It certainly was the best one from the visual standpoint.
Summary:
- Episode 26 of Frieren impressed people with its amazing animation.
- Übel might be one of the fan favorite characters by now.
- The current arc is still not over (technically).
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) has already been one of the most beloved and acclaimed anime in recent memory. It felt like it couldn't get any better — it already had everything people wanted from it. That said, Episode 26 of the series might’ve been the best one yet. The anime really went all-out with this one.
It looked amazing
The most obviously noticeable part about Episode 26 is the animation. The series already looked amazing, but that episode was even higher in quality. The sheer amount of effects and high-quality animation surprised fans. The fight was definitely the best part in the entire series.
While action is not the main focus of Frieren, fans can’t deny that it looked absolutely awesome. It also makes sense: while the First-Class Mage Exam arc doesn’t seem to be entirely over, it was definitely the last major fight of the series, so it made sense for the animator team to go all out.
Übel
The episode also focused a lot on Übel’s past — and, despite her obviously psychopathic behavior, she is one of fan-favorites in the anime. There's just something entertaining about her. Even Sense said that “she doesn’t think like a human being.”
The anime reveals her past and how she was already disqualified from the exam — for killing a first-class mage that was administering the test. The test was to make said mage take a step back, and he was supposed to have absolute defense with his enchanted cloak.
Übel simply cut him in half. Fans sided with her here, however — the Mage Association was confident that no one who isn’t already a first class mage would be able to even scratch him.
Her power might be confusing, but essentially, she was taught how to sew clothing from a young age. That ended up in her being obsessed with cutting things.
As long as she can imagine something being cut, she can cut it — yes, it’s just as overpowered as you might imagine. It doesn’t work on standard magical defense, though, only on magical objects like the aforementioned cloak.
The arc is still not over
Outside of Übel, the episode also seemed to conclude the exam arc. Well, at least the main part of it. Fans expect this to not actually be the end, and manga fans confirm that part. We still have two episodes before the end of the anime.