Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Vol. 5: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Vol. 5
- ISBN
- 9781974730070
- Publisher
- VIZ Media
- English release
- Pages
- 192
- Chapters
- 38–47
Frieren Volume 5 opens with the first mage examination's bird-capture rules and Frieren's new teammates. Its contents list chapters 38–47; this analysis reads only the licensed VIZ preview's pages 3–19. It follows the previous paperback's examination setup and assumes those arrivals rather than introducing the journey again. The checked box collecting standard volumes 1–5 includes this material. The excerpt concerns the test's opening, not its eventual result or a complete account of this book.
Spoilers — why this volume matters. Tap to reveal.
Kanne and Lawine's bickering gives Frieren a poor first impression of her examination party, but the attempted capture reveals a skill their conversation conceals. Kanne moves water while Lawine freezes it, with timing that Frieren recognizes as practiced coordination. They still lose the bird. Cooperation and a suitable method are separate requirements, and Frieren insists on observation before another attempt. The quieter explanation of their partnership matters just as much: Kanne recalls being helped through fear, while Lawine's praise remains entangled with rough teasing. The memory of Himmel and Eisen then refuses a universal encouragement script. Himmel's imitation of another adventurer fails, but Eisen feels less nervous after hearing that his companion is frightened too. In this opening, leadership begins by learning which help a particular person can use.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links on this page are affiliate links, which cost you nothing extra. They never influence what appears on this site or what the commentary says about it.
Lines from this volume
“You try really hard even though you're actually a coward.”
“Thanks to her, I've learned that anything is possible as long as I can get some momentum, even when I'm scared.”
The flashback before this line has already made the point, and made it better. Lawine lists Kanne's virtues, Kanne calls it creepy, Lawine kicks her off a cliff, and Kanne finds out in the air that she can fly. Then comes "I won't be nice to you anymore." That sequence is funny, specific and a little cruel. Kanne's summary to Frieren sands it down into a lesson about momentum, a sentence that would sit comfortably on a poster. It is also less accurate than the scene. What worked was not momentum in general but one person who knew exactly when Kanne needed a shove, and who had earned the right to give it by knowing her well enough to praise her. Frieren had asked how the two of them coordinate so well; the kick answers that, and the moral does not. The memory it stirs in her, starting on the same page, goes straight back to the specific: a campfire, and Himmel the night before their first dragon.
“I'm sure this sort of thing differs depending on the companions you have.”
Tomorrow is the party's first dragon fight, and Himmel asks Eisen whether he is scared. Eisen says yes, and Himmel, who meant to steady him, admits he is scared too. The pep talk collapses. Eisen says he feels less nervous now thanks to him anyway; Himmel apologizes that it did not go as planned, since he had meant to mimic another adventurer and encourage everyone. Heiter turns the failure into a method and tells him he can just act like himself. This is the corrupt priest of chapter 1, playing the adult at the campfire. It fits the Heiter of chapter 2 as well, who got Fern trained by arranging a situation rather than delivering a speech. The advice has a second audience. Frieren recalls it while listening to Kanne, and her conclusion, "It sure seems different for each person," is Heiter's sentence arriving decades late in the mouth of the one party member who was only watching.
Kanne asked for praise, and this is what Lawine offers first: a compliment with an insult built into it. Kanne tells the memory to Frieren during the first exam, after a monster attack left her calling out for the girl she supposedly hates. The obvious objection is that this is meanness with a kind ending, and the pages half agree. Lawine has already offered to kick her off the cliff. After a longer list of real praise (effort when nobody is looking, attention to other people, being considerate, being cute when she laughs), Kanne calls it creepy and Lawine kicks her anyway. Yet the insult is the accurate part. Kanne introduces the story by telling Frieren she is a coward who often freezes up in the heat of the moment. Lawine had named that at their first flight training, and named the effort beside it. Praise that left out the fear is the kind Kanne would not have believed.