Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Season 1 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Aura The Guillotine

Episode 9 of Frieren: Beyond’s Journey’s End begins with Graf thanking Stark and Fern for aiding him. He shares a tale about his kingdom’s past and how Frieren and her allies saved it from an onslaught of demons. Meanwhile, Frieren and Aura engage in battle and she shows off her Scale of Obedience. Graf tells Stark and Fern allows Aura to force others to obey her will until their body withers to dust. However, if someone with higher mana than Aura’s were placed on her scale, she’d lose. 

However, Graf says people with high willpower can resist the spell. During their battle, Frieren dispels Aura’s magic on her minions, surprising her. The last time they fought, Frieren blew them away with her magic. Frieren confirms Himmel scolded her for it. Before Stark heads out to plead with Frieren to fight Linie and Lugner, he asks Fern to visit the guard station to evacuate the townsfolk. Stark hands Fern Graf’s Family Crest Necklace so the guards will listen to her while he heads for town. 

Fern remarks about the blood on Stark’s bandages and he notes the blood on her cloak. Fern tosses her cloak and tells Stark there’s mana in the blood. Lugner subdues Fern while Linie attacks Stark, using one of Eisen’s techniques. Lugner asks Fern two questions concerning Stark and Frieren. Lugner feels Stark doesn’t have a chance against Linie and tells Fern that Frieren holds a strong grudge against demons. Fern and Lugner have a standoff, resulting in Fern reminiscing about a chat she had with Frieren. 

During the flashback, Frieren encourages Fern about her skills, stating how she has potential as a mage. Fern and Lugner fight and Lugner is impressed by Fern’s incredible skills. He asks Linie to hurry and finish Stark so she can assist him with Fern. Linie explains her mana reading skills to Stark, confirming why she’s able to pull off stunts like Eisen. Linie knocks Stark out, resulting in him recalling a flashback with Eisen. Eisen teaches Stark the importance of getting back on your feet, no matter if you’re fighting someone weaker or stronger than yourself. 

The episode closes with Stark and Fern defeating Linie and Lugner. 

The Episode Review

After the amazing set-up we received in last week’s chapter, many fans were excited to see what the anime’s ninth episode would deliver. On top of getting a glimpse of Frieren’s battle with Aura, this chapter gives viewers a splendid bout between Linie, Lugner, Stark, and Fern. While it wasn’t a flawless episode, one can tell Studio Madhouse put in a lot of effort to deliver an unforgettable one for fans to experience. 

With motivational flashbacks and stellar choreography, the visuals were on par if not greater than in prior chapters. However, Frieren’s battle with Aura wasn’t all that astonishing in comparison to her students’ fights with Lugner and Linie. This has to do with Madhouse’s insistence on using CGI to depict Aura’s knightly servants instead of giving them traditional designs. 

The CGI used for these knights may take viewers out of the experience and ruin their immersion with the scene’s splendid physical and conversational exchanges. Besides that, this was a splendid episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. It gave fans stellar cinematography, emotional flashbacks, and interesting characterization to hold them over for next week’s events. I’m excited to see how Frieren defeats Aura.