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Frieren season 1 came to an end after episode 28, which concluded the First Class Mage exam arc. The manga currently has 127 chapters, and the anime adaptation is till chapter 60 of the manga. The anime is currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll, Disney Plus, and Muse Asia's YouTube channel.
Although Frieren season 1 is widely regarded as one of the most flawless adaptations of a manga, there are indeed some moments in the series that didn't manage to live up to the hype compared to the manga.
Disclaimer- This article contains spoilers for Frieren season 1.
Wirbel vs Ubel and 4 other moments in Frieren season 1 that didn't live up to the hype
1) Wirbel vs Ubel
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Wirbel and Ubel were among the most visually striking characters introduced during the First Class exam arc. Although both were already portrayed as some of the strongest "combatants" among all the examinees, they didn't manage to engage in an all-out fight.
During the first stage of the First Class Mage exams in episode 12 of Frieren Season 1, Wirbel's party engaged Fern's party, with Wirbel and Ubel facing off against each other. However, the entire confrontation ended in a minor skirmish, which was used to reveal Wirbel's backstory and his mindset as a soldier. Although many fans expected these formidable "combatants" to engage in an all-out battle, it wasn't delivered.
2) Denken entering close combat
Denken's entire character and his scuffle against Frieren were one of the most prominent highlights of the mage exam. Throughout the entire first stage, Denken's character was built up as a ruthless mage who rose to power in politics by eliminating his competitors. While Denken lost his fight against Frieren, he did manage to acquire a Stille by engaging the last remaining mage party in close combat.
Denken giving up on using magic and using his fists was one of the funniest and rather hype moments of the first stage. But the entire fight happened offscreen in episode 21 similar to the manga, and it did manage to upset a few fans, especially since there are many anime original scenes in the adaptation.
3) Stark vs Dragon
Stark's fight against the Dragon in episode 6 was one of the biggest highlights of Frieren Season 1. It contained a complete anime-original fight with animation that made the episode trend on social media for quite some time. The fight's entire purpose is to make Stark realize how strong he is and that even though he fought with his master Senshi, they are both very similar, and Stark is stronger than he realizes.
Although the anime itself was more impressive in pure spectacle, the manga version of this scene had more emotion attached to it. In the manga, the final strike was paneled, making it much more impressive, and framed Stark as someone overcoming a much bigger challenge.
4) Stark vs Ruler
Stark vs. Ruler in episode 12 of Frieren season 1 was the episode where Himmel's actual story was revealed. Episode 12 saw Frieren and her party travel to the village of Swords and then meet the village, whose family had made a promise to Frieren. The deal demanded that Frieren come back to the village every 50 years to get rid of the monsters near the village. The Village of Swords had protected the "Hero's sword" and was thus often targeted by monsters.
Upon reaching the group of monsters, Stark was swiftly "defeated" by the ruler, which prompted Frieren to take action. Stark soon rose and chopped off the ruler's limb that was about to strike Frieren.
Although this particular scene itself was adapted really well in the anime, the scene's portrayal in the manga did a much better job of driving home the simple fact that Stark was indeed a really adept warrior and much stronger than his appearance gave off. The scene in the manga also portrayed him in a much more capable manner.
5) Fern vs Frieren
The skirmish took place in the second stage of the First Class mage exam, where all the examinees came to a halt after finding themselves facing off against an identical golem of Frieren. Fern was later given the task of taking down the identical clone after being recommended by Frieren herself.
Frieren also revealed that only Fern would have been able to take advantage of Frieren's weaknesses due to Fern's superior magic release speed. All that said, Fern's fight with the Golem ended after Fern released a single spell and managed to severely damage the Golem.
The Golem then simply neutralized Fern broke her wand and was swiftly defeated by Frieren. Given all the build-up to the fight, fans expected Fern's fight against that golem to last longer, but it didn't happen. This all occurred in the latter episodes of Frieren Season 1.
Frieren vs Aura and 4 other moments in Frieren season 1 that exceeded expectations
1) Frieren vs Aura
Frieren vs. Aura was the first moment in the anime where Frieren's actual power level, along with her hatred for demons, was on full display. The fight essentially served as a testament to Frieren's combat prowess. Aura's magic allowed her to dominate and enthrall anyone who had less mana than her.
While initially, Aura managed to somewhat overpower Frieren using her magic, Frieren soon revealed that she had been suppressing her own mana for thousands of years to deceive demons and defeat them.
Later, Frieren used her huge mana pool to enthrall Aura and made Aura end herself using her own hands. This was indeed one of the most hyped moments in the early episodes of Frieren Season 1, especially considering it was the first actual serious fight that the main cast had taken part in.
2) Fern vs Lugner
Fern vs Lugner happened in episode 9 of Frieren season 1 and mainly focused on Fern and Stark as they take on Lugner and Linie. The animators themselves were hyping up the episode for an entire week and it managed to become trending on social media soon after it was released. Although Fern's actual magic prowess was somewhat foreshadowed throughout the early episodes, Fern vs Lugner ended up pushing Fern's popularity to an entirely new level.
3) Frieren breaking Serie's barrier
Frieren entered the First Class mage exam along with Fern, but in the first stage, both of them got sorted into two different teams. The first stage took place in the wilds inside a huge barrier that Serie had constructed. Throughout the first stage, almost every fan was waiting for Frieren's identity to be revealed, especially since almost none of the proctors had caught up to her identity.
Midway through the first stage, background dialogue revealed that someone had been analyzing Serie's barrier, and after Denken's defeat, Frieren revealed that throughout the entire test, she was battling others while analyzing Serie's barrier. Frieren then broke Serie's barrier and made her presence known to every proctor and even Serie.
4) Mana Fluctuation
Fern had her interview with Serie in episode 27 of Frieren Season 1 soon after Frieren had informed Serie about how she wouldn't be able to fail Fern. During the interview, Fern stood still in front of Serie, which made Serie disappointed, but soon Fern was able to perceive the instability in Serie's already huge pool of mana, which made Serie try to recruit Fern as her own disciple.
This moment was indeed a huge one since Lernen, Serie's first disciple of the current era, couldn't even see Serie's mana's instability. Although it isn't confirmed, fans speculate that even Frieren couldn't perceive that instability, which further makes Fern's observation a really impressive feat.
5) Frieren vs Frieren
Frieren vs. Frieren happened in episode 25 of Frieren Season 1 and occurred soon after Fern was incapacitated by Frieren's clone. Although until now Frieren was said to be one of the strongest mages in existence, fans had only seen Frieren use simple offensive magic, flight magic, as well as other rudimentary magic.
Frieren vs. Frieren became one of the most impressive fights in the entire anime, especially since the clone was able to use some of Frieren's most powerful and never-before-seen spells against Frieren herself, which further raised questions among fans about Frieren's huge repertoire of spells.
Final Thoughts
Frieren season 1 ended with a total of 28 episodes the anime hasn't been renewed for season 2 yet. But considering the success and popularity of the anime, it is expected to be renewed for season 2 very soon.
