Culture news More than 4 months top 1, this anime stopped this weekend. I tried to understand why the spectators adored him and I finally found the answer
Since around October, the landscape of Japanese animation has been turned upside down. A UFO dethrones Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, in the hearts of fans for over a decade. I sought to understand the origin of this transfer of power, which lasts long enough for us to be interested in it.
In the field of Japanese cartoons, 2024 is off to a gentle start. If there is indeed Solo Leveling which rises above the fray for its first screen adaptation, the other series broadcast this winter seem less to break the ice. Especially since there is one that stays warm, instead of best anime of all time on the MyAnimeList site: it is Sousou no Frierenin the English name of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
Frieren: a universe with an air of déjà vu, a unique adventure
Frieren as a top 1 for this long, even if it can only last as long as it is broadcast, remains a strong enough achievement to be interested in it. This manga (and its adaptation), although set in a fantasy universe seen and reviewed, differs in several ways from its roommates in the ranking: if it displays an action side, the latter is put in the background. It is the introspective travel side that is highlighted here, in a register that is regularly described as slice of life (slice of life in French). A genre that rarely rubs shoulders with fantasy universes.
The work focuses on Frieren, an elf magician who was part of the group of adventurers who defeated the Demon King. It is after this final fight that the story begins with the successive deaths of the “heroes of the legend”. Frieren being the elf of the group, she is the only one not to die (she is, at least, over 1,000 years old) and sees her companions leaving on the other side. If Frieren is initially apathetic, the loss of her friends causes a mini-human trigger: she realizes that she ultimately knows nothing about them despite the time spent together. We then follow Frieren’s inner journey at the dawn of a new adventure, human this time. It is in particular thanks to Fern and Stark, two apprentices of her former companions whom she takes under her wing, that we witness the personal maturation of each person.
Convinced by the first episodes without being completely won over, I decided to push my curiosity a little further just to see if I shared the rave reviews posted on the Internet.
A feeling that Frieren is scattering
Overall, I consider Frieren to be a refreshing anime. It blends fantasy and slice of life with finesse without forgetting the action scenes in order to regularly build suspense. The protagonists, few in number, are endearing and easily distinguishable from each other, even if the strange profusion of German names can be confusing. Frieren also has the merit of being very easy to follow: the story arcs are never long or too complicated to understand (repelling demons from a castle, investigating an old acquaintance, etc.). We could even say that Frieren leaves time, more than its direct competitors, for its spectators to gently immerse themselves in the universe.
And that’s a bit of what I can criticize, personally, about Frieren: he is, in a way, too innovative for his own good. By wanting to mix an initiatory journey and a fantasy universe, it is as if the work wanted to make two contradictory things coexist: fantasy, moreover when the protagonist is the most powerful mage in its story, calls for action. This is clearly in opposition to the rhythm that Frieren proposes. If the anime displays action scenes necessary to energize it, it is on the contrary to the detriment of other sequences more suited to the Slice of Life genre.
Frieren seems a bit like his butt is between two chairs which, in my opinion, makes him soft. If he continues to entertain me week after week, he doesn’t manage to make me as rave as the notes left on his MyAnimeList page. For me, something catchy is missing. Something that makes my viewing experience come alive. Perhaps I missed something, and so I went to find out on the Internet about this overwhelming enthusiasm on the part of the other spectators who propelled him to the top.
What I found on the internet
After several hours of reading on the subject, I finally had my answer. If it appears that the manga and its adaptation are not made for everyone, they manage to be clever in their proposal.
While she has the ability to know the contents of the chests in advance, Frieren cannot help but look “just in case”
In fact, it is in his writing that Frieren is interesting to follow. Although the main character (like his two disciples) seems to have no equal on the battlefield, the work manages to maintain its suspense. And although each protagonist seems very strong, that doesn’t stop them from being imperfect. Fern overreacts about Stark, even though Stark makes no real effort to understand what he might have done wrong. Similarly, the teacher-student relationship between Frieren and Fern deviates from traditional models. The elf is lazy, hangs out in bed… she doesn’t display the discipline one would expect from her.the mage who defeated the demon king“. A snub that we find on several occasions. Frieren’s former companions all had their little faults: the priest displays a strong penchant for drinking, the dwarf warrior can’t help but tremble before each battle… Some may also have noticed that Himmel, the hero of the Legend, managed to defeat the Demon King even though he did not succeed in removing the legendary sword from its base.
It is precisely because Frieren take the time to dwell on these imperfections that he displays such notoriety. A rhythm that is both slow (dedicated to these passages slice of life) and fast (the narrative arcs are much shorter than in similar popular works) which seduces and divides among spectators.
Wandering around the Internet, you can find a little bit of everything. But what stands out is that Frieren sets new foundations for the shônen genre. There is no young boy who screams as soon as he enters into combat, on the contrary: the protagonist is an elf with unparalleled composure. There are no forced gags. The flashbacks are numerous but never long or useless since they provide interesting anecdotes about the characters. Like the fights it oversees, the animation (managed by Madhouse, some of whom went on to found MAPPA) is never excessive. that it can be of excellent quality. We can even read on the networks that some regret that this quality of animation is granted to an anime “Of this genre” in opposition to other more action.
In the end, two conclusions seem obvious to me when justifying Frieren’s success. She remains faithful to the original material, does not force herself to respect the codes of success suggested by other renowned works. The work even uses them to offer an opposing reading, effective and accessible to all. In other words, Frieren plays with the rules without following them and above all by remaining true to his identity.