Reviews

Mar 29, 2024
Well-writtenWell-written
Preliminary (22/28 eps)
I'm finding it hard to understand why people hate this anime. I guess it's likely due to the sentiment of being 'overrated'.
I think Frieren absolutely deserves its spot as the Greatest Anime of All Time alongside FMAB and Steins;Gate.
Ill get to the more objective bit in a moment, but I'd like to Preface why I love this anime so much.
I grew up playing Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim when it first released. 13 years on I am still playing it and I love it. Skyrim gave me that sense of 'Adventure' where there is the great outer wilds with magic, monsters and mystery. It is incredibly exciting, braving the unknown and coming out stronger and learning and exploring things. That sense of adventure felt lost to me for 10 years as growing up I had to confront the realities of responsibility, academics, worsening economic situations and global turmoil as well as climate change and what not. Life has gotten a lot more stressful and I often yearn for a simpler time where I could have that cozy sense of adventure.

Frieren... is a 24 episode anime that effectively captured that sense of 'Adventure' I felt. Through Frieren's own journey, exploring the world she inhabits, reliving the memories of the time of Himmel the Hero and his party. Everything.

Now onto more objective analysis. Refer to my profile for an explanation of my Rubrics:

Rubric 1: Arts and Fun = Entertaining & Artistic Merit = 2/2 points = Frieren takes the plot of a story that is after the end of another. The great hero and his party already defeated the Demon Lord, and now as the relentless march of time continues the Heroes party fades into Legend. Frieren is an Elf, as such she lives far longer than any human being, and due to her past and disposition she is emotionally distant and experiences time radically different compared to humans. For her, only at the passing of Himmel the Hero, does she truly feel regret at not having gotten to know him better. As such, Frieren under takes a Journey to the ends of the World where the Dead live as spirits to go meet Himmel. This exploration of valuing ones encounters and appreciating life and those with you is poignant, all the while we are served Frieren's Bizzare Adventures as she explores the world, collects spells, teaches a disciple (Pout Queen Fern), getting caught by Mimics and Genociding Demons. It's fun and artistic and deserving of its place.

Rubric 2: Recommendation = Recommend to everyone without reserve = 2/2 points; Frieren is a show that is simply unlike any other. It goes against all the established norms of what constitutes a great story, the idea of having a strong overarching plot, the idea of having deeply compelling villains or simply following the Heroes Journey Pattern. Frieren does none of these and yet excels in a way previously unheard of. It is a story that is so incredibly reliant on its characters, and the characters themselves absolutely deliver. I'd want everyone who has enjoyed anime to look at Frieren. It is better to watch it and hate it because you didn't like it, than never having watched it at all imo.

Rubric 3: Narrative Consistency = Completely Flawless with no room for improvement needed = 2/2 points; What others considering a boring and slow pace is lauded as respectful depth and time given to properly develop and mature the characters on screen. Narrative consistency refers to how at any given moment in the story you can ask What, Why, When, Where and How. Good Narrative consistency means you will be able to answer those questions without being confused given you were paying attention. Frieren absolutely excels at this. From Episode 1 to Episode 24, everything flows uniformly. All events, all developments, all complications, all plot points, all conflicts. Everything progresses at a natural and organic pace and the emergent problems arise in a way that make complete sense and links back to the start. Everything is being done in service of a Journey to the proverbial end of the world to meet Himmel, though the anime takes the liberty of not stressing any urgency which is to our benefit as it allows our characters to live and mature whilst also being consistent with how Frieren experiences time. Fern is helpful here as she forces Frieren to consider Human Lifespans to factor urgency in, which makes all interactions realistic and interesting.

Rubric 4: Emotional Moments = Minimum 3 Emotional Moments = 2/2 points
An emotional moment is something that evokes an immense intensity of emotions:
Happiness (You are happy and smile in joy)
Saddens (A scene makes you sob)
Thought Provoking (A scene that makes you think very deeply)
Memorable/Iconic (A scene unlike any other that will stick with you)

A good example of an emotional moment is United States of Smash by All Might in My Hero Academia, also Endeavour VS Nomu fight from the same.

I have lost count of how many such moments have hit me in Frieren. The fact its over leaves me empty thinking I wont have Frieren Fridays for the Foreseeable future. Also contrary to what people think I really loved the first opening, the lyrics make it absolutely on point.

Rubric 5: Personal Bias = Caters to All my Biases = 2 points
I like 3 things:
1 = History (If the anime has a rich lore or is inspired by actual history and adheres to it)

2 = Idealogue (The anime jostles with deep and thought provoking topics like the Idea of a King or the Concept of Freedom and Justice, and tries its best to explore or deconstruct)

3 = Magic Systems (Be it a hard magic system defined by rules like FMAB's Law of Equivalent Exchange, or a Soft Magic System that is more mysterious like bending in Avatar the Last Airbender)

Frieren has a rich history of its own world, and in fact our story begins after Himmel the Hero defeated the Demon Lord which adds a monument of Historical undertones which I absolutely love. Frieren delves into numerous philosophical areas, from the idea of mortality and time, to the value of ones connections and friends, to the idea of everlasting things and legacy, to the idea of what is Power, Strength and Passion. Perhaps most poignant is Frieren's take on Demons. I think people who hate it misunderstand it greatly, Demons in Frieren are monstrous beings. They have no regard of morality (which I argue makes one Human), and everything from their demonstrated empathy, humanoid features and even use of speech is all explained as a means to an end to deceive and take advantage of Humans. They are a species in love with Mana and Magic and spent their entire lives dedicated to that power. Demons don't have any concepts of Family or Kinship, merely Strength and Power through which they aren't afraid to ally or use others as pawns to enrich themselves. This is best shown through Aura who's power allows her to dominate anyone with less mana than her. However, despite all their strength a demons greatest weakness is their Pride. Frieren quite literally spent her entire life mastering an ability so utterly useless in every context.... but its supremely affective in fooling Demons which is what makes her an extraordinaire in slaying Demons. Frieren has a rich world with rich history and strong Magic Systems explaining its own power mechanics, there has never been an instance of a Deus Ex Machina suddenly saving them as every plot point is resolved from the confines of established consistent Magical Systems.

Therefore in conclusion, Frieren deserves its position as Top 1 on MAL. I'd still rate Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood as higher because unlike Frieren, FMAB has 64 episodes to Frieren's 24. Basically I want more Frieren >.>

10/10 Masterpiece
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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