Spoiler Alert !!!Spoilers for Frieren Season 2 Episode 8 ahead!
My eyes have just been blessed with probably this year’s greatest fight sequence. And who could’ve guessed that it would be Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, delivering something like this? The way the series masterfully switches between its slice-of-life moments and action-heavy hype moments is truly worth taking note of.
Anyway, the fact that Season 2 Episode 8 would be jam-packed with action was well expected, coming from the previous episode. Revolte’s introduction was actually quite unsettling, and mix that with Genau’s backstory, it was the perfect amalgamation of peak writing. Well, there’s a lot more I must rant about from this episode, so here I go.
The Final Battle Against Revolte Is Where Frieren’s Action Peaks
Studio Madhouse went feral with today’s Frieren episode. They just raised the bar to an unprecedented height with a single fight. Not even a minute into the episode, and I got blasted with smooth sakuga action animation in the clash between Genau & Stark vs Revolte.
After all, the previous episode ended with probably the cruellest cliffhanger of the series so far. They just teased Genau’s special spell but did not show him in action. But in this episode, I just feasted with my eyes. And I must say, his Digardnacht spell, to me, seemed really cool.
It can not only give him the ability to fly, but each feather of the manifested wings acts as an extremely sharp blade. With that, he pretty much closed the gap between him and Revolte’s divine swords. Of course, he alone couldn’t pull it off, as Stark also popped off in today’s episode. And I’m not even exaggerating!
He even admits that fighting against a creature that wields four swords at once is unconventionally hard. And the fact that Revolte could change the weight of the swords at will made him even more unpredictable. Even so, Stark pulled off some crazy moves. The moment he took that strike directly to open an opportunity for Genau was insane.
Besides that, two more standout moments in this fight were when Revolte uses the other demon kid to bait Genau, which was just brutal, and Genau’s little flashback with his previous teammate. In the end, Genau realises he actually isn’t all that bad as he thinks of himself.
How Methode Showcases That She Might Be Stronger Than Fern
Methode in a still from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 | Credits: Madhouse
While the Revolte fight wraps up with an unexpected climax as both parties deal their killing move at once, Stark was simply better, man! Revolte couldn’t hold up by the end. And thankfully, both Genau and Stark were healed by Methode from their near-death situation.
On the other hand, Fern and Methode’s fight against the other two demon kids was pretty one-sided. Not to undermine those demons’ strength, but they simply didn’t stand a chance against Frieren, of course. Funny enough, Frieren turned this big fight into another training session for Fern, whereas Methode just aura-farmed in today’s episode.
As it stands now, Fern might have more mana output than Methode, but it seems like, in a hypothetical combat between them, Methode would easily overpower Fern. Methode’s Erilfrachte spell also worked wonders in the episode, dispelling the fog created by Nebeladora.
Now, after successfully carrying out Serie’s Demon-Slaying Request, Genau and Methode go their separate ways from Frieren and the others. Also, when Methode asked, for a moment I was like, is she really going to join their party as the priest? But nope, Frieren has already booked that spot for Sein. Well, it was great to see Sein animated again!
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 Episode 8: Final Verdict
Fern, Frieren, and Methode in a still from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 | Credits: Madhouse
Given Frieren has never been about high-octane fights or bloodbattles, today’s episode slightly edges over some of the others. On top of its character-driven storytelling, the action went impeccably hard. However, my only gripe is that it could’ve gone on for a little longer.
That’s just my shonen mindset screaming for more, while I know the entire episode direction and runtime were perfect for this arc, but still. Anyway, it would be doing an injustice to rate the episode any lower than a perfect score. What are your thoughts on Episode 8?
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
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