Death Battle Predictions: Frieren VS Hohenheim

 

Frieren, the last great mage of the Hero Party from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.

Van Hohenheim, the last citizen of Xerxes from Fullmetal Alchemist.

Being singled out from your surroundings due to malicious action, your knowledge and power being the only things to accompany you as you embark towards eternity; circumstances such as these can make life seem hollow. Cruel with few gifts to give. But across many, many years of life, would it be tens or hundreds, what matters most is what you are able to get out of those few gifts, and the many more you can receive by truly appreciating what you have.

These two have lived for centuries, and without a doubt are miles above the average person in terms of proficiency in supernatural arts. The rules of nature are malleable by their intellect and power, and today those attributes are to be compared to see who would come out on top in a battle that could seemingly end an endless life. Will Hohenheim meet his promised day of death, or will Frieren meet the end of her time Beyond Journey’s End? Prepare for the long haul (which ironically would be incredibly short from their perspectives), as we determine who would win, a DEATH BATTLE!

Though how unfortunate it is, to bring such an abrupt end to one of two rich and long-lasting lives…

Before We Start…

This blog will be going over the Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End anime and manga, and the Fullmetal Alchemist manga and anime. Frieren will also get the Official Fanbook as supplemental material (despite the name, it is indeed a guidebook by the author). Extra sources like guidebooks, the Webtoon, and FMA Mobile will also be considered for Hohenheim.

It is worth noting that this blog is only covering material going up to its release, April 7th 2024. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is an ongoing series and new material releasing could easily change the course of the entire debate. Keep in mind that we cannot see the future and know every single stat buff or new ability Frieren will acquire later in the series.

And of course, there will be spoilers for both series (especially Frieren as we dig into material that happens when the anime ends as well as during the manga). You have been warned!

Background

Frieren

“Despite knowing, with all my heart, how short human lifespan is… why didn’t I try to get to know him better?”

Our journey begins many, MANY years ago in a village full of elves, where the one and only Frieren resides. She ended up being the only survivor as a general of the Demon King’s army attacked and massacred everyone she knew in the village. Though she did ultimately manage to defeat the general, she was nearly on death’s door… until a chance encounter with a human mage named Flamme. After rescuing her, she became the elf’s master and taught her everything she knew in being a mage. After all, even before all her training, she had an impressive amount of mana at the time.

Frieren became fascinated in the pursuit of magic as she grew stronger and more experienced. It was to the point that she had no desire for any specific grimoire. The pursuit of magic itself was the greatest joy. While she was criticized for lacking great ambition, Flamme believed her apprentice would someday defeat the Demon King. She ended up teaching her as much as she knew, before passing away half a century later of old age. For her final wish, Frieren grew a flower bed around her grave.

Frieren would end up being alone once again until a chance encounter with Himmel, a young swordsman and hero who wanted to help others and defeat the Demon King. Recruiting her as the mage in his Hero Party, alongside Eisen the dwarf and Heiter the priest, they journeyed together for 10 years. Helping others, defeating all sorts of demons, and even defeating the Demon King himself, fulfilling her master’s wish. Frieren herself ended up becoming a very powerful mage, and remained famous for many years after this time. Though Frieren was none the wiser at the time, Himmel harbored romantic feelings and fell in love with the elf.  After their journey was over, they saw a beautiful star shower called the Era Meteors together and promised to see each other again after 50 years.

Upon meeting Himmel again after 50 years to see the Era Meteors again, as they promised each other so long ago, the hero that Frieren journeyed with passed away of old age. This time though, she shed tears for the first time in a long time. Feeling like she took life for granted, she questioned to herself why didn’t she try getting to know Himmel more in those 10 years? While 10 years might seem like an eternity for humans like Himmel, it was a mere pittance of time for an elf like Frieren who has lived for more than 900 years at this point. Seeing her friend and someone close to her die right before her eyes because of the passage of time again changed something in Frieren’s heart. This time, she wanted to slowly but surely confront her regret of not getting to know her friends and comrades better. 

Just like her master before her, she ended up taking her own apprentice, an orphaned girl named Fern, who also wanted to be a mage. She turned out to be a great teacher, as Fern grew to be just as capable of an adult mage at only the age of 16. Together, alongside a young warrior named Stark, Frieren would not only continue pursuing her passion in learning magic, but also try to understand the feelings and bonds of humans that she regretted not doing before. But unlike her younger years, she now had an ambition: to reach a place called heaven or Aureole, a place Flamme mentioned that would let her see old comrades again. 

Whether or not this place actually exists is a mystery as of this point in the story, but Frieren wanted to go there regardless to try and live life without regrets. It doesn’t matter if you could only live for 80 years or 1000, Frieren’s story is about appreciating life more and moving on from your regrets of not doing more with it. While she still wanted to pursue her love in magic, she did manage to bond more with her new party, especially with Fern, who achieved the rank of a First Class mage, something both were very proud of. Seems she lived up to the role of teacher just as much as her mentor before here. While her story has yet to be concluded, she’ll keep wanting to live life with this new perspective, moving on even Beyond Journey’s End.

Hohenheim

“That’s crossing the line Pride. Don’t ever mock my son.”

Amestrian legends speak of an ancient civilization that existed in the east. By all accounts, this nation was prosperous, ruled by a beloved king. According to legend, this land, better known as the former kingdom of Xerxes, apparently fell to ruin in a single night. This was no natural disaster; its entire populace simply perished in the blink of an eye. Unbeknownst to most, these legends were true, though not in their entirety, for there did remain one single survivor of the unexplainable calamity that befell Xerxes. That man was none other than Van Hohenheim.

Hohenheim, once a slave in the King’s court, had his blood used for Alchemical studies, leading to the creation of a Homunculus in a flask. Despite its non-human nature, the Homunculus possessed great knowledge and taught Hohenheim about Alchemy and the world, even giving him his name. With the Homunculus' guidance, Hohenheim rose above his slave status, becoming an assistant to the court’s head Alchemist.

As the King of Xerxes faced his mortality, he sought the Homunculus's knowledge for immortality. Following its orders, the King's men crafted a nation-spanning transmutation circle, even resorting to slaughtering their own people to fulfill the rite. Hohenheim attended the event where the King was to ascend, but the Homunculus' deception was revealed as the rite began. Xerxes was sacrificed through alchemy, with the great expanse of souls funneled into the Homunculus and Hohenheim. Hohenheim awoke to a deafening silence, surrounded by the lifeless corpses of everyone he ever knew. His master, his friends, his King; all gone in an instant. The Homunculus stood over the bodies in a replica skin of Hohenheim, now powerful enough to maintain a human form outside the flask. Hohenheim’s “son” thanked him for his help in deceiving the King and attaining immortality, then left the shattered and distraught man to grieve in the empty, silent city.

After the tragedy, Hohenheim grappled with the souls within him, wandering aimlessly until he was rescued by Xingese merchants. Sharing his alchemical knowledge with the eastern nation of Xing led to advancements in the Purification Arts, skyrocketing Xingese medicinal efficiency and cementing Hohenheim's legend as the "Sage of the West." Despite attaining great power, Hohenheim struggled with his unaging body and the souls within him. Refusing to use the souls carelessly, he conversed with each one, respecting their lives. Despite feeling alone, Hohenheim eventually found himself in Resembool, a small countryside town in Amestris - the new country formed west of Xerxes.

In Resembool, Hohenheim met Trisha Elric, and they fell in love. Despite having a chance at a normal life with Trisha, Hohenheim struggled to feel deserving of it. They settled down, and even had two children, but parenthood didn't come easily to him. Hohenheim's inability to accept this life led him to many shut-in days in his room, studying Alchemy. Perhaps it was for the best, then, that Hohenheim’s insecurity made acclimation to parenthood difficult, for it was in these studies that he realized a dark conspiracy behind the creation of Amestris: it was formed to sacrifice its people in a nationwide transmutation, mirroring Xerxes' fate.

Hohenheim realized he had to act, even if it meant leaving his family. Undoing the Homunculus' actions and the impending nationwide sacrifice seemed impossible. Instead, he entrusted the Xerxes souls within him to work together. By implanting various souls across the country in a transmutation circle, they could systematically destroy the congregation of souls within the Homunculus' body. Once removed, the souls intended for sacrifice would return to their vacant bodies. After planting these seeds of hope across the nation, Hohenheim returned to Trisha for what he feared could be the final time. Back home, Hohenheim instead found his house in ruins, greeted by a young boy named Edward, his son. Facing Edward, who had grown during their time apart, Hohenheim struggled to reconcile his role as a father, compounded by the news of Trisha's passing. With no turning back, Hohenheim resolved to stop the Homunculus from claiming more lives. Unexpectedly, he was joined by not only his sons but also by the many individuals they had encountered on their separate journeys.

With their forces combined, Hohenheim reunited with the shadow of his past, the homunculus - now naming himself Father - on the Promised Day. While Edward and his allies devised a plan of their own, Hohenheim distracted Father directly, buying everyone time to prepare their counterattacks. As a solar eclipse marked the beginning of Father’s sacrifice of Amestris, everything seemed to go according to Father’s plan, and ultimately, the lives of every single Amestrian ended up forcibly ripped and sucked into the homunculus.

For a brief moment, Father attained enough power to seemingly contain God itself, though this was short-lived. All along, Hohenheim’s plan was in motion; the souls he entrusted waited dutifully for the shadow of the eclipse to form a natural circle over the nation, activating the counter. In an instant, the Amestrian lives were ripped back from Father’s clutches, returning to their host bodies as though nothing had happened. With Father weakened, Hohenheim ensured that Edward and co. had the protection they needed to exhaust his remaining energy by acting as their shield. Even when pushed on the brink, Hohenheim succeeded in his duty, and ultimately, Father was finally defeated for good, banished back behind the Gate of Truth from whence he came so long ago.

The battle was hard-fought, and many sacrifices had to be made to win the day. At the end of it all, however, Hohenheim got to see his two children one final time, with the knowledge that they had grown into strong, independent, intelligent, and benevolent young men. For so long, Hohenheim hated himself and the ‘monster’ he had become; an immortal being that witnessed the passing of so many friends and loved ones. And yet, here, in his final moments before Trisha’s grave, Hohenheim ironically wished to keep on living. Van Hohenheim lived many lifetimes full of tragedy and sorrow, but in the end, he passed with a smile on his face.

Experience & Skill

Frieren

As expected of an elf, Frieren has enjoyed a long-lived life of over one thousand years. After learning under Flamme, her skill and volume of experience have grown immensely over the centuries, turning her into one of the most powerful mages in the world and is regarded as Flamme's greatest student. According to Lernen, the first ever first-class mage of the Continental Magic Association, Frieren’s mana levels are nearly equal to the Great Mage Serie's which, while also restrained, still places her above other first-class mages of the present day. 

Frieren has learnt a wide variety of miscellaneous spells from her adventures across the continent and can even learn new spells on the fly in the middle of combat. Her level of genius when it comes to magic is also incredible, being able to fully analyze and break down the spell Di Agoldze, a magic beyond the apex of humanity that cannot normally be deciphered as demon intellect and reason are beyond that of any other species', in about two months, as well as learning to resist it after having only experienced it once centuries prior. And while most of her spells are noted as being unrefined for her age, her mana restriction is complemented by Serie and has only ever been noticed at first glance by Lernen and the Demon King. 

Her experience as an adventurer has made her an expert at navigating dungeons. She’s also killed more demons than anyone in history, period and is experienced enough to beat first-class mages like Denken and a perfect clone of herself. Frieren and the Hero Party’s defeat of the Demon King was considered such an achievement that it was considered impossible for Serie herself to do it. She’s also a surprisingly great teacher, mentoring the aspiring Fern and helping teach and research the spell Zoltraak for humanity to where it’s considered basic offense magic and innovating defensive magic to easily defend against it. Her teachings would lead to Fern being classified as a first-class mage, a title only granted to the greatest of mages of the Continental Magic Association.

Hohenheim

While Hohenheim himself has admitted he is not much of a fighter, he makes up for it with his remarkable intellect. From the Dwarf in the Flask, Hohenheim learned literacy, writing, and arithmetic, to the point he was even able to pass on those teachings to his fellow slaves. All of these topics pale in comparison to his Alchemical knowledge though. Hohenheim with his knowledge of alchemy was able to impart it to the ancient people of Xing, who combined it with their existing medical practices to create Alkahestry, a brand new form of alchemy. Hohenheim was given the title of Philosopher from the West for his teachings, and would stand out in terms of Alchemic performance amongst his colleagues. Both Al and Hohenheim regard him as a skilled alchemist, and his alchemical feats support these claims, like making the giant dome to trap Pride. Keep in mind that he has spent hundreds of years honing these intellectual talents. He's lived for about 450 years, to give a number.

Hohenheim’s vast intellect and knowledge best feat however was in the dismantling of Father’s master plan. Through study of Amestrian maps, Hohenheim was able to break down and understand Father’s entire multi-century year old plan to have the country serve as a gigantic transmutation circle. Additionally, Hohenheim was capable of developing a counter circle just as complex, that required knowledge of specific coordinates and factors like the moon’s shadow. He both figured out this plan centuries in the making, as well as the equally complex counter procedure, in the span of just a few years. Most of them were spent on traveling across Amestris to confirm specific details. Safe to say Hohenheim is a master analyst.

Overall, while Hohenheim is not necessarily a fighter, that does not make him any less of a genius. With him being one of if not the smartest alchemists in the series, which is more impressive when you consider all the factors that go with alchemy such as understanding every aspect of the Periodic Table. Even if he says he’s not much of a fighter though, he has still shown a quick wit and ample reactions against tough opponents like Father. So just because he wouldn’t do good in a boxing ring, doesn’t mean he can’t pull his weight (and everyone else’s) when danger rolls around.

Equipment

Frieren

Staff

Like with all good mages, Frieren has her trusty staff. With it, she can channel mana in order to create and cast spells with greater control and precision; however, some spells can still be cast without the need of one.

Hohenheim

None notable.

Abilities

Frieren

Mana Concealment

Frieren can hide her mana, limiting the presence of her power immensely. While this may seem like a strange thing to do, the point of this ability is deception, as it has caused many demons to underestimate her. Especially since hiding her power level like this is considered shameful amongst them. Not even experienced mages like Aura could sense the instability of Frieren’s aura, which would end up being her undoing. 

Immense Mana Output

When it isn’t being limited, Frieren’s mana output is tremendous. It’s made known that she has considerably more mana than Aura, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction who’s lived for over 500 years. In its total output, her mana reserves can be comparable to the restrained output of Serie, an elven mage even older than Frieren who’s widely known as the “Living Grimoire”. 

Spells

Spells are created as a result of consuming its caster’s mana and are classified into offense spells, defense spells, Goddess’ magic, curses, support spells, or any miscellaneous spells. To reiterate from before, spells are typically cast through a magical tool like a staff or a grimoire; however, some spells can still be cast without them. Spells can also be taught to others or written down in grimoires or holy scriptures for others to discover and learn for themselves.

The way the magic system in Frieren works is a bit vague, but a key element is ‘visualization.’ What this means is that it requires understanding of how the spell works and if the user believes they can do it. For example, Ubel thought she was weaker than Denken, but thought she could beat Sense (who is a first class mage) because she could cut through her because she thought she could do it and well, she did. 

However, it’s not as simple as just believing you can do it. You must perfectly understand the spell and visualize it perfectly. It’d explain why Frieren still needs to learn spells from Grimoires (even basic ones like making shaved ice cream funny enough). Another example from Frieren herself would be she didn’t know how to defend against Macht’s gold transmutation spell, but later on was able to properly analyze it to the point it wasn’t considered a curse anymore, able to resist its effects and even completely reverse the spell after it turn the city into gold almost instantly.

In general, you still need mana to achieve great feats in the series. A person’s mana increases in proportion to how many years they’ve trained and since Frieren has lived for 1000+ years, you can only imagine just how much she has.

Offensive Spells

Offensive Magic: Zoltraak

Initially a piercing spell created by the demon, Qual, as human killing magic, Zoltraak can be fired as a large blast or fired as multiple small blasts of concentrated mana. It’s considered as the basis of the humans’ modern offensive magic system and has been reworked to make it effective against killing demons. Frieren herself has contributed to this research and acknowledges that it is one of the quickest spells to cast. However, if cast against her, she’s unable to react to it immediately, resulting in a slightly delayed reaction when trying to defend from it.

Destructive Lightning: Judradjim

A destructive spell that can summon bolts of lightning towards its target in multiple directions from the caster’s staff. 

Hellfire Summoning: Vollzanbel

A spell that can create a large blast of fire in front of its caster to engulf the battlefield.

Mana Strike

A pure and simple spell that can blast opponents away with dense mana. Frieren easily mirrored this spell during her battle with Solitär; however, she is not as proficient at using it when compared to the latter. She can use this spell without her staff.

“The Height of Magic”

An offense spell that seemingly repels the target with a large amount of gravity. When using this spell, its targets cannot sense its mana and aren’t able to recognize it as a spell. Frieren’s Spiegel clone uses this as a last resort against Fern after she took out both of her arms. This attack pinned Fern against a wall and shattered her staff; however, it also left her vulnerable, leaving the actual Frieren to go in and finish her off. Frieren herself states that it's been around 80 years since she last used that attack. 

Spiegel clones are perfect clones of its targets that can replicate their strength, mana, and techniques so it can be safe to assume that Frieren is able to use this too. She can also use this spell without her staff.

Spell to Transmute All Creation into Gold: Di Agoldze

While Frieren has technically never used the spell, it’s implied that after analyzing it for two months, it no longer became a curse and she fully understood the spell. That means she hypothetically has the ability to transmute someone to gold or as seen above, transform them back in a short time frame. Macht, the demon she analyzed this spell from, was able to turn an entire city into gold within a quick time frame as well, thus giving quite a bit of range with this move. See before the verdict for more details because… this’ll be important later.

Defensive Magic

A defensive spell that creates a protective, hexagonal barrier that can defend specific locations around the caster or encircle them completely. It was initially created to defend against Zoltrakk by aligning itself with the offensive magic and dispersing its power.

Though very powerful, it heavily depletes mana. If used within a large area, you’ll lose your supply in seconds so it would be better if the caster were to expand it to specific areas the moment they’d get hit. However, in modern magic, defensive magic can be defeated in two ways: hit it hard enough with mass to shatter it or skillfully slip through it using techniques (or if possible, both).

Healing Magic

As a mage, Frieren isn’t able to use most Goddess’ magic as they require holy scriptures to use, so advanced healing isn’t an option for her; however, she can still use some priest magic in order to heal any non-serious injuries. Although, if she and her party run into anything real tough, they’ll just give up and pull a Joseph Joestar.

Support Spells

Flying Magic

A spell that allows its caster to levitate and move through the air. This spell requires a large amount of mana to use – which, as a result, puts a limit on the caster’s flight time. Frieren’s apprentice, Fern, stated that she can only sustain her flight magic for a maximum of 30 minutes. Since Frieren has more mana than Fern it can be safe to assume that the former can fly for much longer.

Spell that Manipulates Stones as Puppets

Like the name implies, this spell can manipulate stones and rocks from the surrounding environment to create golems of different shapes and sizes. The resulting golem can be controlled by the caster and can cast duplicates of other spells that they’re using.

Dispelling Magic

A powerful anti-magic spell that can cancel out the effects of someone else’s magic once analyzed. This was first used when a group of undead soldiers controlled by Aura surrounded Frieren as shown above. Aura states that no one’s ever dispelled the magic she used to control them before.

Spell that Captures a Bird

Originally a folk spell created by hunters, this can ensnare any bird or birdlike creature with magic. It has a range of 50 centimeters. Yes, it is meant for birb and specifically birb.

Restraint Magic

A diverse supportive class of spells that restrains another person’s movement. These restraints take the form of magical bindings and can be resisted through different means such as differences in mana levels. This spell is generally used to combat stronger mages than themselves. Some variations require physical contact for it to be cast.

Spell that Breaks Barriers

A spell that breaks a barrier after its caster analyzes it (you’d think there’d be more to it). Frieren used it to break Serie’s barrier during the first test of the First Class Mage Exam in order to save Kanne and Lawine, shocking the examiners. Genau, one of the examiners, stated before that it would be impossible to break it even if Heaven and Earth were turned inside out.

Memory Transference Magic

An advanced mental magic spell that allows the caster to transfer memories from themselves to their target, or from their target to themselves. These memories usually start from a scene that’s left an impression on the caster. This spell can be used without the target’s consent. Frieren herself, however, is not particularly strong with mental magic, but can still use it when assisted.

Sealing

Like the name would suggest, Frieren seems to have some form of magic that’ll seal her adversary away for a long time, at least 80 years (geez, talk about a long nap). She used this when she came to the conclusion that her and the Hero Party had no chance of winning through power alone against a powerful demon (though it should be noted Frieren has gotten a lot stronger later on, didn’t need to seal the demon again and just killed him). Thus, this gives her a possible win condition if she feels that brute force alone isn’t enough.

Hohenheim

Alchemy Overview

Alchemy abides by two main concepts: The law of conservation of mass and the law of natural providence. A substance can only be created from the same type of substance; so if something is mostly water, you can only use it to make other things with the attributes of water. To obtain something, you must lose something of equal value. 

The process itself relies on a provided amount of energy being used to alter the structure of matter. This energy is able to be provided in many ways. Amestrian alchemists use the energy generated from the movement of the planet’s crust, for example. When alchemy is performed, the affected matter is quite literally reconstructed into a new form. This goes down to the atomic level, with an example of alchemy going this deep being when Edward had to rearrange the atoms in Greed’s carbon armor to make it weaker.

Alchemy goes through three main steps when performed: analysis, deconstruction, and reconstruction. First, you need to understand what you are manipulating, and have to think out what it will become when altered. This requires an understanding down to the atomic level of how an object’s structure works, basically a mental image of the periodic table and what goes with each element. From there the other two steps are simple, the object affected is broken down and reconstructed into what the alchemist desires in an instant. It is worth noting that some alchemists know how to simply stop at deconstruction however, resulting in what is affected (be it object or person) being completely demolished.

However it is important to acknowledge that the use of a Philosopher’s Stone is able to throw alchemy’s rule of equivalent exchange out the window. It is an ”amplifier of all alchemic processes”, letting you create something with resources of lesser overall value compared to what is produced. 

Hohenheim’s Demonstrated Alchemy

Hohenheim is distinct from the rest of the Fullmetal Alchemist cast in that he does not need any gesture or outside method to perform Alchemy. Due to his physiology (details later), Hohenheim can directly release energy from his own body and alter whatever he touches by simply coming into contact with it. Would the altered object come into contact with his hands, legs, hell his butt, contact is all he needs to perform alchemy on something. His physiology also allows him to bypass the law of equivalent exchange, as the immense energy he provides compensates for the lack of resources present when alchemy is performed. His immense power, knowledge, and energy reserves also allows him to perform alchemy far more efficiently and effectively than most other characters. 

Alchemy is extremely versatile in its usage. Hohenheim himself for instance has quickly made giant stone domes for trapping others, stairs for ascension or descension, platforms for crossing bodies of water or pits, and plenty of forms of attack. This includes unique attacks like stone dragons, but logically Hohenheim should be capable of other methods of offensive alchemy used throughout the series. Including piercing spikes, crushing walls, makeshift weapons, and many other deadly attacks.

In theory, Hohenheim’s capabilities should extend to nearly all manner of material objects, as well as various elements or energies that lack solid form, including water, fire, and weather effects like clouds and electricity. Alchemy can also simply deconstruct matter at a molecular level, as well as affect more esoteric things such as souls, or one’s own personal Gate of Truth under certain conditions. However, Hohenheim’s more passive nature leads him to not utilize options like these as often.

Philosopher’s Stone Physiology

A Philosopher’s Stone is a red, sometimes-liquid, sometimes-solid substance that, as mentioned, can bypass the rules of Alchemy to create more with less. The horrifying truth behind this amazing power however, is that Philosopher’s Stones are powered by human beings. Specifically, their souls. Hohenheim was fused with half of the souls of Xerxes when the entire nation’s souls were turned into energy, being deconstructed and reconstructed to fuse with Hohenheim’s singular soul. Though he technically is still human at his core.

His humanity does not mean he does not receive the several other benefits of being a living Philosopher’s Stone however. He is able to passively regenerate from wounds, and his regeneration should be similar if not superior to other living Philosopher’s Stones in the form of the homunculi. They frankly have ridiculous regeneration. For example, Lust was able to continuously regenerate over and over from a charred corpse while being hit by Roy’s flame alchemy, even if she did eventually run out of energy to regenerate with.

Hohenheim’s physiology also grants him some unorthodox abilities not correlated to alchemy besides regeneration. He can create omnidirectional barriers capable of absorbing attacks, drop some of his souls into the ground for later use, shoot a blast of alchemic energy, and even heal the wounds of others or straight up rearrange someone’s body. When he did do this, it was to help Izumi’s blood flow, but there is no reason to assume he couldn’t be more sinister with this power and cause problems if he wanted to. Not that he would, however, he’s too nice for that.

Though what is perhaps the most standout part of Hohenheim’s physiology is the very souls that make it up. He has a grand total of 536,329 souls contained within his body, serving as the key to his eternal life. Additionally, he has conversed and understood every single last one of them. He knows each of their names, hobbies, likes, and dislikes. This allows them to work independently for Hohenheim’s benefit, and it is their action that removed the Amestrian souls from Father, making him unable to use God’s full power. This was the reason Hohenheim had planted them into the ground in the first place, and they were the ones who activated Hohenheim’s counter circle, showing they are capable of outputting alchemic energy by themselves.

Of course, Hohenheim’s power is not some endless pool he can draw on. While he has over five hundred thousand total souls, that number is not infinite despite being large. If he has to overuse his energy too much, would it be through any of his powers, he will be unable to fight further. And without the source of his eternal life, Hohenheim is doomed to die. Though obviously, having such a large supply of souls means that getting him to death’s door through outlasting him is unlikely in most cases unless he is incredibly overwhelmed.

All in all, given Hohenheim’s nature as a living Philosopher’s Stone, it bears emphasizing that he should have access to just about any form or variation of alchemy demonstrated in the series, and potentially even more beyond that. While we could sit here and give a detailed list of every single alchemy feat ever performed, the simple fact of the matter is that Hohenheim’s alchemy is so broad that it’s not entirely necessary. As he lacks the need for a transmutation circle and bypasses equivalent exchange, the general rule is that as long as he knows what something is made of, he can manipulate and transmute it as he needs to. 

Feats

Frieren

Overall

• Defeated the Demon King alongside the Hero Party.

• Known as “Frieren the Slayer” for killing the most demons in all of history

• Lived for over 1000 years

• Considered to be one of the strongest mages in the series

• Defeated her own clone, who has the exact same powers and skills as she does

• Defeated Denken, a very experienced and powerful mage

• Defeated Solitär, who is a Greater Demon that’s been alive for a very long time and much stronger than normal ones

• Would go on to teach Fern in the ways of magic

• Fern ended up becoming a 1st Class Mage thanks to her teachings

• Defeated Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to claim the number 1 spot on MyAnimeList

• For now…

Power

• Together with Fern, lifted an old ship from the sea 

• According to Sein, Frieren had the spell power to destroy a whole forest and the village in it

• Had such a tremendous amount of mana, she was compared to Serie, one of the strongest and oldest mages in the series.

• It should be noted Serie didn’t show her unrestrained mana to Lernen when he made that comment. Frieren still doesn’t scale to her yet.

• Overwhelmed Aura’s own mana with her own and told her to… well, kill herself

• Should be noted this specific ability is something Aura had with the Scales of Obedience that required her taking a risk and having to prove her mana was superior, so no, Frieren can’t just force someone to commit suicide anytime she wants. Yes, we’re disappointed too. 

• Killed Qual in one shot, a demon she couldn’t defeat 80 years ago

• Blew up a large cliff that Zart had made (7 kilotons of TNT)

• Strong enough to destroy Serie’s antimatter barrier with her magic, which contained a huge area of land (10.9 Megatons of TNT (City Level)

Speed

• Dodged her own clone’s lightning spell as seen above

• Should be noted that there isn’t much evidence to suggest this is natural cloud to ground lightning speed

• Dodged a headless knight’s slash with ease

• Stole a giant rooster monster’s egg and ran away from it

• Her own clone reacted to Fern’s spell and blocked it

• Reacted to Laufen moving with the Jilwer spell, that lets her move at lightning speed (Mach 285.7)

Durability

• Despite always falling for mimic chests, able to get eaten by them without ill effect.

• Blocked Denken’s huge fire tornado spell without issue

• Stopped a demon from decapitating her head with her magic

• Fell from a really long height in an old wagon with no ill effect

• Blocked Denken’s fire tornado spell 

• Took a direct hit from Macht, the strongest of the seven sages of destruction

• Got blasted by Solitär’s “strongest spell”, who is a Greater Demon and was able to keep fighting after

• Protected the Hero Party from a huge dragon blast

• Was teleported above the clouds and cushioned her fall with her magic

• Survived being…attacked by a kraken while she was at sea somehow

Hohenheim

Overall

• Trapped Pride and played arguably the most critical role in the defeat of the Dwarf in the Flask, Father

• Studied alchemy to the point he impressed his master and escaped slavery

• Traveled across the world for years and laid the foundations for the discovery of Alkahestry

• Figured out Father’s ploy to make Amestris a gigantic transmutation circle

• Succeeded in communicating with each of the hundreds of thousands of souls in his body and respected every last one of them

• Was basically a dad to two different dwarves

• Actually got Ed to call him “father” (Multi-Century Old Dad W)

Power

• Was able to create a massive stone prison to contain Pride and Alphonse

• Hohenheim contains half of the souls of Xerxes, with all of the souls together being able to create a massive cloud splitting release of energy

• Blew a hole through a tunnel’s wall

• Hollowed out part of two stone hands and made a doorway out of them

• Made a strong Dragon that crushed a similar stone construct attack

Speed

• Outran Pride’s shadows in the tunnels below Amestris

• Dodged flying spikes from Father

• Reacted to and intercepted Father’s electric attack

• Despite the attack coming from above, extra sources like FMA mobile make it clear it is simply alchemic electricity, rather than natural cloud to ground lightning

Durability

• Blocked a continuous attack for several minutes from a weakened but still formidable God Father

• Walked off being shot by train robbers

• Survived being crushed by giant stone walls

• Endured the majority of a blast from a weakened God Father that obliterated Central Palace (4.1 kilotons of TNT)

• Survived Ed decking him in the face

• Also got decked in the face by Sig Curtis

• …probably safe to assume Father decked him in the face at some point or another

Scaling

Special images by Twilthero (Frieren’s) and Blue Igneous (Hohenheim’s).

Frieren

Fern

Like the title would suggest, Frieren is the master and teacher of Fern, so naturally this would mean they are comparable to each other. They use very similar, if not the exact same abilities as each other, and accompany each other in their journeys together. As of this writing, Fern is still apprenticing under Frieren and the latter is still considered her superior, so naturally they should scale to each other with the following feats.

• Fern was able to blast a hole through a huge rock with her magic (4.2 tons of TNT)

• Fern blasted through a huge window glass…as well as made a giant hole in a strong demon

• Fern overwhelmed the demon Lugner by blasting with magic blasts at a rapid pace

• A Stille is a type of bird that could move faster than sound and Fern manages to catch one

• Ehre has a spell that can ‘change rock into bullets’ and Fern reacts to it

• Fern then proceeds to counterattack with a barrage of magic spells that completely overwhelms Ehre

• Got impaled in the shoulder by a Greater Demon’s spell and was able to keep fighting

Himmel and The Hero Party

For 10 years, Frieren traveled/teamed up with Himmel and the Hero Party and was considered a legend among them. They went on a lot of adventures together and would even go on to defeat the Demon King. This happened more than 80 years ago and Frieren has only gotten stronger since then, so naturally she should be comparable to her partners and friends.

• Himmel was able to kill a monster five times his size with just a knife when he was a child, a feat that would normally require at least five adults to do

• Himmel blitzed a demon girl, cutting off her hands and saving the hostage

• Himmel sliced through several trees with swiftness

• Heiter was able to block several arrows in time with his magic

• Eisen not only tanked, but broke several spears for trying to stab him

Other Mages

Frieren is considered one of the strongest mages in the series with literally over a thousand years of experience on her. She’s defeated several of these characters here and is considered to be above all of them. There should hopefully be no question she scales to their best feats. 

• Frieren’s teacher, Flamme, killed three demons with a huge magical blast (9.1 tons of TNT)

• Lawine used ice magic to freeze a lake (38.3 kilotons of TNT)

• Richter rose a huge chunk of earth with his magic (3.2 - 12.7 kilotons of TNT)

• Denken made a large fire tornado so large it reached the top of the barrier (634.2 kilotons of TNT)

• Denken would also go to eventually defeat his former master, Macht (he calls it a draw, but Macht does die and Denken himself does survive after)

• Laufen can use “Jilwer” which is a spell that lets her move at lightning speed (Mach 285.7)

• Was able to snatch Frieren’s bird cage from her

Demons

Demons are the main antagonists in the series and Frieren and several other mages have defeated a majority of them. Frieren herself with the help of the Hero Party has defeated the Demon King, who’s…well the king of them all, so naturally this would mean they are comparable if not above all the other demons in the series. She’s even defeated ‘Greater Demons’ who are ranked above them, so they should be fair to scale.

• An unnamed demon made a fog barrier of magic that covered a huge area

• The mage Methode proceeded to disperse it later

• Zart was able to lift this huge cliff with his power (1.7 kilotons of TNT)

• Solitär was able to break the barrier containing the golden land (which contains the city of Weise) after analyzing it 

• Solitär was able to react to Frieren’s own lightning magic

• One of the most powerful demons in the series, Macht, turned the entire city of Weise into gold (Debatable, more in Before The Verdicts)

• Serie says he could turn the entire Northern Plateau into gold with his power if he tried (The Northern Plateau is a part of a continent, making this potentially a country level feat)

Hohenheim

The Homunculi and Philosopher Stones

Due to being at the epicenter of the demise of Xerxes hundreds of years ago, Hohenheim became a living Philosopher's Stone with the power of half of a million souls. Making him contain numerous more souls than any Homunculus or lesser Philosopher’s Stone in the series. He has showcased his greater power in the series before, creating a large stone prison to capture Pride without even lifting a finger for instance. Additionally, Hohenheim matching Father (more details later), who is regarded as vastly superior to every Homunculus further supports Hohenheim being above any feat performed by either a Homunculus, or a Philosopher’s Stone.

• Isaac McDougal, with a Philosopher’s Stone, planned to create immense ice structures across Central City (9.7 megatons of TNT)

• Sloth was so sturdy that tank shells literally just bounced off his body.

• Sloth could break through the ground of Fort Briggs (0.3 - 3.5 tons of TNT)

• Bradley was able to cut gunfire

• Bradley moved faster than the eye could track and blitzed multiple soldiers (Mach 3.2 - 12.9)

• Kimblee used a Philosopher’s Stone to destroy a town in Ishval (33.2 kilotons of TNT)

• Philosopher’s Stones are stated to be powerful enough to wipe towns “off the map” by Envy (190.6 - 672.6 kilotons of TNT)

• Pride was able to move his shadows across Amestris in a short time frame (Mach 11.3 - Mach 25.2)

Father

When Father isn’t obtaining the power of God itself and standing above everyone else in the series, he and Hohenheim are completely equal to one another in power due to each being living Philosopher Stones with the exact same amount of souls. Considering their equivalent amount of souls, as well as the fact Hohenheim was matching Father in their fight prior to Father trapping him inside of his body (as literal as it sounds), it is fair to say Hohenheim directly scales to the Dwarf in the Flask.

• Father is able to passively reduce the energy output across Amestris that is used to manifest Alchemy due to his sheer power, and even cancel out Alchemy all-together

• Father created a massive shockwave that pushed away clouds from the skies over Central (72.1 - 101 megatons of TNT)

• After absorbing the souls of Amestris, Father was able to go into space and react to large, fast tendrils approaching him from the Gate of Truth (Mach 1338 - Mach 1508) (Debatable)

• Hohenheim was still able to react to Father’s attacks, even after his numerous amps. This makes sense considering a greater number of souls should not inherently mean an increase in reaction speed, even if it can mean an increase in movement speed as seen with Sloth. Additionally post God absorbed Father should not be any slower than his giant counterpart.

Miscellaneous

Given his position as the most powerful Philosopher’s Stone in history (tied with Father), Hohenheim should logically scale or upscale most of the notable feats in the series. Performed by Alchemists and non-Alchemists alike.

• Edward can dodge point blank gunfire

• Roy could destroy giant ice walls created by Isaac McDougal (0.4 tons of TNT - 2.2 kilotons of TNT)

• Izumi made large stone walls (19.3 kilotons of TNT)

• Ed and Al could contend with Atlas, whose Alchemy could create giant ice structures 

• Ed could create a giant stone golem with Alchemy (9.1 kilotons of TNT)

• Ed and Ling survived being near Father’s shockwave which parted clouds (2.1 megatons of TNT)

• This could be debatable as you can interpret the scene as Edward not even taking an attack at all. Hohenheim would scale to the full potency of the cloud splitting shockwave regardless, via being comparable to Father.

Weaknesses

Frieren

God she’s such a loser

Frieren is immensely powerful, feared, and has a well-deserved reputation as “Frieren the Slayer”, there are few who’d dare mess with her. But beneath all of that is a very perplexing elf. She comes off as incredibly aloof to those around her. Frieren’s long life has influenced her perspective and sense of time. She cannot get up in the morning on time (just like me fr) and has difficulty understanding how humans experience the passage of time. In her mind, the original Hero Party’s ten-year journey was too brief and didn’t give her enough time to get to know Himmel. It wasn’t until Himmel’s funeral that Frieren promised she would make a more conscious effort to understand humans. She also is not completely invincible, as her defensive magic can be worked around, she can be blitzed, and her mana is limited despite being so bountiful.

Also, she is guaranteed to fall into every single mimic chest she comes across. (And the madlads running Frieren merchandise decided to capitalize on this, no kidding)

Hohenheim

God he’s such a loser

Hohenheim is one of the most powerful characters in Fullmetal Alchemist. His physiology, intellect, and power are second to none besides God itself, literally. His traits in the hands of any natural fighter would result in one of if not the most powerful warrior to ever walk the Earth, but that’s the thing: Hohenheim is the exact opposite of a natural fighter. He is a pacifist by nature and scholar by heart, and has hardly ever come into conflict with others. Whenever he has, he either resorts to containment, disruption, or defense. Making him a great supporting ally, but not your frontline soldier. There is also the fact that Philosopher Stones have a limited amount of energy, and that Hohenheim running out means his death. Though the hundreds of thousands of souls in his body means that is only really possible if he were to be significantly overpowered.

Before the Verdicts

A Certain “Black Hole”

On paper, one might think this feat is super strong. It’s a black hole after all, right? However, there are the four key issues:

1. While it definitely gives the impression of being a black hole, it does not show any properties that would make it equal to a real one, such as spaghettification or spatial distortion.

2. The ability is never directly described as a black hole or compared to one, this is only an inference that some have made based on its visual appearance.

3. If the feat were to yield planet level results or even higher, it would be far above anything the verse has shown off or would be narratively capable of.

4. This attack is only in the anime. Not in the manga.

Overall there is practically no backing for this being a legitimate black hole, with no statements of such and none of the correct properties, and the only evidence being that it looks kind of like one. Even if it was legitimate, it would be both an outlier and non-canon to the primary source material.

Macht Turning A City Into Gold

For context, Macht is one of the most powerful demons in the series, the strongest of the Demon King’s Seven Sages of Destruction. He’s so powerful he was able to turn the entire city of Weise into gold within a seemingly short time frame with the spell, Di Agoldze, along with all the people inside it. It’s referred to as the main magic he possesses several times and your magic power generally scales to how much mana you possess, an example being how Frieren was able to overpower Aura’s mana spell by being stronger than her. Serie, the strongest mage in the series surpassing even Frieren, comments that he could turn the Northern Plateau if he tried. It’s very unlikely she’s lying considering the seriousness of the situation and she could likely sense how much mana/power Macht possesses. The Northern Plateau is a part of a continent, hypothetically making this a country or so level feat. 

For clarity, scaling isn’t really the issue here. Denken, a 78 year old mage, defeats Macht and Frieren had defeated Denken prior before. Frieren seemed to imply she could take on Macht if she wanted (but passed since Denken wanted to be the one to do it) and later on, she even completely reverses the gold spell Macht had on the city in a short time frame.

Hypothetically, this would make Frieren much more solidly city and maybe even country level, right? Well, the issue is… transmuting something into gold would be extremely hard if not impossible to calc. Macht can turn people into gold and it seems to put them in some sort of stasis that can last for 80+ years that doesn’t seem to age them (one of the characters is the exact same age when he’s freed by Frieren years later). Also, turning someone into gold through non-magical means and then turning them back… would just kill them, so it’s a bit difficult to argue this as an AP applicable feat.

Does that mean this feat should just be considered hax based? Well… it’s complicated. The feat itself is supposed to be how powerful Macht is and when you have the capability to turn a part of a continent into gold could mean he still must have the mana to do it. After all, how magic works in Frieren means you still must perfectly understand the spell and how it works, so Macht also must understand how turning something into gold works and the properties behind it. Magic analysis recognizes the gold Macht makes as the actual property (but it is not malleable and far harder to actually break).

Furthermore, Macht’s also able to transmute actual weapons like a sword from gold from his cape and also ‘flakes’/pillers of gold to attack Denken with from the ground. He’s also unable to reverse his own magic (aside from his own body parts) because he’s too much of a monster to understand how to turn people back from gold, but Frieren later on does once she fully understands the spell by perfectly constructing a theory to do so. Also, when Serie reflects Macht’s own gold magic back at him, she comments that he could have turned his whole body into gold if he was going all out, meaning he can control his output. Finally, Macht during his fight with Denken says he could use his magic over and over again for the next three days, indicating it does use his mana.  

This feat and power is definitely a bit more complex than you’d think and there are some disagreements even amongst our own blog members. We recommend readers come to their own interpretation and conclusion with this feat.

Fight Script

It’s time for the number one anime in history to battle against the number one anime of today. Will Frieren’s journey end, or will Hohenheim leave the realm of the living faster than he left his family? yeah sure let’s go with that why not

In all seriousness, we hope you enjoy!

Verdict

“The Number 1 Anime in history VS The Number 1 Anime of today”

Stats

Let's start with power. As both are considered top tiers in their respective series, it is fair to say they can scale to the majority of other characters across both. This would allow them to scale to several ton and kiloton level feats. Would it be building damaging, terrain lifting, environmental manipulation, and so on, both scale to a variety of strong feats. But seeing as these two are clearly above the majority of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and Fullmetal Alchemist’s casts, it is only natural that the best strength feats each can scale to are directly performed by themselves. Or well, Hohenheim’s echo fighter in his case.

Frieren was able to fire a blast of energy that destroyed Serie’s barrier. Considering the barrier’s ability to convert matter to energy via its antimatter composition, and the fact it could stop even specks of dust, given the stated time period across which the barrier was active, its per-second energy output across its surface area would equal about 10.9 megatons of TNT. Frieren destroyed this without her staff, meaning she would logically upscale by a notable amount.

As for Hohenheim’s best AP scaling, we know he is completely equal in power to Father in his standard state. Both have the exact same amount of Xerxes souls, and both matched each other evenly during their confrontation prior to Father obtaining the Amestrian souls. This scaling is important due to Father managing to create a shockwave that pushed away clouds above Central City. Considering the size of the city, the speed of Father’s shockwave, and the kinetic energy required for the feat, Father had to have been outputting a force equivalent to either 72 or 101 megatons of TNT depending on the size of Central City utilized. Father (and thus Hohenheim) would notably upscale this feat, since like Frieren, he did it without utilizing his full power.

This leads us to a notable gap in power. Both upscale these notable feats, leaving us with Hohenheim being either 6.6 or 9.3 times more powerful than Frieren. Certainly strong enough to take out the mage in one or two decent hits. But there is an argument for Frieren being stronger, despite the barrier feat being below Father’s cloud split: Di Agoldze.

The argument for Frieren being stronger focuses on this spell, used by the demon Macht. Macht could use Di Agoldze to turn an entire city to gold and later, was stated to be able to threaten turning an entire part of the continent to gold as well. For reference, some calculations for Fullmetal Alchemist involve calculating the energy involved with transmutation. Some of the calculations in this blog take this into account after all. If the same formula for atomization involved in FMA’s transmutation was utilized for the feats involving Di Agoldze, Macht, and thus Frieren, would be absurdly more powerful than Hohenheim safer feats. 

The issue here is that the formula for sub-atomization used for FMA’s alchemy feats cannot be applied to Di Agoldze. FMA’s power system relies on deconstructing matter. The reason the atomization formula works for FMA alchemy is that alchemy breaks down and manipulates matter down to the atomic level. Alchemy can only turn something into what it could actually become, and works off of real scientific principles. An example would be when Edward changed coal to gold by deconstructing it’s matter to change it and he can later turn it back to coal with the same process, which is something like that can be used as an energy calculation. 

An example like that simply doesn’t exist in Frieren and Di Agoldze breaks these rules. There is no statement about it working down to the atomic level whatsoever, and it is able to turn things (flesh, stone, metal, etc…) into things (gold) they would never be able to turn into naturally. It’s observed by Serie that Di Agoldze still ultimately revolves around the concept of “Visualization”, i.e. picturing and understanding something to such a degree that it manifests in reality. Fundamentally speaking, you cannot calculate Di Agoldze, at least not with the current information we have on the spell, and the specifics of how deep an understanding of something has to be in order to visualize it into reality. For all we know the spell could involve requiring an understanding of molecular and atomic structures, but until that is stated, it’s speculation and conjecture at best. While it is noted that the spell takes an amount of mana to perform, and it is notable that it has a potentially country spanning range, that alone is not sufficient evidence to concretely say it is a country level spell. 

If you want to go by that route, a group of Hohenheim’s souls were able to spread electrical energy all the way into space and throughout the country (about 5.03 petatons of TNT). Plus if you were to argue Di Agoldze counting as a power feat, that opens the door for a lot more hax based abilities that have to be acknowledged as well. Don’t think anyone wants to slap building level on every case of Medusa turning someone to stone. Not to say that if you buy Di Agoldze you have to accept several other hax feats being power based, but it is something to keep in mind. But let’s be very VERY generous and apply subatomic deconstruction value to the Macht gold city feat. That’d come to around 760.83 teratons of TNT, which while certainly seems very impressive, is still not enough to match the output of just a portion of Hohenheim’s souls. And we’re giving an insane benefit of the doubt here.

With all of that power discussion out of the way, we can move on to speed. Frieren is the simple one in this regard, as she directly reacted to Laufen when she was using a spell that allowed her to move at lightning speed, which is stated by the guidebook. Mach 286, pretty clear cut. Hohenheim on the other hand is either significantly slower or notably faster. For his safe end, he should solidly scale to Pride’s tendrils as he outran them, and matches characters who can block them during combat. Pride’s tendrils could cross Amestris in short time frames, making them between Mach 11.3 and 25.2. Noticeably slower than Frieren’s lightning timing, by 25.2 and 11.3 times respectively in her favor. 

There is a way to get Hohenheim faster however. Going back to that giant Father mentioned earlier, he reacted to tendrils coming from space while he was huge. Reacting to them in order to catch them would require reacting to speeds between Mach 1338 and 1508. Notably faster than Frieren, but the issue here is scaling. Father did this as a giant millions of souls fueled monster, far above the previous base state Hohenheim had matched. 

However, it is shown in FMA that having more souls within you does not inherently make you faster in terms of combat and reaction. For example, Edward was still able to keep up with Ling just fine as he had before, despite the latter gaining the power of Greed. Hohenheim could also still react to Father’s attacks even after he had both the souls of Amestris as well as the power of God, which would place him on a similar level anyway, even if you contend that extra souls amp speed. The only case where speed seemed to be affected by soul power was with Sloth, but that was more so the power increasing his movement speed, rather than his reactions. Thus it is reasonable to say Hohenheim can still scale to the giant state of Father considering his performance against him elsewhere. Though it is understandable to be hesitant about the scaling, considering the power gap and Father being huge while performing the feat and all. 

To recap: Hohenheim is noticeably stronger than Frieren by either 6.6 or 9.3 times if you stick to Father splitting clouds. Arguments exist to get Frieren stronger via Di Agoldze, but they have holes, and Hohenheim has other arguments for keeping up and surpassing her regardless. Frieren can be between 25.2 or 11.3 times faster than Hohenheim if you limit his scaling to Pride’s shadows, but in turn Hohenheim can be 4.7 to 5.3 times faster if you scaled him to Father catching space tendrils.

Arsenal & Abilities

Both can match each other in a lot of ways. Both can shoot energy blasts, create barriers, and launch attacks without even lifting a finger with “Height of Magic” and alchemy respectively. It is worth noting though that, while she is not completely reliant on it, Frieren’s staff is a big aid for her. Losing it would not be an automatic loss by any means, but it would restrict how many magic shenanigans she could pull off. In contrast, Hohenheim’s max efficiency is not tied to any additional tools, as all of his power comes directly from his own body.

Frieren does have more total options for offense, with a greater variety of offensive spells compared to Hohenheim’s alchemy and energy attacks, at least in terms of what he has directly demonstrated. She has her own methods of energy attacks, as well as fire, lightning, and mana based attacks. While both her and Hohenheim can attack without lifting a finger, Hohenheim still creates an obvious flow of energy and construct when he does. His attacks are not invisible. “Height of Magic” on the other hand is an automatic invisible attack that Frieren can shoot out with nothing more than a glare. She has other utility options as well like creating stone golems or various binds to restrain Hohenheim.

Despite these options however, Frieren doesn’t have anything Hohenheim cannot deal with or counter. While Frieren has more total offensive options, none of them are attacks Hohenheim can’t intercept with a stone wall or energy barrier. He could instantly destroy the golems by just using alchemy on them to break them apart, making them something new or simply stopping at deconstruction in the alchemical process. Hohenheim’s contact based alchemy particularly counters mana strike, as Frieren making contact with him leaves her vulnerable to being transmuted. It would also let him destroy any sort of binds in an instant.

While Hohenheim would not be able to see the attack coming in time in order to counter Height of Magic, the attack wouldn’t do lasting damage anyways. Hohenheim would be able to tank it without issue thanks to his durability being far higher than Frieren’s attacking strength, and even if it did do damage, Hohenheim’s healing factor would simply undo said damage. 

That leads into Hohenheim’s own advantages, and how significant they are. For starters, Hohenheim has a significantly superior healing factor. While Frieren can heal decent injuries, she cannot heal significant ones. In contrast, fatal wounds for Hohenheim are nothing but minor inconveniences. Other living Philosopher Stones in the form of the homunculi have survived several bullets to the head, being burnt to nearly nothing but bone, chest impalement, having huge spikes blast through their mouths, having limbs blown off, etc. As long as the Philosopher Stone spread throughout Hohenheim’s body isn’t specifically targeted, he will be able to keep regenerating until he runs out of soul power to draw on.

While Hohenheim can counter or power through Frieren’s offensive options, the same cannot be said for Frieren. Hohenheim being able to spawn offensive alchemy constructs directly below her feet counters the defense provided by Frieren’s own barriers, as she cannot put them in the ground. While Frieren could fly to circumvent this issue, staying afloat in one spot with defensive magic being used frequently is a poor strategy that would waste too much mana. Especially since Hohenheim’s power advantage would make it not too much of an issue to break past her barriers, which are stated to be unable to hold up as well against mass-based attacks as they can magic. Thus Frieren playing defensive is significantly harder than it is for Hohenheim, especially considering he can make his barriers omnidirectional. 

The elephant in the room is Frieren’s sealing, as it stands to reason she could use it to trap Hohenheim for a long enough period of time for the fight to count as her victory. The issue for Frieren is that sealing is not a go-to option. When she used it to trap Qual, it was only as a last resort after the Hero Party could not defeat him initially. Thus it stands to reason she would not resort to sealing Hohenheim until she concluded that it was the only way to beat him. And while she hasn’t used it before, similar logic could motivate her to use Di Agoldze. As it works through “Visualization”, Hohenheim’s alchemy can’t really defend against it nor can he resist it, making it another possible win-con for Frieren.

The issue with that mentality is that Hohenheim is so much stronger to the point that he could probably take down Frieren with one or two hits. Thus Frieren would never be pushed into the corner where she decides to use Sealing or Di Agoldze, because she would be taken out before she even realized the power gap. It doesn’t help that Hohenheim has no mana to sense, meaning Frieren cannot gauge how much of a threat he is before he lands the one and only blow that wins him the fight. 

Overall, it is easier for Hohenheim to defend from Frieren’s attacks than it is for Frieren to defend from Hohenheim’s, it is easier for Hohenheim to get past Frieren’s defense than it is for Frieren’s to break Hohenheim’s and it is easier for Hohenheim to stay in the game thanks to his significantly superior regeneration. While sealing is a win condition for Frieren, it is unlikely it will come to mind before it is too late. Hohenheim solidly has the edge in abilities.

Tertiary Factors

Admittedly, Frieren should have a significant edge in experience and skill. She has lived for over a thousand years, in contrast to Hohenheim being just over 450. What the two did with that time is also important. Frieren was constantly fighting numerous different monsters and demons, as well as fellow mages. In contrast, Hohenheim has not had many battles. Those he did have were against common crooks, a few homunculi, and Father. He has far less battle experience, and next to no experience against someone with Frieren’s abilities. 

On the other hand, while Hohenheim does follow a different power system as he uses alchemy rather than magic, he still does not have any standout abilities Frieren hasn’t seen before. At worst, she’s seen abilities similar to the ones Hohenheim has. It also helps that she received formal training when it comes to how to use her magic, while Hohenheim’s Philosopher Stone powers are self taught. Though he did learn alchemic principles from the Dwarf in the Flask. 

Mobility is another area in which Frieren takes the edge. Having natural flight beats anything Hohenheim can do, as the only way he can gain height is by raising himself via a generated platform. The issue here is he cannot do anything while airborne, being left with no choice but to take the fall if he has nothing to grab on to. In contrast, Frieren is capable of casually floating slowly to the ground.

Hohenheim isn’t totally left in the dust in tertiary factors however. Both have impressive ranged abilities, being able to attack targets from a large distance. Both have comparable areas of effect, with explosions and gigantic stone constructs being able to cover similar areas. Additionally Hohenheim can still use energy attacks to hit Frieren in the air, meaning her flight doesn’t invalidate his offense. Additionally, while Frieren takes a big edge in combat skill, this doesn’t mean Hohenheim isn’t smart enough to plan a successful attack. Strategy is his expertise after all. The edge Frieren has just means better quick thinking, which isn’t going to be enough to win her the fight.

Hohenheim’s big edge in this category however is by far his stamina. As long as he still has soul power to draw on, nothing is stopping Hohenheim from staying in the fight. Frieren on the other hand has a bountiful yet limited supply of mana, with her best offensive and defensive options causing heavy depletion. Considering Hohenheim’s power advantage, it is unrealistic to say Frieren could realistically make him have to use up large amounts of energy. Thus, Hohenheim has a clear edge in terms of how long he can last in the fight.

Frieren is certainly more skilled and mobile, but she does not dominate in terms of AOE and range. Hohenheim’s stamina advantage in particular is something she cannot compare to.

Conclusion

"What you should be doing before you die is giving a proper farewell to that girl, and trying to make as many memories with her as possible."

Advantages:

• Di Agoldze feat potentially surpasses Hohenheim’s lower ends…

• Faster than Hohenheim’s low ends

• More mobile thanks to flight

• Sealing is an option to get past regeneration…

• Di Agoldze would be a win condition if it were to fully transmute Hohenheim…

• More experienced

• Better training

Disadvantages:

• …but is highly debatable in validity and inferior to Hohenheim’s highest ends

• Slower than Hohenheim’s high ends

• …but considering the context with Qual, it wouldn’t be used quickly enough

• Significantly inferior healing

• …but she has yet to use Di Agoldze offensively

• Would probably, likely, really suck at Dark Souls

• Unknowingly and accidentally fumbled a relationship with Himmel incomprehensibly hard

"But now… believe it or not I actually want to keep on living! Guess I’m pretty hopeless, aren’t I, Trisha..."

Advantages:

• Far stronger

• Faster with high ends

• Can defend from and power through all of Frieren’s offensive options

• Can get past Frieren’s defensive options without much trouble

• Regeneration makes him far harder to put down

• More likely to win the fight before Frieren attempts sealing or Di Agoldze

• Significantly greater stamina

• Unknowingly and accidentally pulled off a great family incomprehensibly well 

• Really lucky we didn’t do this blog in 2023

Disadvantages:

• Slower with low ends

• Significantly inferior in terms of combat skill

• Less versatile

• Less experienced

• Less mobile

• Poor as fuck

• He had good reason but damn he took too long with the milk

While Frieren certainly has some notable advantages that could trouble him, Hohenheim simply has everything he needs to claim victory. He is noticeably stronger to the point that he would only need one or two hits to put Frieren out of commission. Making it easy for him to end the fight quickly before Frieren could attempt something like sealing. Even if she was faster, a good trap plan or AOE move that could catch her before she makes enough distance would do the trick. Her being faster relies on arguing against Hohenheim scaling to Father’s tendril catching is the thing. If it’s bought, then Hohenheim has a complete stat advantage. 

Ability wise, Frieren has nothing that Hohenheim cannot deal with. He can make barriers or walls to defend from projectiles, use contact based alchemy to break any binds, and simply power through or regenerate from anything he wouldn’t be able to defend against like Height of Magic. On the other hand, even if Hohenheim’s methods of attack are familiar to Frieren, they are still optimal for getting past her own defensive options. Sealing or Di Agoldze are potential win conditions, but it is more likely Hohenheim scores a quick victory than Frieren comes to a drawn out conclusion.

Something notable to go over is battlefield intelligence. It is clear that Frieren is the more skilled of the two, as she has been far more active in combat and training, and has lived for twice as long. But this does not mean that she is playing chess while Hohenheim plays checkers. Hohenheim is not much of a fighter, but that does not mean he isn’t one of the smartest characters in Fullmetal Alchemist. 

He directly contributed to the creation of Alkahestry, discovered Father’s multi-century old plan without even looking for it, and made a perfect counter plan without much time at all. He can still think fast in desperate moments and has come up with smart plans without much time to think. While Frieren is the better fighter, that does not mean Hohenheim is not good enough of a thinker to keep up and set up a winning opportunity. 

Frieren is certainly versatile and cunning, but Hohenheim’s power, counters, and matching qualities are more than enough to tip the scales in his favor. In this battle of magic and science, Frieren simply couldn’t muster the strength to metal with the last citizen of Xerxes. Man these two don’t leave much room for puns. Guess it fits them.

The winner is Van Hohenheim.

Final Tally

Frieren (0) - hey at least she won on MAL

Hohenheim (7) - Blue Igneous, Rina, Soma, Super Mario Andy 123, TheCardinalKing, TWILTY, greymerlion2

Next Time…