, but win? No. Which is why the final test is basically a vibe check for the others and a tsk tak towards Frieren for basically modding her testing game 😂
Tbh it's a little odd to me they'd even classify elves the same way as humans considering the difference in life spans and magical disposition. Frieren shows us how often these things change. Shouldn't the cute but ancient being that predates most humans guilds get a pass? Like they should be aware of who Frieren is, especially since elves aren't that common. One who managed to help Slay the Demon King should be on the books already. Not every elf is a powerful mage, but every elf mage we've seen so far has been ridiculously powerful.
The whole final test she wasn't judging Frieren on her abilities, that's trivial when Serie knows what Frieren is capable of. She was only upset that Frieren's perspective of the world hadn't changed much, despite Himmel and the rest altering her understanding of time and relationships, she's always remained true to her personality and former mistress's teachings.
Serie wants people around her who thirst for active goals, something she's found in select few humans, politics aspirations, dominance in society, to slay all of ones enemies etc... something that excites her.
She's like a a min-maxxer with murder hobbo tendencies gamer while Frieren is the gamer who puts mods on that gender swaps every character because it's funny and is too busy exploring the map, hoarding ever spell or object in existence to do the actual main quest in a reasonable amount of time.
Frieren has the chaotic little Stardew Valley farm that grows just enough to make money and spends her time in the mines or foraging random stuff, giving odd gifts and accidentally ending up married to someone, while Serie has the perfectly made farm down to the last square of dirt, finished all the mines in a speed run and has gotten so board of talking to the towns people she's basically stopped unless it's to get more achievements.
They really are the same blue print of powerful potential, but ultimately one wants world domination but the predictablity of staying behind walls in single city most of the time. The other is just content to play with funny little spells, make pretty things grow, take decades to understand her emotions towards a man who loved her his entire life, adopt some children and travel on random adventures just for the heck of it.
I really like their dynamic and different approaches to life.
Serie is judging Frierens growth but in a way Frieren was judging Serie too, because while Frieren has been out in the world recently learning about humanity on a fundamental level, building relationships and allowing herself to discover what it is to love, Serie has kept her walls up, literally and metaphorically, having her students at arm's length when inside she value each one so much, but can't express it. While Frieren failed Serie's test, I believe Serie got a passable score to Frieren.
Serie is an elven mage that likes and enjoys people but has fallen in love with magic. Frieren is an elven mage who likes and enjoys magic but has fallen in love with people. I think that's the most fitting summary of the core difference between the two.
Bro. Why do you only have 554 subs? Your videos are well made and the script is thought provoking. Keep it up my dude.
Serie has a warrior mindset in which emotions are a hindrance. Getting in touch with one's emotions is probably something that she has delayed for thousands of years
I look at Serie and Frieren as two different outcomes of the same person. They both struggle with connection and reconciling the passage of time, but they've made opposing choices. They exist as two branches of the same tree, and we can see in them the two possible outcomes of their different mindsets even though we also see the overlap.
Frieren is such a fresh take. I can’t wait for season two.
honestly, when you are at the max level. All you need is a vibe check. Game recognizes game.
Serie plays the game of deceiving demons with mana herself. She is most likely even the one who taught that to Flamme and Frieren by that extend. She says that it is extremely time consuming and not worth the effort to her human students, which makes sense, because they don´t have that much time.
Also, at least in the anime, there is no sign of anyone finding out about Fern suppressing her mana. Maybe she fooled even Serie with that.
Yeah. Lugner figures it out, but only because Fern's output would otherwise be impossible. He didn't sense her suppression.
Notably, Linie didn't notice despite being a specialist in mana detection, even among demons.
Makes sense, since Heiter knew Frieren's trick and likely taught Fern suppression in his Magic 101. It's not just second nature to Fern like it is for Frieren, it's *first* nature.
@AscendantOat Yeah, Heiter knew Frieren's trick, but it doesn't seem like he taught it to Fern. Maybe he couldn't get the concept across so he told Fern to simply erase all her mana. When Frieren was complaining that she always gets lost in those woods, to suddenly hear a little voice say "Can I help you?"must have startled her. The expression on her face as she stared at Fern, you could almost hear her thinking "Where did this little girl come from? And how come I can't detect her mana?" This leads me to believe that Fern was born with the ability.
"Serie is a Frieren that hasn't met her Himmel." Thats a great take.
I always interpreted it as Serie simply weighing frieren on a whole different scale from the other participants. She simply is just not as strong as she SHOULD be for her age. Serie herself is suppressing her mana and the sheer size of it is incredibly massive despite that. And for that, she was failed.
Serie and Frieren are old mages destined to be surpassed. They see the age of man on the horizon. Serie wants to be the one to shape that new age. Both of them recognize Fern as the mage who could usher in the age of man, which is why Serie wants Fern to be her apprentice. But being gentle and kind is why Frieren will shape the age of man with Fern, Magic can and should be more than a tool for killing.
It’s a great way to subvert expectations
Fantastic analysis, and outstanding jokes too. What a great video!
Thanks!
Serie doesn't exactly want people to use magic for war. It is more that she seems to be looking for people who will impose their will on the world. Freiren doesn't love the field of flowers spell because she wants to fill the world with flowers or beautiful things, but because she uses it to recall both her master's happiness and magic's beautiful potential. Freiren makes a point in the series to collect magic to serve other people, while the first class mages nearly universally pursue magic as a path toward achieving personal goals.
That is the difference between Freiren and Serie's fields of flowers. Serie has a lonely, beautiful garden with flowers divided from one another by order. But Freiren always casts the spell outdoors, unbound by borders, to connect with other people.
Its worth noting that serie is clearly a low key tsundere. She chastises those for having interest in peaceful spells, but she herself has created a room of flowers, I would believe in memoriam of her favorite and most inspirational student. She also still has the laundry spell, it's not like she threw it away.
I think serie, is an interpretation of how people deal with the menace of time by detaching, but as living beings we can never 100% detach. Freiren is taking the opposite approach of in fact trying to acknowledge the feelings, which as indicated is somewhat un-elf-like. Apparently because when they do, they can just end up inconveniently crying for multiple weeks as they don't have a concept of time lol.
Thanks. Now I understand better, why Frieren resonates with me so much.
I really love this video and the in depth analysis of the final test, but the way you pronounce Serie’s name activates Siri on my iPad (the device I’m watching this on) almost every other time you say her name 😂
It’s honestly really funny. I’ve never experienced that before lol!
I think the actual test was if they had the potential to push magic forward, Frieren wants to rediscover lost magic not breaking new ground. Serie has seen so much she just wants to see something new and surprising, it wouldn't surprise me if she had advanced to being a god/demigod of some kind of magic knowledge given this trait
Frieren's magic system can be phrased in one simple sentence: Make a psiball!
It also definitely lends credence to how effective of a teacher Freiren is for Fern. Without attending any actual school Fern has managed to become a first class mage at a very young age. When we see how few first class mages there are we get perspective of how far she’s come training with Freiren. More so than just fighting monsters since we know there are other adventurers. Others who fight demons.
this aged well after the newest chapter
serie revealed that those who picked the magic that's unexpected bg serie are the ones that surpass her expectation
to add to your last point about kindness influencing everything, Fern was able to see Serie and show her immense potential as a nearly direct result of Frieren showing Himmel that spell.
Frieren inspired Himmel to become the hero
after their adventure, Heiter retires, takes in Fern
even if Heiter would've taken in Fern regardless, it's because of the adventure that he can get Frieren to train her
it's also because of the adventure that Frieren needs (someone)to take the mage exam
resulting in Fern appearing before Serie
The thing with Fern's observation being the lynchpin is that it isn't something Frieren taught her. It's not about how she's grown. She's been Frieren's apprentice and Frieren's caretaker and will continue to be both. We don't need a tournament arc to show her growing as a powerful mage. We don't even need it to show her becoming independent. She's already shown the first, and the potential to be the second, and the lack of desire to go her own way. What we see instead is that she her place in life isn't just because Father Dad got his old elf friend to teach her to blow stuff up good. She has her own strengths even without Frieren's constant attentions.
Fern learned mana suppression and how to spot it from Freiren.
Its funny how Serie hates Freiren's more peacful approach to magic, yet doesn't really deny how good she is as a mage and an instructor.
9:00 - tbf we knew that since Frieren mentioned that Fern has massive potential back during her training at Priest's place. She also mentioned Fern's incredible casting speed (? - maybe translation was not correct). And we also knew that from how she was able to fight equally and even overwhelm high level demon who lived for hundreds of years mastering his magic (Blood magic guy). Frieren's party is based af. Both in the past and in the present.
Ubel is able to learn magic from others just from getting to known them Serie is aware and doesn't even engage in a chat other than you pass
Well done.
Nitpicking:
1. Feel like you have what it needs to be a first class mage is just visualization.
2. Well the "small and cute" opinion of Serie is not really the criteria; it just is a play over the corner way to express, that Serie's mana does not induce fear in the examinee.
they are more like underpoints of visualization.
The second is especially true given how good Methode's mana detection is shown to be in the second test. She was the only one that could find Denken and Fern when they were hiding.
On the flip side, it also means she would have been aware of and able to steel herself against Serie's massive mana before any of the other examiniees (barring Frieren, but she's already not intimidated by her - she wasn't even the first time they met).
I'm confused about your nitpick number 1. Are you asserting that visualization is all that's needed to be a first-class-mage? Or are you taking an issue with the video essay making that claim?
@@Diablos-pi2qy Well, I don't have an issue with the video, just that some points under the criteria Serie looks for in first-class mages are visualization just worded differently or boil down to visualization. Like the: "1. Do they feel like a first class mage?" It boils down to can they envision themselves being a first class mage, and another word for "envision" is visualize. Just as Serie says/explains to Kanne: "You can't even visualize yourself becoming a first-class mage. In the world of magic, what you can't envision cannot be." So asking if one feels like X is just a round about way to say can you envision you doing X can you visualize succeeding with X do you "feel confident". So long story short, yes visualization is what is needed to become a first-class mage.
@@Airwave2k2 I have to rewatch the video to double check the criteria. However, I just want to say that while visualization is definitely a must to be a first-class-mage, it's not the only condition for Serie imo. They also have to be decently strong or have enough potential for future growth (and not be Frieren).
I doubt that Serie would accept a mage that is lacking in mana, technique, control, but excels at visualization.
Methode simply can't be read or predicted. She had lots of specializations. That's what led Serie to ask what Methode thinks of her.
Serie's checking to see how well people will handle threats that are beyond them, their self confidence, and if they'll be able to handle the pressure of living as a 1st class mage.
If they're intimidated by her, they fail. If they can't even picture themselves as a first class mage after passing the two tests before getting a surprise third test, they fail.
I think its also demonstrated how Frieren had influenced Serie. After dismissing the magical suppression all those years ago we see that Serie did actually learn it and practises it herself.
The bigger distinction between Serie and Frieren (via adopting her masters philosophy) is that Serie believes magic knowledge is something that should be hoarded and only sparingly shared (rewarding people with just one spell) because its a danger to elves dominance if magic becomes widespread knowledge to humans. Under Serie control there are very few human mages and the Exams are designed to fatally whittle them down even further.
Small critique: Serie also does the same Mana hide technique Frieren does, prob Flamme saw it and thats why she was chosen as apprentice in the First time, since i Don't think Serie would mock it if she would have taught it to her first apprentice.
I mean they do mention the test being done by Serie in person is almost never done was only done explicitly because it seemed that Frieren had disrupted things and carried her team further than they should have
After the latest issues of the manga, this video gets sooo m,uch more context in it.
I think there is another, deeper point to the difference between Frieren and Serie at play. Despite all her power, Serie would never have been able to kill the Demon King herself. As she says herself: "That which cant be imagined cannot be." As a true war-mage, the one thing she could not imagine would have been peace. Actually, thats what Flamme tells her when she and Frieren meet Serie. To bring forth an era of peace, you need a peace-loving mage.
In the end a what killed the demon king was a flower creation spell casted by a lonely elf tryig to calm a lost child in the middle of the night, while the most powerful mage was sit down on her trone of arrogance doing nothing.
Opinion of Serie actually has a slightly deeper meaning, because what Serie want in First Classes are mages who would not feel fear when presented with argubaly the most powerful being in existance. If someone thinks said being is cute instead of scary, this goes to show that that person is not afriad of Serie, thus passing Serie's criteria
6:58 I would say she’s like a Frieren who never met Flamme. Without Flamme I’m not sure Frieren would’ve ever agreed to go with Himmel.
Serie is Flamme’s mentor. What are you yapping about?
@@elgenecruz5469lmao.
Something I ALWAYS loved about Frieren is the random magic that exists that are the ones Frieren is hunting for. Fern really shows her master's quirks when she gets the magic to always keep your clothes clean from Serie and Frieren commends her on her choice. She could have gotten something to defeat pretty much any demon in their path in showy fashion, but no, a phenominally useful, random peasant utility spell. I know its meant more as a joke over the course of the series, but the peasant utility spells are the best ones. Who likes sour grapes? No one I know. What's the easiest way to play a joke on the grape lover in your life? Have them test and buy delicious, sweet grapes, and as soon as you touch them, turn them sour. Every. Single. Time. It's hilarious!
Oitside of it being a silly jokenover the series, it really grounds the world in a similar way to Harry Potter. Why would they need to do X if they have magic to do it for them? It makes sense in Frieren's time where mages seem to be bought up by nations for use in war or to keep demons at bay. But clearly back in the day, mages were villiage level casters, that learned magic to better the lives of the people around them and make the toil of every day life a little easier. It's just a little nod and a wink to what we don't see, but I love it.
The vibe check really encapsulates it. There are people that won't be an asset to Serie because of that mindset. People aiming to be a firat class mage for the purpose of gaining those spells and then probably just going home to live a peaceful life with a spell that mends holes in boats or a spell that changes the color of flowers in bouquets. Why would a person wanting to lead a peaceful life need a spell that creates a flaming tornado?
Great analysis on a great arc. Love it
I don’t think Serie actually thinks poorly about Frieren.
I’m more inclined to think she wants Frieren to continue on the path she’s on.
If Serie meant the things she says then why does she still use Flamme’s flower spell? Why is she the leader of first class mages when she didn’t like the idea from Flamme’s will, but apparently still did it after destroying the will.
I feel like serie just told a child elf to come back when you are older.
1000 years still immature
Wait 1000 more
I honestly think most people are over thinking Series final test to make it more than it was. It was a childish notion from Serie that 12 people can't pass the test at once and that Frieren can't pass it either.
The way I read the final test is that Serie assesses every mage on the same metric: whether they can truly see themselves as a First Class Mage.
Frieren failed this metric, because she couldn't see a scenario in which Serie passed her, and because she fundamentally disagrees with what being a first class mage actually means.
I would argue the Frieren diverges from Serie even earlier than meeting Himel. If Frieren wasn't taken under Flamme's wing, then I don't think she would've ever thought of magic as anything other than a weapon. After all, the spell that summons a flower field, was a gift from her teacher.
Serie isn't like a version of Frieren, that never met Himmel. She is like a Version of Frieren, that never spoke with anyone, including her own apprentice Flamme. Because it's Flamme, that gave the spark for Frierens character development.
Whats so morrally beautiful about this exam and fern passing it isnt some big power up or a deeper understanding of magic or anything. Its fern embracing the beauty of magic and the respect of both her master and her master's bully.
Through this arc fern and the audience acknowledge 3 things
• Fern is a prodigy with lots if potential
Fern forces frieren to use a spell she hasnt used since she fought the demon king, dealing what is effectively the killing blow to a raid boss. And frieren nods to her power and is proud of what shes become. There is no longer any doubt whether or not fern is a competant mage or not. There is no debate, there is no arguement, fern is first class mage
•Basic magic reigns supreme
We see frieren conjuring blackholes, volcanos, golems, arc lightning and hell inferno, and the only thing that manages to damage clone frieren was basic offensive magic. Not once, not twice, but three consecutive times. Proving that you truly only need offense and defensive magic to defeat 99% of modern mages. The master of 1 defeats a novice of thousand.
•Fern appreciate magic as an art and craft, not as tools and weapons.
After all this, Fern's choice of spell was a rare laundry magic that makes her clothes smell nice. A simple, yet insurmountably useful spell for an adventurer. A lesson that teaches that magic is strong when it is the most used and useful, not when most destructive or advanced. The complexity of a simple refrigerator has changed the world ten fold compared to the nuclear bomb.
Imagine a world without a fridge, how long would your milk last? You can imagine a world without nuclear fusion, sure you can, but youve been so accommodated by the fridge that you cant reall imagine a world without it. The little invention that better billions of lives across the world.
That is the beauty of magic and conparitively-technology. Weve never seen frieren use her black hole spell once outside of trying to kill herself. Yet every episode we see the adventurers, their clothes are clean.
Just finished watching Frieren. This show is not to be analyzed. It is to be FELT.
Glasses guy has mastered the skill of working from home.
You’re forgetting a key detail, Frieren’s teacher echoing this.
I sincerely believe and hope the show will go on to explain that Serie is failing Frieren repeatedly over this long period of time in a way not to punish her, but as a way to teach Frieren totally different from every other mage who all want to become a 1st class mage, but for those like Serie and Frieren who can become the absolute number 1 mage, especially if Serie was ever forced by circumstances or just simply wanted to step down from her position. Since the only person who could possibly take her place is the one person who has been trained from childhood to do the exact things Serie does, to the point that even Serie has begrudgingly respected her even though they have totally different opinions and opposing philosophical beliefs about magic.
Frieren is "relatively unskilled for her age" also means she's "relatively monstrous to the average human mage who can never reach her age".
Flamme said Frieren was good at concealing her mana, Serie said it would take someone (any human) far too long to get good at it unless they were skilled at it.
The thing about Serie is that she always talks down from above because she's been at the top for ages. She knows what works for her, and she probably wishes it worked for others lol
Sorry, just had to get that out there. Great video, though.
(But the background tracks changing almost as often as every other sentence can be a bit distracting.)
Thanks! Sorry about the music jumping around, pretty much everyone has pointed out haha, had some copyright problems uploading, the changes ended up a bit sloppy to cut out those bits