Gorgeous, slow-burn, adventure storytelling that takes a unique approach to building unforgettable characters
Among the likely contenders for Anime of the Year is relative newcomer, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, a story of a bored, eternally youthful elf mage, who begins her next adventure after completing a ten-year heroic quest with three friends. Despite the seemingly simple premise, the storytelling style is so clever that the basic journey narrative subtly becomes a unique psychological and emotional introspection as the characters progress through various adventures. The initial slow pacing and absence of feelings from the protagonist gradually evolve into intense adventures and a poignant, time-reversed exploration of the psychological connection between an indifferent, bored, immortal mage and a joyous, charismatic, but very mortal hero.
Frieren is a youthful, white-haired elf mage. She is not only incredibly powerful using magic; she is also essentially immortal, having been alive for centuries. But what sets her apart in the narrative is her personality. She is confident and curious but not really passionate about most things (except for finding new spells and grimoires (magic books)—then she becomes child-like). Prior to the start of the story, Frieren joins a party of heroes on a ten-year quest to defeat the demon king. The group consists of Frieren, the mage; optimistic young Himmel, the heroic fighter; quirky, wine-loving Heiter, the priest; and strong, reliable dwarf, Eisen the warrior.
The anime begins at the end of their quest, when the four heroes return home after vanquishing the demon king. Initially, we aren’t given much backstory context about the demon king or why he needed to be vanquished. That detail is mostly beside the point, apparently. The heroes return home to much fanfare, celebration, and even monuments in their honor. However, the four remain contemplative of their time together. Frieren moves on without sentiment and without much of a future goal.
Years later, she encounters an aged but still joyous Himmel just before he dies of old age. She also encounters a much older Priest Heiter who asks Frieren to mentor a magically gifted orphan girl he has sheltered. The child, Fern, progresses under years of tutelage and Frieren reluctantly becomes attached to her. Later, the also long-lived Eisen, the dwarf warrior, gives Frieren his apprentice, a teenaged boy named Stark. Her new crew begins to resemble the original heroes’ party as they eventually pick up a priest (with his own complications) and deal with a range of obstacles throughout their journey, including monster attacks, vengeful elven mages, dangerous dungeons, political intrigue, personal grief and loss, and the inevitable tournament/competition arc, which adds a slew of new and intriguing side characters, including some semi-likeable antagonists.
Frieren has elements of many iconic journey stories, including Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, and the tear-jerker anime (which I loved), To Your Eternity. The show takes a clever approach to showing us what life is like for a near-immortal like Frieren to interact with short-lived but ultimately beloved humans. Many of the key human characters age dramatically between meetings with Frieren, and even though the time seems short to her, we see that it is catastrophically impactful to humans. On the other hand, in her new journey, Frieren must become a mentor to the talented (and quietly opinionated) orphan Fern and later to the insecure boy Stark as he finds his own inner, as well as external, strength.
In her interactions with her two young apprentices, we see the way time slows down for Frieren. After gradually recalling lessons from her journey with the original heroes’ party, she begins to see the world in a new way. She ironically bonds with her old teammates long after they are gone and, in the case of Himmel, she seems to be slowly falling in love with him decades after he has died. It’s not romance in the traditional sense, but it is emotionally gorgeous and incredibly, poignantly sweet. Instead of being or feeling tragic, her moments of post-death connections feel like a celebration.
That is the true strength and uniqueness of the show: the way it celebrates kindness and thoughtfulness without becoming morose or overly sentimental. Frieren herself remains aloof, irritating, funny, and quirky. There is only one time where she truly breaks down and sobs, and it is a showstopper moment for the series. This is when we realize the show isn’t really about this thousand-year-old elf mage; it is about all of us, humanity, in this current moment. Can we choose bravery, kindness, strength, thoughtfulness, and compassion in the face of terrible circumstances or in the face of the relentless pull of ordinary, everyday life? Frieren reminds us that everything we do matters, and everything we do will be remembered long after our journey ends.
Nerd Coefficient: 8/10.
Highlights:
- A quietly powerful study of the human condition
- Unusual pacing mixed with lots of action
- So many appealing characters in a unique storytelling format
POSTED BY: Ann Michelle Harris – Multitasking, fiction writing Trekkie currently dreaming of her next beach vacation.
