Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 03
葬送のフリーレン
Sōsō no Frieren 03

Spoiler Summary/Synopsis:

In the city of Warm, Frieren sends Fern to replenish their essentials. Fern becomes suspicious that Frieren is going to waste their limited funds on something stupid. As such, Fern decides to covertly tail Frieren. She discovers Frieren looking at female accessories. Eventually, Frieren buys one, and Fern decides to let that pass.

Frieren shows up in a rough bar to locate a good place with sweets. When Frieren starts heading back to their inn, Fern rushes to buy their supplies. Fern arrives late, but Frieren takes her to a nice restaurant with a great view of the ocean. She tells Fern that she has secret savings, so Fern can pick anything she wants. Further, Frieren gives Fern a birthday present — a fancy hair clasp, delighting Fern.

As they travel, Frieren says their journey has no specific purpose, though she does want to revisit places she saw with Himmel and company. After some defensive training, the pair eventually arrive in a small village. She gets recognized by one of the town’s elders. Frieren’s surprised that he seems to know her mission. He takes the pair to a field where the Elder Sage of Corruption, Qual, is sealed. Frieren had sealed the demon some 80 years prior when she couldn’t defeat it.

That evening, Fern and Frieren discuss the situation. The next day, Frieren removes the failing seal from Qual. Frieren gives the giant demon an offer of a quick, painless death. Qual refuses and fires his Zoltraak killing magic spell. Fern defends against it. As such, Qual increases his attacks. While Fern defends, Frieren rises up and uses Zoltraak against Qual, killing the demon.

Thoughts/Review

Once again, we get another banger of an episode in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 03.

Fern’s Birthday

The first story of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 03 was all about Frieren buying a birthday present for Fern. It has been a while since I read the manga, so I didn’t remember the specifics of this story. I kept expecting Frieren to know Fern was tailing her. After all, as good as Fern is about hiding her mana presence, she’s still an apprentice mage.

That aside, this story had some humor moments. We get Fern kinda pouting, suspecting Frieren is going to waste money. Then there are the flashbacks of things Frieren has bought since she’s been with Fern. I rather enjoy this master-apprentice relationship they have. Frieren might be the master, but Fern comes off as more mature at times.

Regardless, I really appreciated Frieren’s efforts in buying Fern a birthday president. She recalls how her former companions seemed to know more about her than she did for them. So she is making the effort to know Fern. And yet, she still doesn’t know Fern well, even though they’ve been together for several years at this point. However, it is fun seeing Frieren’s journey.

Training and Education

The second story in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 03 has more action, but the focus in on Fern training and getting an education in magic. That’s an element I appreciate in this series. Fern is a gifted mage, but she’s still just an apprentice with much to learn. At the same time, her master Frieren is still learning, as witnessed in the quick battle that happened in the episode.

Before we get to the fight, I wonder why Fern had not read the history book Frieren bought for her. Several times through the course of the story, Frieren needles Fern over it. Yet at the end of the episode, Fern reads the book on the back of the hay wagon before they leave the village. This is another element I appreciate about Fern and Frieren’s relationship.

As to the battle, I honestly felt this was Frieren giving Fern a test of sorts as well as “on the job training.” Eighty years earlier, Frieren wasn’t strong enough to defeat Qual. But, thanks to everything she’s learned over time, combined with having someone who could defend her, Frieren is able to easily destroy Qual. Thus Frieren is subtly teaching Fern the value of continuous learning as a mage. Again, this is another element I love about the story.

Finally, Frieren also received an education. She came of her own volition to deal with Qual. It was Himmel who constantly checked on Qual’s seal until his passing. But, Himmel assured the villagers that Frieren would one day come on her own to deal with Qual. As such, Frieren gains some insight in how to know someone.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In the end, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End 03 is another great addition to the series. I’m sure that if I weren’t so busy and tired, I could have said a lot more about the episode, including that it is a faithful adaptation to the source material (with some inoffensive padding of some scenes). But as it is, the time has come to watch the next episode.