A Mere Ten Year Journey
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Sousou no Frieren or Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is a work of fiction I first started reading in Spring 2022 after watching a Gigguk video on the manga. The first volume made a great impression upon me and I started keeping up with the manga from that point on. The anime adaptation was then announced in September 2022 and the trailer would come out in the summer of 2023. I clearly remember the hype and excitement I felt for the anime and I lost track of how many times I rewatched that trailer. The anime adaptation was better then anything I could have expected due in no small part to all the talented staff especially Director Keiichirou Saitou and composer Evan Call. Sousou no Frieren is the bastion of High Fantasy (Lord of The Rings) in the medium of anime. As someone who has loved LOTR since I was young this story means a great deal to me especially considering the lessons and themes its imparted upon me. his is the point in my review where I would like to iterate that if you are considering watching Sousou no Frieren that you absolutely should and that the remainder of the review will touch upon core themes that stood out to me and contain elements of spoilers.
▶Basic Premise
The story centers around the protagonist Frieren following the defeat of the Demon King at the hands of the Heroes Party. The central characters of the Heroes Party being Frieren the Elf Mage, Eisen the Dwarf Warrior, Heiter the Human Priest, and Himmel the Human Hero. The reason I state there species is because this takes place in a world inhabited by Elves, Dwarves, Humans, Demons, and countless monsters. It takes a split from the common trope of defeating the Demon King and rather focuses on the events following his demise and the world and characters thereafter. In hindsight via flashbacks throughout the story I would say the author takes a very unique and thoughtful take on the countless tropes inhabiting high fantasy tropes and that Himmel is the beacon of that. Regret
Life is full of countless regrets, some would say its to an insurmountable extent and we see this regret manifest itself it countless characters throughout this story, especially through the protagonist Frieren. Whether it be an argument with your parents, missing out on an opportunity, or not connecting with someone you wish you could have. What sparks Frieren's realization is the humanity of Himmel the Hero in my opinion the best character in the story and one of the best in fiction. Frieren realizes her regrets in the same capacity we often all do which is when its too late to change anything. But there are still efforts we can take to avoid having regrets in the future and while the path is long and strenuous it is one we should take. It is through this that we develop as individuals and we see Frieren undergo effort to learn more about humans. Throughout this story countless flashbacks to the Heroes Party occur connecting back to the present with the continuous underlining thought that both we the reader/watcher and Frieren wish we got to know Himmel better.
Time
Time is inherently a cruel thing and if you don't spend it well you're likely to miss out on experiences and stories you would otherwise have encountered. Time and the passage of it is a central point within Frieren and throughout the initial aspects of story you will notice that fifty years can pass in the blink of an eye through the perception of Frieren as an elf. Time is viewed differently from the perspective of an elf like Frieren in comparison to a human such as Himmel and thus it affects how well we use that time. This point is reiterated countless times via various characters throughout the story and yet it is one that emotionally hits you heavily regardless of how many times its used as it feels unique each time. The Characters
The wide array of characters throughout this story mean a great deal to me personally especially with the lessons they have endowed upon me as an individual. Stark and Fern are of course amazing characters from the lenses of Frieren's present day party they both balance one another to the extent that I tend to analyze them from a joint perspective but they are both excellent as sole characters as well. Stark facing down his fears countless times is an inspiration and Fern's pouting is always funny. The members of the heroes party are the shining beacon of this as although they for the most part exist solely in flashbacks they still continue to leave a great impression upon you. Heiter's laugh, Eisen's gentle nature, and Himmel in his entirety always impart upon me a degree of solemness and a heartwarming feeling with regard to the journey they underwent. Frieren herself is an exemplary character who I personally find quite relatable to the extent of also being introverted. Putting into words my feelings on these characters has proven tougher then I expected.
Rounding it off
I have countless thoughts on this story but I find it a bit difficult to put it all into words. I expect I will write a review for the manga when it does end no matter how many years it is from now alongside reviews for future seasons of Sousou no Frieren. I'm very interested in the future of this story and where it goes from now both with regards to the manga and the future of the anime. Evan Call's full Soundtrack release for Frieren is coming out April 17th, 2024 and the work he did on it was truly astounding. To mention the LOTR comparison I would say he did just as stellar a job as Howard Shore did on the LOTR soundtrack. This story and its characters are amazing, both the manga and anime are masterpieces in my opinion and I hope countless others can appreciate this story as well. I don't expect to find a high fantasy besides LOTR on par with Sousou no Frieren and I look forward to growing as a person and spending years enjoying this story.
Ending it off with my favorite quote from Himmel:
Spoiler, click to viewclick to hide
There's nothing wrong with being a fake hero. I'll defeat the Demon King and bring peace to the world. Then it won't matter if I'm fake or not.
