Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
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jdnation
Posts: 2004 |
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I'll echo other's thoughts about the demons and I like how they prey upon the leniency and better nature of humans.
Also, I've been rewatching the series dubbed, and now that I'm no longer distracted by the subtitles, this show is much better animated than I thought, even it's more mundane moments have a nice amount of movement and expression! |
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Thesarum
Posts: 411 |
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This very much mirrors my take. It's difficult to view them as "evil" because it's not really fair to apply human standards to them. That doesn't mean they're not a threat that needs to be dealt with urgently. Maybe combat isn't always necessary, but you should always ignore their words and focus on their actions. Because they don't even really understand their words never mind believe them. Trying to summarise this episode to my wife (she's still a hard sell on actually watching it sadly) I was struck by a parallel to generative AI. It too, does not really "understand" language in the same framework we do, but can deploy it somewhat convincingly. It merely seeks to optimise for "sequence of words that are believable to humans". It makes slightly odd category errors, doing a good but imperfect and uncanny cosplay of humanity. It does not truly care if the responses to prompts are "true" or not, it's unable to really make that judgement in the way we'd understand it. It's a refreshing take on "demons". The introduction is very well handled - Frieren acts quickly and without warning, even hastily. It's quite out of character, which adds to the initial impression for prejudice and that she's maybe stuck in the old conflicts. The slow realisation that's she's completely correct, and her judgement is based not on prejudice but a detailed knowledge of demon behaviour is unsettling. Because were were all the village mayor too, deploying empathy and a desire for mutual understanding. And we were wrong. |
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absent
 Subscriber Posts: 33 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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I think they delivered the bit about Stark "wetting himself" a little too seriously in the anime. The close-up of him wiping his pants with the somber background music was weirdly uncomfortable. Just a nitpick, though.
Echoing this. Although I did think it was a bit clumsy when Lügner says something like "yes, we demons are exactly as that mage says we are" and monologues about their nature to two other demons. spoiler[A later arc in the manga handles these themes better IMO, but we won't get there in this season.] |
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tintor2
 Posts: 1847 |
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After so many seasons of Kimetsu no Yaiba, I found it weird how Stark didn't say a single thing about his fighting style other than "Wait... I'm actually raw"
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MFrontier
Posts: 11370 |
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This has got to be one of the most gorgeously animated single episodes I have ever seen.
From the smoothest animations for putting on/taking off and throwing away clothes to the combat animation. Everything looked amazing. And Fern can look down upon me any day. |
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Thesarum
Posts: 411 |
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Pretty close to perfection.
So many fantastic little details. Little details made big details. Stark putting on his jacket, Fern shedding her coat when she realises what the blood is, the glances and slight narrowing of eyes that say as much as a half-episode of waffle from some Shonen. Fern might measure herself against Frieren and find herself lacking, but here she manages to embody her mentor and add her own twist. She's rapid casting spells, but she's not "spamming" them, she's super efficient (a lesson she learned with the barrier spells), something that also extends to her movement which is always just enough. No flourishes or needless flapping for our girl here (that little half-step to avoid an attack is so great) just determination and a singular focus on the objective. The battle is a perfect summation of her character. Stark is messier in his approach, but it's an equally great character study at the same time as being a thrilling fight (his opponent really has some moves, and they're exquisitely animated too). And of course, Frieren was never fleeing anything (the whole "could be accused of guard murder" thing just being a convenient excuse) She left Fern and Stark to a fight she had confidence they could handle, and sought out the one she knew they could not. She may have a mana pool to rival Aura, or she may not (but she definitely has a plan, she knows exactly what she's facing)... but Stark and Fern definitely don't. |
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 1026 |
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...Am I the only one who finds the series... hilarious?
No really, I came for the retrospective of the mortality of men from an immortal's point of view who tries to find a meaning to an endless existence. But I stayed for the perfect comedic timing and flawless use of dry humor and poker faces. |
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NeverConvex
 Subscriber Posts: 2314 |
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I think the show just has great range. Very unusually for anime, it manages comedy, action, and reflective melancholy with about equally impressive skill.
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yuzumei
Posts: 53 |
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Frankly I was disappointed with Fern in the latest episode. Over confident, over powered and over bland.
I don't mind her wining the fight against the demon but can you emote something? Can you struggle a little bit? Can you show some human expression emotion in your face? She was fighting like a robot with a boring blank expression. I wanted to see her struggle a bit fighting this demon that is a lot older more experienced than her. Personally I got bored with this fight. |
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Covnam
 Posts: 3666 |
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Recently caught up to episode 8 and watched 9 asap. Really enjoying this series.
It is different than I expected though, I thought it'd be more depressing and continue to move quickly through time (not just at the beginning). I didn't watch the next episode title preview for episode 8, so I didn't know what the title was until the end of the episode when it was presented in such a great way. Glad I skipped to the next episode with that one 
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2524 |
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Still and all, the show has gotten a lot more interesting in the last couple of episodes. |
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Covnam
Posts: 3666 |
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^Fern seemed like that since she lost her family (and nearly killed herself) as a kid (she appeared more lively in the family photo), but I imagine being with Freiren only reinforced that type of personality. Now that there's someone else in the group (Stark), she seems to be changing, if only slightly so far.
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jdnation
Posts: 2004 |
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Beautiful episode with top tier animation!
Fern's stoic attitude in battle makes sense. From a young age she was hopeless and suicidal. Having trained under and being raised by two heroes of legend, it is easy to see how focused and disciplined she is. Our less confident boi is also a great character study. I have been very impressed with this show and each successive episode! If it keeps this up, it's looking to be my best thing this year, and there was no lack of good series this year. I've yet to check out Pluto, but Frieren is already holding its own against Oshi No Ko, JJK and more! |
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kgw
 Posts: 1069 Location: Spain, EU |
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Fern has been raised by a dying priest and an stoic-emotionless elf for several years, I think that helps.
Also, it's a pleasant departure from the usual overenthusiastic characters of the usual RPG animes. |
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NeverConvex
Subscriber Posts: 2314 |
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I wouldn't mind meeting a more lively character at some point, but the show is kind of suffused with quiet, contemplation, and ummm a not small bit of lethargy; it's not even just Frieren and Fern -- Stark's not all that outspoken, either, nor are the two demons they're battling currently, and basically none of their interactions with the world around them have been clamorous in any way. The show's default mood is subdued no matter the scene or content, and Frieren and Fern seem to embody that.
There are also sensible character-writing reasons Frieren and Fern both behave like that, as others pointed out, but from a writing p.o.v. I wonder if the biggest driver isn't the author's desired mood and tone for the narrative as a whole. It is interesting to see it maintained even in the face of a high-stakes dynamic battle, though, and even while Fern is actively generating dozens of magical attacks in frenetic mid-air combat. |
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