Genau’s former partner apparently died, because he prioritized protecting a child in battle. Genau’s take is that although this made his former partner a good person, it also made him a fool. Sure, I suppose the utilitarian calculus shakes out if you assume that you would’ve defeated the demon.
ignore the child = beating the demon
∴ it can’t go on to kill more people
But you can’t assume you would’ve beaten the demon. Nor can you really weigh the life of one person against the hypothetical lives in some future that may or may not come to pass. Plus, if we’re going to do hypotheticals, we can sit here all day and drive ourselves crazy with what-ifs. What if Genau had trained a little harder to compensate for his partner’s soft-hearted, do-gooder personality? What if Genau had extra eggs and bacon that morning, so his spells would have a little more oomph? Sure, that sounds silly, but that’s my point. Wracking our brains like this is silly. Also, he really shouldn’t disparage the dead even if his intentions are in the right place. I know he called his former partner a good person, and I know he’s partly projecting his frustrations here just like how he was fuming over his village being wiped out, but still, you’d think a grown man — a first freakin’ class mage — would have a better handle of himself. “I’m tellin’ you all about how my former partner stupidly died to protect a child, but don’t be like me, who isn’t a good person!” What is it, bro? What do you actually want?
We cut to the demons, and Revolte, the four-armed demon general, is rather cunning. Apparently, they’re only attacking the villages in order to lure out the mages. He also predicts that the mages will split up, because someone will always stay behind to protect the dead bodies. Naturally, Revolte’s prediction bears out: our walking contradiction decides to stay behind and guard the bodies until the Order of Norm can come pick them up. Hearing this, Stark decides to abandon Fern and Frieren in order to provide Genau backup, to which the latter protests, “All that’s left here is the dead.” Then what are you doing here? I mean, we know what he’s up to: he actually cares more than he’s letting on. When they are finally alone, Genau comes to the conclusion that Stark is a good person… unlike himself. Blah blah blah, I’ve killed and forsaken people, I don’t even feel sad, et cetera, et cetera. Genau isn’t just staying behind just for the bodies. He’s staying behind because it’s personal. Not only was village destroyed, the four-armed demon general also killed Genau’s former partner. Maybe this is also Genau’s attempt at penance, i.e. if I manage to beat Revolte, then good. But if I die, then also good because I will have deserved it for not being a good person. I mean, did Genau really think he stood a great chance against Revolte on his own? I think he volunteered to stay behind by himself, because he’s wracked with guilt.
What has he been doing all his life as a mage if he can’t protect anyone? Or his own village? He keeps saying that he doesn’t feel sad, but who is he trying to convince? The rest of the gang or himself? Should he have been more compassionate in life like his former partner? Would he be happier now if he had chosen to live that way? Where does he go from here? All these questions and no answers. A part of Genau wants to wager it all in one glorious battle. Win or lose, it will be decided here against Revolte. Having said that, I don’t think this dichotomy makes Genau an interesting character. Rather, I think he’s just another silly man who can’t be honest about his feelings. He’s bottled them up to the point where he’s become potentially self-destructive. Maybe that’s why Serie keeps pairing him up with soft-hearted do-gooder personalities. After all, someone needs to rein him in, even for the little things like having the discipline to abstain from a late night snack: “I’ll pass. Methode will be angry with me. She says it’s unhealthy to eat late at night.” I’ve seen plenty of men like Genau before. Too many, actually. I don’t think I need another one in fiction.
So what’s Genau’s special magic? The ability to sprout black wings. Kinda edgy. I guess it fits his tortured personality. Wait, my bad, ’cause they’re not black wings. They’re niello wings, thank you very much. Pfft, sure.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— Why does one of the world’s most powerful mages sit like a gremlin? And never wears shoes or even socks? She’s thousands of years old, right? Imagine all that damage she’s done to her back over the millennia, because she can’t sit up straight.
— Yeah, Genau’s kind of a jerk. You kinda got that sense from him in last week’s episode, but he didn’t even shake Methode’s hand until Serie prompted him to. Maybe he’s one of those logical types who think gestures like shaking your new partner’s hand is superfluous and thus a waste of time.
— Genau also wonders why Serie partnered him up with Methode and not Ubel, since the latter has a penchant for violence and none of the conscience to hold her back. Sure, but I don’t think Genau could really rein Ubel in. On the other hand, he and Methode can keep each other in check. For instance, someone needs to prevent Methode from pampering Serie all day. Otherwise, they’d never get anything done. Speaking of which, what is Ubel up to right about now? Is she still trying to copy Land’s gimmick?
— I know you gotta lay all the information out on the table, but Frieren’s might freak Stark out right before battle: “Some of the generals in the Demon King’s army were far stronger than Eisen.”
— Again, the whole “demons are unrepentantly evil” schtick doesn’t really jive with me. They’re too smart to not be able to understand morality. I simply cannot believe that there can be all these demons, but not a single one of them is capable of good.
— Stark is so blase about the girls’ survivability without him. Oh, they can just run away if things go bad! Geez, man, two of them are your close friends whom you’ve been traveling with.
— Weird thing to say on your way to fighting demons. I’m going to assume Methode sees cute girls like pets. Yeah, let’s just go with that.
— In exchange for letting her pat Frieren’s head, Methode offers up a grimoire, but why do you need a thick ass, leather-bound book for a single spell? It’s also incredibly silly to rely on a spell for something so simple. Why waste your precious mana on that? Bro, you can achieve the same thing with just a little practice. But we as humans are terribly fond of our quick-fix solutions, like taking a pill instead of simply developing good eating habits and working out regularly.
— Is Fern ashamed of her master or jealous? Maybe both.
— Yeah, I’m leaning more towards jealous. This whole sequence is so ridiculous, but hey, if the goal was to ease the tension before battle, then it did the trick.
— It’s kinda cool that a healer like Methode fights with a… halberd? I’m no weapons expert, so don’t quote me on that. But she stands so upright. It seems like it’d be easy to topple her, but maybe she’s reinforced with magic or whatever. They can always cheat like that.
— Love how even in a do-or-die situation, Frieren won’t turn off her teacher mode. Why not fight the male demon together with Fern? Why chance it? Because she sees this battle as a learning opportunity for her dear daughter/student.
— Either Stark has improved immensely, or having the girls around makes him too nervous to catch decently-sized fish. Hmmmm.
— Lots of details about Revolte. Stuff like how he can change the weight of his weapons. I don’t actually care for this stuff. These facts feel superfluous. Why does it matter what his weapons are called?
