Alright, I’ve procrastinated talking about Frieren long enough. The time has finally come for me to acknowledge that this show is well and truly over, and that a sequel has yet to be announced.
Nevermind that a Chained Soldier has a promised continuation. I’m not bitter, or anything like that.
Ahem, anyway, this has been one hell of a season, and Frieren is a large part of why I enjoyed the winter so much. Does it have its flaws? Obviously, yes. But what it does right it does so time and time again, and I am at heart a creature of comfort and habit.
The show follows a very simple formula along a familiar path. We have our adventure, as well as two younger characters who come to age before our eyes. There’s Frieren herself, and her “coming of age” in terms of humanity. She might be one of the oldest characters seen on screen, but she’s not actually that old compared to the world around them and, most especially, when we consider her personality.
She can be hyper-fixated on the oddest of things, stubborn to tears, and too dismissive of time and how it affects those around her. It isn’t until she’s lived over a thousand years and journeyed with the Hero’s party to defeat the Demon Lord that she fully reflects on her life, which is when we meet her. The friends and comrades she’d dismissed as too short-lived left larger prints on her soul than expected, a reality we see her reminisce over repeatedly throughout the show.
Some viewers find that Himmel and co. memories tired after the first handful, but I breathed them in like fresh bread, or an old book. The sensations are familiar, as are the feelings they dredge up, but I can’t help but love them all the more for it. I never got tired of each episode’s tendency to toss our characters into a strange situation where Frieren reflects on yet another similar situation she’d experienced with the Hero’s party.
It isn’t really until the final arc, which is effectively a competition arc, that the pacing changes. Again, there are mixed responses to this from what I can see and read. I, however, went along for the ride fully on our girls’ side cheering as loudly as possible (and missing Stark terribly). Sure, maybe too many of the characters are similar in their quiet capability and quirky ticks, but I find them different enough from one another to still remain interesting.
The final episode sets us right back on the journey to the end of the world and what lies beyond with the same lingering nostalgia that it practiced the entire season. I’ll be here waiting for when we continue together. Here’s hoping that it arrives sooner rather than later. I’m not an elf! I won’t live forever!
Rating: 2.5 dango
*Rating system:
- 0 dango – average and forgettable.
- 1 dango – very good in its category.
- 2 dango – excellent show that is worth a try.
- 3 dango – exceptional show one must watch.
Anime B&B 