@@Timbone07I believe he said two cour which means the anime is two seasons long. A season of anime is usually 12-13 episodes with Frieren's first season being 28 episodes.
So, That dragon battle was 30 seconds, just like Frieren said she needed in order to gather the mana she needed to deal a devastating strike against said dragon. The actual animated sequence was around 30 seconds as well. It should also be noted, that during the 50 year time skip, they lingered on the mountain range with the tree foreground. If you're watching closely, the trees are actually growing (albeit slowly) in that 50 year fast-forward.
Just by being intentional about what they animated, this show somehow pushes way more quality out of frames in just the way each character intentionally moves. Was even seeing yesterday's episode, and instead of doing the stereotypical "hey look we made a slideshow of two of the MCs dancing, plus a bonus picture of the orchestra players." No, full stop. They animated every moment of the dance, paid all of the detail into the character's expressions and movements, AND they used exactly one cut to show the string orchestra and _animated their vibrato accurately!_ This is not just HQ animators, a director had to point this out in the process too.
In the manga they literally show one panel of Fern and Stark dancing, and it's a long shot of the entire ballroom floor. You can barely pick them out. Animation team definitely went above and beyond for that scene.
I read in a blog somewhere that they hire a KyoAni animator to help with character acting. Like those little moments that seems irrelevant in the grand scheme of the plot but brings so much colour to the show? Pretty sure that was the animator's work.
And one little detail tells that story. Handsome Stark goes down to one knee in front of beautiful Fern at the dance. He offers his open palm to her, and Fern replies by placing just the tips of her fingers in the open palm to say yes. How in the world did these Madhouse animators know about some ancient little detail of etiquette? That's the sound of a baseball leaving the park.
Keiichirō Saitō be bringing life to manga to the next level. I love how subtle yet detail he is with the direction and storyboarding. From what I remember, he also directed Bocchi the Rock and the attention to detail on that anime when it comes to playing the instruments too was immaculate~ even people said back then that the manga wasn't as detailed as it was in the anime, that the anime just enhanced the manga. And my god, bless all the people who worked so hard on both of this series. So much thought was put into it~ it makes me appreciate both of the mediums.
The soundtrack, much like most of the show, is god tier. There were times where I just teared up because of the soundtrack that was playing. Saito so far is 2/2 directing two of my favorite shows in recent memory.
15 episodes of thinking they were finally gonna submit to boring tropes or bog down the story or take a lame turn or introduce a forgettable character, only to be proven wrong each time. if they keep this up until the end it will truly be a miracle
So I'd like to make a counter point to something you said at the 9:00 minute mark Canipa While Frieren shares a *lot* of tropes with other fantasy shows out there the world-building *is* there and it does make Frieren unique. It's just extremely subtle. and I know part of this may be because of when you wrote this but I digress: in Episode 14 they discuss why they can't just fly everywhere because flight magic use to be the domain of demons only and humans are only now beginning to understand and replicate it so travel is still done entirely by foot In the epsidoes prior to episode 9 they discuss the nature of demons, and *why* they are the way they are which gives context to both how friren and fern fight but also why Friren is absolutely correct in her methodology despite demons appearing to be sapient creatures. The mangaka has made it crystal clear that demons cannot be reasoned with so Friren is a hero and not a genocidal monster. That's a sign of good writing and excellent worldbuilding that I am quite frankly jealous of.
I mean, it’s good compared to the isekai trash it’s contemporaneous with, but it falls behind the more out-there fantasy stories. Like “The Dragon, the Hero, and the Courier” which specialises in detailed descriptions of the various jobs and organisations of a medieval fantasy world, or “Children of the Whales” which crafts a unique but barren environment, painting an ancient apocalypse and the nations it birthed, as forged by mutual relationship with the Nous.
Regarding wether killing demons would be unethical, to paraphrase Jeremy Bentham in "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation", the question is not wether or not they can be reasoned with, but rather, can they suffer? I've seen nothing in Frieren to suggest they can't suffer, so killing them is not a moral triviality.
@@MsNikeNike Killing demons in Frieren is not moral, it is a necessity. Demons won't stop preying on humans, it is crystal clear. So the battle between the two species is a battle of survival. As a reader, I feel empathy for the demons, because they operate by their own logic in order to survive. But I also understand the characters have no other choices but killing them. That's where the tragedy lie and it makes the central conflict more interesting in my opinion.
@@orelliaorellia142 I view Demons in the anime in much the same way i view cats irl. Cats despite their cute demeanor... Are still Predators. They imitate bird chirping so that they can more easily pounce on them, a cat will be attached to you until you die... Then, if you were to die and they get hungry, you are just soft fatty hairless flesh they can munch on. But Demons are pretty much Sapient Cats. And instead of small game, they feast on Intelligent game, Humans, Elves and Dwarves, and likely even other demons they deem beneath themselves
I can't tell you how sick to death I am of fights that just go on and on and on with characters going "oh that was only 10% of my power" Frieren really does it right, 60 seconds of awesome with no bull**** shonen fighting tropes. If characters are in a life or death situation they use everything they've got to put the threat down immediately.
Also while Fern and Stark are very strong they aren't OP as Frieren, and when she thinks it's a good, challenging learning opportunity for them lets them face their fights alone.
Been eating good this year. Heavenly delusion Frieren and apothecary diaries are some of my favorite manga I've read in the past few years. To get them all in one year, I think it's my best year of anime ever.
Frieren is the type or series that just makes you reflect on your own life and I think the animation and music really captivates the feeling of reading the manga exceptionally.
Frieren is one of my favorite Manga's of the past couple years, and I'd argue that the Anime may be one of the most perfect Anime adaptations of a Manga in the history of the medium. Nothing is left out, and everything that stays is built upon. It's up there with Made in Abyss and Attack on Titan IMO -- And even by episode 15, the quality hasn't dropped an inch. In fact, the dance scene between Fern and Stark is so good, that many believed it was CG or Rotoscoped. Insightful video as usual!
Came back to this after season 1 ends. Oh my God, Frieren is amazingly beautiful in every sense. It has cemented it's place in my personal top 3 anime of all time.
It should also be noted that before Frieren aired on NTV's Friday roadshow "Kin'yo Roadshow" slot (which, as pointed out, usually airs Disney, Ghibli and such), Kyoani's "A Silent Voice" and Violet Evergarden series (special TV compilation of the original TV series, plus the two movies) also aired on this slot.
I'm pretty confident that word of mouth for Frieren is moving a lot faster than they anticipated. The second cour coming right away is going to work in it's favor. Anyone who I've mentioned this anime to, had already heard of it (Even if they don't watch much anime) This brings me so much joy, knowing that this breath of fresh air in the anime scene, will be a success!
I will say that if either Frieren OR Apothecary Diaries doesn't get anime of the year, then yes, it is rigged. However, Frieren DOES have significant competition from Apothecary. If you haven't watched that, then you need to.
I hadn’t followed seasonal anime for a few years until Frieren, and I’m utterly floored by how ridiculously, insanely beautiful and well animated it is. I had to look into how this was even possible. Is there more funding in production these days? More overworking? More staff? More talent? Better efficiency? Better technology?
when I watched the first episode, I dunno if I was crying because of seeing (again) Frieren's reaction to the funeral, or because I was so overjoyed with the insane adaptation one of my favorite mangas was getting. Such a good time to be a weeb!
So far its easily the most faithful adaptation of a series I've seen that has actually worked. There always has be some level of change between adaptations because you're going from static pictures (or just words, in the case of a novel) to moving video. Most adaptations change more than they need to, either because of a lack of understanding of the original media, episode count restrictions, or in order to "add their own mark" to the adaptation. Others hew _too_ close to the original media, and that usually doesn't work either because you get the (sometimes literal) equivalent of just static manga panels on the TV screen; there's no life to it. Frieren hits that happy medium where nearly every scene is faithfully adapted to a meticulous degree, but embellished and enhanced with a clear understanding and selfless faithfulness to and love of the original media. Mushoku Tensei is the only other series I've seen adapted nearly as faithfully, and even it had some notable differences and a number of elements removed.
Thank you so much for including the OST names, I've been looking for that one particular Violet Evergarden song for days but I couldn't find it because I didn't know the name of the OST.
i hope that if a season 2 gets made, they'll still take their time in creating it. I would much rather have frieren later if it meant the quality is up to par with it's first season. also nice video
When they produce the second season it is when we will see, if they hold the standard or if they drop for pushing it out sooner. I rather take all time that it needs to be done well, then a rush to feed the crowd. This show will bind a good portion of the audience since it has everything going to be one of the best anime out there. So all we can hope is that greed doesn't destroy this amazing experience along the way.
I was and was not surprised you referenced 86 when talking about a second cour of diminishing quality and production issues. Granted they did have production issues, but the quality never suffered. In fact episode 22 was probably one of the best episodes of any anime ever produced, in all facets and I would wager that that was due, in no small part, to the extra time allowed to produce it because of the production "issues" So you might wanna clarify that, just a tad. As for Frieren, you're spot on :)
I don't see this as a shounen. It's closer to series like Kino's Journey. So the highlights aren't the battles. It's the quiet moments and learning about the world and characters are the focus. Even if the action scenes are FANTASTIC.
What defines a series as being shōnen is entirely which magazine publishes it, not necessarily content or one's perception of it. Frieren is a shonen, Kino's Journey is seinen.
I can't quite explain it, but the shape of frieren's boots and the animation make me feel a lot like i feel seeing link walk in Breath of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom
I'm not worried about diminishing quality in the slightest. This past episode was number 15, and it's my favorite thus far. When the animation showcase is an incredible dance scene between two of my favorite characters that was so beautifully done, it had me tearing up at its conclusion. Any subconscious concerns have been wiped out! I have just volume 10 of the manga to read to be fully caught up, but i can't bring myself to read it until volume 11 is closer to release.
My favoyrite thing about this anime has to be the music. From the beginning, it gave me strong vibes of violet evergarden, which is my favourite anime ever, and that was before I found out it was the same guy who did both soundtracks... it's incredible how I can tear up just by listening to his musics!
This anime pacing is perfect. The animation, the story, the music....its right on. Easily one of the best animes i've ever seen. Its very personal and touching. with hints of comedy and love.
That explains why the first 4 episodes were released simultaneously. And thanks for the breakdown. I swear, every time I watch a video of Frieren's animation breakdown, I always find new things that I missed the first time. That shows of much attention was paid to making this anime. And, on an unrelated note but since it was mentioned in this video: Everyone please watch Sonny Boy. That show was a phenomenon.
When the anime adaptation was announced I was so worried, as like with most people I've been burned too many times in the past. But after watching just the trailer I knew this was going to be the exception to the rule... this has to be AOTY and it honestly shouldn't even be close. As you talked about several times the studios unequivocally knocked this one out of the park. I think the fight scenes did nothing but expand on what the manga didn't and or couldn't they were exceptional, I have friends who don't even like fantasy anime because of all the tropes who are loving this anime so far. As a manga reader I can't wait to see how the studio continues to handle the remainder of the source material.
Brilliant and very knowing review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End with interesting side trips into the Japanese Anime production world. Thanks bushells!!!
Thank youuuu!!! My favourite show of this year. Also the godlike episode 6 Stark vs Dragon fight being done by Yutaka Nakamura explains so much. Absolutely insane. Thank you once again for sharing. I made this suggestion in your Heavenly Delusion video, but I'd love to see you discuss JJK season 2, both the amazing animation, but also the working conditions of the poor MAPPA animators.
They seem to be bringing back consecutive cours recently. Sacrificial Princess aired back to back cours, Frieren will too, The Apothecary Diaries will also be back to back cours, and when Reincarnated as a Slime returns next spring, it will also be back to back cours. I think Dark Gathering is also another recent/on-going example of back to back cours.
Nowadays I realise Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy had a profound impact on me, that realisation took me well over a decade. A fitting declaration to preface high praise as honesty, Frieren is a work of art, Frieren is a sublime tragedy; the perfect synthesis of the Apollonian and Dionysian elements, skilfully combining the ordered, beautiful, individualistic, and rational aspects (i.e. Apollonian) with the chaotic, intoxicating, collective, and passionate elements (i.e. Dionysian), creating a harmony that transcends both and speaks to the profound complexities of human existence. I especially like Frieren's muted colour scheme, the union of opposites is a fairly common plot point nowadays but seldom is it a component, truly integrated and relevant to the human condition; an exceptionally vibrant artistic expression. Frieren has the potential to actually be meaningful, to make a lasting impression, to truly teach something to both young and old. I appreciate you highlighting the individuals, the humans, behind Frieren; they deserve recognition, and they deserve it now. Only true authentic passion, uniquely human and transient, could invoke such a sense of awe; we should cultivate that, instead of the status quo which is to exploit it.
Frieren's not even the only two cour Fall 2023 shows with good production values. Apothecary Diaries and Shangri-La Frontier aren't at the same level, but still way higher than the vast majority of productions. it's easy to be concerned about those two as well. Toho is backing Apothecary Diaries with a lot of muscle, because the LNs and manga are really popular in Japan, and probably they can see it'll have a ton of international appeal. Everyone loves Maomao. C2C is an interesting studio because they were started on the backs of a bunch of hack for hire things, with the explicit intent of doing that until they were able to be trusted with proper anime, and then they put forward solid shows like Hitoribocchi, World End, Wandering Witch, Tsukimichi, Reincarnated as a Sword, Handyman Saitou, and Otaku Elf. with all of that, they're showing themselves to be a studio to watch. Shangri-La Frontier is a pretty successful LN/manga series, so that they've been entrusted with it indicates they've started to earn the status they were angling for all along. given that it's only a matter of time before they land even bigger properties. that, or they could just end up being the SLF/Reincarnated as a Sword studio for a while. but that's not the worst position to be in and both series offer a lot of opportunities to foster talent with exciting fantasy battles and goofy character comedy.
undead unluck is also in the middle of a 24 episode run, animated by david production so it's pretty nice looking too. it's trapped on disney+ so it gets overlooked a lot. and yeah C2C is more or less in the same niche as doga kobo where they were showing signs of being a studio to watch and when someone showed up with a real IP they scored a home run with it. i remember thinking harukana receive was suspiciously well animated and after that i noticed C2C was consistently making some of my favorite underdog seasonal shows.
They don't fly everywhere because it uses up a lot of mana and also it's a demon spell they just copypasted into the human magic system without understanding it's principals so it's not as efficient or flexible as it could be. It hasn't actually been reverse engineered the way Zoltraak / Soul Track was. And that only happened because they *had* to understand it to defend against it so they put everything they had into figuring it out, whereas the bootlegged flying spell can't be used casually but it works "good enough" when you really need it.
I believe they said, in a passing dialogue, that they can only fly for 30 minutes. Which isn't much. But considering the dangers of travel, walking and saving mana for self defense, makes more sense.
I would like to say that the main reason they dont "just fly everywhere" is becayse flight as magic is vey mana consuming and not thoroughly understood by humanity. Admitadly its not often brought up in either the manga or the anime so it's an easy point to miss. Great video tho.
A pretty normal scene I liked was in episode 9, around 8 minutes and 45ish seconds in, Stark pulls on his jacket. I’m 90% sure they rotoscoped it because it just feels so lifelike.
This is like the only anime that can be called perfect. I seriously cannot express a single negative comment towards this anime, the va was very natural and realistic, the sfx was unique and great, top tier animation for the fighting scenes, beautiful background painting and realistic slice of life animations. There are so many more positive things i can say, this anime is the literal embodiment of perfection.
This will be a very wrenching anime. You can imagine fren will get old and frail then die. You know that it is coming. You cannot prepare your heart no matter what. You will cry
Absolutely the anime of 2023, lately is hard to me fall in love with an anime show, less improvable that win me over in 1 episodes only...........................this one absolutely did just that and nothing comes close this year anime wise to surpass this one for me. This show animation and characters are breathtaking to say the least, is been a long while since a FANTASY anime captivated me as much this one have done and I hardly can't wait for the next batch of episodes. Awesome video as always, question, would you do an episode on shows like Scavengers Reign, Blue Eye Samurai and Hilda? please consider these 3 for future episodes.
Anime of the year!!! Frieren and Fern are such amazing characters that I even bought their figures online. Im not a figure buying person! Its been that amazing an experience to watch
My only, and I mean only, real gripe with the show is that they keep using the same spells over and over. I guess it makes sense to use the strongest spell at your disposal every time, but it doesn't make for the most interesting fights, however they are saved by stunning visuals and sound design. God this show is so good
10:38 You said, pretty much nobody does 2 consecutive cours these days, but fail to address the fact that there are 3 titles, namely Freiren, the Apothecary Diaries and Shangri-La Frontier, that are doing exactly that, while maintaining the quality of their animation. I do apologize if I missed any other titles that are doing 2 consecutive cours this season.
It already did. Most anime that dethrone FMAB get reviewed bomb to oblivion within 1 week. Frieren has a growing support that keeps its rating higher than FMAB for almost a month already despite FMAB fans rating Frieren with 1s.
Great video But one point where I disagree is on the "table top rpg" part Were most isekai nowdays portrais their worlds like videogame rpgs (doing things like characters having videogame menus in world, levels, etc) Fieren is just a fantasy anime that is often compared to a "lord of the rings vibe" for how more medieval it is
Genuine question here. What about this show is so great? I tried watching it a few times but just couldnt get into it. Id really like to know why people love it so much, and im glad people do.
the way it portrays the passage of time is sublime, so if you love to stop and smell the roses then this series will be deeply calming, a leisurely, melancholic and lighthearted journey. its the authors first real manga i believe, and im convinced its their passion project. its like they wrote a little part of their soul into each character of the story. its all believable and makes sense, everything is there for a reason and so all of it is meaningful, theres no filler of any kind and all is beautiful, all is peaceful, all is right. basically i think it comes down to sniffing flowers and whether you're the type to vibe with that or not?
Dude please don't jynx Sengoku Youko like that. My man Mizukami deserves to finally get a good anime adaptation. No comment about Frieren itself, it's pretty much perfect adaptation -- so perfect that I don't have anything to comment about it other than just repeating the praises.
Dude directed my favorite anime two years in a row, he keeps this up he'll be GOAT tier
He already is
Dude only directed 2 anime and I already consider him one of my favorite directors
He said two consecutive something in the video.
Care to tell me what he said?
It is at 10:40
Dude directed my top 1 and 2, I have ex-aequos on the podium but still, it's saying something
@@Timbone07I believe he said two cour which means the anime is two seasons long. A season of anime is usually 12-13 episodes with Frieren's first season being 28 episodes.
So, That dragon battle was 30 seconds, just like Frieren said she needed in order to gather the mana she needed to deal a devastating strike against said dragon. The actual animated sequence was around 30 seconds as well.
It should also be noted, that during the 50 year time skip, they lingered on the mountain range with the tree foreground. If you're watching closely, the trees are actually growing (albeit slowly) in that 50 year fast-forward.
Just by being intentional about what they animated, this show somehow pushes way more quality out of frames in just the way each character intentionally moves. Was even seeing yesterday's episode, and instead of doing the stereotypical "hey look we made a slideshow of two of the MCs dancing, plus a bonus picture of the orchestra players."
No, full stop. They animated every moment of the dance, paid all of the detail into the character's expressions and movements, AND they used exactly one cut to show the string orchestra and _animated their vibrato accurately!_ This is not just HQ animators, a director had to point this out in the process too.
In the manga they literally show one panel of Fern and Stark dancing, and it's a long shot of the entire ballroom floor. You can barely pick them out. Animation team definitely went above and beyond for that scene.
I read in a blog somewhere that they hire a KyoAni animator to help with character acting.
Like those little moments that seems irrelevant in the grand scheme of the plot but brings so much colour to the show? Pretty sure that was the animator's work.
And one little detail tells that story. Handsome Stark goes down to one knee in front of beautiful Fern at the dance. He offers his open palm to her, and Fern replies by placing just the tips of her fingers in the open palm to say yes. How in the world did these Madhouse animators know about some ancient little detail of etiquette? That's the sound of a baseball leaving the park.
Keiichirō Saitō be bringing life to manga to the next level. I love how subtle yet detail he is with the direction and storyboarding. From what I remember, he also directed Bocchi the Rock and the attention to detail on that anime when it comes to playing the instruments too was immaculate~ even people said back then that the manga wasn't as detailed as it was in the anime, that the anime just enhanced the manga. And my god, bless all the people who worked so hard on both of this series. So much thought was put into it~ it makes me appreciate both of the mediums.
dude the back bend was amazing
The soundtrack, much like most of the show, is god tier. There were times where I just teared up because of the soundtrack that was playing. Saito so far is 2/2 directing two of my favorite shows in recent memory.
He understands how to take advantage of a medium like few others. I can't wait for him to do more.
The composer of the OST is Evan Call, who also created the OST of Violet Evergarden.
The only complaint, and it’s extremely minor, is how there’s only like 2 battle themes, it does not bother me though.
@@mymousebroke8258 there's 2, but holy heck they're good and never fail making me hype
@@KiooZaax exactly
As of episode 15, Frieren continues to be almost miraculously amazing
15 episodes of thinking they were finally gonna submit to boring tropes or bog down the story or take a lame turn or introduce a forgettable character, only to be proven wrong each time. if they keep this up until the end it will truly be a miracle
@@Crosshillsein is entertaining
"almost"?
@KillerTacos54 it's amazing. It's almost a miracle. If it ends and keeps up the quality, it will literally be a miracle, lol
@@Amuro1X i loved violet evergarden but even that show didnt quiiite stick the landing, if frieren does then it will probably be my top 1
So I'd like to make a counter point to something you said at the 9:00 minute mark Canipa
While Frieren shares a *lot* of tropes with other fantasy shows out there the world-building *is* there and it does make Frieren unique. It's just extremely subtle. and I know part of this may be because of when you wrote this but I digress:
in Episode 14 they discuss why they can't just fly everywhere because flight magic use to be the domain of demons only and humans are only now beginning to understand and replicate it so travel is still done entirely by foot
In the epsidoes prior to episode 9 they discuss the nature of demons, and *why* they are the way they are which gives context to both how friren and fern fight but also why Friren is absolutely correct in her methodology despite demons appearing to be sapient creatures. The mangaka has made it crystal clear that demons cannot be reasoned with so Friren is a hero and not a genocidal monster.
That's a sign of good writing and excellent worldbuilding that I am quite frankly jealous of.
I mean, it’s good compared to the isekai trash it’s contemporaneous with, but it falls behind the more out-there fantasy stories. Like “The Dragon, the Hero, and the Courier” which specialises in detailed descriptions of the various jobs and organisations of a medieval fantasy world, or “Children of the Whales” which crafts a unique but barren environment, painting an ancient apocalypse and the nations it birthed, as forged by mutual relationship with the Nous.
Regarding wether killing demons would be unethical, to paraphrase Jeremy Bentham in "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation", the question is not wether or not they can be reasoned with, but rather, can they suffer? I've seen nothing in Frieren to suggest they can't suffer, so killing them is not a moral triviality.
@@MsNikeNike Killing demons in Frieren is not moral, it is a necessity. Demons won't stop preying on humans, it is crystal clear. So the battle between the two species is a battle of survival. As a reader, I feel empathy for the demons, because they operate by their own logic in order to survive. But I also understand the characters have no other choices but killing them. That's where the tragedy lie and it makes the central conflict more interesting in my opinion.
@@orelliaorellia142 that I agree with
@@orelliaorellia142 I view Demons in the anime in much the same way i view cats irl.
Cats despite their cute demeanor... Are still Predators. They imitate bird chirping so that they can more easily pounce on them, a cat will be attached to you until you die... Then, if you were to die and they get hungry, you are just soft fatty hairless flesh they can munch on.
But Demons are pretty much Sapient Cats. And instead of small game, they feast on Intelligent game, Humans, Elves and Dwarves, and likely even other demons they deem beneath themselves
I can't tell you how sick to death I am of fights that just go on and on and on with characters going "oh that was only 10% of my power" Frieren really does it right, 60 seconds of awesome with no bull**** shonen fighting tropes. If characters are in a life or death situation they use everything they've got to put the threat down immediately.
Also while Fern and Stark are very strong they aren't OP as Frieren, and when she thinks it's a good, challenging learning opportunity for them lets them face their fights alone.
Lugner: 👀
Linie: 👀
Draht: 👀
Yeah, no. It's not really any different in that regard. Characters still dally around in fights, and the urgency isn't very convincing.
Been eating good this year. Heavenly delusion Frieren and apothecary diaries are some of my favorite manga I've read in the past few years. To get them all in one year, I think it's my best year of anime ever.
Good taste! 😮
Your wish came true, not only did the quality sustain; it got better. When are you making an updated frieren video?
I really appreciate the 2D background of this anime.
Frieren is the type or series that just makes you reflect on your own life and I think the animation and music really captivates the feeling of reading the manga exceptionally.
I don't even realise that shot in 10:19 used the same road 50 years later, damn
I stumbled on to Frieren quite by accident, needless to say, I've hooked ever since.
Regarding your concern of quality drop, we're at ep 15 and after that dance, I don't think that Frieren train is gonna stop anytime soon.
Frieren is one of my favorite Manga's of the past couple years, and I'd argue that the Anime may be one of the most perfect Anime adaptations of a Manga in the history of the medium. Nothing is left out, and everything that stays is built upon. It's up there with Made in Abyss and Attack on Titan IMO -- And even by episode 15, the quality hasn't dropped an inch. In fact, the dance scene between Fern and Stark is so good, that many believed it was CG or Rotoscoped. Insightful video as usual!
What a great piece of work to finish up on. I'll miss your videos but wish you well in your future endeavours!
Came back to this after season 1 ends. Oh my God, Frieren is amazingly beautiful in every sense. It has cemented it's place in my personal top 3 anime of all time.
It should also be noted that before Frieren aired on NTV's Friday roadshow "Kin'yo Roadshow" slot (which, as pointed out, usually airs Disney, Ghibli and such), Kyoani's "A Silent Voice" and Violet Evergarden series (special TV compilation of the original TV series, plus the two movies) also aired on this slot.
I'm pretty confident that word of mouth for Frieren is moving a lot faster than they anticipated. The second cour coming right away is going to work in it's favor.
Anyone who I've mentioned this anime to, had already heard of it (Even if they don't watch much anime)
This brings me so much joy, knowing that this breath of fresh air in the anime scene, will be a success!
If Frieren doesn't get anime of the year it's just rigged tbh. Episode 14 left me in TEARS.
I was sobbing when Himmel got down on one knee. That was the confirmation I needed to know that he was in love with her
@@konrad999999 I KNOWWW and now I know rewatching the show is gonna have me bawling all over again!
I will say that if either Frieren OR Apothecary Diaries doesn't get anime of the year, then yes, it is rigged. However, Frieren DOES have significant competition from Apothecary. If you haven't watched that, then you need to.
I hadn’t followed seasonal anime for a few years until Frieren, and I’m utterly floored by how ridiculously, insanely beautiful and well animated it is. I had to look into how this was even possible. Is there more funding in production these days? More overworking? More staff? More talent? Better efficiency? Better technology?
when I watched the first episode, I dunno if I was crying because of seeing (again) Frieren's reaction to the funeral, or because I was so overjoyed with the insane adaptation one of my favorite mangas was getting. Such a good time to be a weeb!
So far its easily the most faithful adaptation of a series I've seen that has actually worked.
There always has be some level of change between adaptations because you're going from static pictures (or just words, in the case of a novel) to moving video. Most adaptations change more than they need to, either because of a lack of understanding of the original media, episode count restrictions, or in order to "add their own mark" to the adaptation. Others hew _too_ close to the original media, and that usually doesn't work either because you get the (sometimes literal) equivalent of just static manga panels on the TV screen; there's no life to it. Frieren hits that happy medium where nearly every scene is faithfully adapted to a meticulous degree, but embellished and enhanced with a clear understanding and selfless faithfulness to and love of the original media. Mushoku Tensei is the only other series I've seen adapted nearly as faithfully, and even it had some notable differences and a number of elements removed.
Thank you so much for including the OST names, I've been looking for that one particular Violet Evergarden song for days but I couldn't find it because I didn't know the name of the OST.
i hope that if a season 2 gets made, they'll still take their time in creating it. I would much rather have frieren later if it meant the quality is up to par with it's first season. also nice video
Boys!! Canipa dropped a video agian!!🎉❤❤️🔥
“Several-an-artist's worst enemy: the horse”
James Baxter & Hirohiko Araki: Man 🏖️🐴
When they produce the second season it is when we will see, if they hold the standard or if they drop for pushing it out sooner. I rather take all time that it needs to be done well, then a rush to feed the crowd. This show will bind a good portion of the audience since it has everything going to be one of the best anime out there. So all we can hope is that greed doesn't destroy this amazing experience along the way.
I was and was not surprised you referenced 86 when talking about a second cour of diminishing quality and production issues. Granted they did have production issues, but the quality never suffered. In fact episode 22 was probably one of the best episodes of any anime ever produced, in all facets and I would wager that that was due, in no small part, to the extra time allowed to produce it because of the production "issues" So you might wanna clarify that, just a tad. As for Frieren, you're spot on :)
I don't see this as a shounen. It's closer to series like Kino's Journey. So the highlights aren't the battles. It's the quiet moments and learning about the world and characters are the focus.
Even if the action scenes are FANTASTIC.
What defines a series as being shōnen is entirely which magazine publishes it, not necessarily content or one's perception of it.
Frieren is a shonen, Kino's Journey is seinen.
You say the horses are an animation nightmare... and while I won't argue, I will not want to hide the flow they put in putting on and removing a coat!
I can't quite explain it, but the shape of frieren's boots and the animation make me feel a lot like i feel seeing link walk in Breath of The Wild and Tears Of The Kingdom
I'm not worried about diminishing quality in the slightest. This past episode was number 15, and it's my favorite thus far. When the animation showcase is an incredible dance scene between two of my favorite characters that was so beautifully done, it had me tearing up at its conclusion. Any subconscious concerns have been wiped out! I have just volume 10 of the manga to read to be fully caught up, but i can't bring myself to read it until volume 11 is closer to release.
the Fern/Stark dance was literally one manga panel. lmao the Fern/Stark agenda is insane.
I remember reading the first couple chapters of Frieren and definitely thought this should get an adaptation. Lo and behold we got one and it's great
My favoyrite thing about this anime has to be the music. From the beginning, it gave me strong vibes of violet evergarden, which is my favourite anime ever, and that was before I found out it was the same guy who did both soundtracks... it's incredible how I can tear up just by listening to his musics!
8:00 ACTUALLY... It was 30 seconds of dragon fight. Just like Frieren asked Stark to distract the dragon... 30 seconds.
And yes i timed it.
backgrounds in frieren are amazing, feels like im watching a S1 mushoku tensei intro as an entire anime
This anime pacing is perfect. The animation, the story, the music....its right on. Easily one of the best animes i've ever seen. Its very personal and touching. with hints of comedy and love.
That explains why the first 4 episodes were released simultaneously. And thanks for the breakdown. I swear, every time I watch a video of Frieren's animation breakdown, I always find new things that I missed the first time. That shows of much attention was paid to making this anime.
And, on an unrelated note but since it was mentioned in this video: Everyone please watch Sonny Boy. That show was a phenomenon.
When the anime adaptation was announced I was so worried, as like with most people I've been burned too many times in the past. But after watching just the trailer I knew this was going to be the exception to the rule... this has to be AOTY and it honestly shouldn't even be close. As you talked about several times the studios unequivocally knocked this one out of the park. I think the fight scenes did nothing but expand on what the manga didn't and or couldn't they were exceptional, I have friends who don't even like fantasy anime because of all the tropes who are loving this anime so far. As a manga reader I can't wait to see how the studio continues to handle the remainder of the source material.
I already know this is gonna be a banger of a video.
Brilliant and very knowing review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End with interesting side trips into the Japanese Anime production world. Thanks bushells!!!
Thank youuuu!!! My favourite show of this year. Also the godlike episode 6 Stark vs Dragon fight being done by Yutaka Nakamura explains so much. Absolutely insane. Thank you once again for sharing. I made this suggestion in your Heavenly Delusion video, but I'd love to see you discuss JJK season 2, both the amazing animation, but also the working conditions of the poor MAPPA animators.
Frieren is such a comfy and relaxing show to me….
When there’s action, it really delivers.
9:42 Dang, no wonder i felt the town's architecture so hard. It's so well thought of
Hi everyone I’m happy to announce that Frieren is still reaching new heights 23 episodes in
They seem to be bringing back consecutive cours recently. Sacrificial Princess aired back to back cours, Frieren will too, The Apothecary Diaries will also be back to back cours, and when Reincarnated as a Slime returns next spring, it will also be back to back cours. I think Dark Gathering is also another recent/on-going example of back to back cours.
I adore the OP of this anime so much
Nice touch using Evan Call's other works as bgm.
Hakumei and Mikochi is vastly underwatched.
so far so good. surprised it was slated for 28 episodes. if they stick the landing it will be an easy contender for one of the best of all time.
Nowadays I realise Nietzsche's Birth of Tragedy had a profound impact on me, that realisation took me well over a decade. A fitting declaration to preface high praise as honesty, Frieren is a work of art, Frieren is a sublime tragedy; the perfect synthesis of the Apollonian and Dionysian elements, skilfully combining the ordered, beautiful, individualistic, and rational aspects (i.e. Apollonian) with the chaotic, intoxicating, collective, and passionate elements (i.e. Dionysian), creating a harmony that transcends both and speaks to the profound complexities of human existence.
I especially like Frieren's muted colour scheme, the union of opposites is a fairly common plot point nowadays but seldom is it a component, truly integrated and relevant to the human condition; an exceptionally vibrant artistic expression.
Frieren has the potential to actually be meaningful, to make a lasting impression, to truly teach something to both young and old. I appreciate you highlighting the individuals, the humans, behind Frieren; they deserve recognition, and they deserve it now. Only true authentic passion, uniquely human and transient, could invoke such a sense of awe; we should cultivate that, instead of the status quo which is to exploit it.
animators carried HARD with this one
anime has been one of the best things ive seen in years
just read all 118 chapters of the manga today lol
That mage fight was the reason I started watching it and boy that first episode good and sad.
4:08 _Is_ that a 2D environment? I can't shake the feeling that this entire anime is really, really well-shaded 3D outside of still background shots.
Frieren's not even the only two cour Fall 2023 shows with good production values. Apothecary Diaries and Shangri-La Frontier aren't at the same level, but still way higher than the vast majority of productions. it's easy to be concerned about those two as well. Toho is backing Apothecary Diaries with a lot of muscle, because the LNs and manga are really popular in Japan, and probably they can see it'll have a ton of international appeal. Everyone loves Maomao. C2C is an interesting studio because they were started on the backs of a bunch of hack for hire things, with the explicit intent of doing that until they were able to be trusted with proper anime, and then they put forward solid shows like Hitoribocchi, World End, Wandering Witch, Tsukimichi, Reincarnated as a Sword, Handyman Saitou, and Otaku Elf. with all of that, they're showing themselves to be a studio to watch. Shangri-La Frontier is a pretty successful LN/manga series, so that they've been entrusted with it indicates they've started to earn the status they were angling for all along. given that it's only a matter of time before they land even bigger properties. that, or they could just end up being the SLF/Reincarnated as a Sword studio for a while. but that's not the worst position to be in and both series offer a lot of opportunities to foster talent with exciting fantasy battles and goofy character comedy.
undead unluck is also in the middle of a 24 episode run, animated by david production so it's pretty nice looking too. it's trapped on disney+ so it gets overlooked a lot. and yeah C2C is more or less in the same niche as doga kobo where they were showing signs of being a studio to watch and when someone showed up with a real IP they scored a home run with it. i remember thinking harukana receive was suspiciously well animated and after that i noticed C2C was consistently making some of my favorite underdog seasonal shows.
Everything.. Absolutely everything about this show is perfect.
The music choice of the Violet Evergarden OST , since i believe the composer for Frieren worked for that as well is such a good touch .
Yup! I couldn't fit it into the video but his work on Violet Evergarden was what got them to contact him for Frieren as well
@@TheCanipaEffect i dunno who that guy is but apparently i love him very much
@@TheCanipaEffect such an awesome music detail. Where can we see more of how they plan the layout for the city (in Blender?) URL?
I literally saw myself crying on the first two episodes and I did😭
They don't fly everywhere because it uses up a lot of mana and also it's a demon spell they just copypasted into the human magic system without understanding it's principals so it's not as efficient or flexible as it could be. It hasn't actually been reverse engineered the way Zoltraak / Soul Track was. And that only happened because they *had* to understand it to defend against it so they put everything they had into figuring it out, whereas the bootlegged flying spell can't be used casually but it works "good enough" when you really need it.
I believe they said, in a passing dialogue, that they can only fly for 30 minutes. Which isn't much.
But considering the dangers of travel, walking and saving mana for self defense, makes more sense.
The 2nd cour slander for 86 and WFM was hurtful in how true it was. Still enjoyed the hell out of both.
I was waiting for this video
I'm literally counting the days until they release the soundtrack, it's soooo goood
I would like to say that the main reason they dont "just fly everywhere" is becayse flight as magic is vey mana consuming and not thoroughly understood by humanity. Admitadly its not often brought up in either the manga or the anime so it's an easy point to miss. Great video tho.
Yes but the effect of this limitation is that it gives a realistic vibe to the show. A la Grimgar.
We are so blessed that Frieren is only taking a one week hiatus between cours
Can someone tell me what soundtrack was that at 4:51 pls.
9:45 that scene of the party eating was enough for me to know this anime will have an excellent animation.
Great video! The staff in this anime has been insanely stacked and talented.
"The horse" 🤣
Background art really is amazing.
A pretty normal scene I liked was in episode 9, around 8 minutes and 45ish seconds in, Stark pulls on his jacket. I’m 90% sure they rotoscoped it because it just feels so lifelike.
From what I've read and seen from other videos, they were not rotoscoped.
It wasn't rotoscoped, it's animated by Kouki Fujimoto.
I appreciate the Violet Evergarden OST in the background. two of my favorite animes in one video. ty
This is like the only anime that can be called perfect. I seriously cannot express a single negative comment towards this anime, the va was very natural and realistic, the sfx was unique and great, top tier animation for the fighting scenes, beautiful background painting and realistic slice of life animations. There are so many more positive things i can say, this anime is the literal embodiment of perfection.
Yeah you should do a video on the apocryphary diaries
This will be a very wrenching anime.
You can imagine fren will get old and frail then die.
You know that it is coming.
You cannot prepare your heart no matter what.
You will cry
Absolutely the anime of 2023, lately is hard to me fall in love with an anime show, less improvable that win me over in 1 episodes only...........................this one absolutely did just that and nothing comes close this year anime wise to surpass this one for me. This show animation and characters are breathtaking to say the least, is been a long while since a FANTASY anime captivated me as much this one have done and I hardly can't wait for the next batch of episodes. Awesome video as always, question, would you do an episode on shows like Scavengers Reign, Blue Eye Samurai and Hilda? please consider these 3 for future episodes.
Bad ass fern strut goes hard
Anime of the year!!! Frieren and Fern are such amazing characters that I even bought their figures online. Im not a figure buying person! Its been that amazing an experience to watch
Loving the use of the Violet Evergarden OST in the video.
My only, and I mean only, real gripe with the show is that they keep using the same spells over and over. I guess it makes sense to use the strongest spell at your disposal every time, but it doesn't make for the most interesting fights, however they are saved by stunning visuals and sound design. God this show is so good
Violet OST for that script and overall this video was a really smart choice!!
Fukushi + Saito magic
Madhouse !!! Reminds me of your opm vids
Anime of the year? There's no doubt any more. Now I'm just wondering if it can be anime of the decade -- or more.
10:38 You said, pretty much nobody does 2 consecutive cours these days, but fail to address the fact that there are 3 titles, namely Freiren, the Apothecary Diaries and Shangri-La Frontier, that are doing exactly that, while maintaining the quality of their animation. I do apologize if I missed any other titles that are doing 2 consecutive cours this season.
And undead unluck
Dark Gatherin, Helck and JJK started in summer and continued into this season. Dark Gathering kept it up, I've barely started Helck, but JJK...well.
Sweet!
Bocchi the Rock mentioned!
Finally someone noticed
Anime of the year ❤
I need freiren to dethrone FMAB as top 1 of all time.. its time for it to go.. FMAB had its time..
It already did. Most anime that dethrone FMAB get reviewed bomb to oblivion within 1 week. Frieren has a growing support that keeps its rating higher than FMAB for almost a month already despite FMAB fans rating Frieren with 1s.
@@susbedo9258i hope it stays
Its a crime that after all these years you are only at 133k sub's
You shound be at least 500k to 1m.
another 10/10 video
Great video
But one point where I disagree is on the "table top rpg" part
Were most isekai nowdays portrais their worlds like videogame rpgs (doing things like characters having videogame menus in world, levels, etc)
Fieren is just a fantasy anime that is often compared to a "lord of the rings vibe" for how more medieval it is
Finger crossed for Sengoku youko. Hopefully it doesn’t get the Lucifer and the biscuit hammer treatment
He said two consecutive something in the video.
Care to tell me what he said?
It is at 10:40
6:35 ep 9 now? maybe when you wrote the script i watched ep 14 alredy and bingewatched it whole yesterday
Genuine question here. What about this show is so great? I tried watching it a few times but just couldnt get into it. Id really like to know why people love it so much, and im glad people do.
the way it portrays the passage of time is sublime, so if you love to stop and smell the roses then this series will be deeply calming, a leisurely, melancholic and lighthearted journey. its the authors first real manga i believe, and im convinced its their passion project. its like they wrote a little part of their soul into each character of the story. its all believable and makes sense, everything is there for a reason and so all of it is meaningful, theres no filler of any kind and all is beautiful, all is peaceful, all is right. basically i think it comes down to sniffing flowers and whether you're the type to vibe with that or not?
Nice video
Classic
Dude please don't jynx Sengoku Youko like that. My man Mizukami deserves to finally get a good anime adaptation.
No comment about Frieren itself, it's pretty much perfect adaptation -- so perfect that I don't have anything to comment about it other than just repeating the praises.
I kinda hope Spirit Circle get animated first, before SY. While shorter, it's way more "diverse"
I felt like it did needed to debut with 3 episodes. Vinland saga season 2 showed that
I like how you put a violet evergarden OST at the end lol
Why is so many people use Violet Evergarden OST in Frieren video?
because Evan Call did the music for both