Sousou no Frieren Episode 19 Discussion

@LG545

1. There's no indication that any test is in relation to demons. This is all speculation and not provided context in relation to the test.
2. More speculation irrelevant to what I've said, there is no useful outcome to just weed out the best mages by luck.

I entirely reject the premise that anything about the test is in any way, at all relevant to demons or to find adequate squad leaders who must also lead other mages, at the expense of half the attendants, when leadership and magic prowess which has been shown to be a support role so far, have nothing to do with one another. This is not present in the story, it's a non-factor.

Here's the very simple premise:
You solve the test by hiding your presence. It's a trick solution. It's an important trick that the show has spent ~10 episodes explaining why it's impressive and important, but it's a trick. It's not magical prowess, it's not any amount of mana, it's not combat experience, it's just coincidental if you've happened to suppress your mana all your life.

Okay, so we have this really super important trick that is sussed out by this exam and that's how you find the best, right?
Except no, it allows low moral mages that you can't trust your lives with to out-luck or ambush the people who get the trick, who then get a title of being 'best'. Then what was the purpose of the trick in the first place? Why isn't this just a Battle Royale? Or a ladder system?

Because the test isn't well written.

Please spare me a third iteration of this being about demon slaying mages. It's a CERTIFICATE, which means it's to get a piece of paper that you live up to the standards of this academic institute and can present it to someone else for the purposes of getting a job. Which I guarantee you won't be on the front lines, but probably at the seat of nobility or royalty.

Awesome episode. Though I don't understand why people aren't more wary of elves? You're up against someone who has had possibly hundreds of years to hone their craft, but there is no extra precautions taken.

1)If you are not capable to deal with monsters (detect them, avoid their traps, etc) - you have zero chances against demons, which are more powerful and cunning
.
2)You call teamwork - "luck"? 1-st rank mage should be way more then just a pure strong mage. You should be good leader and quick thinker, know how to lern and adapt to situations. Otherwise you could live your whole life as strong 2-d rank mage (like Denken did - in raw power he reach 1-st rank mages lvl long time ago) and be fine with this
.
3)If you are capable to cover your mana from Stille - you would be able to do the same from demons (and they are far mor sensitive then humans). And to be able to accomplish this - you need a lot of hard training even if you are natural born talent like Fern. BUT you keep forgetting about second part of the test - PROTECT THE BIRD. If you just a low lvl mage with one trick in your sleeve - you will get crushed by other mages and you need at least some respectable lvl of power in order to protect yourself from others

So this is how exam is about your magic prowess. And dont forget - this is just first exam out 3
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4)Why this is not a Battle Royal? Because frontline would not look like a Battle Royal or Combat Duel so it pointless to test mages in such way
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5)You can guarantee everything you want, but here Demon threat is real and mages are your best weapon against them. If we speaking about Greater Demons (Aura lvl) - they are NATION LVL DISASTER and 1-st Rank mage is you only hope if not defeat them, then at least stop them and force to retreat

@LG545 It's wild that you still think I don't understand what you've written and had to repeat your rationalizations a third time despite me asking you not to.

Do you know what a rationalization is? It's when you concoct an explanation for why something is, without any proof of such a reason being intended in the first place. A rationalization can be reasonable, it can be a plausible explanation, but it's not provable and most often it's not appropriate.

Understand that I reject your premises entirely. Have a good day.

Awesome episode. Though I don't understand why people aren't more wary of elves? You're up against someone who has had possibly hundreds of years to hone their craft, but there is no extra precautions taken.

A slower ep but still beautiful.

Also love the subtle fan service. The character designs are so good. Orange hair lady is HOT

10/10

I got chills when I heard the new soundtrack, the next episode promises to be epic🔥

I can't help but wonder how Fern pulled off capturing the Stille so quickly.

The first test of the First Class Mage Exam involves dividing into groups of three. The task is to capture the meteoric iron bird called the Stille, inhabiting the examination area before sunset. Success requires all members of the party to be present. As capturing Stilles proves challenging, a competitive and survival-oriented atmosphere emerges among the candidates. The strategy devised by Frieren, consisting of Kanne, and Lawine, unfolds.

Denken understands the situation, but actually getting their hands on the bird is a whole different challenge. I can picture Frieren being able to outshine most of the other candidates easily. It's no wonder Frieren isn't a fan of Mage Guilds. How does it make sense to let mages die just because they aimed for rank one without being ready for it? One of the top candidates even thinks being a first-class mage is only about being a symbol. It's not surprising that the country is facing issues.

And using their corpses as bait in the Forest of Death is extremely hardcore.

Idk why but those birds moving at supersonic speed is really funny to me

The fact that Fern just uses basic Zoltraaks and barriers and managed to take care of Lugner and his demonic blood magic while not finding an experienced rock mage to be a challenge really speaks to her talent. Kinda curious to see what kind of specialized mage she'd eventually become tho.

It would be hilarious if that one mage trio just spent the entire rest of the exam melting the lake lol

Wait if Kanne can control rain droplet wouldn't she be super OP if it was raining? NAHHHH THEY DID MY GIRL DIRTY WITH THE BARRIER

Easily the least interesting part of the show so far.

The idea of the 'Stille' itself is fine, it's a tricky bird with a comedic surprise element to it that sets up an interesting conundrum. For about half an episode. Dragging this on across multiple is unforgivable.

The exam seemed like a really fun idea, I'm sure most were looking forwards to the hidden power level elf showing everyone else how it's done or that there'd be something really challenging and interesting even for her to deal with, but then as it goes it keeps getting dumber and dumber.

Making it a group effort decides the results by luck.
Not only do you risk not having the actual best (on merit) complete the exam because the two others drag them down, but you get some of the worst mages passing because they happened to be with those who can do it by themselves (provided the group passes together).
Capturing the bird is an interesting premise, until you realize that this isn't about a mage proving their worth, it's about being able to figure out an esoteric puzzle with no practical value - Don't get me wrong, I understand the theme and importance of mana detection (which has now gone on for a bit much), but surely there has to be far better ways of testing this specific ability without even giving it away.

Put a 'Stille' in a high ceiling room with plenty of places where it can hide. "There's a bird in here, tell me where it is." "Okay, very good, now how would you go about capturing it? You have 20 minutes to devise a plan and execute it."

Ah but instead they put probably the single most important resource in this world, mages, at risk by pitting them against each other in a Battle Royale, only to get maybe the best, maybe the worst of them coming out of it.

Notice, by the way, how apart from a couple of people everyone looks like they're from a high school anime. Is anyone else feeling that the "rank 1" exam is only being taken by people who should not have any business doing so?

Until this point the story's been a joy, but not only is this a little too out there, the dialogue is mind numbingly boring and the edgy antagonistic blowhards that have been introduced feel incongruent. I just hope it's all resolved within a couple of minutes of the next episode and that it moves on fast.

@Smilomaniac

Random grouping is used a lot during Special Force training irl as well. The idea is you need to be able to work with any stranger that you meet because there is no guarantee that you can always stay with your own squad during a real war.

"Best" people, as you put it, should still shine despite not having the best conditions possible. I figure you play videogames right? If you play a MOBA or a Battle Royale, and you start blaming the team the moment that you're losing, then you're no "Best" player.

Regarding the mage shortage issue, it's actually not an issue. The world has fewer mages now because people don't want that career anymore, not because mages stop being born. Mages are more or less like warriors, their profession is not really in high demand in a more peaceful era, so why spend your effort to try to become one when you can work other jobs that probably pay more in peace time like a trader or a builder?

Plus, since mages are rarer now, it actually encourages the few remaining mages to gatekeep the profession, because that will boost their status. If people don't see a lot of mages around and there is this group of 1st-class mages, obviously those 1st-class mages will be more revered and respected.

Sidenote: Mages being the single most important resource in Frieren's world is only your headcannon bruh.