What You Need To Know About Frieren: Beyond Journey's End #1
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- In this new series about the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End I will share with you the deeper layers of the story and we will uncover the hidden meaning of what happens to Frieren and her friends.
In this first episode, I explain why many characters in the series have such strange names. These names reveal more than you think!
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........never in my life have I thought I'd see a priest reacting to anime..yet here we are..and I like it..bless you father and pray for us..
Peace be with you Father. I love this show and the deeper meanings and insight it offers us. I love watching Frieren's journey of discovery and watching her become less sold as the episodes progress. I love watching her come to the realizations that everything in her "meir one-onehundreth life" has changed her.
I love Frieren. And I am Catholic. So to hear a priest discuss it is a delight. You just got a subscriber.
Welcome!
I’ll start by saying I am not a religious person, but I am looking forward to seeing your videos on Frieren.
I truly loved this show, from the characters, to the story, the animation quality, and of course the music (“Lift My Head From Shadow”, “Headpats and Praise”, and “A Sunrise Worth Seeing” are all standouts for me).
This is the kind of show I’d recommend even to people who don’t watch anime, but even I was surprised when I saw a video by a Father on TH-cam lol
German is very ambiguous, and thats why Japanese Animes tend to choose German for names. Himmel for example dose also mean Sky.. like he is the Firmament, or the Vault of Heaven (Himmelsgewölbe) that is always present in this story. Hes also like a representation of Heaven. He is always the good guy... always helping others just to help. His voice and how he always speeks so calm.. then puts out a joke about himself.. just to say something deep right after to Frieren is just... to good to be true.
Every time Himmel comes up in a memory, its just... i dunno.. heartwarming.
For me its like this...
Its Frierens Journey, but it is Himmel who guides her throu that Journey even in death. And its just fitting, that the place they travel to is called Aureole (which you could also call Halo).
Himmel is my favorit character. But every Character in this show is written realy good, they dont feal artificial... This show is just wholesome... Hollywood should watch this.
It's an interesting choice to have a character that is so much the embodiement of the associations have with his name (heaven, the sky/the heavens).
I agree. Himmel is guiding her, much like her master prepared a message for her when Frieren needs it. Oh, and Himmel is my favorite as well. But every character feels right and necessary.
I've been curious how Japan views Germany or how much they might know about German culture verse say French culture given they were allies during WW2. Granted that was generations ago and probably not something they are too proud of.
@@fatherroderick-anime As a German linguist, I can clarify this: during the Danelaw period, when Norsemen/Vikings invaded England, a significant shift occurred in the meanings of certain words. The English 'Heaven' and the German 'Himmel' share a common Proto-Germanic root. While the German term retained its original broader sense, primarily referring to the 'sky,' the English equivalent gradually adopted a more narrowly defined theological meaning, referring specifically to the spiritual realm. In German, 'Himmel' is still predominantly understood as 'sky,' and only in a more strictly theological context does it mean 'Heaven,' as in English. As a result, many Germans primarily associate 'Himmel' with the sky, with the double meaning often being overlooked especially when lacking context.
@@A4kaalisCould you tell me if German had an equivalent to here/there/yonder? Oddly enough, Japanese has to this day an equivalent for all three!
As a fan of The Lord of The Rings, Frieren feels like the continuation of middle earth when elf mostly have left it through grey havens. Frieren herself said that the last elf she saw was from 300 years ago.
I really have to devote time to binge on Frieren at some point...
My time with Japanese media for the past year has been almost wholesale consumed by Mushoku Tensei, which had its second season in split cours air before and after Frieren's season.
That's a series that I'd highly recommend.
It's not the easiest story to start following, since the main character starts his arc out as wretched as a sinner can get, but he starts his new life by making a lifetime commitment to improve as a person. The road is long, narrow, and slippery, and he often does slip like a person realistically would. In that regard I find the core story to be one of the closest to the Christian ethos as I've come across. Most believers would balk at the trappings of the series for reasons of shallow propriety, but it is honestly one of the best and most human stories I've ever come across in my conscious life. The world is written to be alive in its own right, people are people with their own drives, worries, and ambitions. I can name only a small handful of people who'd I'd call evil outright, even among the antagonists over the whole breadth of the source material. Most simply have opposing motivations or values that set them against the protagonist, sometimes with the protagonist's allies being no better or his opponents not being any worse.
From a theological point of view the setting is interesting in that their gods used to exist among them, but are now long gone, though there's a nebulous god figure (or the gods, but translations use singular) referenced in their magic system, and only one major organized religion exists whose main figure of worship is an ancient war hero as their saint, functioning as an intercessor and judge. Most folks outside of that one religion are functionally irreligious.
I do enjoy the in depth analysis you give for anime. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Also, when you're talking about Himmel's party, I couldn't help but laugh. You call out how the party is made up of an elf, human, dwarf, and a priest. My four favorite anime races 😂
Hey Father! I love Frieren too. Did you notice that TIME in the show is seen through Frieren's eyes? At first time flies by, huge time jumps. 50 years goes in a few minutes. That's how Frieren sees time. But as she changes, the time jumps become shorter. A few months instead of years. And time is always measured by how long it's been since she lost Himmel because that's her most important event in her life. :)
An intellectual giant giving a profound analysis of subtle meaning😻
I never expected to see a priest analyzing anime themes! I appreciate your thoughts, something that struck me about Frieren and something I've thought about elves in fantasy in general is how alien such a long life is to humans. I feel humanity is often defined by our mortality hovering just over our shoulder and to me elves always felt not very relatable because of this. So its fascinating to be put into the shoes of an immortal being who almost exclusively interacts and forms relationships with humans. I definitely feel like one could dive into this show philosophically and theologically pretty easily, I'll keep an eye out for more of your analyses.
My favourite is Himmel, Father. His vanity and humour conceal his love and care for Frieren who has not understood the depth of human emotions during their adventure. I love Frieren and I enjoyed listening to your interpretation. I would love to know more of your perspective and interpretation of this anime, Father. The story is so good and I cried at the end of the first eight episodes.
This needs more views tbh. Nice video!
The concept of immortal characters finding love and wishing they could have spent their time more mindfully is something that touches me deeply, so I always cry when I watch Frieren. I'm not really religious at all, but often stories like that can lend themselves to religious discussion- "where" the deceased spirit is now (literally, in the case of Frieren) is important to the one who survives and Frieren makes it her mission to head there so she can spend time with her dearly departed. Frieren is my favorite of these four because her attitude reminds me of myself, I'm young and feel like I have all the time in the world, but there are cold realities about that- fitting, for the cold Frieren.
In all of the series, though, my favorite is Fern because she takes the position of someone who Frieren is mentoring to not fall into the same mistakes and live life in the moment instead of waiting for good things to happen, somewhat allowing me to put myself in her shoes and learn the personal lessons Frieren teaches her. Fern's name's meaning in German is "Distant" and similar to Frieren that can describe her expression, because she's an orphan who Heiter takes in, and he sneakily makes it so Frieren must stay with him throughout the end of his life and Fern's childhood so she can grow up and be taken care of by Frieren. "Distant" also refers to the long journey Fern has ahead of her that will take a significant portion of her life, unlike Frieren's which will keep going on.
Please make as many videos as you want to about this series. I would absolutely love to hear more about your own interpretation and engagement with this story. I would especially like to hear your insights into the religious beliefs in this series
What is this? A priest who is not only a fellow geek, but even running an anime channel?? I never thought I'd see something like this! I was just discussing with a woman at a young adult/college group at my parish that we need more Catholic geek representation online. Thank you for doing this, Father, I think you are filling an underutilized role!
Frieren has become something of a recent obsession for me, honestly. It is not only a beautiful show to look at, but in it's themes as well! It has so much to say about the passage of time, human nature (even from an elf, lol), and how to truly live in the moment and for others! I'm excited to hear more of your thoughts!
Oh, I love this! Thank you Father! I look forward to your next Frieren vids. :D
It feels really odd to say this, but just thinking about what a good time you're most likely going to have with this choked me up a little bit.
I hope you get the maximum enjoyment out of this and that it makes your life better as it has done for so many folks.
First time I see a very cheerful Priest, thanks for sharing
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts about Frieren, Father Roderick!
great video father roderick! so excited for more :)
More to come!
Thanks so much for giving your perspective on this! I never really thought of the show from a religious point of view and I really like how you gave definition to the German names in a way I hadn't thought of before (ex. Frieren being frozen in time)
Glad you liked the video, I'll have more to say about the meaning of other character names in future videos.
Glory be to God in Haven father I am an Orthodox Christian and Frieren touched my heart more than any other animes. Frieren is an anime where time is one of things that make me think as an individual in face of God a personal journey carying my cross. Just like Frieren we carry our cross towards Himmel (Haven). I am more fond of Stark as it reminds me of myself a lot and he is my brother in arms but my soul leans to Himmel for some reason. It feels so similar to the Theory of Saint Palamas of Theosis and he is a role model.
I just saw this vid in a recommendation.
I am a Roman Catholic who also loves anime.
Insta-subbing your channel.
The English title is fitting but it's also worth looking at the original one: 葬送のフリーレン (Sousou no Furi-ren). 葬送 means attending a funeral procession; seeing off the deceased; burial of someone's remains; observing a burial. It's also the nickname the Demons use for her.
I don't know if elves in that world are really ageless like in Tolkien's works but they live for quite some time for sure. Frieren is at least a thousand years old.
What's a bit strange is that we see some grown Elven women in a flashback but both Frieren and even Serie look like children. Kraft on the other hand... not so much. Although it's implied that he may be a lot older.
the moment Father Roderick explained Himmel means Heaven in German, i almost cried again. LoL..
Himmel mean both heaven and sky
You can do the parallel with Tolkien writing style with the "The Scouring of the Shire". Tolkien dont end in Aragons apotheosis coronation like a normal fantasy storytelling for many reasons but decided to return there and see how much the journey transformed the 4 hobbits that took the journey, people dont give Tolkien credit but that was a very modern style of writing. Frieren theme is more or less the same concept but with obvious differences since the PoV is an almost inmortal being... like you said "what if" the story is told from Legolas Pov. Is not an new theme in fantasy but not often you find a good writer smart enough to deliver, and Studio Madhouse animating all.. its just almost perfect.
Yeah I have been saying it's a great show even for non anime fans. There is a good english dub. It's very light on tropes that tend to turn people off. And if you have never watched anime before the big twist and an exam/tournament arc might actually be new to you.
It's a refreshing type of storytelling indeed. It's both classic anime in terms of animation, but also something we haven't seen before.
This is another show I hold up next to Violet Evergarden at the top. I absolutely love that this story “begins” after the heroic ending. Another “Heroine” struggling with her own emotions and understanding relationships…which I don’t attribute as being strictly gender based. Both Men and Women deal with this in our unique ways. The music is from the same composer, Evan Call and the man really knows his stuff. I did find the animation of the characters a little off putting at first but the beauty is often more on the scene around them which is both very Japanese and important for taking the focus of the individuals at times. Just my opinion of course. To me this is another great representation of many perspectives and relationships coming together sometimes indirectly influencing one another albeit distantly but still impact-fully.
The only man who is certified to say "I have the power of God on my side..... and anime."
Just a slight correction. Elves in this world are NOT immortal, they just live for a VERY long time. 10,000-15,000 years. It's briefly mentioned in the anime and a little more in the manga.
Himmel and Heaven... interesting.
I demand to make this video longer!
Pwease :3
Never thought I could just hear a priest not on the mass but just casual talking and I'm just well i want to listen to this guy not because he's a priest but because he's the "guy" you enjoy listening to.
👍
Eisen my GOAT!
❤❤❤❤❤
You will notice all the place names and all the magic spells are also named in German.
Either and Sein: Finally, another brother to add in the gospel.
I think Himmel is named that because Frieren is traveling to Heaven to meet him again.
A quick correction. Frieren is not immortal. You mentioned that she can't die, and that's very wrong. Most elves in Frieren's world have died already at the beginning of the show, and Frieren can die too. So, "practically immortal," would work, but, "extremely long lived," would be more accurate.
Someone made a funny fan theory: the story is told after even Frieren has died and all the names are forgotten... Instead, they all got some nicknames...
Interesting!
Do berserk next, both anime and manga.
Good Day, I hope you also try to review the anime "To Your Eternity". It is a very nice anime.
Small correction, Frieren is not immortal, although Frieren as an Elf, she is heavily based on Lord of the Rings's Elves, she is in fact not "Immortal". Frieren like all Elves are long lived. They can live very long, we can tell they are aging very slowly. (Spoiler ahead but if you continue to watch their journey you would be able to tell)
Immortal beings for example the Olympian Gods like Zeus, Athena, Poseidon and Hades, are in fact immortal beings (According to Greek Mythology), meaning no matter what they do, they will never die nor be able to kill each other. This plot point is important when the Greek Gods fight the Titans (the Parents of the Gods)
Titans just like Greek Gods are immortal so the only way for Zeus to defeat the Titans since he couldn't kill them or kill each other, he had to lock them in the afterworld "Tartarus", where all immortal beings are hold. (its like a prison for God-like beings) where Hades the God of the underworld keeps watch so they don't get out.
Frieren is long lived but she can be killed. There for, she is not Immortal.
Now in some Greek mythology tales, some Greek Gods could lose their "physical body" but their "God-form" retains itself and they just could in theory, re-incarnate at will or poses bodies from the physical world if they wanted to.
Overall, great video!
Oh, interesting, a Priest anime fan... thou Frieren main motive isent religious it have build it some themes and the main goal of the jorneys end is going to Heaven. Thou isent the same heaven christians beleve they ask a very good questins about religion, beleve and afterlife. It have also a meta history still to be develope in the manga on the Goddess religion Heiter beleve, but who knows if the mangaka will touch that in that particular slow pace storytelling we love XD. Funnie there is a chance maybe Serie may know the true... ya, shes that old but i doubt Frieren will ask her XD.
What I like about Frieren is that you can interpret the story on multiple levels. It's fantasy, it's about the human condition, and it reflects certain themes you find in many religions.
@@fatherroderick-anime Ya, theres a few animes like that. Btw there is an old anime movie called Angel´s Egg from Mamoru Oshii, sorry i discovered your channel today XD i saw a few of your evangelion videos after the frieren one and i think you will like that movie, im sure it was already recomended but if not im very sure it will fit your theme, its very artistic and has that religious iconography you may want to comment and make content. Fun fact, i wrote because i know of a nun also anime fan, a very small world. XD
@@fatherroderick-anime Whats your opinion on the interpretation of what demon are like in frieren?Do you think they are biblicaly accurate or maybe interesting in their on way?I think they are scary/creepy in a way that unusualy isnt depicted in media.
Frieren is on a journey or pilgrimage to Heaven. I think drawing a comparison with the Universal Christian vocation (eg Baltimore Chatechism 1 Q6) is pretty easy.
Frieren is not immortal, what happens is that in most of the stories where elves are presented they mentioned that their life span is much longer than that of humans and other races, it is like what a year of life of a dog is equivalent to 7 year of humans, with the elves is the same but with a difference of centuries or millennia depending on the work.
まどかマギカの解説もやってほしいです。
My favourite character is Uebel. I wonder what parents could have possibly driven to give her that name. It translates to:
Dire
Sick
Twisted
Disgusting
Horrible
The name is a giveaway if you speak German 😅
1+1+1=3 or 1
Holy shit
Language! 😉
A fake hero.
A coward warrior.
A corrupt priest.
A disgraceful mage.
They're not strange, they're German.
excuse my rudeness, father roderick. but… are you… by any chance… an alcoholic?
I'm not Heiter 😅. In fact, I don't drink at all.