She's Definitely Asking for It... Frieren's Classic Gag of Getting Bitten by a Mimic After Finding a Treasure Chest

This is what they call "tension and release," isn't it? A classic scene known among fans of the anime "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" (Sousou no Frieren) involves Frieren confidently opening a treasure chest, only to almost get her head eaten by a mimic—a traditional comedic moment. Such a scene awaited even after an intense magical battle akin to a final boss fight.

Currently available for streaming, the anime "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" is based on the manga of the same name, with the original story by Kanehito Yamada and art by Tsukasa Abe, serialized in "Weekly Shonen Sunday." Set in a world following the defeat of the Demon King, it follows the journey of Frieren, an elf mage who has lived for over a thousand years (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki), as she travels with her apprentice Fern (voiced by Kana Ichinose) and warrior Stark (voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi) to learn more about people.

The original comic series, which has received numerous awards and widespread acclaim, has over 22 million copies in circulation with 13 volumes published to date. The TV anime aired from September 2023 to March 2024, and after each episode, related keywords frequently trended on X (formerly Twitter), indicating its massive popularity. A second season of the anime has also been announced.

During the second stage of the first-class mage selection exam, Frieren and her fellow mages tackled the dungeon known as the "Ruins of the King's Tomb" The final challenge waiting in the deepest part was a battle against replicas possessing the same skills as the examinees themselves. The examinees had to cooperate to fight their own replicas. Naturally, the most challenging opponent was the replica of Frieren, a renowned mage known by all. The battle was fierce as Frieren and her apprentice Fern, who knows her well, joined forces to take on Frieren's replica.

Nevertheless, Frieren managed to defeat her replica, concluding the Frieren vs. Frieren battle. Including other examinees who barely held on until the end, 12 people cleared the "Ruins of the King's Tomb" and passed the second stage of the exam.

While everyone was being informed of their success in the treasure room, Frieren was nowhere to be found. As Denken (voiced by Jiro Saito) looked around, wondering, "…So where did our MVP go?" he noticed something moving in a corner of the room. There was Frieren, half-eaten from the head by a mimic, in a position that looked like she was being devoured from the upper body, flailing her legs while saying, "It's dark, I'm scared."

This unexpected "routine" scene followed an intense magical battle akin to a "final boss fight." Even Denken was left speechless at the sight of the skillful mage in such a helpless state.

(C)Kanehito Yamada, Tsukasa Abe/Shogakukan/ "Frieren"Project