Story - 9/10
I initially thought it was very slow paced. However, we're fighting Qual by episode 3, Fern's first battle experience we see. It feels rather long though, perhaps because of the dialogue and nature of the characters. Which I can understand why this feels draggy; however the "down time" conversations amount to substance, whether it's world building, learning more about the characters personalities, Frieren's past, or just from a bonding aspect where we see the relationships between characters strengthen (particularly fern and stark). In addition, the pace just makes the battle scenes all the more worthwhile. Seeing the mages in battle is just so oddly satisfying. Fern and Stark vs Linie and Lugner was stunning. And Frieren telling Aura to kill herself was actually badass. And let's not forget the first class mage exam; the extent of magic we see towards the end of this season is exciting and thrilling
I have one criticism of the whole plot. In episode 3, it is implied that magic continues to evolve. Qual's zoltraak is now considered ordinary offensive magic. However, Frieren continues to use old spells, which most modern day mages dont seem to have an answer for. Sure she has a lot of mana, but that hasn't seemed to be the cause of it. The only way this would work is if Frieren's spells were extremely unique and very obscure from the rest of the world. Perhaps she learned most of her knowledge from rare grimoires.
Animation - 10/10
SO good man!!! The use of magic was put on full display here, there was no lacking in graphics, the battles were super flashy. The cuts to a character's POV were executed perfectly and served a purpose of better understanding the situation for the viewer. My personal favorite scene was Stark fighting the dragon. The cut scene straight from Eisen to Stark's struggle gave me chills. The directional movement was absolutely nailed, it looked extremely realistic with the way his hair flailed with the wind.
Sound - 10/10
The soundtrack is PERFECT! It's so good that I actually listen to the playlist of it on spotify. It gives perfect tones of tribal folk music based in the medieval-era. The tonality of every scene was nailed. The upbeat music when it came to battle scenes was so fitting. My favorite soundtrack was when Denken took on Frieren during the 1st stage of the first class mage exam.
Not to mention both OPs were great. They were upbeat and honestly kind of display a bit of the inner nature of both Frieren and Fern. Both are calm and level headed on the outside, but inside they are truly enjoying their adventures and learning about magic.
Characters - 8/10
I wouldve perhaps liked to see a little bit more of external personality from Fern. But it cant be helped i suppose if that is who she is. Nearly every other character was executed to perfection regarding their development, traits, and flaws. The spontaneous behavior of Stark and Frieren added a good humorous aspect.
Overall - 10/10 - I was debating between a 9 and a 10, but considering that this anime is like no other; regarding it's setting, inspiration, plot basis, and character development, it is like no other I have seen or heard of, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is truly a masterpiece.
