“Before the beginning of years, there came to the making of man.
Time, with a gift of tears; Grief, with a glass that ran;
Pleasure, with pain for leaven; Summer, with flowers that fell;
Remembrance, fallen from heaven; Madness, that's risen from hell;
Strength without hands to smite; Love that endures for a breath;
Night, the shadow of light, and Life, the shadow of death.”
― Algernon Charles Swinburne, Poems and Ballads & Atalanta in Calydon
The world of fantasy anime has been a dying breed of sub-thematics that are just its very own undoing: the tried-and-true rinse-and-repeat fantasy/Isekai world, Hero's Party, Adventurer's Guild, magic spells, demon lords, demon lords, AND A HELL TON of demon lords. As Gigguk puts it: "Fantasy stories have become the McDonald's Chicken McNuggets of the AniManga world", it's a writhe of the concept that we as anime otakus have been consuming, for God knows how long this never-ending "disease" will ever last. That is until one series challenged the fantasy perception, threw all of the bad shit away, and sparks a now-famed cultural interest and full-time investment that gets people from the anime-onlies to popular and dead-but-revived AniTubers just so they could have their own shoutout at the anime that undoubtedly changed not just mine, theirs, but everyone's as well. And that KEY to reviving the fantasy genre, is mangaka Kanehito Yamada and illustrator Tsukasa Abe's Sousou no Frieren a.k.a Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, winning both the coveted 14th Manga Taisho's Grand Prize (alongside other past highly-acclaimed winners of 2019's Sket Dance mangaka Kenta Shinohara's Astra no Kanata a.k.a Astra Lost in Space; 2016's mangaka Satoru Noda's Golden Kamuy to name a few) and the 25th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize in the New Creators category, in 2021.
"Time...is a precious commodity that everyone of us takes for granted.
Time...is something we never truly appreciate until it's already gone.
Time...is...what a cheesy way to put this..." - Garnt a.k.a Gigguk
(story and narration)
"After 10 years, the Demon King has been defeated. The Hero's Party, made up of hero Himmel, priest Heiter, dwarf Eisen, and elven mage Frieren, have all come back safe from their arduous journey. After facing many challenges and helping regular people along the way, their goal/objective has finally met the Finish line. Being welcomed back to their city with the acknowledgements of its citizens and its king, all that's left for the quartet to do is observe the night's celestial meteor together, which only happens once every half century. They parted ways after that, with a promise to see the meteors again in 50 years, with Frieren in pursuit of more magical knowledge.
The same 50 years go by, and Frieren...is still the same elven mage she is, unaging over the years. This is sadly not the same for the hero, priest, and dwarf trio, who have aged considerably, and are still able to keep the same promise from 50 years prior. With Himmel's natural passing to come, all that fills the elven mage is an unchanging facial expression, and lamentations of regret that she has failed to capture the time to get to know her closest comrade. And so, with time still moving on, Frieren sends Himmel off on a fitting farewell in the Resting Place of the Soul, and goes on that same journey one more time, but this time, to places...Beyond Journey's End."
If you need to take an important lesson about the fidelity of the critically acclaimed manga-turned-anime series, it would be this:
"What was the journey for? Who was behind it? What happens when you reach the end?
And most importantly: Where do you go from here?"
These are legitimate questions when we all think about life and mortality, and are so fragile that our lives could end in just a tiny fraction of a second in basically any circumstance. American playwright and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin of "A Few Good Men" and "The Social Network" fame talks about the Intention & Obstacle: characters need intention, a goal/objective they want to achieve that's NOT a SMALL want, but a STRONG need. The stronger the need for the intention the better, to counteract the obstacle to achieving that purpose. The harder that obstacle is to overcome, the more compelling that journey will be."
But in terms of the titular MC elven mage that is Frieren? Scratch all that, because she is neither ANY of the above. A vague intention through the momentous events of her immortal life, chasing through the periodic flashbacks and retracing her steps so that as the alternative title suggests: Frieren, at the funeral, to bade goodbye to her old Hero's Party. The world isn't going to end without if she doesn't, she can still go about her own life, doing the things that the evolving world NEEDS her to do: go through Mother Nature or even take exams to qualify herself. NO, she doesn't NEED to do all that, but it's not like she can't overcome all of these modernized "laws and contrivances" that doesn't apply to her in the first place. All of these are stops (i.e. public transport stops) that feel like obstacles, that you may think that these are what the AniManga scene calls "filler" nowadays, but Frieren does these detours to make us think that life is not constantly going from "Point A to B" rhetorics to achieve purposes for endless gain, but to let life flow like side cheddar and be absorbed in the moments that feel naturally and organically integrated into the road/path that is truly Beyond Journey's End, be it for days, 5 minutes, or even through the anime's full runtime of 560 minutes (or 9 hours and 20 minutes, minus OP and ED) in its entirety. Frieren is all about living life in the present, neither regretting past mistakes nor letting circumstances blind your way to the future. (Massive thanks to Gigguk for the much-improved finale video as a source of inspiration!)
Let's embark on the Journey's Start with the Hero Party:
- The brave Himmel (meaning Heaven in German). He may be the Hero, but like every human, perfection has its flaws. And Himmel...doesn't care about that. He is the literate embodiment of a perfect hero, not because he's flawless, but because he's not. He's a good and kind person, which also gives him mistakes like sparing the children of the demons. He's narcissistic but humble. He has faults, yet he's inspiring, He's just a dude, but he's a hero by name, and not just THE hero of the world by status who defeated the Demon King. He is fueled by INTERNAL validation. "I'll defeat the Demon King anyway, with a sword, not giving a damn care in the world if my sword is functional or not." THAT'S the kind of Hero that everyone should look up to, not someone who does it for fame or reward. They do it because it's the right thing to do.
- The joker Heiter (meaning Bright in German), He's the priest who, seemingly other than his magical equivalence, has an obsession with alcohol so much that Frieren always calls him out for being a liar.
- The wise Eisen (meaning Iron in German). He, like Frieren, are demi-humans with the typical long lifespans. Though he was initially coerced by the elven mage to follow along with her on her journey, he declined and chose to live his remaining days in peace.
And of course, there's the aloof elven mage Frieren herself, who's not emotionless but emotionally distant, going through life day in and day out, not giving a care about anyone in her occasional clumsiness in social interactions. But for every "raining cats and dogs" lightning cloud of fear and uncertainty, there's always a sliver of hope for the forthcoming future she's about to make for not just herself, but for the people from whom she will learn the most important lessons about fraternity...
And that leads to the Journey's End, going Plus Ultra and Beyond:
- For Frieren herself, it's not about her learning what emotions are, and feeling them for the very first time since the Demon King's defeat 60 years ago. It's about her learning why it's important to cherish the mundane moments and be mindful of the people around her, and she doesn't need to exert her immortal status to be able to relate to them. Also, she can joke around, so that's a funny bone.
It's the reason why there's this saying in the Bible, based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres."
With love being a subtle message, Frieren also has her admirers, the strongest being the one who recruited her into the Hero's Party in the first place and teaches him the same mundane magic that she has been taught by her very first master: the great Wizard Flamme. Along with the deep-seated hatred of all demons, so much so that she's poured her entire life, dedicated to humanity's progression on magic capable of destroying demons (that's where the double meaning of Sousou no Frieren comes from: Frieren the Slayer). But even more so, Himmel's love for her, albeit not reciprocated, makes him a gentle, suave guy who doesn't push, and is content to hold the unrequited love in his heart, making his character that much more memorable.
- The girl named Fern (meaning remote/distant in German). A war orphan herself, Heiter took her into his covering within the same length of time that the Hero Party separated and taught her magic to be self-sufficient as she ages, foreshadowing Heiter's natural passing and leaving her to Frieren's care as both a motherly young woman figure, as well as being his successor of an apprentice.
- The boy named Stark (meaning strong in German). Like Heiter, Stark came under the tutelage of Eisen, being raised under the same conditions as Fern did when she was with said priest, to be a frontline fighter and warrior, complimenting both the mages of Fern and Frieren. Though strong and capable as he is, Stark is kind of a timid young boy who freaks out and doesn't understand the slightest of what's going on around him.
And never would I say this, but Frieren should also still have the romantic subtext sub-genre in there, because love compels each other to be stronger:
- Himmel and Frieren, in sharing the joy together from party to passing;
- Fern and Stark, from the initial feeling of not having mutual feelings and the struggle, to understanding each other. And as time passes, they both accept each other's quirks, big or small, and complement one another so goddamn well to have the comedic banter and chemistry that flows so naturally. From being companions to having crushes for each other through pure visual storytelling and the subtle change of emotions that bring them closer to one another, in the words of the mortally talented village priest Sein: "Just start dating already!"
The huge cast of characters:
- From the demons under the Demon King's leadership, which sees remnants from the Seven Sages of Destruction of "The Guillotine" Aura to Qual (meaning torment/agony/torture in German), the Sage of Corruption (which is where Frieren's relentless approach to humanity being on equal terms on magic comes from);
- To the Mages in the First-Class Mage Examination, people from all walks of life, from the eldest candidate of Imperial Mage Denken (meaning think/feel in German) to the bickering friends of Kanne and Lawine, and even fearsome and dangerous individuals like Übel (meaning evil/bad in German);
Not one character ever feels wasted in the eyes of the creators, and this significance is a testament to the already outstanding and exceptional storytelling that Frieren manages to accomplish in its runtime.
But going back to Frieren's creation, it's quite an insane ride to see how they got to the point where the circumstances necessitated the fabrication of the manga. For Kanehito Yamada, Frieren is apparently not his first work, that goes to Bocchi Hakase to Robot Shoujo no Zetsubouteki Utopia a.k.a Lonely Professor and Robot Girl's Despair-Like Utopia, a short-lived 2-volume, 33 chapter gag comedy series published from 2016 to 2017, as quoted by the current editor-in-charge, Katsuma Ogura, did not sell well, despite it being (in his eyes) a masterpiece. The next manga work of his required an illustrator, though he kept that gag comedy relevant as ever and stuck true to his guns. However, Ogura sensed that his one-shot of Frieren (as a gag comedy) was anything but, this time with Tsukasa Abe being called up to helm the illustrator job, which Ogura is pleasantly surprised with. And what was meant as a gag comedy on the name of "Frieren at the Funeral", the rest as they say, becomes a major pivotal point of history.
And from creation going into adaptation, THIS is where the anime takes form as one of (if not) the GOATs of anime production and even AniManga in general, filled with philosophical meaning and portrayal, made with the combination of a masterpiece manga, with one of the AniManga industry's hottest properties as of current:
- Bow down to the man, not the myth, but the new directorial legend — Keiichiro Saito. The rookie director who helmed Fall 2022's viral mega hit sensation of female mangaka Aki Hamaji's Bocchi the Rock!, he's back for another mega hit, and hitting back-to-back AOTS/Y material is just NOT something you see in veteran directors nowadays, let alone a young, fiery and passionate person like Saito. But Frieren was made concurrently when Bocchi the Rock! was still airing on TV, so he had to make some sacrifices, but not towards delegating the team that will make Frieren's adaptation work wonders...
- Starting with acclaimed studio Madhouse animation director Yuichiro Fukushi. His name is instantly recognisable as one of the best leaders in the anime production assembly line. It's no doubt that his team is inherently one of the best when it comes to pure sakuga, but to always constantly give credit to him is a disservice, not without the theatrical animation mainstay of Takashi Nakame, who is helping the full-blown producer as a freelance animation producer, given his many years of veteran experience alongside another acclaimed theatrical animator, Shinji Otsuka.
- Together with character designer Reiko Nagasawa and series composer Tomohiro Suzuki, given their past records for shows as classic as ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka a.k.a ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept., to the more recent Sonny Boy (of which Keiichiro Saito's episodic directorship of Episode 8 of the series is still one of the best in recent memory), it's all hands on deck for the experienced in-house Madhouse staff team...but not without its most important member:
- Concept artist-cum-layout designer Seiko Yoshioka, is undoubtedly one of the major reasons for Frieren's grand and exquisite world-building, contributing through the paintings of the work as a worldview illustrator. She is well acquainted with Keiichiro Saito thanks to projects like ACCA-13, and she is one reason why Frieren masterfully works in the storytelling department through crafting a tangible, ageing world.
- To add to the already powerful powerhouse of a team, there is also another man who's a legend in the music composition space: Evan Call. You would already know him by his works on Violet Evergarden, and working together with sound director Shouji Hata, made Frieren come alive in the sound department. You can practically hear the orchestra of sounds made with precision and feeling.
Let's state the obvious: Madhouse, the studio that was once relevant in the early to mid-2010s, has finally made a comeback into relevancy in the most hyped of ways. The consistency of delivering a consecutive 2-cour show like Frieren in the most immaculate of ways, is NEVER easy. Not even with Keiichiro Saito's idiosyncracies that he wanted action to not be bombastic (like Jujutsu Kaisen) but let it speak for itself, you can't deny that every frame, every level of detail is 1000% being taken care of seriously and made with the love and passion that anime is supposed to do: exonerate not just the product, but the people behind the shows we love. And Frieren is the stupendous diamond hallmark-of-fame of shows that exemplify the meaning of anime: to inspire, to teach, and to enjoy entertainment.
The music is hands-down one of the most concise and excellent pieces of OST set pieces I've heard from anime; Evan Call is such a genius at his craft. But just about the only Elephant in the room would be the OP songs themselves. Between YOASOBI's "Yuusha" for the 1st Cour and Yorushika's "Haru" for the 2nd Cour, there was quite the buzz of mention that the OP songs don't necessarily fit the thematics of Frieren (though the visuals are great and speak for themselves), but over time, I've come to accept that it is what it is, and both songs are great by themselves, though decent in execution. The big hit is the constant ending song of Milet's "Anytime Anywhere", which is a song that definitely clicks with Frieren as a whole, both in musical and visual form (especially the 2nd Cour's claymation visuals which is a story in and of itself, heralded by Keiichiro Saito himself). If anything, Milet's song is one-of-a-kind in its wonderful and emotional execution that would bring sheds of tears to all people, mine included.
I mean, what can I say? If Bocchi the Rock! isn't a sign of things to come for the up-and-coming director of Keiichiro Saito, then Sousou no Frieren a.k.a Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, will be that work to cement him as one of the most valuable entities within the AniManga industry. You need not mention that I'm definitely hot on heels for his next work, and Frieren is both: a modern-day cultural phenomenon beloved globally for its memorable and unforgettable lessons on time and mortality, and a show that will change all of our lives from here on out.
"So, shall we go (on this path Beyond Journey's End)?" - Frieren
"Yes, we shall." - We, the followers of Frieren
