Series/Seasonal Reviews Archives

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! Review

By DoubleSama | April 20, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! anime series cover art — 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!

No, This Is Not an Isekai

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsu suru / ループ7回目の悪役令嬢は、元敵国で自由気ままな花嫁生活を満喫する) is based on a light novel. How did you know?

The series is about Rishe Irmgard Weitzner, a noblewoman who’s died 6 times by the start of the series. Well, actually, the series starts with her 6th death. So, this is her 7th shot at life. But, she doesn’t restart from the beginning each time she dies.

Rishe finds herself in a situation reminiscent of Subaru in Re:Zero. Every time she dies, she restarts from a specific point — when her fiancé (a crown prince) calls off the wedding. And, he doesn’t only call off the wedding. He already has a new fiancée lined up and he makes some accusations about Rishe.

Arnold asking Rishe to marry him from the anime series 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! — Arnold asking Rishe to marry him

Okay, so why did I title this section “No, This Is Not an Isekai?” Well, it’s because I often found myself forgetting that fact. Rishe feels like she’s from our world. And, the whole thing about her restarting when she dies plays into that. But, she’s not. This is a pure fantasy series.

Something interesting about 7th Time Loop, though, is how Rishe dies. Her cause of death was the same each time — sort of. How exactly she died differed. But, the core cause of her death was the same. Five years after restarting she dies due to a war started by Arnold Hein.

So, imagine Rishe’s surprise when, at the start of her 7th life, Arnold Hein proposes to her. She’s not quite sure why he’s interested in her. But what does she have to lose? Maybe if she’s close to him, she’ll survive his war.

Is Rishe’s Life Really that Carefree?

There are three lies in the title of this series. In this section, I want to discuss one of them, that Rishe’s 7th life is carefree. Then, in the next section, I’ll go over the other two lies.

The title of the series says that Rishe enjoys a carefree, married life. But, does she really? I wouldn’t say so. For starters, she doesn’t even get married in this season. I’m sure she gets married to Arnold at some point. However, it’s not in season one. This is more like her “carefree,” engaged life.

When you read the title, though, the carefree part sticks out more than the married part. And, it would have you think that this is a slice of life series. It’s not. There’s quite a bit more drama than I was anticipating.

Michel Hévin from the anime series 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! — Michel Hévin

Some of this drama obviously comes from Rishe’s engagement to Arnold. But, I’d argue that most of it comes from Rishe’s previous lives. In each of her lives, she’s done something completely different. She was a merchant, herbalist, alchemist, maid, knight, etc. She’s done a bit of everything.

How does that lead to drama, though? Well, in some cases, it’s her knowledge from a previous life that causes trouble. For example, her swordsmanship and skills as a maid. And other times, it’s the people she knows from her previous lives. For example, the merchant Kaine Tully and the alchemist Michel Hévin.

Michel Hévin, in particular, causes a lot of drama. Other than Arnold Hein, I’d call Michel the main antagonist of the season. And, the stuff Rishe has to do to stop Michel is anything but carefree. Her previous six lives were what I’d call carefree. This time, she’s getting herself into all kinds of trouble.

I Was Wrong About This Anime

Alright, let’s talk about the other two lies from the title. Rishe isn’t a villainess. And, Arnold isn’t her worst enemy. So, basically, the entire title is a lie. But, how can those two things be lies? And, why does it matter if they are?

Starting with Rishe, she’s literally not a villainess in any way. She never did any evil deeds and nobody ever actually calls her evil. I guess you could say that she’s a “villainess” because her ex-fiancé made up some rumors about her. But, I don’t think we even ever heard what those rumors were.

Aside from him, nobody thinks poorly of Rishe. The kind (the father of her ex-fiancé) has no problem with her. And, everyone she meets likes her. “Villainess” being in the title made me think this was going to be another series like My Next Life as a Villainess. It’s not like that at all.

Arnold Hein from the anime series 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! — Arnold Hein

Okay, but what about Arnold being Rishe’s worst enemy? Well, as far as I know, the only time Rishe actually met Arnold was during her 7th life. So, they’re not exactly enemies. The only previous time she “met” him was when he personally killed her, ending her 6th life.

Now, you could argue that since he caused the war that killed her six times, he’s her enemy. And, you could argue that him actually killing her once means the same thing. But, it wasn’t personal in either case.

Arnold didn’t know who Rishe was. He didn’t target her, even the last time. She was an enemy combatant whom he killed — that’s it. Even from Rishe’s point of view, Arnold isn’t her enemy. She wants to prevent him from starting his war this time. But, that doesn’t make him her “worst enemy.”

Final Thoughts

Surprisingly, I gave 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! a 7/10. I expected to be giving this series a 4 based on the title alone. But, it was actually a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.

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Solo Leveling Review

By DoubleSama | April 4, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Solo Leveling anime cover art — Solo Leveling

Do You Like Generic Power Fantasy?

Solo Leveling (Ore dake Level Up na Ken / 俺だけレベルアップな件) is a generic power fantasy anime. The only thing separating it from the likes of Sword Art Online is that it’s a Korean series. So, if SAO is something you like, you’ll probably like this, too.

As you can likely guess from the title, the series is about a guy who levels up alone. But, that’s still not a very descriptive title. It’s not like those light novel titles that spell out the whole series. So, what exactly is Solo Leveling about?

It’s about a future (present?) in which portals to another dimension open up all over the world. These portals lead to fantasy dungeons. And, if the dungeons aren’t conquered fast enough, the monsters within them break out. However, combat in this series isn’t like combat in GATE.

Jinwoo before his second awakening from the anime series Solo Leveling — Jinwoo before his second awakening

What do I mean when I say the combat isn’t like in GATE? If you’re not familiar with GATE, it has pretty much the same premise as Solo Leveling. But, in GATE, Japan uses its full military force to decimate the inhabitants of the fantasy world. They send in tanks, helicopters, etc.

That kind of stuff won’t work in the dungeons of Solo Leveling. Instead, when the portals appeared, some people awoke special powers. Basically, they turned into fantasy classes (sorcerers, swordsmen, assassins, healers, and more). The only way to defeat the monsters within the dungeons is to use the abilities of these classes.

Let’s say you have a gun. Will that gun hurt the monsters within a dungeon? No. But, if you awoke as a pyromancer, you could cast fireball spells to hurt the monsters. Or, if you awoke as a swordsman, you could use a sword made from materials from the dungeon.

From Weakest to Strongest

It’s time to go over the whole “solo leveling” thing. You see, in this world, there’s no way to “level up” or get stronger once your ability has awoken. If you awoke as a mage with D-Rank mana, you’ll be a D-Rank mage forever.

At least, that’s what we’re told at the start of the series. But, it turns out that there are very rare cases in which a person can become stronger. Though, it’s still not by leveling up, as the title of the series suggests. Sometimes, people undergo a second awakening.

If you undergo a second awakening, you might change from a D-Rank mage to a B-Rank swordsman. How does this happen? Nobody knows. However, there’s one second awakening that’s different from all the others. And, can you believe it? It’s the second awakening of the protagonist, Jinwoo Sung.

Jinwoo after his second awakening from the anime series Solo Leveling — Jinwoo after his second awakening

Jinwoo was an E-Rank… something. I don’t actually know what his class was. He was a generic weakling. But, after undergoing an extreme situation within a dungeon, he experienced a second awakening. His second awakening isn’t like the others we’ve heard about, though. Jinwoo is able to level up and get stronger.

Now, Jinwoo still doesn’t exactly have a class. At least, not at first. And, this is one of the main reasons why his second awakening might be unique. He’s not limited in what he can do. It’s not like he’s now a healer who can only perform that role. He can do pretty much anything.

This is where things really start to look like other power fantasy anime. Think of Rimuru from Tensura or Shishou from TenKen. Like them, Jinwoo can acquire skills simply by defeating enemies. So, as he fights, he not only levels up but also gains more skills.

I’m Not That Interested in Seeing More

Solo Leveling doesn’t really do anything that hasn’t been done before. There were a few twists I didn’t see coming. But, the outcomes of those twists haven’t yet altered the series in any meaningful way.

The twists in this series tend to be related to Jinwoo becoming stronger. He might become stronger in a way you weren’t expecting. However, the end result is the same — he’s stronger in some absurd way. Oh, he doesn’t have a weapon to cut through armor? He gets penalized and receives a weapon that can as his reward for completing the penalty.

It’s generally stuff like that. Sure, I didn’t see that coming, so technically it’s a twist. But, it’s a twist that feels more like a Deus ex machina. That’s the big issue with this series. It’s hard to get invested when every conflict has this kind of resolution.

Jinwoo recruiting Igris the Bloodred from the anime series Solo Leveling — Jinwoo recruiting Igris the Bloodred

Overall, Solo Leveling is fine. I’ve already compared it to SAO, and I stand by that comparison. It’s a fine anime if you’re not looking to get much out of it. If you are, though, you’ll be pretty disappointed by this one.

I’ve watched a lot of anime over the years. Solo Leveling falls into the category of anime I have no interest in continuing. If it gets a second season, cool. I probably won’t watch it unless the rest of the season is dead. I’m not interested enough in the story or characters to keep watching.

A lot of people were hyping up this series when the anime was first announced. It seems that most of the hype surrounding this series was because it’s Korean. Well, this is the third big manhwa to get an anime and they’re all mid. Tower of God is the most interesting.

Final Thoughts

I gave Solo Leveling a 6/10. As I said, it’s fine. I don’t see this series having any staying power in the anime community. It’ll be forgotten in a few weeks, at most, when all the much better anime from the spring season begin.

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Gushing over Magical Girls Review

By DoubleSama | April 3, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Gushing over Magical Girls anime series cover art — Gushing over Magical Girls

Gushing over the Tres Magia

Gushing over Magical Girls (Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete / 魔法少女にあこがれて) is one of the standout anime of the winter 2024 season. If we ignore Frieren, which began airing a season earlier, Mahoako — as it’s known — is my favorite anime of the season.

Okay, I know, Delicious in Dungeon is technically better. But, hear me out. Mahoako is an ecchi anime about torturing magical girls. That’s awesome. I don’t know what more you could ask for. It’s kind of the perfect premise for an anime if you think about it.

So, let’s talk about the magical girls. There are only three of them — if we’re ignoring the fact that all the villains are magical girls, too. These three are Magia Magenta, Magia Azure, and Magia Sulfur of the Tres Magia. They’re middle school students who transform and fight monsters, like all magical girls.

Magia Sulfur, Azure, and Magenta defeated by Enormita from the anime series Gushing over Magical Girls — Magia Sulfur, Azure, and Magenta defeated by Enormita

When transformed, the magical girls’ identities are hidden (by magic). So, none of their classmates or anyone else know who they are. And, that’s important because of the protagonist of the series, Utena Hiiragi. She’s classmates with Haruka Hanabishi, Sayo Minakami, and Kaoruko Tenkawa (the Tres Magia).

If only Utena knew who her classmates really were. Why? Because she’s a huge magical girl fan who likes the Tres Magia, in particular. However, Utena’s love of magical girls goes beyond that of being their fan. She doesn’t know it at the start of the series, but the thing she loves most is seeing them squirm.

Throughout the rest of the series, Utena explores the joys of sado-masochism. And, along the way, she helps awaken things deep within each of the magical girls she loves so much. Well, mostly Azure and Magenta to an extent — not as much Sulfur.

Enormita and “World Domination”

Alright, let’s talk about the first villain group of Mahoako: Enormita. The core enormita group has three members for the majority of the series. These members are Magia Baiser (Utena), Leoparde (Kiwi Araga), and Nero Alice (Korisu Morino).

While the Tres Magia each have different abilities, they’re pretty similar. Azure uses a sword, Magenta uses a spear, and Sulfur either uses a shield or giant fists. With the villains, however, things get more interesting. They have more specialized abilities, which makes them both more fun to watch and discuss.

Magia Baiser’s ability allows her to turn objects into monsters. Inanimate objects like scissors? Sure. Plants? Why not? Animals? Those are harder to control, but she can do it. These monsters she creates then tend to bind and/or strip the magical girls so Baiser can have her fun with them.

Utena Hiiragi as Magia Baiser from the anime series Gushing over Magical Girls — Utena Hiiragi as Magia Baiser

Unlike Baiser, Leoparde doesn’t care about “having fun” with magical girls. She wants to defeat them. And, to help her achieve that goal, she has a more combat-oriented ability. She effectively has Gilgamesh’s Noble Phantasm but for firearms and explosives. She can summon different kinds of guns and grenades via portals.

Nero Alice’s ability is the most powerful. Since she has an Alice in Wonderland theme, she can do things like control toys. And, more importantly, she can trap her opponents within her dollhouses. That second part of the ability could make her overpowered. But, her power is kept in check by the fact that she’s an elementary schooler.

Beyond these three, there are other members of Enormita. For example, there’s Venalita, the mascot of the group responsible for recruiting new members. He’s the opposite of Vatz, the mascot for the magical girls. Also, there are four older members who make up the “Lord Squad.”

The Lord Squad Shakes Things Up

What is the Lord Squad? It’s the name for the four founding members of Enormita. It’s simply a way to differentiate these four from the new members, Baiser, Leoparde, and Nero Alice. So we have Enormita and within Enormita there’s the Lord Squad.

The names of both groups come from Lord Enorme, the leader of Enormita. We don’t know how old she is. But, she appears to be in her 20s — so not a middle schooler like most of the other girls. Her ability allows her to create and control an army of blob monsters.

Sister Gigant is the second in command. She’s also older than most of the girls, either being in her late teens or 20s. She dresses as a nun and her ability lets her grow to giant proportions. Sister is also the most devout member of Enormita.

Matama Akoya and Nemo Anemo from the anime series Gushing over Magical Girls — Matama Akoya and Nemo Anemo

Loco Musica (Matama Akoya) and Leberblume (Nemo Anemo) are the lower members of the Lord Squad. They’ve been in Enormita longer than our main three girls. However, they’re definitely beneath Lord and Sister. They’re also middle schoolers, like most of the girls.

As you might be able to guess from her name, Loco Musica’s ability is music-based. She fights with music, which pairs well with her dream of being an idol. Leberblume is an assassin who can hide within and control shadows. Think of her like Shikamaru Nara from Naruto.

So, why does the Lord Squad exist? Well, they play the very important role of shaking things up in the series. Mahoako would have gotten stale very fast if it was only the three main Enormita girls vs. the Tres Magia. The Lord Squad inserts another faction into the mix. And, as an ecchi series, more girls means more fun.

Final Thoughts

I gave Gushing over Magical Girls a 7/10. It’s a solid anime if ecchi and magical girls are your thing — mainly the ecchi part. And, since I like both of those things, I thought it was good. There are some episodes that are worse than others. But, overall, it’s a good watch.

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Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! Review

By DoubleSama | April 2, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! anime series cover art — Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!

Another Generic Romantic Comedy

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! (Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi / 道産子ギャルはなまらめんこい) is another generic romantic comedy anime. Have you seen Nagatoro, BOKUBEN, or even Rent-a-Girlfriend? Well, it’s another one of those. Though, it’s more like Nagatoro and BOKUBEN than the chaos that is Rent-a-Girlfriend.

Of course, whenever you have a series coming into a saturated niche, it needs to have a twist. We see this a lot with isekai anime. And, although it doesn’t get as much attention, we see it a lot with rom-com anime, too. So, can you guess what the twist is this time?

That’s right, the girls of this series are all gals (gyaru) who live in Hokkaido — a place you wouldn’t expect to find gals. But, what is a gal? It’s a fashion subculture in which Japanese women “Americanize” themselves. They dye their hair, put on makeup, do their nails, and wear bright colors and short skirts among other things.

Minami Fuyuki glowing from the anime series Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! — Minami Fuyuki

Minami Fuyuki, the female lead of the series, is your stereotypical gal. She has blonde hair, long nails, and makeup, and doesn’t cover her legs even during the Hokkaido winter. A gal always needs to look her best, even when it’s cold out.

I guess I should also explain why Hokkaido, for anyone who isn’t aware. Hokkaido is the northernmost prefecture of Japan. It’s the large island on top when looking at a map. As the northernmost part of Japan, it’s also the coldest part and gets about 15 meters of snow per year.

So, this is one of the major reasons why you wouldn’t expect to find gals in Hokkaido. It’s too cold for a lot of gal fashion. And, gals also tend to be associated with large cities like Tokyo, not the more rural regions of Japan up north.

Meet the Hokkaido Gals!

Alright, let’s talk about the gals. The three main gals of the series are Minami Fuyuki, Sayuri Akino, and Rena Natsukawa. Other gals exist, like Mai Fuyuki — Minami’s mother. But, I’m going to stick to discussing these main three.

So, I already mentioned a bit about Minami. She’s the main girl of the series, which means she’s Tsubasa Shiki’s main love interest. Tsubasa is the protagonist, by the way. Minami was the first person Tsubasa met in Hokkaido after he moved there from Tokyo. And, she became his first friend after they learned they were sitting next to each other in class.

Sayuri is the second gal we meet in the series. Though, you might not recognize her as a gal, at first. She’s not as “yassified” as Minami is. She has black hair and dresses more conservatively, wearing tights. But, she’s still a gal.

Sayuri Akino from the anime series Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! — Sayuri Akino

Have you seen Citrus? If so, think of Sayuri like Harumi — an undercover gal. She’s into the gal subculture but doesn’t outwardly express it as much as others do. She does her nails and makeup and knows gal fashion trends. However, she has other hobbies, as well.

Rena is the last of the three main gals we meet. She’s an upperclassman who’s at the top of the school in every way possible. Everyone thinks she’s the most beautiful and her test scores prove she’s also the smartest. What many people don’t know is that she loves all things traditional Japanese.

Now, there’s one last thing I want to mention about these three gals. Their family names all have to do with seasons. Fuyu (冬) is winter. Aki (秋) is fall. Natsu (夏) is summer. But, unlike in Kanojo x Kanojo x Kanojo, the male lead’s name doesn’t include haru (春), which is spring.

Let’s Talk About the Ending

The ending of the Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! anime was a bit of a twist. And, I don’t know if this is the case, but I’m assuming it followed the manga. The manga is still ongoing, by the way. I’m not saying that the series ended. I’m talking about the end of this season of the anime.

What was the twist? Minami reveals to Tsubasa that she’s leaving Japan. She only gives him a few days’ notice, so this comes as a shock to both Tsubasa and the viewers. But, then there was a second part of the twist.

What Minami forgot to mention is that she’s not leaving for long. She says she’s going to study abroad. So, the implication is that she’ll be away for at least a semester. However, she’s only studying abroad for two weeks. She and Tsubasa aren’t going to be apart for that long.

Rena Natsukawa in the library from the anime series Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! — Rena Natsukawa

Okay, so, I didn’t like this ending. I get why this happened in the series. It’s drama that stems from a misunderstanding. That’s nothing new for rom-com anime. It’s basically what most of them are built on.

What I don’t really get is why they chose to end the anime this way. I would have actually preferred an anime original ending that doesn’t reveal the second twist. End the anime on the cliffhanger of her leaving. And, if you want, add something after the credits about the story continuing in the manga.

The way I see it, this isn’t an anime that needs more than one season. Does anyone care enough about it for a second season to be worthwhile? Just let it exist as a standalone season. If viewers want more content from the series, they have the manga. That’s enough.

Final Thoughts

I gave Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! a 5/10. As I said at the start of this review, if you’ve seen other rom-com anime, you’ve seen this one. Unless you’re a hardcore generic rom-com series fan — or you love gals — you can skip this. Even if you love gals, these aren’t great gals.

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Review

By DoubleSama | March 29, 2024 | Comments 0 Comment

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End anime series cover art — Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

The Legendary Hero’s Party

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren / 葬送のフリーレン) is currently the highest-rated anime of all time. It has a whopping 9.39 on MAL. That’s 0.3 higher than the next highest-rated anime, which is insane. But, is this series really that good? I don’t know about that.

I’m not going to argue that Frieren isn’t an amazing anime. It is. However, this overall rating seems pretty inflated. In a year, I’m predicting it won’t be rated as high as it is now. It’ll probably settle somewhere in the top 10, though.

So, what’s Frieren about? I’m sure most of you know, but I’ll still go over it for those who don’t. Frieren is a fantasy anime (not isekai) about an elf mage named Frieren. She was a member of the legendary Hero’s party that defeated the demon lord. And, this series follows her journey after that journey.

Frieren from the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End — Frieren

The Hero’s party had two humans, a dwarf, and an elf. So, as the decades pass, members of the party die off. Frieren, however, is still the same as she’s always been. If you’ve seen the movie Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, you’ll have some idea of what this series is like.

Frieren isn’t as sad as Maquia is. But, it still covers many of the same themes. There’s a lot of content about cherishing the time you have with people, looking back at what they taught you, etc. It has a lot of deep themes.

That’s not to say that the whole series is serious, though. There are many lighthearted moments. There’s also a lot of action and world-building, which I love. Basically, this series does it all and does it all well. I haven’t seen a single person who dislikes this series have a good reason for thinking that.

Beyond Journey’s End

On her new journey, Frieren gains a few new companions. Specifically, Fern and Stark. But, before I get to those two, what exactly is this new journey Frieren’s embarking on? She’s headed to Ende, also known as Heaven, so she can meet Himmel the Hero once again.

Himmel was in love with Frieren. However, Frieren didn’t understand how Himmel felt until after he was gone. So, now she wants to be able to see him one more time so she can tell him how important he is to her.

Alright, now onto Fern. Fern is a young mage who became Frieren’s apprentice. She was previously raised by Heiter, the priest of the Hero’s party. And, on his deathbed, Heiter told Fern to go with Frieren on her journey. Until this point, Frieren had never wanted an apprentice. Fern changed that, though.

Fern and Stark from the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End — Fern and Stark

Something interesting about Fern is that she wasn’t even born yet when Himmel died. She’s from a generation for which the Hero’s party really is like a legend. They know of the Hero’s party from stories and statues. Even though Fern was raised by a member of the party, she’s still very disconnected from it.

Stark is in a similar situation. He’s a warrior who was trained by Eisen, the dwarf warrior of the Hero’s party. But, that doesn’t mean Stark is a dwarf. He’s a human, as is Fern. But, what makes Stark special is how strong he is — he’s immensely strong.

In fact, Stark is so strong that even Eisen became afraid of him. However, Stark doesn’t recognize his own power. He doesn’t believe in himself and doesn’t understand how special he is. That makes him a very endearing, yet flawed, character. He has a lot of character growth to go through.

First-Class Mage Exam

In case you weren’t aware, this first season of Frieren is 28 episodes long. And, the second cour of the series is dedicated to the First-Class Mage Exam. This is an exam mages can take in order to prove their skills. If they pass, they get a lot of perks.

In particular, First-Class Mages can travel into the northern lands. The northern lands are dangerous, which is why most people can’t go there. But, that’s precisely the direction Frieren, Fern, and Stark are headed in. Additionally, all First-Class Mages can ask Serie, the most powerful mage, for a single spell of their choosing.

Now, none of this matters all that much to Frieren. Frieren’s not interested in having Serie simply hand over a spell. She loves collecting spells. However, it’s the journey that matters most. Someone giving her whatever spell she desires doesn’t interest her.

Übel from the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End — Übel

What this arc of the story does, though, is introduce a lot of new characters. We meet a bunch of Second and Third-Class mages who are trying to earn their First-Class status. There’s Denken, Laufen, Richter, Übel, Land, Wirbel, Ehre, Methode, and many more. The fan favorite is, of course, Übel (pictured above).

If you like tournament arcs, which many of us do, the First-Class Mage Exam arc is great. It’s not quite a tournament. But, it’s close enough. The exam consists of three tests, the first of which reminded me of the second test of the Chūnin Exams from Naruto.

I’m hoping that the characters introduced in this arc come back later. I don’t want them to have only been used for this arc. It’ll be way more fun if Frieren & co. run into some of them again on their travels. Denken, Wirbel, and Übel are three I want to see more.

Final Thoughts

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a 9/10 from me. It’s great and I think everyone who’s interested in fantasy series should watch it. Or, you know, if you’re just into good anime in general. That’s a good reason to watch this series, too.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And, I’d like to thank Key Mochi for supporting at the Senpai tier. To learn more about the perks of supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

No, This Is Not an Isekai

Is Rishe’s Life Really that Carefree?

I Was Wrong About This Anime

Final Thoughts

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Do You Like Generic Power Fantasy?

From Weakest to Strongest

I’m Not That Interested in Seeing More

Final Thoughts

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Gushing over the Tres Magia

Enormita and “World Domination”

The Lord Squad Shakes Things Up

Final Thoughts

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Another Generic Romantic Comedy

Meet the Hokkaido Gals!

Let’s Talk About the Ending

Final Thoughts

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The Legendary Hero’s Party

Beyond Journey’s End

First-Class Mage Exam

Final Thoughts

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