It's not underrated nor overrated. It's a gem.

It's not a story about an elf comming to grips with her mortality. It's a story about a person struggeling to overcome trauma and accept loves vulnerablity and loss. Present day is someone who values relationships, but can't overcome trauma to be vunreable. Flashbacks show someone in denial about relationships. Protesting they aren't worth the loss. It's a beautiful journey of overcoming both denial, and trauma. Opening up to the idea of, and the reality of being human.

It was perfectly executed by studio MADHOUSE. Pacing, battles, soundtrack, feels.

The "soul" of Frieren is that is also a love story, and how the characters are shown. The "now" in Frieren is used to tell the story of defeating the Demon King. That story also has its twists, so those two parallel storyline keeps the plot interesting.

When I was still reading this gem years ago I am absolutely sure it will not be animated due to the fact that its impossible to convey the feelings and emotions the story is trying to convey in the manga to anime yet here we are and 100% impressed by the show anime creators. they really nailed it

My partner is not a big anime fan, but we absolutely adore watching Frieren, and it has become a nice date night activity to watch an episode or two. I appreciate the lack of fan service. A show like this doesn't need it. It's beautiful, charming, funny, and emotional.

If someone doesn't think that an immortal elf dealing with the sudden realization that the people she loves and cherishes will die long long before she does, and regretting the fact that she didn't take the time to get to know them better sounds like a good story, then honestly I don't think they know what a good story is.

I read the manga and Himmel is my absolute favourite character... The guy who's been dead for 30 years 😭😭

What a surprise that Violet Evergarden shares it's composer with Frieren. Evan Call outdid himself with this show again. Qual's battle. The somber passage of time music when we just scroll by events. Starks fight with the dragon and obviously Ferns fight with Lügner... beautiful all of them.

The melancholy of the passage of time and the fleeting nature of reality from the perspective of an immortal is fantastic. That underlying melancholy follows throughout underlying every episode and it is a necessary component of the story being told :)

God, I remember seeing the first few chapters of the manga on a random tiktok one day and fell in love with it. I listed it off as 'if it was an anime I'd watch immediately ' but as a manga it would be backlogged by a while. Then I heard it would be an anime and I couldn't be happier.

This anime is going to hit so much harder upon second time watching it. It's brimming full of meaning. But another thing why it's so good is that in every eposide you get to see an unexpected side to frieren that makes her so adorable.

Other thing to mention. The voice acting is magnificent. Is very relaxing and not overwhelming, complimenting the artstyle and music. Making it really enjoyable to watch.

Frieren's new journey is not just about rediscovering memories and remnants of her past, but also bringing a new tag of team and make more memories with them along the journey. It's all about memories and history, from the past up to present... and probably the future also.

And now you know why Clannad is still so popular, the need to come to grips with loss after the loss occurred.

Heres the one thing that hooked me on frieren: the characters I think any fantasy show, whether itd be a dark fantasy, a battle shounen, or an isekai, needs to have characters that are charismatic and likeable What i mean by this essentially boils down to: would i watch a slice of life show of these characters. And for frieren it is a massive yes. Granted frieren pretty much is a sol show, it still has action, magic, adventure etc. Frieren being a goof, fern being the doting mother of the group, stark's innonence, heiter's drinking etc. These characters just being on screen is entertaining and that makes me care. It makes me invested and it makes me want to keep watching More than the beautiful visuals and soundtrack, more than the worldbuilding or storytelling, its the characters that make this show

The reason of the series sucess its because at one point, we all (or almost everyone) have been Frieren, when we where little, we were all in a hurry to grow up, be adults then we finally get there we get to discover so much about ourselves, we become numb at the passage of time and the clock ticks faster, a year or two goes by in a hearthbeat while before it looked like an eternity, life gets complicated and we miss so much about past days than we though could be possible, friends, family, holidays, places, we get regrets we try to amend those regrets one way or another and we try to live on

If all I knew about the show was "sad elf learns to human", I would've still tuned in.

Frieren is the most mature depiction of processing LIFE I have ever seen. What is identity. What does it mean to truly love someone else selflessly and unrequited. Is it a qualitative or quantitative difference between a master and a novice in terms of their love for their art. How do we pick up the pieces after they can never be put back together again. Everything expressed is done so with maturity and security.

The show is excellent because the manga is great and all the anime creators loves the title.

It's telling that someone just retelling some of the vague plot points of the show managed to bring a tear to my eye. That's how you know you've got a unique show on your hands...

"Hey buddy, do you want to watch an elf be sad for 28 episodes?" Dwarves: ** "GIVE ME YOUR ENTIRE STOCK!"

Loved your video ! And yeah, the visuals at the start are quite simple, but the artists really show that's a choice later on.

As a manga reader, yeah, it keeps up, unlike Oshi No Ko that starts with a burst, but dwindles

What I love about Frieren is its exploration of time and immortality. They portray this conflict of limited time for mortals and the desire to live and it beautifully uses this theme to add depth to characters. Most notably Himmel. One of the things that I noticed is that the series portrays Himmel as an idealization of humans and truly one of a kind (showed by how Frieren reminisced about him and looked up to him, portrayal of a true hero, etc…) and this is because Himmel finds the answer to this conflict. Which is for people to remember him. If people remember him even after his death. This means that his existence will be engraved throughout humanity making him immortal (this is actually a central idea about immortality in greek mythology). This is what motivated him to become a hero and most importantly, live a life as if he had unlimited time just like Frieren.

Great video and series, I liked your commentary on the simple but powerful scenes in the beginning. Frieren and himmel are always shown shoulder to shoulder when in a group, leading to that absolutely devastating shot at the funeral where frieren stands alone under the window, looks over slightly to the empty space by her side and then down slightly. One of my favorite scenes of all time immediately after seeing it

this review is so underrated. this deserves more audience so keep it up! i loved it

I absolutely adore the montage section of each episode. I make Tabletop RPGs and am considering adding a montage element to the games.

I think this show can only be fully appreciated by adults, people who have experienced life: losts, regrets, questioning yourself, thinking and feeling the passage of time. I don't think if I watch this show ten years ago I would've like it as much as I do now. I keep seeing a lot of people says this is a very chill anime, they're not wrong, but this anime is actually one of the few that makes me contemplates after and throughout each episodes.

Not gonna lie I agree with the title. This anime shouldn’t have gotten me so invested with continuing, but I always look forward to seeing more. I was sure after a couple of episodes I would’ve already gotten bored and dropped the show. I guess if not too many have dropped then it’s either the opening that’s a whole treat or the world building which seems more likely.

She's thankfully not sad for 28 episodes. This is just about coming to terms with the fleeting lives of humans as it is about learning to find and enjoy human connection.

Just to let you know; having read a LOT of Fantasy stories throughout my sixdecades plus years, i can say that Frieren reminds me very much og the fantasy novels of C.J. Cherryh, most specifically the three novels of the Tree Of Swords and Jewels which also deals with a female elf coming to grips with the short lives of humans that she comes into contact with. It's a series of three novels and each tackles an aspect of the elf's life, including her brief intimate, but ultimately sad romance with one human male. This is why, when i heard of frieren in manga and anime, i was immediately drawn to it and the main character. Along with 'the Ancient Magus' Bride", both anime are my favorite when it comes to serious, mature anime fantasy stories.

Something different about Frieren that I love which Ou hadn't mentioned is the characterization of it's antagonists. While the anime has yet to explore demons in more detail we have gotten a good description of them and will get more of that later on. Demons are Monsters dressed in human skin using human language. They are not depicted overly evil or destructive so as to make you think immediately "evil" because if you had the instinct "evil" then so would anyone with common sense in that world. Instead they are the Anglerfish of humanity. Frieren describes it perfectly and the demons we see agree too. They are quite literally monsters yet it is impossible to implicitly dislike them when you haven't seen them do bad *yet*

This anime show how talented the director of Bocchi the Rock is, feels like he has magic touch to bring manga into anime 😂

Just goes to show, that in storytelling there are no bad ideas - it always comes down to how your idea is told.

ONE OF THE DARKEST YET BITTERSWEET & EMOTIONAL SHOUNEN ANIMÉ SERIES... BECAUSE SHE'S AN EQUIVALENT TO MAQUIA & IT REALLY HURTS! 👸🏰🐉✨📺😢😭

Beast tamer is the most underrated hidden gem in this 20+ year .

The way I found to describe the show to my friends is "correct" It's correctly done. Not too much nor too little, it has enough of what it needs to tell it's story.

Even Gigguk says it’s a gem before it’s an anime and lovely

The thing with the flashiness (or lack thereof) is that WHEN it's used, it feels more impactful. Too much flashiness dulls your senses to it. Think of other shows, or movies (looking at the later transformers movies) where they are flashy nearly 24/7, and it feels like meh, just another flashy explosion or w/e. It becomes boring. It should be used to accentuate, not dominate. Frieren understands that, and the director for Frieren does as well.

The moment I saw Frierens synopsis is fucking beautiful and is so unexpected sometimes

"Already too old for being young, never mature to be adult" Frieren

I personally have never seen it as a show about a sad elf but as a show about an elf just coming to terms with her flaw as a long-lived species. I've come to notice that Frieren typically remembers and cherishes her memories in a positive light and at times solemnly, but never gloomy. These memories of hers have always been a source of great comfort, never sadness.

I really like how the show did portay this conflict with demon race. Beings that speak words not because they believe understand or thinks them right. They speak for sole purpose of other party hearing what they want and what will make them fall a prey. And then Frieren despite having her whole village raided isnt after them. She fights back, and you can see this on the rest of party too, as stark trembles before battle and they are like:"yikes, man it sucks to fight strong demons" rather than "Iam gonna anihilate every single demon" kind of shounen. It is the story that shines the brightest in little moments. Shows the ugly, and elevates the beutifull. Sucha good ride.

I've come to an odd realisation. This anime represents what we liked about the MCU, character and story telling over plots and politics

This is the first time I heard someone mention about the ED. While everyone already knows how good the story is, the ED wasn't acknowledged enough, at least not what I saw online. The visual is stunning, the symbolization is sublime, and then there's the lyrics. I can't stress enough how much I love the lyrics. It touches on the subject of "the second chance" which fits the theme of the show perfectly. It's my favorite ED of the season, or the year, even.

Actually, there are quite a few really good animations during the show. It is not like in many action anime where animations are made dynamic only to make the illusion that a lot is happening quickly, but the animation itself makes little sense or you see that corners were cut. In every Frieren episode there are many scenes where animators show little movements which are not needed for the plot but add depth and realism to the scene. And if there really is an action scene, animators do not cut corners. Pay attention to how fabric and hair move during such scenes. It never seems out of place. Those are times where I gasp like 'wow!' Maybe it is exactly because it is such a peaceful show that gives room for animators to flex their abilities like that?

This was a great breakdown! You're 100% right, it's kind of hard to describe Frieren. I am in love with this show! It's such an amazing journey, both physically and emotionally. I can't wait to see where it goes!

I think this anime could also be described as "Iyashikei" one of the core genres of Anime & Manga, much like how there are "Shounen", "Romcom", "Seinen", and so on- ❤

The visuals aren't flashy most of the time, but the fight scenes are pretty epic.

You touched on so many reasons why I love this show. I can't gush enough about this show! I really liked it from the first few episodes. But there was a particular scene from episode 8 which vaulted it to my top anime. In any event, thanks for expounding your thoughts on this!

I stopped watching anime for over more than a year because every new anime that came out was a disappointment. Since I'm a Fantasy genre fan I thought I can give it a chance. And it turned out to be one of my all time favorites even without being fully out yet. There is nothing special in the plot or characters but somehow everything in this anime amazes me. The way the story is unfolding and how characters develop through it. The world building. And the feeling of nostalgia in every episode, as if you are rewatching a show from your childhood

What are you saying? The premise is what’s made me want to watch it. That the beginning is “after” those supposedly 10 years of great adventures, fighting and becoming the world’s saviors.

The reason why I love this anime is the Eldorado and first class mage arc, that part of the manga was amazing and the combat perfect

To me, the show heavily reminds me of Violet Evergarden. It plays with similar themes of discovering new relationships and how it ties back to a past where they didnt understand them, or didnt see the value in them.

Ahah, true actually. Many people said this anime is awsome but I struggled to watch it because of the description. Immortal elf travelling, trying to understand time and humanity... - sounds boring. But then I tried it - and now it's one of my favorites, watched in one breath

This story has some incredible depth! KInd of a very slow love story, ((Himmel x Frieren) and (Stark x Fern)), Loss and grief and (everyone is an orphan), fathers in various realms have lost sons, making contact with others, Fate vs Destiny, the necessary role of belief, function of comedy to leaven tragedy, time wounds all, do we think rationally or emotionally? Übel, what is evil? and why is there evil? Book of Job, the Romantic creation of imaginary heroes in Myth and Legend vs Real heroes who stand tall by their own bootstraps. the role of fathers who destroy the self-worth of their sons, And this is only a superficial pass through the plot. Everyone can find much more than this.

Even early episodes have really nice visuals. They were focus shifting a lot (i.e. the rat scene) and this might be a suble thing that most people won't even notice, but it's the first time I noticed it in an anime. Sadly they stopped doing it. It really make everything more cinematic and immersive.

12-04-2024 it's Top No:1 Anime Now😊

the manga was a instant like from the start for me when it came out in 2020....and i really love to see new people exploring it whit the anime...and for the last question...yeah the story do keep it up

I'm not a big fan of shows that heavily use flashbacks to flesh out their characters. Old shows like Lost and Heroes are full of flashbacks. Frieren, however, beautifully weaved flashbacks with its story. They are short and straight to the point. Himmel died in the first episode and yet he feels like he's still with them in this new journey. Also, what's up with the weird mini theme for anime this year? A bunch of them start with a pivotal character dying in the first episode and become the impetus for protagonists to go on a journey of revenge for most of them or self-discovery in Frieren.

My prejudice: Well, maybe the guy who has ARIA on display in the background has something worthwhile to say about Frieren. (Oh, and then 6:01 happened) Nice review, it was short and sweet, and kept my attention. I agree that we shouldn't go around pitching it as "sad elf hours" when it's actually an anime about a seed rat journeying to find all the food (for thought) her seed rat friends left behind across the continent.

I felt some LOTR vibes in that anime thats why i love it

frieren: pulls aggro with fly, uses dispell to clear some adds, then toggles a passive off. Entire viewerbase loses their collective minds.

The background illustrations are amazing. And it has a Ghibli feel to it cause they brought an old reitred Ghibili animator out of retirement.

I just finished ep10 this past week, and holy cow. I knew it was good before, but I'm now putting it in the best of all time list, not just best of the year.

it came out of nowhere n has an amazing story - her homour n no fuks given (on time passing) is brilliant

Bad pitch? The pitch that I saw read to me like someone's hacked my account and read the premise for an RP character I made... some time ago. (I guess it would've been a few years back by this point... maybe?) Neadless to say I was _very_ interested from that alone.

The key is producer, he made bochi the rock

Bocchi the Rock director adds another notch to his belt.

I dont think you can call a show underrated when it steals number 1 spot of best anime of all time on My Anime List from Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood which was on number 1 spot for 13 long years, thats not something an "underrated" story would do.

I don't understand it.. I was really into _Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko_ back when I was a young boy of the late 90s, which is a calming, almost dreamlike manga told of a post-apocalyptic Earth, and a region near Japan that has an eager-hearted and helpful robot named Alpha, minding a coffee shop while waiting for her creator to return. She interacts with the folks around town, travels on her scooter, even runs afoul of a few wonders and mysteries here and there, but mostly it tells an intensely harmless story about coming to grips with where you are in life, and being at that crossroads between youth and old age, where you face obsolescence or a bright tomorrow of purpose. Alpha has no powers, or extra-human strength, combat capabilities, really anything besides mechanized permanence and being waterproof I think, but she too will run out of mobility someday and cease to function. Before that, she's going to have to deal with the passing of the folks in town she's made friends with, the annoying kid, the strange old man working the garage; even her cafe will one day be reclaimed by the elements as the oceans slowly continue to rise. It's an elegiac and solemn reflection on what it means to exist and have existed, when you turn the story one way, and look into it. It's a distinctly japanese kind of nostalgic sadness that is impossible for me to define, and yet, I try to suggest it whenever it feels right. Why the heck does Frieren bounce off my head then? I've got to have messed up somewhere.

I just caught up on the manga, the frieren anime will continue to impress and be a beautiful experience, mark my words!

this intro was the best...

The core of beauty is simplicity

I think this is going to be an ageless anime, just as relevant twenty years from now as it is now

The manga is even more insane

Its giving Mushishi vibes, and I couldn't be happier. Its the only anime this season I can't wait for every week

I mean, you can boil all dramas to people going trough sad experiences and being sad as a result, what matters is why they are sad, what the characters learn and how they grow as a result of being sad, until they stop or at least come to terms with their sadness.

More like it worked, and more than we thought.

It can keep it up as long as they say true to the manga. Read the manga if you really want to know.

I seriously don’t get how the premise sounds strange. The premise sounds great. It sounds like a great oportunity to look inwards at a character, rather than base everything on action. I mean be biased because I read the manga, but even then I recall thinking the premise sounded great back when I picked it up

It's not a story of sad elf. It's just a story of a lazy elf wanted to procrastinate but her old friend gave a side quest to babysit his apprentice thus lead to another side quests 😂

and you alright?

"Underrated"? meanwhile, the show already made it to 1st rank in MAL site. That being said, I enjoy the show so far and I also consider it a strong candidate for anime of the year. Other shows I also recommend which do have similar themes are Kino's Journey, To Your Eternity, and Haibane Renmei. Nice Aria and Erin recommendation though!

Such a god show and I had similar reservations to you when I started the manga but it worked its magic on me.

It might be the greatest show I’ve ever watched I love love love these characters

Kemono No Souja Erin is a good piece !

after your strong recommendation I might actually check this out read the manga back then but eventually got bored... not that it doesn't have its moments but it's just too uneventful most of the time

Congrats on the views

It's a great show, no doubt about it, but I don't think it's underrated. It's the number 1 anime on MAL at the moment. I mean, it's awesome, but it's not the best anime ever.

I do enjoy these characters, Great breakdown

Its everything rings of power Galadrial girl boss could have been. ...

"It just works"

Tell me you don't usually engage with somber stories without telling me wow. Congrats on finding the point

Every story genre that becomes popular enough will produce serious artistic content eventually. Look to early science fiction, westerns, and other forms of popular fiction and compare them to various 'Issekai' plots and you will see what I mean.

i as manga reader just cannot get past the op. i feel like the image of the series i have being shattered by the upbeat song so i dont even wanna watch past the OP of 1st ep. what i understand they choose whoever band / artist that is popular no matter how suitable or unsuitable their music genre to the series image

Im just happy a pure fantasy show has become so popular over all the isekai this season

I just... no. Just no. I can't even agree that the pitch is awful. You found the description boring and underwhelming, while plenty of other people were like holy heck this sounds amazing. Saying it shouldn't work is just obnoxious mate.

Honestly that pitch seems good to me