Denken ｢デンケン Denken?｣ is an Imperial Mage and a first-class mage. Born in the Weise Region, he lost both of his parents by demon attacks and was raised by Glück, the feudal lord of Weise. When he was young, he was the apprentice of Macht, who was serving as the personal mage of Glück's family. Because of his wife's frail condition, Denken became a mage in the Imperial army and tried to gain power and influence in hopes of saving her life, but unfortunately she passed away before he could. After the death of his wife and the formation of the Golden Land, Denken had delayed returning to his hometown until it was swallowed up by the Golden Land. Since only first-class mages are allowed to enter the Golden Land, Denken took the First-Class Mage Exam at the same time as Frieren and Fern. He is the oldest examinee that passed that year's exam.
Personality[]
As an Imperial Mage, Denken is renowned to be a cunning and ruthless politician who reigned supreme in a struggle of power at the Imperial Capital. However, in truth he is quite personable and makes connections with others even to their reluctance, such as going out of his way to approach Richter outside of the First-Class Mage Exam. He is also a rare mage who values coordination and cooperation rather than acting on his own, and was willing to go out of his way to secure allies. Unlike most mages, he does not put too much emphasis in reaching greater heights of power by all means. He believes that the value of magic lies in the pursuit of the magic itself, an opinion which Frieren is in agreement with.
Denken is also a competent leader. He is a careful and contemplative person who keeps his calm and analyzes the situation. In the first stage of the exam, he is the first to figure out Frieren's strategy and coordinated his team's conduct to moderate success. He also manages to form a team for the second stage of the exam, where he expresses dismay at the lack of cooperative spirit among other examinees. During their preparation to fight Macht, Denken is ready to wait for at least three years for Frieren to finish analyzing Macht's Diagoldze, exemplifying both his patience and his persistence.
Lernen, who is his long time friend, describes Denken as a talented and passionate man who stood up for him until the end when he was expelled from his position in the Imperial Army. Although his current conduct may not indicate it, Serie remarks that Denken still retains his passion and vigor in their interview and is impressed enough to let him pass the third stage of the First-Class Mage Exam. He shows he is willing to go to great lengths to get what he wants, namely when he is ready to engage in a fistfight in order to steal a Stille and pass the first stage of the exam. He is also willing to aim for feats which exceed his abilities, such as challenging Frieren in the first stage of the exam, contemplating how to fight Serie, and attempting to defeat Macht, the most powerful Sage of Destruction and whom was also his master.
For most of his life, Denken is weighed down by the death of his wife and is fearful of remembering the happy times he has spent with her. It is why he has delayed returning to visit his hometown for so long that it has become a restricted area due to the Golden Land's expansion. However, the happy memories he has in his hometown with her becomes the impetus for his quest to defeat Macht and save his hometown.
Denken has a soft spot for young adults like Laufen, Fern, and Stark since he never had children nor grandchildren of his own. He treats and spoils them before parting ways after the exam.
Appearance[]
Denken is an elderly man who has brown hair and a long, thick beard. He wears a monocle on his left eye. He is commonly seen wearing a long, black robe with white collars.
Abilities[]
Denken is a powerful mage who achieved the rank of first-class mage, a title only under fifty people have ever been able to achieve.
Denken reflects Diagoldze back onto Macht with Mistilziela.
- Tornado Winds: Waldgose: Denken is able to create a tornado that envelops his target.
- Wind becomes Hellfire: Daosdorg: Denken turns a source of wind into a blaze of fire surrounding the target. He used this as a follow-up attack after Waldgose against Frieren.
- Lights of Judgement: Catastravia: Denken summons numerous arrows of light directed at his target. Upon contact, they form a barrage of large explosions.
- Offensive magic: Zoltraak: An ordinary spell that shoots a single blast or multiple at a target at immense speed. Denken claims it is a fundamental spell for a mage and has been improved upon for more than half a century.[3] He has mastered this spell to such a great level he is capable of casting a highly concentrated Zoltraak from his bare hands.[4]
- Curse Reversal Magic: Mistilziela: This spell reflects anything it perceives to be a curse back at the one who cast it. However, it uses a colossal amount of mana, comparable to the mana needed to erect omnidirectional defense magic. It also requires a hundred years of practice to learn, making it impossible for a human to learn through ordinary means. Denken was able to obtain it from Serie through her spell to transfer a spell, Fürwehrer as his chosen spell awarded to him for becoming a first-class mage. Denken chose this magic particularly to counter Macht's Diagoldze once they fight.
Manga Appearance[]
| Chapter 77: A Thunder of Dragons | Appears |
| Chapter 78: Lake Korridor | Absent |
| Chapter 79: The Great Tor Canyon | Absent |
| Chapter 80: Holy Snow Crystals | Absent |
| Chapter 81: The Golden Land | Appears |
| Chapter 82: Diagoldze—The Spell to Transmute All Creation into Gold | Appears |
| Chapter 83: The Stone Bracelet of Servitude | Appears |
| Chapter 84: Daredevil | Absent |
| Chapter 85: Malice | Appears |
| Chapter 86: Discussions | Appears |
| Chapter 87: Affection | Appears |
| Chapter 88: Solitär | Absent |
| Chapter 89: Guilt | Absent |
| Chapter 90: Glück | Absent |
| Chapter 91: Onstage | Flashback |
| Chapter 92: The End of Weise | Flashback |
| Chapter 93: The Great Barrier | Appears |
| Chapter 94: Analysis | Appears |
| Chapter 95: Nameless Great Demon | Appears |
| Chapter 96: Master and Apprentice | Appears |
| Chapter 97: Observation | Appears |
| Chapter 98: Retribution | Appears |
| Chapter 99: Offense and Defense | Appears |
| Chapter 100: The Fundamentals of Mages | Appears |
| Chapter 101: Breakthrough | Appears |
| Chapter 102: A Tie | Appears |
| Chapter 103: Time for Retribution | Appears |
| Chapter 104: A Visit to Her Grave | Appears |
| Chapter 126: A New Mission | Absent |
| Chapter 127: Retrieval Mission | Absent |
| Chapter 128: Magic Special Forces | Absent |
| Chapter 129: Shadow of the Empire | Absent |
| Chapter 130: Beneath the Water's Surface | Appears |
| Chapter 131: Escape | Absent |
| Chapter 132: Chase | Appears |
| Chapter 133: Silver Coins | Absent |
Trivia[]
- Denken is German / Dutch for "to think" if used as a verb. Used as a deverbal noun, it means "the act of thinking".
- Denken ranked the following in the official popularity polls:
- 7th in the first popularity contest with 2,152,167 points.
- 12th in the second popularity contest, where multiple votes per character were counted.
- In this same contest, Denken ranked 8th when counting only unique votes (one vote per character per person).
References[]
- ↑ Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Manga: Chapter 87 (p. 4), note: Denken mentions that he will be 78 later this year, 30 years after Himmel's death.
- ↑ Note: By Chapter 105, it is 31 years after Himmel's death.
- ↑ Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Manga: Chapter 100 (p. 18).
- ↑ Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Manga: Chapter 102 (p. 11).