Rating: A
Frieren is back, and all’s right with the world! And this time I’ll be writing about it week-to-week.
Jests aside, this is a strong return. While its first episode in nearly two years doesn’t do anything dramatic, it does deliver on everything I expect from this series, and that makes it plenty good enough.
Plot-wise, this is just a travel episode where they have seemingly random encounters: they discover magic-nullifying crystals, they fall into a cave system that they have to navigate their way out of, and they run across Wirbel and his group at a roadside inn, where Wirbel tries again (and fails again) to recruit Stark. But that’s fine, because plot has never really been what this series has been about. Same with action scenes; that’s mostly limited to Stark fleeing a dragon in modern day and a flashback to a fight Himmel’s party had against a different dragon back in the day, one they ultimately had to flee from, too. (But that brief scene is also arguably one of the highlight pieces of animation so far this season.) The true magic of this episode – and the series as a whole – is that it can do those things impressively well but doesn’t need to rely on them because it has so much else going for it in its little details.
Take the business about the magic-nullifying crystals. It’s a neat bit of world-building on its own, but it also gets used efficiently to set up situations which reveal more about the characters. I especially liked how the episode showed Fern’s reaction to her magic sense being shut down by the cave of crystals, both in the trembling of her lips and in the way she is surrounded with a field of darkness to create the effect of a lost sense. But how Frieren acts here is equally important. Sure, you could look at the way she’s sleeping as a comedy bit, but the fact that she can sleep like that, and doesn’t immediately spring to action when she does wake, is powerful evidence of her absolute trust in Stark. We know from the first season encounter with the plant that put people to sleep that she can act quickly on being woken up if she has to, but she knows she doesn’t have to here even though the situation is definitely a deadly threat.
The rest of the episode reveals more about both Stark and Fern. Stark’s revelation that Fern played as much of a role in “dragging his cowardly butt along” as Frieren did is enlightening but also feels right, and it’s clear that Fern, despite how annoyed she gets with Stark at times, is also at least a little alarmed at the prospect of Start getting attracted away. Also important here is the emphasis placed on what Fern values. She lost everything to war once, so naturally she cherishes what she holds close and what they symbolize to her. That’s shown most clearly in this wonderful shot:
The icon carved by Kraft represents her faith and the hairpiece and bracelet chosen by Frieren and Stark, respectively, represent the people she holds most dear (whether she admits it or not in the case of Stark). That she was fingering that bracelet while being carried by Stark while trying to deal with the fear of the dragon chasing them shows where her feelings lie.
And of course there are the series’ other standard features, too. Few series more slickly and seamlessly insert their humor moments than this one does, and the flashback allows Himmel yet another chance to shine; after all, being a successful adventurer means knowing which battles not to fight, too. The way Frieren smiles even in dangerous situations is also meaningful, as it means she’s more clearly enjoying the adventurer she’s on now than she did earlier in the series. The visual symbolism is also there; watch for multiple instances where a trio of birds are shown flying together, symbolizing the central trio’s current journey. We can’t forget Evan Call’s wonderful musical work, either, which continues to flawlessly hit the right note in both lighter and more sentimental moments.
New OP “lulu.” by Mrs. GREEN APPLE also deserves some attention. The song is great on its own, but the symbolism in the visuals is also striking. The spell that creates a field of flowers wound up being a vitally important recurring element in the first series, so continuing that with a visual emphasis on ephermal flower petals is a natural choice. As the OP flashes through the scenes of Frieren’s progression with her first party, notice how Frieren picks up a blue petal at one point, but only after she’s shown at Himmel’s funeral. The petals she’s holding in her hands in a later shot represent the people she’s traveled with – blue for Himmel, red for Stark, purple for Fern, yellow for Eisen (due to his beard), and white for priests Heiter and Sein – and garlands worn on the head are ages-old symbols of the celebration of life.
On the ED front, milet’s “Anytime Anywhere” from the first series was one of the all-time-great anime EDs, so those were going to be huge shoes even for her to fill. However, new ED “The Story of Us” makes a damn fine run at it. Done all in a visual style resembling crayons or colored pencils, it beautifully flows from Himmel’s writings into Frieren’s ongoing travels (I particularly liked how Himmel’s quill pen became Frieren’s lamp flame), into Frieren having a shadow with butterfly wings, and then finally into Frieren turning into a bird, with one of her feathers fluttering back to Himmel’s book. That’s a potent load of sentiment to cover in just 90 seconds, and I will almost certainly be watching it every episode just to enjoy it further.
Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for more from this series’ return. Even if this is a much shorter season (only 10 episodes this time around, since the animation is rapidly catching up to the manga), it’s still a quite promising one.
USA Anime 