Kanne beating Richter was a perfect example of what Frieren was talking about when she stated she lost 11 fights to mages and demons who had less manna than her.
I love that when Frieren praised Kanne and Lawine for beating Richter and patted their heads Kanne giggled in delight and Lawine reacted by grumbling. It was a perfect encapsulation of the three characters' personalities. I also loved Denken's fistfight for the same exact reason. What a great episode.
A major part of this arc is about how magic is based on imagination. You have to be able to imagine the spell as being capable of doing what you want it do. Otherwise it will fail. Flamme's comments about how Frieren is a mage of the peacful era and how Serie can't kill the demon king because she can't imagine that peaceful world are based on that. Just as Frieren notes she can't visualize herself defeating a mage who controls water in the rain, despite her being a much stronger mage, Serie couldn't imagine a world without the demon king and thus even if she attempted to kill the demon king it would fail.
serie is the greatest mage in the world. though frieren is definitely good enough to break her barrier that she put up. just leaving this here because the episode was making it seem like frieren was stronger than serie when she’s not even close. serie can beat like 3 frieren’s at the same time rn.
I don't think that guy really had a tippy top opinion of himself. I assume he is confident of himself because he's a first class mage but most of his ideals didn't really have to do with a high opinion of himself, more of a high opinion of what it means to be a first class mage and of Serie. He didnt really refer to himself much.
Serie is way stronger then Frieren. Frieren did not break the barrier by brute force. She dispel it. Deciphering complex spell is basicly Frieren specialisation (this is how Frieren was able to dispel Aura control spell, despite common opinion that Seven Sages magic is ultimate)
There is one frame while frieren is dispelling the barrier that shows serie. im assuming she was passively maintaining the barrier for the past 1000 years. so frieren actually connected with her momentariely. you see her smiling .
20:59 i just LOVE how in this part everyone seems to be like "OH DANG DENKEN IS GONNA THROW HANDS"😂 this is why Denken is a fan favorite in this series. He's just built different lol. We're about to see a lot more of him in S2.
In the manga, Flamme described Serie to be a warmonger that thrives in a chaotic world that's why she can't beat the Demon King coz she cant visualize herself living in a peaceful era. Magic is a world of visualization you cant manifest what you can't visualize.
I think the test is more of something that represents the essence of Serie, which believes that magic should be something special besides that she's a warmonger.
It would make sense for Serie to view life so callously. Human lives being so short, a potential lack of context for numbers (of mages) left and potential for procreation.
Just want to add to the comment about how wasteful the test itself is for killing mages, if you go back and watch last episode, the talk between the two test maker, the fact that this test kill people doesnt rlly sit well with the other test maker, rather she simply arent telling him what to do. Just keep that in mind when you get to the next test and what kind of test it will be. (Been holding off talking about it but i had enough lol)
I think you might be getting the test part wrong in the anime. In my view, they're not really concerned about a war or being all noble. It's more about the prize and looking prestigious. So, it makes sense they don't care much if people die during the test. This really becomes more evident through in the episode when Flame says Serie can't see herself living in a peaceful world. It's not like they're recruiting for a war; it's more like some exclusive, elitist organization and the war aspect is secondary.
I am aware of that, still doesn't make the test logical. Elitists are illogical and still run into the same issues I am pointing out. There's no reasonable line of thought to warrant such callousness. That's the commentary. The test itself is illogical. We get the WHY in the story, I am using the military thing as an example for how you can weed out weak without the death and injury. We understand the people themselves are elitist asses but that doesn't make the test a valid thing to do.
As to the whole test thing; It's more logical in a setting that values life less. It makes sense for the time and place it's in. Our world and time are simply able to implement superior systems. To us the dead of the tests are a waste of valuable resources. To them they are functionally externalities. The goals themselves are also fundamentally different because of the different settings.
Not valuing life is itself illogical. Especially in a world that is in the late middle ages to early renaissance and has dealt with murderous hordes. Of course there will be people that think it's logical, but even for their stated purposes, you can argue that there are better ways to achieve their goals. Like we said, it's not knocking anything story wise, it doesn't hurt our enjoyment, we're not calling it lazy writing. Just saying that the test itself is flawed and wasteful. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@TheGenreVerseYes but which life? Allowing the "weak" to be culled frees "resources" for the "strong". Essentially it's a system with different logistical focus/concerns. Life is a renewable resource after all. Agriculture is a thing. Edit: We can see it in our own history. Often human life was a "cheaper" input than investing in what would be beyond obvious to us. Hell, safety standards vary wildly across contemporary Earth.
No society that treated life so carelessly on purpose has survived. Life isn't as renewable as we may think. How many places in the modern world are below replacement rate for birth rates? Like we say during this arc, it's fine for a fictional fantasy to use this trope, but it is an awful idea to have and execute in and of itself. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. We love the show, love the arc, love the characters, love the story. We think the test itself, not it's use in the story, is a bad idea at every practical and ideological level.
You are right about weeding out the weak isn't a priority in the first exam because Kanne and Lawine passed all thanks to Frieren breaking the barrier. This episode proves that arrogance gets you nowhere if you look at the earth guy going easy and the examinator not believing that the barrier could get destroyed.
It's normal for the Examinator not believing that the barrier could get destroyed though, They aren't Frieren who live for more than thousand years🥴 While the Earth guy didn't lose bcz of His Arrogance, It bcz of Frieren
Technically about Kanne and Lawine passing and the barrier stuff IS something that shouldn't have happened. In fact it's something that affects the results of the exam later, causing Serie to personally pass or fail them all individually in the end.
@TheGenreVerse I can understand and agree with the points that you're mentioning. However, my interpretation/understanding of the situation is as follows: Being a first-class mage is neither a requirement nor a necessity for having a good life. Furthermore, the privileges and responsibilities that come with it are very special. Therefore, the Continental Magic Association has provided enough information about the dangers of the tests and other related information. So, if someone still chooses to take the test even though they may not be qualified, why should the proctors put themselves in danger to try and save that person? Like where does personal responsibility fit in this equation? Having said all that, I'm not advocating for killing test takers or anything like that, but I do feel that the first test as designed by Genau (ie, the first class mage responsible for it) is somewhat harsh but not unreasonable at all since he has only put them in a real life scenario, which can have mortal danger in their world (eg, monsters and whatnot). To summarize, I personally do agree with Sense (ie, the first class mage responsible for the second test) in that the tests can be designed to be more test-taker friendly, but also don't see any issues with Genau's methods in a dangerous world like theirs.
@@TheGenreVerse I guess but it is what it is. Also, I'm pretty hyped too. :) You can ignore the following if it doesn't make sense; (I only just found out that there is at least one person amongst you who has served in the military so I'm gonna try to make a hypothetical scenario that could maybe make the situation more believable for you. However, as I haven't served in any military myself, I apologize if my example doesn't make sense and have no intention of insulting anyone.) Let's say the military wants to create a new elite force by selecting some of best soldiers/units from current existing top forces. They have chosen do so in this case by sending all applicants on a number of missions and then decide based on the results of those special missions. Now, some people might die on these missions. However, I don't think anyone would really be blamed since it's part of the of whole situation. Or at least that's the example I though up in our own world to try to draw parallels.
The US Army already recruits for SF from within the Army. Very few people get a SF contract through the front door. It's all voluntary. We already have dangerous training, but fatalities and series injuries are mitigated because it's VERY EXPENSIVE to train a Soldier, let alone the accumulating costs and value in information and skills over years of service. You train up for SF style missions before going on them because they are dangerous. You never go and do something you haven't trained for. That would be ignorant. Now, through the natural order of combat, those that survive said missions (that only happen AFTER training and certification) you're left with the "best of the best" of the best. That automatically creates the elite of the elite you're alluding to. But that's not weeding out anyone during training or certification through injury/death. That would be wasteful. That would be disgusting. No Soldier would join that outfit. You wouldn't trust the people that designed that test to value your life in actual combat. You wouldn't trust your fellow Soldiers who tried to kill you during testing. You wouldn't have an effective and efficient fighting unit. Like I've been saying, at its core, the test is logically flawed. The execution of the test is logically flawed. The use of it in the story is completely fine and logical for the characters that support it with their flawed logic. It's logically opposed by characters that have logical thought. Soldiers serve with each other and for each other, not against each other. Competition is healthy, and not everyone will get to go to awesome things like Airborne or SF, but we could never put each other in harms way like this... You can't be a team like that.
@@TheGenreVerse First, I want to thank you for taking the time to explain some stuff for me. It was pretty interesting and informative. :) Next, I wanted to just say that I'm only doing this in hopes of having a good discussion (like we've had so far) about the show. I'm not necessarily trying to convince you of anything and am not some kind zealot. So, let me know if you don't want to continue the discussion at any point and I'll perfectly respect that decision. With the preface out of the way, I think I may have realized one thing that we are seeing differently, which causes us to have a minor disagreement. (I believe it's minor since we pretty much seem to agree on everything except for the fact that you're saying that Genau's test is illogical and unreasonable, while I think that it's only at the level of being unacceptable but I can at least somewhat understand the logic behind it.) And that difference is that you're likening the Continental Magic Association to a military-like organization, whereas I see it as more of a mercenary/adventurers guild like in other fantasy stories. This is a major difference since unlike military organizations, such guilds do NOT have a strict chain of command, uniform teaching/training, or proper hierarchy. Instead they have a very significant amount of freedom for each of their members, which brings me back to my original point about personal responsibility. And to your point, many of these mages don't really trust each other and do in fact attempt to kill or at least harm one another. Such acts would only make sense in a somewhat lawless/wild guild environment. Therefore, going back to original issue of Genau's methods, I can at least partially understand it, since he's advocating for a survival of the fittest model, which while not humane/resource-ideal, does work out more or less.
No way Frieren would have killed Denken, the coldest we have seen her in terms of combat has been with Demons. Denken is a human, also think about the goal here of taking this test, Frieren doesn't care about it in the slightest. No way she would kill Denken for something she isn't personally that invested into. Now could Frieren be in a situation where she would kill a human? I am sure she has been in them and did and if put in them again she would again. This just isn't that situation, instead of "you're not that guy pal, you're not that guy" it's just "you're not that important"
Everything you said pretty much sums up my thoughts during that. We also wondered how far she would take her bluff, could she cause actual pain by burning flesh with magic energy? I figured Denken wouldn't be in too much danger, but could her be? Could she do it in the "right" situation. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! -Kyle
Right Denken is a smart guy and would you think amd use the Information you got feom last Episode then you knew it is the test takers fault people can die in his test because of his Philosophie not because of the exam.
No one said people aren't responsible for their own actions, but the proctor has the authority, and moral obligation, to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Not only does he not, he all but actively promoted it. The whole situation is bad for business... In world that is...
Yes, weeding out the weak in a World where Imagination and Condition are the most important definitely weird and illogical bcz It isn't that They are weaker but the situation not on their side just like how the Water Mage suddenly become Unbeatable when the Barrier destroyed and let the Rain in ,when previously She barely standing😹🙈
Your also using 21 century logic on a fantasy anime doubt the people in that world could use your logic and if they could doubt they would find it useful or even try as what they are currently doing works is it the best method maybe not but if it works they most likely don’t see why they got to change it for the weak when their trying to weed out the weak in the first place “if your weak in one way or multiple ways you die” just the way that world works unless of course you got someone strong protecting you
Not really. I'm thinking of the value of talented beings. That's it. That's all. The comments aren't as deep as some are taking them. It's the test itself, not how it's used in the story. Any time/era, culture, people, religion, country, guild would be dumb to let talent go to waste. You can easily create a very difficult test without the need for death coming so easily. Use Observer/Controllers to protect testers from beasts finishing them off, require testers to only use stuns against each other. Like O/Cs and blanks in military war games. It's literally only that. The idea that wasting lives is a waste. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
I think there are always worse people, in some way But to decide that you need to know what you're comparing. Skill, morality, wealth, etc. Some people just lived a life without a care in the world and now the world is not caring about them My philosophy is always about adapting and walking with the world My friend said "If you're not walking with the world, you will be left behind it" never stop trying, never stop walking, With or without mana You will fight until the end even with a fist