{"id":107186,"date":"2024-03-22T14:37:03","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T14:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wrongeverytime.com\/?p=39744"},"modified":"2024-03-22T14:37:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T14:37:03","slug":"frieren-beyond-journeys-end-episode-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/22\/frieren-beyond-journeys-end-episode-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Frieren: Beyond Journey\u2019s End \u2013 Episode 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re setting off on a new journey, or more precisely <\/span>beyond<\/span><\/i> a journey\u2019s end, as we check out the first episode of the recent and much-loved Frieren. There was a great deal of buzz surrounding Frieren prior to its release, and it\u2019s not hard to see why; in this era of modern otaku being constantly flung into Dragon Quest-reminiscent worlds, an honest-to-god committed fantasy drama is an inherent and very welcome change of pace. And beyond that, Frieren\u2019s novel twist on genre convention provides an additional pull: the allure of a more somber, reflective story, one primarily concerned with finding value and beauty in life <\/span>after<\/span><\/i> the great adventures are over.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s a hook that holds a great deal of appeal to me! It feels adjacent to my beloved \u201capocalyptic travelog\u201d subgenre (think Girls\u2019 Last Tour or Kemurikusa), stories where the chance for transformative, world-shifting change has already passed, wherein the great challenge lies in coming to a happier understanding of our place in a land at peace. It\u2019s so appealing that I actually wrote a long-form variation of it back in high school, though no, I am not showing you my high school fiction. Anyway, Frieren is also directed by Bocchi the Rock\u2019s fast-rising Keiichir\u014d Sait\u014d, and from what I\u2019ve told, the production is a lush spectacle from start to finish. That\u2019s a fine stack of reasons to be optimistic, so let\u2019s see what we\u2019ve got in the first episode of Frieren!<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Episode 1<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Oh god, why did they use this Vocaloid-style song for a goddamn high fantasy anime? An ugly clash of tone and content right from the start, particularly frustrating since this was a perfect opportunity for one of those folk songs that frequently end up standing among the best of anisongs – both of Spice & Wolf\u2019s OPs, the Kino\u2019s Journey OP, the Mushishi OPs. The music of an OP can be a powerful tool in establishing tone and getting the audience in the right mindset for the show to come; the fact that OP selection generally comes down to whatever record label is on the show\u2019s production committee is a terrible shame<\/span><\/p>\n

The imagery at least is quite strong – I appreciate this overall pastel color design, as well as the employment of both soft focus and forms lacking lineart in order to create a sense of distance, like we\u2019re actually looking at a memory that\u2019s only partially recalled<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gosh this song is bad, though. Like many Vocaloid-adjacent songs, it doesn\u2019t really care about the sounds of words in the mouth, only that they\u2019re spoken at the right pitch, meaning it\u2019s just sort of a steady line of rambling without much impact or anything resembling a hook<\/span><\/p>\n

After that jarring opening, Frieren immediately works hard to console me by offering a faded regional fantasy map. Nothing like a good fantasy map to sooth my temper<\/span><\/p>\n

A mage named Flamme (I think I can guess what sort of magic they use) speaks of their journey to Aureole, the \u201cland where souls rest,\u201d where they plan on speaking with old allies<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The first shots of the episode proper feel like a statement of purpose, as a beam of sunlight flickers under lovingly rendered tree leaves. The show\u2019s theme seems contained even in this brief flourish; the world\u2019s beauty is persistent but ephemeral, easily missed if you\u2019re not paying attention<\/span><\/p>\n

And then we introduce our titular elf, her head smooshed in a book. The contrast is clear; Frieren is the sort who is always focused on her immediate task, never stopping to smell the roses<\/span><\/p>\n

It is her friend Himmel who draws her focus up, calling her attention to the city in the distance<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cOur adventure\u2019s over, but we have our whole lives ahead of us.\u201d It\u2019s an interesting job transition, to be sure. What daily labors do you set yourself to when you\u2019ve already saved the world?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrieren, the life ahead of you will surely be much longer than we can imagine.\u201d Basically laying all its cards on the table right from the start. A risky gambit, but also an intriguing one – if the show\u2019s going to articulate its whole \u201cappreciation for time\u2019s passage\u201d theme right from the start, I have to assume it has other thematic places it plans to be going<\/span><\/p>\n

More excellent uses of the show\u2019s limited lineart – as the party enters the city, we see colored papers flutter past them, and crowds articulated as a blend of differently colored shapes. This is one of the best ways I\u2019ve seen to handle a crowd scene without resorting to CG or copy-pasting<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Himmel the Hero, Eisen the Warrior, Heiter the Priest, and Frieren the Mage. Quite close to your classic DnD party, though \u201chero\u201d isn\u2019t an actual class – he\u2019d be a rogue, though that doesn\u2019t really fit his role here<\/span><\/p>\n

Ooh, so much lively crowd action in these scenes of celebration! Also excellent pacing of the cuts between them, further bolstering the sense of raucous partying. This show couldn\u2019t be more different from Bocchi, and yet Sait\u014d seems to understand its intended tone just as well – in fact, from what I\u2019ve heard, Sait\u014d actually improved on the source material with both adaptations so far. Eager to see where his career leads<\/span><\/p>\n

Fluid character acting, beautifully painted backgrounds; this show really is a visual marvel<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The group reminisce on their ten years adventuring together. Frieren\u2019s head stuck in a mimic is indeed a good gag<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I got to adventure with all of you.\u201d Himmel clearly the heart of the group<\/span><\/p>\n

And of course, Frieren doesn\u2019t see a decade as any time at all<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the Era Meteor Shower begins, which apparently comes every fifty years<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I appreciate this show\u2019s willingness to be quiet and still, as well as to just let conversations dawdle their way along. The pacing echoes the show\u2019s thematic prioritization of precious incidental moments<\/span><\/p>\n

The sound design is also key in this, of course. It\u2019d be easy to accompany this declaration to meet again in fifty years with swooping, emotive melodies, but leaving it silent makes the scene feel genuinely intimate, allowing the strength of the dramatic material to speak for itself<\/span><\/p>\n

These backgrounds in the town are so lovely! Once again, the lack of lineart really helps sell the whole atmosphere of the scene, creating a soft textured look, a roughness that seems lived-in<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Frieren departs, saying she\u2019s off to collect spells, and that she\u2019ll be traveling around the central lands \u201cfor the next hundred years or so.\u201d Even by elf standards, it feels like she really doesn\u2019t value her time highly; I imagine any elves involved in government, or who simply live within a larger community, would have a significantly different impression of time\u2019s passage<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo her, fifty or even a hundred year\u2019s passage might be a trifling thing.\u201d They\u2019re laying on the disconnect a little thick, I have to say. I feel like they could have cut more of this repetitive dialogue, Sait\u014d\u2019s production is more than capable of expressing this theme visually<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of which, the following montage is also a delight, offering more beautiful scenery and charming flourishes of character movement<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Even without the \u201cbeyond journey\u2019s end\u201d pitch, simply enjoying a committed fantasy adventure in a world that feels foreign yet fully realized is a refreshing experience. High fantasy is seriously underrepresented in anime; apparently modern audiences prefer worlds based on familiar videogames, but I\u2019d be delighted to see a shift towards worlds with some actual thought put into them, where exploring new realms can be a thrill all by itself<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, this would likely necessitate a shift away from the current system of amateur writers sharing their work online, being \u201cvetted\u201d only by the popularity of those works, and then racing through the publishing and adaptation timeline. As a collective, fans don\u2019t really care about prose quality or thematic weight; when their desires define the market, with no barriers like professional editors or other discerning readers, the entire art form suffers<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Nice unstated articulation of time\u2019s passage here, as the merchant Frieren encountered as a young man now stoops under the weight of age<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nearly time for the Era Meteor Shower. I\u2019ll pick it up when I meet him.\u201d A convincing articulation of her thought process, and how casually she considers this time\u2019s passage<\/span><\/p>\n

Himmel is now an old bald man with an impressive mustache<\/span><\/p>\n

This idle passing of Frieren\u2019s days has to Himmel been the work of a lifetime – he speaks in terms of eternity, recalling how the meteor shower \u201cbrings back memories,\u201d and how he\u2019s been diligently protecting Frieren\u2019s dragon horn<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should\u2019ve stashed it in a shed or something.\u201d \u201cI couldn\u2019t do that. You may not have thought much of leaving it with me, but to me, it was a treasure entrusted to me by a dear friend.\u201d Another thing Frieren\u2019s lack of appreciation for the world caused her to miss: Himmel\u2019s clear love for her<\/span><\/p>\n

We catch a moment of Himmel alone, staring at his reflection in the now-empty cabinet. A lifetime of waiting, but he isn\u2019t bitter, merely nostalgic. This is the good shit – a moment of articulating life\u2019s funny injustices, the things we can\u2019t change and eventually learn to live with. So much of adolescent storytelling is about <\/span>fixing<\/span><\/i> everything, but I like stories like this, or perhaps like Rilakkuma and Kaoru – stories about coming to peace with the world as it exists<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Our drunk priest has become a distinguished bishop<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, Eisen the dwarf hasn\u2019t changed much<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe journeyed to so many places. Everything seemed so brilliant and new.\u201d The world is always brimming with opportunity; to the young, it strikes as opportunity yet to be seized, but to the old, it seems more like opportunity missed<\/span><\/p>\n

The actual in-show music is some perfectly suited string arrangements, making that OP seem all the more out of place<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of you, I had this delightful adventure at the very end.\u201d An incidental reunion to Frieren is a bookend to Himmel, the proper culmination of his life story<\/span><\/p>\n

The silence of the following morning, and this brief glance at Himmel\u2019s cabinet, tell us what has happened before it is visually revealed. Himmel has passed away<\/span><\/p>\n

Bocchi was already excellent, but seeing Sait\u014d put his talents to work on this subtler drama is making me think he could become one of the greats. His understanding of visual storytelling and restraint, as well as his appreciation for this tale of the world\u2019s natural beauty, actually remind me of Isao Takahata<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

His death doesn\u2019t really register until it all arrives in a flash; excellent cut here, from her silent gasp to the finality of the ringing bell<\/span><\/p>\n

Once again, very purposeful and restrained sound design. As Frieren reflects on how little she knew about Himmel, we hear only the shovel burying him, emphasizing the opportunity for learning more about him has passed<\/span><\/p>\n

Also good boarding, largely hiding her face except for this one reveal of her tears<\/span><\/p>\n

Heiter says his goodbyes, confident he\u2019ll never see them again<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And Frieren\u2019s objectives have changed – she\u2019s now actually curious about humans, who live so briefly yet can touch her so deeply<\/span><\/p>\n

She is surprised to learn even Eisen is now too old for adventures, though he may look much the same. She was the odd one out all along<\/span><\/p>\n

Twenty years later, Frieren stands in the outskirts of the holy city, and is discovered by a purple-haired girl<\/span><\/p>\n

Heiter is still alive. The girl Fern is a war orphan, and appears to be his ward<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Heiter asks Frieren to take Fern on as an apprentice, but Frieren declines, alluding to how frequently apprentice mages end up killed<\/span><\/p>\n

He then asks her to decipher a grimoire alleged to contain spells of resurrection and immortality<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven if I can\u2019t achieve immortality, I\u2019d like a bit more time.\u201d We all hope that when our time comes, we will react with grace, feeling we\u2019ve accomplished all we set out to do. In truth, there is always more to do, always more mountains we could hope to climb, and never enough time to achieve it all. Again, I like stories that embrace this ambiguity – that understand we cannot \u201csolve\u201d life, that every solution is an imperfect one, and that the true challenge of living is coming to a peaceful relationship with the inherent disappointments and small injustices of a long and wandering life<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not all lives form as clean a narrative as Himmel\u2019s; Heiter only ran into Fern as an old man, twenty years past the point where he could serve as a lasting father to her<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Heiter tells me I\u2019m practically invisible. It\u2019s a very good thing, yes?\u201d Fern\u2019s pragmatic line of thinking speaks to how deeply she was impacted by the war. Being noticed is always dangerous, so being invisible is a valuable thing<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo you like magic?\u201d \u201cSomewhat.\u201d It is a tool, not necessarily a calling<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And Done<\/b><\/p>\n

Whew, that was quite a lot of ground to cover for a first episode! And though I felt the writing was a touch on the nose regarding the theme of time\u2019s passage, I cannot deny that it\u2019s a profoundly compelling subject, or that Frieren found a variety of poignant ways to articulate both the beauty and the tragedy of our brief time in the world. A story about learning to appreciate the time you have left, furnished with such a clear understanding of mortality, is a rare and welcome thing in the overwhelmingly adolescence-focused anime sphere. And in Sait\u014d and his team\u2019s hands, the complexity and poignancy of these feelings is captured even more clearly in visuals and sound than in spoken dialogue. Sait\u014d is a star rising towards unknown heavens, and Frieren seems a worthy vehicle for his ascent. I\u2019m not sure how this story will continue to extrapolate on these ideas, but I\u2019m eager to find out!<\/span><\/p>\n

This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re setting off on a new journey, or more precisely beyond a journey\u2019s end, as we check out the first episode of the recent and much-loved Frieren. There was a \u2026 Continue reading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[61,122,127,129,124,128,125,132,131,133,126,130,123,66,94,88,97,56,64,65,60,112,40,75,95,104,33,120,105,101,98,115,30,29,41,86,26625,70,69,68,72,71,26,118,108,87,46,55,48,52,54,51,50,83,62,58,57,109,35,59,63,85,79,82,96,80,27,81,114,44,42,43,45,38,39,110,117,100,111,116,73,89,90,92,91,93,84,78,37,102,34,36,77,67,74,99,113,119,28,121,32,47,49,53,103,31,76],"class_list":["post-107186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anime","tag-airpods","tag-anime","tag-anime-characters","tag-anime-cosplay","tag-anime-edits","tag-anime-merchandise","tag-anime-movies","tag-anime-news","tag-anime-recommendations","tag-anime-reviews","tag-anime-series","tag-anime-streaming","tag-animes","tag-app-store","tag-app-store-samsung","tag-appgallery","tag-appgallery-oneplus","tag-apple","tag-apple-music","tag-apple-tv","tag-apple-watch","tag-bbc-sport","tag-best-mobile-games","tag-bixby","tag-bixby-xiaomi","tag-champions-league","tag-cyberpunk","tag-cyberpunk-2077","tag-fantasy-football","tag-fifa","tag-football","tag-formula-1","tag-fortnite","tag-free-fire","tag-free-mobile-games","tag-freebuds-pro","tag-frieren-beyond-journeys-end-2","tag-galaxy-a52","tag-galaxy-note-20","tag-galaxy-s21","tag-galaxy-watch-4","tag-galaxy-z-fold-3","tag-game","tag-games","tag-golf","tag-harmonyos","tag-how-to-backup-iphone","tag-how-to-factory-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-reset-iphone","tag-how-to-restore-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-5","tag-how-to-unlock-iphone-6","tag-huawei","tag-ios","tag-ipad","tag-iphone","tag-live-soccer","tag-lol","tag-macbook","tag-macos","tag-mate-40-pro","tag-mi-11-lite","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p","tag-mi-home-security-camera-basic-1080p-huawei","tag-mi-smart-band-6","tag-minecraft","tag-miui","tag-mlb-scores","tag-mobile-game-design","tag-mobile-game-development","tag-mobile-game-marketing","tag-mobile-game-monetization","tag-mobile-games","tag-mobile-gaming","tag-nba-scores","tag-nba-standings","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-scores","tag-nhl-scores","tag-one-ui","tag-oneplus","tag-oneplus-9-pro","tag-oneplus-buds-pro","tag-oneplus-nord-ce-5g","tag-oxygenos","tag-p40-pro-plus","tag-poco-x3-pro","tag-pokemon","tag-premier-league","tag-pubg","tag-pubg-mobile","tag-redmi-note-10-pro","tag-samsung","tag-samsung-pay","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-steam","tag-steeam","tag-top-10-anime","tag-valorant","tag-when-do-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-does-the-iphone-7-come-out","tag-when-is-the-iphone-7-coming-out","tag-world-cup","tag-xbox-series-x","tag-xiaomi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107186"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":107727,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107186\/revisions\/107727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}