You know Frieren have good flashbacks when you are now actively waiting for the Himmel flashbacks. And the fact that Himmel keeps on winning the popularity contest even though we only realistically saw him on episode 1, and only know him by how Frieren remembered him
I actually think your second point is part of why Himmel is so beloved. We love him *because* he is the idealized version of himself by Frieren, post-death. It is a sad fact of reality that often memories of those closest to ones self can become idealized and immortalized over time. This message is actually conveyed in Frieren's story a bit as well during one of the early episodes when they are cleaning up the shore. Frieren briefly comes to the conclusion that Himmel didn't actually know her as well as she thought he did... Whether that is true or not is certainly up to debate. She does seem to realize at the end of the episode that she simply misunderstood what it was that he knew she'd enjoy about that sunrise. Though, in a way, he could have simply been wrong and she chooses to look back on it that way because of this idealization. The show even has a second layer of beautiful (but tragic) storytelling because this concept of idealized/immortalized memories is precisely why "heroes" are spoken about, most often, through myth and legend. Most "heroes", even in our own history are cobbled together bits of information and are plagued with misinformation that we don't really know what is "True" and what is "myth". Then you look at the show and it's entire premise is... literally walking in the footsteps of old "heroes" and trying to "relive" their best days. Meeting people throughout the entire show who only know the "idealized" heroes of her party while Frieren knows the cold reality that they were just typical people who did a heroic thing. That's why for me, the fact he made the statues for Frieren resounded so beautifully... As Himmel put it. "Because we're not fairy tales". The sad truth is they are for everyone. Everyone except Frieren.
@@undeathghost5627 And in the episode Real Hero Frieren herself even says that the real person behind a hero vanishes through time and only idealization remains...
I hated the flashbacks for 1st few episodes. Until I realised that Himmel was so perfect because that's what Frieren choose to remember him by. Its not all of Himmel but the part of Himmel Frieren keeps looking back to. No wonder he is so perfect. And the second part I liked which I originally didn't like was that the Flaskbacks felt like an afterthought. Its like the author wrote the chapter and then decided to add a flashback. But as the chapters went on there was a consistency and callback to the flashbacks that I didn't expect. Which showed the Author actually thought about the flashbacks and how it effects future story too. It was then that I truly appreciated Frieren for what it was including all of the flashbacks.
One of the things that defines Frieren as a work for me is it really doesn't flashback to those major acts of heroism - I don't know if we'll ever see the fight with the Demon King, for instance - but rather highlights those moments that unknowingly became precious to Frieren herself. It's (almost) the entire basis for Himmel as a character, these quiet conversations that she had while travelling with him that have seeped into Frieren and have slowly redefined aspects of her character in ways she doesn't even consciously understand.
So far we've seen exactly three. Himmel saving the town from episode 3. Which is over in a flash and is from the perspective of the herbalist when she was young. Himmel saving the village elder's daughter from the demon, which is played more as a redemption for preventing Frieren from killing it earlier Fighting a dungeon boss with Frieren and Eisen. No-one of these are narratively significant in and of themselves. They're just part of the overall tapestry of his character. It's done so well. He may be the hero who saved the world, but what Frieren focuses on is Himmel as a person. Who he really was.
Recent insights from teaching children: most of the time, they don't understand the deeper meaning behind adults' words, or they simply don't care at the moment. But after some time, when they gain a new experience, they suddenly say, "Ah, you told me about this" or "This teacher taught me this part of history." Adults are like this too; I often have such experiences myself. Although Frieren's story seems to heavily emphasize this kind of buildup, I think the author simply has a profound understanding that 'people need time for experiences to settle and ferment.
When we are younger hearing th word "you'll know when you are adult" is annoying af. But now I'm adult myself, i can only think that my pas self is stupid af for not listening
@@lenowoo But I think that's inevitable. We need a certain amount of experience to unlock the ability in our minds to understand a particular sentence.
After the first 5 flashabcks or so I started to reflexively get teary eyes whenever a flashback started because I had grown accustomed to how emotional they are.
Because you knew something important was happening in Frieren's head. The flashbacks make every emotion you get to see on her face so worth cherishing.
One thing I love about Frieren's flashbacks that I think you really put your finger on in this video is how layered they can be, with some of them getting revisited and recontextualized as the show goes on in a way that makes them function as set-up for things outside their immediate context. Spoilers beyond what's been covered in this video below: The statue example works well as an illustration here too, because in a later episode the modern-day party comes across a pair of statues so old nobody knows who they're supposed to depict anymore. Some of the group recognize another elf they ran into on their travels (Kraft), but no one knows who the other person is. This calls into question the efficacy of even statues against the incredible spans of time that elves live, quietly returning to the exact same issue Himmel was trying to address with them in the first place (complicating but not detracting from the gesture). At the same time, through the power of inference, we learn more about the monk Kraft and can guess that he may have had an experience similar to Frieren. This then lends some additional weight to the forgotten heroics of Kraft's past that he mentions in passing during one of the episodes he appears in. Meanwhile, much of this is all tangential to what's happening in the actual story of the episode where the party finds the statues. True, not every flashback ties in to a layered set of throughlines like this, but there are enough of them that it makes the story feel incredibly rich. Anyway, thanks as always for making these videos! I look forward to them every week.
Yeah I really appreciated later when we get shown this pair of statues that *aren't* the heroes we know in the story for the first time. That even the person who wishes to tend to the statues has no idea who they are... only that they must have been important. It worked as a nice twist to the "formula" the show had so far and It speaks to Himmel's gesture in so many ways. 1) The idea that being immortalized in stone does not actually mean you will be remembered forever adds a layer of tragedy to Frieren's fond memories of her friends knowing they will be forgotten as she said they would, despite how hard Himmel tried to avoid it. 2) The idea that Himmels personal gesture to give her something to remember them by is strengthened by the fact that while humans will forget she will indeed be able to remember them easier herself because she directly experienced them. Heightening the personal nature of the "gift" his statues were to her and (positively) devaluing the "joke" that he was doing it for "selfish" reasons as he publicly claimed back then. 3) It sets up Frierens line of questioning for the next time she sees a statue of the hero group... doing what was discussed in this video... using flashbacks as both immediate payoff but also as setup for future moments. Because the next time Frieren sees the group statues... they are talking with an old man about how "this town will never forget the heroes because we celebrate every year". To which Frieren, somberly, interrogates the man with "Will you still be celebrating in 10 years? 100 years? what about a thousand?" Really selling that she did *realize* that Himmel's statues really will be *just for her* before the end of her life span.
It were actually the Flamme and Serie flashbacks that grabbed me the most emotionally. SPOILER: For example the one with Serie in episode 25 after Flammes death and her remembering Flamme as a little kid, despite saying she just trained her on a whim, never fails to make me tear up. Every time I see it. It was such a perfect background abut Series true character.
Serie sitting in a greenhouse filled with flowers, itself part of a mage school that she established, crewed by students hand-picked by her... Such a "useless" spell, creating a field of flowers, sprung from a student she took on a whim... and there it is, in full bloom all around her. This story is filled with beautiful, well considered metaphors.
@@thesunthrone Plus, she ridiculed and tore up Flamme's will which spoke of training imperial mages, but look who decided to create their very own Continental Magic Association
Frieren without a doubt the best series that using flashback to the max potential. I hope many writer/director in the future can use Frieren as a reference of how to use flashback and teach it in schools.
Frieren was as good as I expected it to be. Just from the concept alone I knew with the right director it would become an extreme hit. But I did not expect it to be so emotional to the point I cried so many times. And the way I see the characters is different than I do with usual characters. It feels so normal to me. So very real. A show that made me immerse into the story so hard I was so disoriented when the episode ended and my room appeared in my peripheral view, snapping me back to reality. No show has ever achieved that. At least not constantly. So by patiently waiting for this masterpiece to come out I am glad to call this an absolute best of the best shows ever. A show that wants me to be like Himmel and be as pure hearted as stark but as explorative and calm as frieren. I see a lot of them be a fantastic influence on oneself. I look up to most of them and I also try to understand their shortcomings. They are all a different unique person I can get invested in. Everyone is written so carefully I love this show so much.
new/big fan. imo effective flashbacks inform why the character acts they have through the story already, not simply justify what they're doing to move the plot forward.
What I love the most about ATLA and Freiren is the they both are easy to folloq while not dumbing down their audience. And one of those moment are throughout these flashbacks
Something i really like about the flashbacks in Frieren is the context in which we see them. You mentioned briefly how we saw a flashback in the form of a dream, but every other flashback we see is either a dream like that, or a memory that pops up for Frieren. They also pop up during an action sequence, because something during the action sequence reminded her of something in a memory, and that memory happens to be plot relevant. It makes the flashbacks feel extremely natural.
when i caught the reveal of the emotional weight of the statues that we see throughout the show up til this episode, and are given the reasoning why Himmel wanted them made so frequently? i was a blubbering, sobbing mess on the phone w my gf when the episode ended we had to pause and both just sit there for a while and cry while considering everything we'd just learned 1. Himmel realized that Frieren must be sad that she's probably the only person alive who remembers Flammes' face 2. He told Frieren that he wants to be remembered.. the HERO from the heros' party that defeated the demon king and will surely go down in history as one of the biggest household names of legend (i.e. King Arthur status) but not just by the world.. but by HER specifically 3. he then goes out of his way to have statues commisioned everywhere so that she never has to be alone after he inevitably passes and leaves her to the weary world alone bro.. my heart was DEMOLISHED
Best flashback ever: The beginning of the movie Serenity. It's a narration of the overall history setting the grand introduction of the setting, which is actually a school history lesson for one of the main characters, beginning her introduction, but then is revealed to be a drug/technology induced dream she was having as it shows her being experimented on (and some other details) which sets up the basis for the entire plot of the movie. Her brother rescues her, introducing him as a character, but then everything freezes and is rewound by the movie's antagonist as it's revealed to be holographic security footage, and is used to set the stage for his pursuit of the protagonists while introducing is not only to his character, but also his character traits and a key move that becomes extremely relevant in the movies climax. All before the opening credits/music Seriously, it's a masterclass in introducing disparate elements and subversion of expectations.
I really want to appreciate all the people posting positive comments and this community being just really nice and sharing their own thoughts. Thank you all of being kind!
Yeah because they’re good if done right but soooo many shows/series never take the time to setup and build off of said tropes. Studios, writers, etc are either on a time crunch, are inexperienced, or are pressured to include/exclude certain scenes which inevitably impacts the overall story.
The worst kind of flashback is when it’s in the middle of a fight and they make it clear a “final blow” was just struck but before they confirm death the entire flashback mode for 75% of the episode and only just now give you the characters entire backstory and try to tack on reasons for you to like them now even if they were a character you might not of liked cause they didn’t give you the backstory untill now as they are dead
It is funny because Frieren does put pretty long flashback during two distinct major fight (vs Aura and vs the copy). But it actually hype the fight even more instead of frustrating the audience. Yet again an example of the author mastery of the subject 😊
Great video. I must say I am very impressed that you were as succinct as you were. Often these essay type videos drag on easily for twenty minutes or more. Even the good ones have a tendency to be longer than needed. Well done!
If it's any show that warrants a flashback it's Frieren. It's paced so well and ties in to deliver the "Beyond journey's end" we are witnessing. Just because one Great or even greatest Journey ends does not mean life beyond is uneventful and flat, it's a journey of redemption for Frieren to more fully appreciate human life in Fern, a chance to retry the great exam of life's mystery. Instead of disappointed in human life she is appreciative.
To me one of the best episode that used flashback and foreshadowing amazingly was Episode 10 The battle between Frieren and Aura it is perfectly balance
It's not really a good idea to categorize frieren's "flashbacks" as flashbacks. Frieren's storytelling is quite unique that it actually tells you 2 stories simultaneously. Other animes will not benefit from doing the same. A normal flashback is meant to give minor supplements to the current plot. If it's removed, some flavors of the plot will be missed, but it will remain stable. However in frieren's case , if you remove the "flashbacks" you basically cut the story in half and it's no longer a good one. . So, frieren's are not real flashbacks, rather, they are actual story of the past that's running alongside the current plot.
I'm not a huge fan of flashbacks, but Frieren's felt more like memories. Im just old enough to start having nostalgia for things, so i think i feel them a bit more deeply than someone who hasnt really felt that.
Flashbacks work great for this story because it's how we explore the entire life and experiences of a lonely immortal, going back over the past millennium, while following them on their current journey of self reflection and personal understanding. We're exploring Frieren's memories and how she felt in the past vs how she feels in the present.
haven't watched the vid but the reason flashbacks works in frieren is because we like the characters. we want to know and see more of Himmel, Heiter and Eisen.
Note: Lucas was dead set on not using flashbacks in Star Wars. This is why we got pre-teen Anakin as a protagonist, rather than having a flashback to his childhood.
To some degree, the flashbacks in Frieren are extremely disruptive when it's in the middle of their fights, such as during Aura, and the clone fights. I do wonder if it was necessary to spend minutes on end explaining why Frieren was about to dunk Aura through a basketball hoop in their fight, instead of making the reveal and explaining it later. (or when Ubel cuts the hair of sense, etc.) While the flashbacks, by themselves, are interesting and necessary, I do wonder how one might better interweave them into the story. Perhaps it is not possible. I'm of the belief that once a fight starts, it shouldn't be interrupted unless you're delivering a real shock - and that should only be done within the fight itself.
So many people loved the build up of episode 10 and how it made the final blow so satisfying. So yeah, I think it was worth it. Idem for the copy fight. It gives a whole new dimension to the fight. It's not just Frieren vs Frieren for the sake of the exam. It's the start of the era of humans. So much more compelling and badass.
Hmm... flashbacks in Frieren are presented as someones (usually Frieren's) memories and are enhanced/understood by present events... like the Stark's flashbacks about how he is a coward and that he run away when his village needed his help and then realizing that it was his brother's wish for him to survive... and the realization that his birthdays were actually celebrated by the ones that loved him...
I don't know if it can be called flashback or not, but the flashback during Frieren vs Frieren battle in EP. 27 felt very misplaced and disruptive to the flow of the battle. TBF, I don't know where or how else should it be shown either.
It's that way in the Manga, but, it's one chapter while the actual fight is the next chapter. Although in the Manga they clearly showed the imitation Frieren blocked Fern's first attack in the last page of the chapter. So it flows better in the Manga because it's two separate chapters. The fight is also a lot shorter in the Manga. The anime extended and added battles to the anime we don't actually see in the Manga. Of course, the animation studio wanted to make the battles in this arc look amazing. Especially the battles against the imitations. The battles in the Manga are very quick and not the point of the story after all.
I like this flashback because of the new dimension it gives to the fight. It's not just an exam anymore, it's the start of the era of humans. It makes the fight relevant for the world building and it is so satisfying!
@@natalimoina the placement and the amount of flashbacks in the sereis isnt well executed. you cant make us feel for every demon tanjiro kills if you just show us the same kind of cutscene every time. There are well done and interesting ones, but the majority of them just fall flat. pacing: especially season 3 was jarring, you had in the span of like 3 episodes 5 different flashbacks, some of them taking a major amount of the episode. Do you feel satisfied after hearing the love hashira`s backstory or any of the upper moons introduced there (genyas was kinda vital for the brother`s realationship but the rest were meh)? also the lack of build up for the majority of power ups and instead the use of flashbacks to justify them is just a common shonen trope which is done mixed in ds. (still love the series, but you can clearly see all the faults in that show)
yeah, Frieren works well with flashbacks. Except one, Frieren and Flamme first time meeting. Imo, this was done poorly, I was disappointed for a while. After watching the show many times I understood why. Mainly timing in anime - classic between battle flashback eating whole screen time, it was like watching naruto/bleach again, that is why I really try to avoid watching ongoing. Secondary, this is flashback that establishes main personality of Sousou no Frieren, main contributor to demon extinction. Both Flamme and Frieren hate demons, Flamme ends up giving Frieren ultimate weapon of deceiving against demons, this had to be THE best place to include this flashback, yet it was simply done bad. Too long and miss placed in the show. Probably manga readers had better experience, kind of Might Duy flashback treatment.
The glaze this show gets is crazy. It’s objectively mid and isn’t very innovative. Also bringing up ATLA just makes your arguments invalid and shows your a normi 🤣
You know Frieren have good flashbacks when you are now actively waiting for the Himmel flashbacks.
And the fact that Himmel keeps on winning the popularity contest even though we only realistically saw him on episode 1, and only know him by how Frieren remembered him
I actually think your second point is part of why Himmel is so beloved. We love him *because* he is the idealized version of himself by Frieren, post-death.
It is a sad fact of reality that often memories of those closest to ones self can become idealized and immortalized over time. This message is actually conveyed in Frieren's story a bit as well during one of the early episodes when they are cleaning up the shore. Frieren briefly comes to the conclusion that Himmel didn't actually know her as well as she thought he did... Whether that is true or not is certainly up to debate. She does seem to realize at the end of the episode that she simply misunderstood what it was that he knew she'd enjoy about that sunrise. Though, in a way, he could have simply been wrong and she chooses to look back on it that way because of this idealization.
The show even has a second layer of beautiful (but tragic) storytelling because this concept of idealized/immortalized memories is precisely why "heroes" are spoken about, most often, through myth and legend. Most "heroes", even in our own history are cobbled together bits of information and are plagued with misinformation that we don't really know what is "True" and what is "myth".
Then you look at the show and it's entire premise is... literally walking in the footsteps of old "heroes" and trying to "relive" their best days. Meeting people throughout the entire show who only know the "idealized" heroes of her party while Frieren knows the cold reality that they were just typical people who did a heroic thing. That's why for me, the fact he made the statues for Frieren resounded so beautifully... As Himmel put it. "Because we're not fairy tales". The sad truth is they are for everyone. Everyone except Frieren.
You know Frieren has good flashbacks when Himmel could actually inspire heroism in our real life. I mean, in this age, really ?
@@undeathghost5627 And in the episode Real Hero Frieren herself even says that the real person behind a hero vanishes through time and only idealization remains...
I hated the flashbacks for 1st few episodes. Until I realised that Himmel was so perfect because that's what Frieren choose to remember him by. Its not all of Himmel but the part of Himmel Frieren keeps looking back to. No wonder he is so perfect.
And the second part I liked which I originally didn't like was that the Flaskbacks felt like an afterthought. Its like the author wrote the chapter and then decided to add a flashback.
But as the chapters went on there was a consistency and callback to the flashbacks that I didn't expect. Which showed the Author actually thought about the flashbacks and how it effects future story too.
It was then that I truly appreciated Frieren for what it was including all of the flashbacks.
The flashbacks show how much Frieren loves him
One of the things that defines Frieren as a work for me is it really doesn't flashback to those major acts of heroism - I don't know if we'll ever see the fight with the Demon King, for instance - but rather highlights those moments that unknowingly became precious to Frieren herself. It's (almost) the entire basis for Himmel as a character, these quiet conversations that she had while travelling with him that have seeped into Frieren and have slowly redefined aspects of her character in ways she doesn't even consciously understand.
So far we've seen exactly three.
Himmel saving the town from episode 3. Which is over in a flash and is from the perspective of the herbalist when she was young.
Himmel saving the village elder's daughter from the demon, which is played more as a redemption for preventing Frieren from killing it earlier
Fighting a dungeon boss with Frieren and Eisen.
No-one of these are narratively significant in and of themselves. They're just part of the overall tapestry of his character.
It's done so well.
He may be the hero who saved the world, but what Frieren focuses on is Himmel as a person. Who he really was.
In the manga you eventually get a few of the major heroic scenes that Wirble references in episode 28.
+ it makes sense for an ancient battle mage like frieren who killed countless demons to have those kinds of memories stick out as memorable.
Recent insights from teaching children: most of the time, they don't understand the deeper meaning behind adults' words, or they simply don't care at the moment. But after some time, when they gain a new experience, they suddenly say, "Ah, you told me about this" or "This teacher taught me this part of history."
Adults are like this too; I often have such experiences myself.
Although Frieren's story seems to heavily emphasize this kind of buildup, I think the author simply has a profound understanding that 'people need time for experiences to settle and ferment.
When we are younger hearing th word "you'll know when you are adult" is annoying af. But now I'm adult myself, i can only think that my pas self is stupid af for not listening
@@lenowoo But I think that's inevitable. We need a certain amount of experience to unlock the ability in our minds to understand a particular sentence.
After the first 5 flashabcks or so I started to reflexively get teary eyes whenever a flashback started because I had grown accustomed to how emotional they are.
Because you knew something important was happening in Frieren's head. The flashbacks make every emotion you get to see on her face so worth cherishing.
I just appreciate that, frequently, the flashbacks in Frieren ARE the emotional payoff, as opposed to setting it up.
One thing I love about Frieren's flashbacks that I think you really put your finger on in this video is how layered they can be, with some of them getting revisited and recontextualized as the show goes on in a way that makes them function as set-up for things outside their immediate context. Spoilers beyond what's been covered in this video below:
The statue example works well as an illustration here too, because in a later episode the modern-day party comes across a pair of statues so old nobody knows who they're supposed to depict anymore. Some of the group recognize another elf they ran into on their travels (Kraft), but no one knows who the other person is. This calls into question the efficacy of even statues against the incredible spans of time that elves live, quietly returning to the exact same issue Himmel was trying to address with them in the first place (complicating but not detracting from the gesture). At the same time, through the power of inference, we learn more about the monk Kraft and can guess that he may have had an experience similar to Frieren. This then lends some additional weight to the forgotten heroics of Kraft's past that he mentions in passing during one of the episodes he appears in. Meanwhile, much of this is all tangential to what's happening in the actual story of the episode where the party finds the statues. True, not every flashback ties in to a layered set of throughlines like this, but there are enough of them that it makes the story feel incredibly rich.
Anyway, thanks as always for making these videos! I look forward to them every week.
The motif of the statues get revisited later in the manga as well
Yeah I really appreciated later when we get shown this pair of statues that *aren't* the heroes we know in the story for the first time. That even the person who wishes to tend to the statues has no idea who they are... only that they must have been important. It worked as a nice twist to the "formula" the show had so far and It speaks to Himmel's gesture in so many ways. 1) The idea that being immortalized in stone does not actually mean you will be remembered forever adds a layer of tragedy to Frieren's fond memories of her friends knowing they will be forgotten as she said they would, despite how hard Himmel tried to avoid it. 2) The idea that Himmels personal gesture to give her something to remember them by is strengthened by the fact that while humans will forget she will indeed be able to remember them easier herself because she directly experienced them. Heightening the personal nature of the "gift" his statues were to her and (positively) devaluing the "joke" that he was doing it for "selfish" reasons as he publicly claimed back then. 3) It sets up Frierens line of questioning for the next time she sees a statue of the hero group... doing what was discussed in this video... using flashbacks as both immediate payoff but also as setup for future moments. Because the next time Frieren sees the group statues... they are talking with an old man about how "this town will never forget the heroes because we celebrate every year". To which Frieren, somberly, interrogates the man with "Will you still be celebrating in 10 years? 100 years? what about a thousand?" Really selling that she did *realize* that Himmel's statues really will be *just for her* before the end of her life span.
It were actually the Flamme and Serie flashbacks that grabbed me the most emotionally.
SPOILER: For example the one with Serie in episode 25 after Flammes death and her remembering Flamme as a little kid, despite saying she just trained her on a whim, never fails to make me tear up. Every time I see it. It was such a perfect background abut Series true character.
Serie sitting in a greenhouse filled with flowers, itself part of a mage school that she established, crewed by students hand-picked by her... Such a "useless" spell, creating a field of flowers, sprung from a student she took on a whim... and there it is, in full bloom all around her.
This story is filled with beautiful, well considered metaphors.
@@thesunthrone Plus, she ridiculed and tore up Flamme's will which spoke of training imperial mages, but look who decided to create their very own Continental Magic Association
Frieren without a doubt the best series that using flashback to the max potential.
I hope many writer/director in the future can use Frieren as a reference of how to use flashback and teach it in schools.
Frieren was as good as I expected it to be. Just from the concept alone I knew with the right director it would become an extreme hit. But I did not expect it to be so emotional to the point I cried so many times. And the way I see the characters is different than I do with usual characters. It feels so normal to me. So very real. A show that made me immerse into the story so hard I was so disoriented when the episode ended and my room appeared in my peripheral view, snapping me back to reality. No show has ever achieved that. At least not constantly. So by patiently waiting for this masterpiece to come out I am glad to call this an absolute best of the best shows ever. A show that wants me to be like Himmel and be as pure hearted as stark but as explorative and calm as frieren. I see a lot of them be a fantastic influence on oneself. I look up to most of them and I also try to understand their shortcomings. They are all a different unique person I can get invested in. Everyone is written so carefully I love this show so much.
This is my favorite series on TH-cam thank you so much for making this I hope these keep getting traction you deserve it.
new/big fan. imo effective flashbacks inform why the character acts they have through the story already, not simply justify what they're doing to move the plot forward.
I love frieren and love hearing you talk about it. This is a great series!
What I love the most about ATLA and Freiren is the they both are easy to folloq while not dumbing down their audience. And one of those moment are throughout these flashbacks
Something i really like about the flashbacks in Frieren is the context in which we see them. You mentioned briefly how we saw a flashback in the form of a dream, but every other flashback we see is either a dream like that, or a memory that pops up for Frieren. They also pop up during an action sequence, because something during the action sequence reminded her of something in a memory, and that memory happens to be plot relevant. It makes the flashbacks feel extremely natural.
when i caught the reveal of the emotional weight of the statues that we see throughout the show up til this episode, and are given the reasoning why Himmel wanted them made so frequently?
i was a blubbering, sobbing mess on the phone w my gf
when the episode ended we had to pause and both just sit there for a while and cry while considering everything we'd just learned
1. Himmel realized that Frieren must be sad that she's probably the only person alive who remembers Flammes' face
2. He told Frieren that he wants to be remembered.. the HERO from the heros' party that defeated the demon king and will surely go down in history as one of the biggest household names of legend (i.e. King Arthur status)
but not just by the world.. but by HER specifically
3. he then goes out of his way to have statues commisioned everywhere so that she never has to be alone after he inevitably passes and leaves her to the weary world alone
bro.. my heart was DEMOLISHED
Best flashback ever:
The beginning of the movie Serenity.
It's a narration of the overall history setting the grand introduction of the setting, which is actually a school history lesson for one of the main characters, beginning her introduction, but then is revealed to be a drug/technology induced dream she was having as it shows her being experimented on (and some other details) which sets up the basis for the entire plot of the movie. Her brother rescues her, introducing him as a character, but then everything freezes and is rewound by the movie's antagonist as it's revealed to be holographic security footage, and is used to set the stage for his pursuit of the protagonists while introducing is not only to his character, but also his character traits and a key move that becomes extremely relevant in the movies climax.
All before the opening credits/music
Seriously, it's a masterclass in introducing disparate elements and subversion of expectations.
Because Himmel loved her, he didn't want her to be alone and forget about him when he was gone (probably more of the second, but still).
I really want to appreciate all the people posting positive comments and this community being just really nice and sharing their own thoughts. Thank you all of being kind!
Makes me want to rewatch the whole dang thing again :'
And then you have the Acolyte with a 40-minute backstory that didn't introduce any emotional weight.
Frieren shows why tropes ended up overused and worn down all over the place.
Yeah because they’re good if done right but soooo many shows/series never take the time to setup and build off of said tropes. Studios, writers, etc are either on a time crunch, are inexperienced, or are pressured to include/exclude certain scenes which inevitably impacts the overall story.
@@CalmClamFami mean theirs a difference between a show and a manga based anime. One actually has time to do that
@@CalmClamFamindeed
These flashbacks made me realize frieren had a total of 2 outfits in 1000 years dripless fr
The worst kind of flashback is when it’s in the middle of a fight and they make it clear a “final blow” was just struck but before they confirm death the entire flashback mode for 75% of the episode and only just now give you the characters entire backstory and try to tack on reasons for you to like them now even if they were a character you might not of liked cause they didn’t give you the backstory untill now as they are dead
Yes, the Demon Slayer path. Absolute garbage.
It is funny because Frieren does put pretty long flashback during two distinct major fight (vs Aura and vs the copy). But it actually hype the fight even more instead of frustrating the audience. Yet again an example of the author mastery of the subject 😊
Absolutely been loving your Frieren videos
Great video. I must say I am very impressed that you were as succinct as you were. Often these essay type videos drag on easily for twenty minutes or more. Even the good ones have a tendency to be longer than needed. Well done!
Sharp objects is the only live action tv show that thought was perfectly representative of memory
I look forward to these weekly
Always excited to watch a new Frieren video from you
I think it's really cool how the flashbacks aren't linear, they are bilinear! There and back, with the locations as the tie
could not help but think about the current arc in JJK for this video. succinctly well put, pey!
If it's any show that warrants a flashback it's Frieren. It's paced so well and ties in to deliver the "Beyond journey's end" we are witnessing. Just because one Great or even greatest Journey ends does not mean life beyond is uneventful and flat, it's a journey of redemption for Frieren to more fully appreciate human life in Fern, a chance to retry the great exam of life's mystery. Instead of disappointed in human life she is appreciative.
Thank you so much for another informative video to love! 🌸🥰
I really love this videos amazing work
Another excellent video. I'll be sad when it eventually comes to a close.
To me one of the best episode that used flashback and foreshadowing amazingly was Episode 10 The battle between Frieren and Aura it is perfectly balance
It's not really a good idea to categorize frieren's "flashbacks" as flashbacks.
Frieren's storytelling is quite unique that it actually tells you 2 stories simultaneously.
Other animes will not benefit from doing the same.
A normal flashback is meant to give minor supplements to the current plot. If it's removed, some flavors of the plot will be missed, but it will remain stable.
However in frieren's case , if you remove the "flashbacks" you basically cut the story in half and it's no longer a good one.
.
So, frieren's are not real flashbacks, rather, they are actual story of the past that's running alongside the current plot.
Subbed, on vid 3, great work!
All I can say "WOW"
Great job Pey! This is a great series.
I'm not a huge fan of flashbacks, but Frieren's felt more like memories. Im just old enough to start having nostalgia for things, so i think i feel them a bit more deeply than someone who hasnt really felt that.
Flashbacks work great for this story because it's how we explore the entire life and experiences of a lonely immortal, going back over the past millennium, while following them on their current journey of self reflection and personal understanding. We're exploring Frieren's memories and how she felt in the past vs how she feels in the present.
Pretty cool to see this vid on my recommended while watching How I Met Your Mother lol
haven't watched the vid but the reason flashbacks works in frieren is because we like the characters. we want to know and see more of Himmel, Heiter and Eisen.
I love the rhyme with your name
"Take a second to think of a famous story without a flashback"
Star Wars.
Specifically the original and prequel trilogies and not the sequel trilogy.
Are flashbacks the child of "show don't tell" in moving pictures. Because I don't know of any in plays and very few in books.
Book of Boba Fett used them in the exact opposite way.
So good
Note: Lucas was dead set on not using flashbacks in Star Wars. This is why we got pre-teen Anakin as a protagonist, rather than having a flashback to his childhood.
To some degree, the flashbacks in Frieren are extremely disruptive when it's in the middle of their fights, such as during Aura, and the clone fights. I do wonder if it was necessary to spend minutes on end explaining why Frieren was about to dunk Aura through a basketball hoop in their fight, instead of making the reveal and explaining it later. (or when Ubel cuts the hair of sense, etc.)
While the flashbacks, by themselves, are interesting and necessary, I do wonder how one might better interweave them into the story. Perhaps it is not possible. I'm of the belief that once a fight starts, it shouldn't be interrupted unless you're delivering a real shock - and that should only be done within the fight itself.
So many people loved the build up of episode 10 and how it made the final blow so satisfying. So yeah, I think it was worth it. Idem for the copy fight. It gives a whole new dimension to the fight. It's not just Frieren vs Frieren for the sake of the exam. It's the start of the era of humans. So much more compelling and badass.
Nice video 👍
Who is letting this man cook! They need a medial of honor!
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the original star wars trilogy employed any flashbacks.
And yet i have not seen any good inferences without explanations in flashbacks or expositions....
Hmm... flashbacks in Frieren are presented as someones (usually Frieren's) memories and are enhanced/understood by present events... like the Stark's flashbacks about how he is a coward and that he run away when his village needed his help and then realizing that it was his brother's wish for him to survive... and the realization that his birthdays were actually celebrated by the ones that loved him...
What is the background music here called? 5:35
Sentient - Gavin Luke
@@PeyTalksAnime thank you!
A show without flashbacks? Death Note. And that was one of my biggest complains about that show.
I don't know if it can be called flashback or not, but the flashback during Frieren vs Frieren battle in EP. 27 felt very misplaced and disruptive to the flow of the battle. TBF, I don't know where or how else should it be shown either.
It's that way in the Manga, but, it's one chapter while the actual fight is the next chapter. Although in the Manga they clearly showed the imitation Frieren blocked Fern's first attack in the last page of the chapter. So it flows better in the Manga because it's two separate chapters. The fight is also a lot shorter in the Manga. The anime extended and added battles to the anime we don't actually see in the Manga. Of course, the animation studio wanted to make the battles in this arc look amazing. Especially the battles against the imitations. The battles in the Manga are very quick and not the point of the story after all.
I like this flashback because of the new dimension it gives to the fight. It's not just an exam anymore, it's the start of the era of humans. It makes the fight relevant for the world building and it is so satisfying!
Wait what show uses flashbacks poorly
naruto
DS also has way too many flashbacks. And some of them are just really bad...
A vast majority of anime both old and new use flashbacks poorly. Its faster to list the ones that don't.
@@natalimoina the placement and the amount of flashbacks in the sereis isnt well executed. you cant make us feel for every demon tanjiro kills if you just show us the same kind of cutscene every time. There are well done and interesting ones, but the majority of them just fall flat.
pacing: especially season 3 was jarring, you had in the span of like 3 episodes 5 different flashbacks, some of them taking a major amount of the episode. Do you feel satisfied after hearing the love hashira`s backstory or any of the upper moons introduced there (genyas was kinda vital for the brother`s realationship but the rest were meh)?
also the lack of build up for the majority of power ups and instead the use of flashbacks to justify them is just a common shonen trope which is done mixed in ds.
(still love the series, but you can clearly see all the faults in that show)
@@KhaoticKosmosi doubt that
2:52 I don't think LOTR has any flashbacks
yeah, Frieren works well with flashbacks. Except one, Frieren and Flamme first time meeting. Imo, this was done poorly, I was disappointed for a while. After watching the show many times I understood why.
Mainly timing in anime - classic between battle flashback eating whole screen time, it was like watching naruto/bleach again, that is why I really try to avoid watching ongoing.
Secondary, this is flashback that establishes main personality of Sousou no Frieren, main contributor to demon extinction. Both Flamme and Frieren hate demons, Flamme ends up giving Frieren ultimate weapon of deceiving against demons, this had to be THE best place to include this flashback, yet it was simply done bad. Too long and miss placed in the show. Probably manga readers had better experience, kind of Might Duy flashback treatment.
took me 4 videos to realize ur the atrioc musix guy
Lmaoooo let's gooo. Welcome
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh cause shes FLASHing briefly BACKwards to a prior event and time in her life through memory i see
fire :)
No u 🔥
Yes you 🌊
If u like frieren and the world building i recomend u to watch mushoku tensei a master class on how to properly tell a story and make it belliavable
The glaze this show gets is crazy. It’s objectively mid and isn’t very innovative. Also bringing up ATLA just makes your arguments invalid and shows your a normi 🤣