Do you declare your name before exterminating a pest?
What They Say:
“The Divine Revolte”
Frieren, Fern, and Methode enter the woods to look for the four-armed Divine Revolte.
Review: (Please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The two parties have come together in pursuit of the demons responsible for the massacre of Genau’s hometown, and they’ve narrowed it down to a four-armed swordsman demon general and his helpers. Although Genau keeps tightlipped and unemotional as always, he has a history with this particular demon. Methode was only assigned to be his partner in this Northern Plateau demon-slaying because his previous partner was killed… by the very same demon. Last episode, we saw a brief flash of Genau telling someone not to become like him. Now we see the full context of that conversation, preparing for his journey with Methode by warning her of his character and of the perils of the reverse.
Genau is obsessed with the concept of a good person. Despite his cold demeanor, he’ll turn any one-on-one silence into a conversation about good people, a label he prescribes to many of those conversation partners but never himself. He’s constantly caught between the conflict of admiring people who can be “good” and considering them fools who get themselves killed by their empathy. He clearly wishes he could see himself as a good person, but finds the prerequisites to be one too deliberately self-sabotaging to consider. Meanwhile, “good people” like Stark see the qualities that in fact make Genau a good person by his own definition. He stays at the ruins of his village to protect the corpses until they can be picked up and shuttled to a mass grave, insists on doing so alone, shows admiration for the good of others, respects Methode looking out for him, and makes great sacrifices to help others. But all Genau can see is the pain he’s caused in pursuit of that justice, the fact that he can’t even feel sad about his village, and his lack of connection with anyone who displayed the compassion he can’t recognize within himself. The fact that he cares so much about not being a good enough person illustrates exactly how much he is one.
This is contrasted with the demons, especially the general we finally meet and identify as “the Divine” Revolte. The presence or lack of empathy is such a defining characteristic of intelligent beings that it makes it nearly impossible for either side to understand how the other operates. We all expect to see the same fundamental understanding in others like ourselves, and in a sense, that’s what empathy is in the first place. Because of this, it may seem like the humans, elves, dwarves, etc. could understand the demons slightly better than the reverse, but the opposite is just as true. Because empathy is such a foreign concept to demons, and not one that could be properly explained to someone who has never experienced it, they simply view it as a flawed quirk of these other species, an easy weakness to predict and exploit. Humans are inherently curious and want to understand the “why” of every other form of life. But Revolte sees no need in understanding why humans would act the way they do, because as long as he knows how they’ll act, he knows he can take advantage of it. One of Revolte’s demons shows some of that curiosity, and Revolte teases the existence of a demon who studies humans, but their perspective is purely scientific rather than seeing humans as similar to themselves or possessing feelings. Genau may see himself as almost demonic, thinking he can’t empathize with others and will coldly, rationally sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals. But the juxtaposition between his pain in facing the darkness around him and Revolte embracing killing and destruction as the greatest goal illustrates the subtle warmth in the former’s nuanced complexities.
Just as Revolte anticipated, the group splits up, not by their original parties but unintentionally into the boys and the girls. Because Genau, despite appearing to be the least personable, is actually the most interesting character in this arc thus far, the times that he decides to open up to someone else are always fascinating and enrich his characterization. In both episodes, the most prominent example of this has put Stark on the receiving end, which is a great match for Genau because of how pure and warmhearted Stark is. Genau’s former partner and Stark both shine too brightly for Genau, only further deepening his own self-loathing by comparing himself to that almost Himmel-like charisma. At the same time, these are the kind of influences he needs to grow as a person and accept some of the good within himself.
Methode found herself in a similar position opposite one of Genau’s speeches about good people, their weakness, and his own faults as a human being. Neither of them understand why Serie paired them together for this kind of mission, given Methode’s own soft nature while someone like Ubel would eat up the opportunity to kill with impunity. Maybe we’ll get an answer by the end of the season. Serie remains a supremely enigmatic presence no matter how much we see of her and how straightforward her thought process seems. This is a quality of all the elves in the series, perhaps an inherent characteristic of their species like the demons’ psychopathy or a symptom of having millennia to think and observe. The charitable assumption would be that Serie knows it’s better to pair Genau with a kinder person and let them complement each other than unleash Ubel into an environment that would empower her bloodlust. It calls back to the balance between Frieren and Himmel in how they approached demons in particular. Genau is clearly more like Frieren, able to look past any demonic manipulation and kill them without mercy, while his former partner, Methode, and Stark all operate more like Himmel, a positivity Genau needs to remind him of his own humanity but one that could be dangerous without a cold pragmatist like him. While Serie certainly works in support of the greater good, she also comes across as selfish and petty, so it’s hard to predict her motives at this point. It’s just as fascinating to explore the mysterious aspects of elves and the cold brutality of demons as the aching humanity of troubled souls like Genau.
For her part, Methode operates mostly as comic relief, seeing cute little elf girls like Frieren and Serie more or less like cats, wanting nothing more than to pet and hug them even though they’re so many centuries older than her. Fortunately for Methode, she’s savvy enough to know exactly what kind of cat treat will get Frieren in her lap, and it leads to an amusing back and forth testing Fern’s fragile jealousy and ultimately leading Frieren to a familiar position without the need of a mimic. It’s interesting to see Frieren declare that they should talk to ease the tension and strengthen their bond even while it risks their safety. It’s a little unfortunate that Methode’s hyperfocus precluded anything deeper among the trio, but it does end up serving the stated purpose of easing the tension just before it goes into overdrive.
We’re used to seeing Frieren come across demons she had encountered in the past, and it’s common practice to have the “boss” of an arc face off with the protagonist. There’s still potential for the latter, and in fact it would be quite surprising if Frieren and Revolte never interact. But for now, it’s refreshing to see the supporting cast have to fend off the big bad while the lead is dealing with presumably lesser threats, especially since Genau has a history with Revolte and Stark is the most natural counter to his physical attacks. All three demons immediately unleash powerful onslaughts that seem dangerous enough that one wrong move could mean death for anyone in this alliance. Still, Frieren is comfortable enough with this caliber of demon that she uses it as a teaching opportunity for her newly-minted first-class disciple, barely warning her of attacks in time to defend. Methode gets separated from the others, leaving her the only one to face a demon solo, but given her aggressor’s interest in her unusual qualities, maybe we’ll get a sense for why Serie felt she was the best choice to hunt down demons in the Northern Plateau.
As expected, every moment of the two (soon to be three) individual battles is spectacularly executed. The animation feels like Revolte’s swords: able to switch between sharp and light and unbelievably heavy. The magic battles employ beautiful use of effects and compositing, but getting the melee action from Revolte and Stark adds an extra layer of dynamism that enhances this literal swords and sorcery showdown even more. As moving as the calm music is in this series, the battle music is always so effective in selling the excitement, and the piece used as Revolte attacks is yet another standout. The episode ends just as the action is getting underway, but just the taste we got in this episode could be the highlight of most other series.
In Summary:
The Revolte arc is well underway, though with only three episodes remaining in the season, it does feel like it takes a while for the two sides to actually cross paths. Fortunately, the discussions within each group leading up to these encounters are at least as valuable, particularly in examining the likes of Genau and Revolte. The former’s dilemma between wanting to be a better person and fearing the vulnerability it brings is a theme that continues to add depth to a character that was presented as very one-note. Meanwhile, demons are always intriguing character studies in their cold, calculating predation, and Revolte adds a sinister new perspective to that paradigm. These relatively static conversation pieces offer so much thematic richness that I’m happy to let Frieren take its time, but it does begin to touch upon the promised action by the end, showcasing visual splendor and sonic thrill just enough to whet our collective appetite for what’s to come.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Advent Seven 
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