takes_frieren

This is now officially [Muse Asia's greatest thumbnail choice.](https://i.imgur.com/U61UnNt.png) **Ever.**

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[Well,](https://i.imgur.com/0hlZck5.png) [well,](https://i.imgur.com/2V9TdGN.png) [well,](https://i.imgur.com/7tpmMYJ.png) children. The anime-onlies have finally met Methode. Now form an orderly queue, she shall be petting the scalps of all participating in this thread in equal measure.

Also: [Frieren the gacha player.](https://i.imgur.com/5HHEuLX.png) As someone who's only ever played exactly one of such a game (ensuring I never spend real money), [Frieren terrifies me.](https://i.imgur.com/pnrSP1N.png)

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1. Aww, we actually get to see another [genuine smile from Fern](https://i.imgur.com/AX9TVQE.png) in two consecutive episodes. I guess I was wrong last week.

2. Keiichiro Saito, Kerorira, and the team that MADHOUSE assembled have been getting much praise for the mileage they've gotten out of the material, but this dungeon encounter is one of the key phases of the exam arc that has the highest expectations. But if just this episode is anything to go by, it seems like we'd have to widen our vocabulary. They don't simply move; they move in ways that truly speak louder than words. Combine it with stellar storyboarding, stupendous sound design and battle music worthy of being put in a Zelda or Soulsborne, and this second exam is off to a gangbusters start. [I will now proceed to wire US$400,000 to these people directly.]

3. Especially because, as usual, the story itself is stuffed with insight about human nature, the power of magic, and how Frieren is becoming more and more of a force for change in the story despite the non-sequitur things she does. Fern's life regained purpose, strange as it is. Sense gets to know of a mage wise beyond her years yet simultaneously still as worldly as mankind. It's moments like this that make the action valuable, because, as with SPYxFAMILY, the quiet time and fighting time create a positive feedback loop, only this one has a significantly stronger engine.

4. It doesn't stop at Frieren and Fern, either. Denken's character arc is equally rich in lessons and musings, making him a strong foil and parallel to [the elf mage trying to get unstuck here.](https://i.imgur.com/9CcJ6xH.png) He's exactly the kind of character that adds the right amount of spice to the story: equally stoic, but the embers continue to burn in his psyche, so to speak. It makes him a great leader, because he cares enough for people to warrant such a stern attitude. And prepares this group of four for the battle to come.

5. So if you thought Rennala was difficult, then [Clone Frieren](https://i.imgur.com/3kBSHtW.png), knowing what we know of the real mage, is going to be magnitudes more challenging. Hidetaka Miyazaki wishes he could come up with someone like Frieren.