Frieren: Reelseiden, Übel’s Special Spell Explained

Magic is a very important part of the Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End lore. The titular protagonist of the series, Frieren, is a mage, and after the fall of the Demon King, she continued her journey to collect spells from all around the world, as that was her hobby. Now, you can understand that magic is quite important for the world of Frieren, but in this article, we will not discuss that on a general level, as we will focus on one special spell from the series. The spell in question is the Spell that slashes almost anything: Reelseiden, and it is Übel’s signature spell. In this article, you will find out everything you need to know about it.

Reelseiden is able to cut through anything

There are numerous spells in the world of Frieren, as you probably know by now. Some are more useful, some less. A lot of them have been named, either by using names or descriptive names, and we on Fiction Horizon have already discussed some of these spells. In this article, we are going to talk about Reelseiden, a spell that had been introduced earlier, but has only recently entered the spotlight of the series, which is why we have decided to introduce it to you.

If you remember the First-Class Mage Exam, most of the Mages entering it had some signature spells, which – in a way – reflected their personalities, as well as their views on Magic as a whole; Frieren is, perhaps, one of the rare exceptions, as her approach to magic is all-encompassing and very diverse. The other mages had one or two focal points, and in the case of the notorious, it was her Reelseiden spell, whose full name is Spell that slashes almost anything: Reelseiden.

As the name suggests, Reelseiden is a powerful offensive spell that is able to cut through anything. Well, almost anything. Übel initially used it during the first task to fight Wirbel, but she was unable to defeat him with it. Later though, during the second task, she was able to slash through Sense’s Perfect Replica with that spell, which was an important moment, as Sense’s Perfect Replica was one of the most dangerous ones in the Ruins of the King’s Tomb.

In short, Reelseiden functions on the principle of imagination – if Übel can imagine, perfectly, that she can cut through something, she will be able to cut through it. On the other hand, if she cannot imagine it properly, her spell will backfire. Now, this seems fairly easy, but the world of magic doesn’t really function like that and we are going to use the next section to provide you with a proper explanation of this complex spell.

The mechanism behind it is quite intriguing

Before we actually get to the explanation, a quick but necessary introduction. Sense, while reminiscing her first encounter with Übel’s Reelseiden, explained that the world of magic is a complex one. Every intelligent being is aware of defensive magic and based on that, they adapt their way of thinking, knowing that their spells – if not strong enough – cannot penetrate a powerful defensive spell. Since magic in Frieren really does function in such a way, this makes sense: magic is actually the art of making the imaginable real. If you can imagine something perfectly, you will probably be able to make it happen using magic.

This is why our intelligence is a hindrance – rationally, we perceive a strong defensive spell as impenetrable, and because of that, our magic doesn’t break it. This precognition is problematic because it influences the approach we have and it was the basis for how and why Burg’s “Immovable Cloak” worked. But, as Übel said, that logic did not apply to Reelseiden.

As she explained to Sense, when she was little, she would watch her older sister sew and cut through cloth. And while she liked the sound of cutting, this was not important here. What was important was that one could cut through cloth because one expected to be able to cut through it with a pair of scissors. One imagined it, and it was possible. This is the logic that Übel used.

Sure, as we’ve said, magic worked in a different way due to our rational minds, but that is why Übel simply disregarded the rational approach and based her approach only on her intuition. If she could imagine cutting through something, she would do it simply because she wouldn’t care much about the defensive spells there. This is why she was able to cut through Burg’s “Immovable Cloak”, as it was simply a piece of fabric to her (and she could definitely imagine cutting through the fabric, so the defensive spells were completely irrelevant), as well as through Sense’s Perfect Replica, because her main power was in her long hair (as Übel said, hair was for cutting, so even though Sense’s hair was imbued with defensive magic, Übel was able to cut it because it was, in the end, just hair). And that is how this works.

But why was she unable to cut through Wirbel, then? And why did Land warn her about fighting Sense’s Perfect Replica? Well, the Reelseiden is not an omnipotent spell, really, and it cannot penetrate defensive spells as a concept. This is why Wirbel was able to block her attacks, as Übel cannot properly imagine slicing something as abstract as magic. Hair and clothes are different, but magic is too abstract for her to imagine, and that is the only major downside of this spell that we know of.

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