Gifts seem to be especially significant to Fern. Nearly every main character has given her something, and she’s held deep sentimental attachment to these items. (Parents- locket, Heiter- staff, Frieren- hair ornament, Stark- bracelet, Kraft- goddess pendant, Sein- purse). Perhaps losing everything as a child has given her a deeper connection to her loved ones through the physical items they’ve given to her. She understands the weight an item can hold - she pauses everything to help Frieren search for her ring and she won’t accept a substitute for Heiter’s staff.
I know this is a searching for meaning video, but my brain just goes “the initial ring scene is so good because Frieren is a Anime series made with intention and love, where the anime elevates the manga. Where anime direction works in favor and elevates what the manga does not.” The Anime Creators added the Ring in early. As someone who read the manga first, I positively scream and pointed at the screen saying that wasn’t supposed to be there but also that’s amazing and great and it holds so much meaning that it was there. As someone who is extremely manga biased and is salty about when anime never adapts a manga correctly, Frieren, as of up the mage arc so far, is what I consider an Anime that is better than the Manga. It doesn’t take out scenes it doesn’t need to. It gives the side characters their proper screen time. It doesn’t change the main theme and character intentions. What it adds is foreshadowing and world building. Where the adaptation doesn’t change the the source, but rather adds to a meaningful way. It also creates enhances great scenes and shots, like Stark and the Dragon or Ubel and the great directing with the shot between her legs. Frieren treats it’s source material and it’s anime with love and respect. I haven’t found a scene in Frieren that disrespects it’s original source material or any scenes cut out that should have been there. And anything it adds is beautiful and uses the Anime Medium to it’s fullest. Frieren is great and the anime deserves all the love it gets. Anyways I’ll go cry in the corner about the theme of how the anime industry ruins every Shojo manga it touches now.
1000% agree. Like how the anime expands on and makes the fights awesome, when they just got a couple panels in the manga. Or the scene where Stark and Fern dance. Truly an amazing, fantastic adaptation.
This retrospective hit hard, pey. I love how you take the time to break down seemingly obvious concepts into bitesized pieces to make a delicious meal of a video-essay. I also like how you don't assume your audience gets it, but don't patronize in your explanations and descriptions. Case in point. "I like anime, obviously." *stops video, circles with marker: "pey likes anime." This one little touch in your video much earlier in this Frieren-series shows us that, yes, you like anime, ... but you like us, too: enough to let us in on the joke. This video essay let us in on the joke of rings, and butterflies, and flowers, ... and sublime joy. Thank you for letting us in on the joke.
I love how Frieren does foreshadowing - there's just so much under the surface that a person can keep discovering new things, either during a rewatch or just when thinking back to certain scenes / episodes. For example, I only recently realized the following: In Episode 18, while Frieren, Fern, and Stark are riding on the back of a cart towards Auberst, Fern makes a comment how any sort of combat tests shouldn't be a problem for Frieren, because of just how powerful she is. But, Frieren quickly points out that she was defeated 11 times in her entire life, many times by "weaker" opponents - and, out of all of those defeats, 6 of them were from humans. Few episodes pass and, before a fight with Frieren's clone in the dungeon, Frieren admits that Fern's Zoltraak would be able to kill her. Frieren then recalls a conversation she had with Serie after Flamme died, how the upcoming era belongs to the humans. And Serie predicts that if someone ends up killing Frieren, it will be either the Demon King or a human mage. And, lo and behold, Fern succeeds in fatally injuring Frieren's clone with Zoltraak. Multi-layered, hinted at, with a pay off - and the best thing is that it's just one of many examples of such nice foreshadowing in this anime. That's why I love it so much.
"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is a story about recontextualizing past experiences through new ones-engaging in the world around you and relationships in order to not live a life you regret." Once again, I find myself admiring your ability to capture one of the central themes of this show in just a single sentence. Well done!
The symbolism of the credits songs is also super deep. Now that you mention it, the first ending song has flowers for Frieren, and the second one features a stop-motion Fern butterfly very prominently.
Rewatched frieren recently, this is exactly how I felt during every scene. Noticing the little things that would be explained later on made me feel so happy
One parallel I'm enjoying is between Flamme with Fern. Two human characters raised under legendary Elven masters, seemingly with fathomless potential, but with diametrically opposite temperaments and eras in which they appeared. Through what we've seen and heard from Flamme, Frieren, and Serie we've gotten this fairly elaborate foreshadowing for the kind of impact Fern is set to have on the world. It's the kind of foreshadowing that'll take years of the manga to fulfill, but it's definitely become the arc that exists in the shadow of Frieren's quest.
one of my favorite thing about creating and experencing storeies is that symbolism/foreshadowing that is unintentional but adds so much more and fits in so well. I think it has to be on purpose but in my own creating it so often is just by happenstance. atleast some of those little nuggets.
Another subtle characterization detail is that Frieren values jewellery as a memento because it's both durable and portable. Look at her holy emblem: even though it's rusty and (almost) nobody recognizes its purpose anymore, it has survived through centuries of homelessness, loneliness, and danger. That might even be part of why Frieren loves treasure hunting - anything she finds has proven it can stand the test of time.
You're curing our Frieren Friday's disease. Hope this will last until season 2 aired xD After reading Frieren's manga, you can feel the foreshadowing even more after rewatching Frieren
I have watched everyone one of your videos on Frieren and each one is amazing. I love to listen to your thoughts and analyses on the show because they really help to drive home each of the plot points and themes Frieren has. Watching the show for the first time was really eye opening and gave me a lot to think about; so your videos on how Frieren expresses each of its themes really gave me an avenue to contextualize what I learned from the show itself. Also the thought and effort put into each of your episodes is unbelievable. I can't wait for more.
6:30 Perhaps appropriately following the section where you talked about giving more than the benefit of the doubt and finding meaning in everything, iirc this scene with Frieren on the rooftop is from the same episode where Stark buys Fern a birthday present which is the bracelet with the same design as the ring Frieren was given by Himmel. You also talked about how Frieren seems to have a habit of keeping jewellery that act as mementos for people she was close to, with the ring being Himmel and the earrings being Flamme. In this scene where she's watching over Fern and Stark as he buys her the bracelet, she adjusts her collar to let her earring hang out which brings it into view.
My biggest draw to Freiren is how well the story does existential connections. Frieren is always in search for trivial spells that others wouldn't think are worth learning. But those little spells a precious to her because of how she uses them to connect to others. Like the spell she has for cleaning bronze statues she uses to clean statues of Himmel, the spell for making grapes taste a little sour she has for Eisen because it's his favorite food. And the spell for making a field of flowers has the most significant because it is connected to all people who were a catalyst to her life's journey. So many subtle importance to small beauties.
The ring was also presented in episode 12. Also its worth saying the difference in the design - Fern's is blossoming mirrored lotus and Frieren's closed. In Eastern culture the lotus is a symbol of rebirth.
Extremely well done. Might be the best one you have made, although you have made so many now it's difficult to compare peace wise to ensure the accuracy of that statement. Like in the past when I have said similar, you took something that was known and articulated it extremely well, and found other connections that provided it with a stronger base.
I don't know if Fern's name is supposed to be a reference to nature. Since all of these names are of German origin, I don't know if the English word has any bearing. The German word "fern" means "distant"/"far". However, a very clever, probably intended thing, is the fact that Frieren and her mentor Flamme actually have "opposing names" as in the German word "frieren" being the verb that means "to be/feel cold"/to freeze" (as in what happens to you not what you do to something). "Flamme" means flame. Frieren is cold. She comes across as a cold person but she is also cold in a metaphoric sense: She's lonely. Fern is distant and therefore also lonely. Frieren had the advantage of having a very warm and caring mentor. A literal flame to teach her warmth. I think the interesting thing is that Fern and Frieren are actually not opposed. One is emotionally cold, the other emotionally distant and both are somewhat lonely. I think Heiter and Himmel are a much more interesting pair (where I'll assume that the names were chosen on purpose): They seem to represent to different ways of pursuing good. "Himmel" is the German word for sky or heaven. Himmel is transcendent a transcendent good. It is very fitting that he dies first. People would assume that he went to the heaven he is so aptly named after. He has reached the happiness he sought. "Heiter" means jolly or happy in German. It shows that Heiter pursues a more earthly good or happiness. He is less altruistic but nevertheless he reaches a point of happiness as well. He did not pursue as transcendent a joy as Himmel but through his altruism in raising Fern and the joy remembering brings him, he also reaches happiness and so he also dies. He has also reached his goal. I think that pair is interesting because they represent the difference between transcendence and earthliness. Very cool. It's also funny how the priest is actually the earthly character.
On creators who accidentally do great things and we look for it, I think its attached to the idea that there is an ultimate sort of truth out there. Some old philosophers assumed all knowledge was pre-existing and we're just remembering it. Religious folk have a similar concept. So when we realize a creator has tapped into some of that knowledge we assume as mere spectators that they have access to that knowledge even if they are not aware. Sorta like a Muse. Good creators seem to have The Divine on tap. Sometimes they only had it for an instant. I think this is why sometimes an audience will pull away from a creator that gets too haughty. We believe these creators are able to access a higher, purer form of humanity so when they attribute all their skill or success purely to themselves rather than the greater human truths we realize faster that their success was accidental.
I love these videos!! I feel like I'm getting a film school lecture every time but in the best way. I learn something even though I thought I already knew it.
Settings, mood and symbolism are important in visual media. In live action media, there are limitations. Budget, availability, location, lighting, etc. In animation, every decision is deliberate. Every scene is intentional. Every bit of foreshadowing is meant to be there.
Mentioning about subverting jewellery, every time one is put up the value of the ring is often diminished: - The necklace which shows the goddess faith, a symbol of faith rather than of vanity - The mage's necklace frieren has, once extremely valuable yet reduced to a mere relic of little value over time - A ring with deep emotional value, given to an elf who is generally oblivious to such (as it is basically a proposal at that point) The only exception I think is fern's hairclip, which is is fair considering it's also kinda a visual "trophy" for fern as she starts to travel with Frieren as a mage.
Small correction here: Tolkien's LOTR was not inspired by Wagner's opera. He was inspired by the mythologies that ALSO inspired the "Ring Cycle." I bring this up because Tolkien wrote about his inspirations quite specifically, and also apparently denied there being any connections to Wagner's "Ring Cycle." Thanks for continuing to make you videos! They are quite enjoyable, and I have watched most all of them at this point. 😊
I thought that part of it was about how jewelry and rings had acquired increasing symbolic importance, not the connection between works? I mean we constantly get more and more examples of that, even the sodding Infinity Gauntlet was jewelry when it comes right down to it.
@@hatsikujimayonezwell, it's definitely not 1:1 with Lord of the Rings. Some of the names are definitely borrowed from Norse mythology (names like Gandalf, for instance can be found in the Poetic Edda). Dwarves and Elves are also as noble in the mythologies. Another incredibly important twist that Tolkien added was that the Ring needed to be destroyed. All of the mythologies had the hero seeking the ring of power, not trying to destroy it.
I still just want to know what the heck that bird that takes the dark dragon horn at the beginning of the show is! I've read the manga, no explanation still. Where does it go? Does Frieren have an even larger stash somewhere? What does the horn do? I haven't forgotten, Kanehito, I haven't forgotten.
same... slight manga spoilers: . . . . she even got a brand new one at the end of golden land. what the heck is she doing with them? why does she need so many?!?!
Just like how u mentioned that rewatching a show gives us a new persepective or that we notice things that were obv now that u look back. Thats basically what frieren is doing with her retracing her steps to go to himmel, but this time she comes to understand the meaning and actions of what himmel was doing in each place🙏
note, because is see a lot of people getting this wrong: “Fern” is not a nature-related name. Almost every name in frieren is taken from german. So it doesnt make sense to read her name in english. Otherwise the author would have named her “Farn” (which would be the correct german spelling). “Fern” instead means “far away” or maybe “remote”. The same applies to “Sense” by the way. In german this means scythe or sickle. Other examples that might get confused are Lore (minecart), Ton (sound, note) and Land (country, ground)
Just started my second run of watching Frieren after catching up with the manga and I absolutely love it. This show is akin to revisiting to take a look at a good painting or re-reading a well written book and noticing new things or having new ways of looking at it from different angles every time,
I like the idea about giving the author of a work the benefit of the doubt on intention when they have clearly demonstrated that they have created something with a great deal of intention. I recently had a small argument with someone who argued that the repeated usage of a trope in Dan Da Dan did not mean that the story was trying to express a related theme through the trope's repetition. My response was similar to the one expressed in this video, that when the author of a work of fiction has proven that they have woven intentional meaning into their work time and time again, then we should not be quick to write any storytelling element off as merely a storytelling technique and nothing more.
I think it's especially reasonable to read into absolutely everything in animation because in animation every single grain of sand exists due to someone's intention.
In episode 10 there's the monk, and there's that scene/moment when he gives Frieren that religious symbol. When I watched I felt that Himmel's ring was for Frieren like that religious symbol was for Kraft, that the memory of Himmel was Frieren's "religion".
I am gonna be rewatching frieren soon and this series really made me love frieren so much more than I already did Another series that does foreshadowing exceptionally is ascendance of a bookworm, I find a lot of the thing I like about them is pretty although the feel very different They are 2 of my favorite anime and I would love it if you would check out ascendance of a bookworm
I love all the care for detail in Frieren, and it's great to see someone who took the time to examine it! I also wanna say, however, that it really bugged me every time you said jewlery instead of jewelry.
One thing that I find fascinating is the kind of rhyme between the first party and the second party. Stark and Fern are the perfect, and in fact only, people that could inherit the story of the Great Party and carry it on, because each of them is a fusion of two of the prior party members. Fern has has magical power that may rival Frieren's by the end of the story but also has the piety, love of life, and ability to live in the moment that Heiter had. Stark has the pure, raw strength to surpass Eisen, but has the personality, charisma, and heart of Himmel the Hero where he can't pass anyone in need without try to help, especially in the little ways that others often over look. I don't know how the story is going to happen going forward; but I believe that Frieren encouraging both sides of each of them will be a defining feature of their growth and that this new party, the heirs of the new era, will be able to surpass the first party because they contain the best parts of each member of the old party.
Can't wait for the Golden Land arc, which among other things puts Frieren's claim (in response to Himmel's recruitment talk) that she hadn't killed a demon in 500 years in a new light!
Masterfully written. Beautiful artwork. About time and relationship, where the main character has little understanding of either. I have watched it twice, and thinking to do it again soon.
This isn't quite foreshadowing, but I feel it's close enough being secret things in an anime. I watched the "So I'm a Spider, So What?" anime before I read the LN and oh man is there some crazy reveals in the anime that you only get once you've gotten to vol 7-8 of the LN.
The series I have seen with the most rewatch depth is Senki Zessho Symphogear. Its got so many details hidden everywhere in it. As well as an insane amount of ties to real world mythology
8:40 Is Ferns name really a connection towards the theme of nature? Yes, "fern" is a plant - atleast in English. But all names in Frieren are German! In German the plant fern would be called "Farn". "Fern" on the other hand literally means "far", as in "far away". No idea whether this means anything but if her name was really meant to be the plant and a connection to the theme of nature, that would be quite inconsistent with the naming scheme of the series and I doubt it was an oversight by the author...
It's a real shame this doesn't extend to the actual dialogue. The English translation of the manga is literally drier than defence economics texts and while I'm not entirely fluent in Japanese yet. The original doesn't seem to be any better. It seems like the author made a choice to abandon any attempt at using poetic language, I'd assume out of a desire to maximise readability.
i remember specifically the scene with fern conjuring butterflies for heiter, because when i saw that i thought it was like a retroactive choice by the author. like, they had established this motif of butterflies with fern and decided to use it later on as part of her backstory. choices like this make me wonder how intentional an author is and since when-the beginning, the middle, or only later on upon reflecting on the story?
One of my favorite scenes in the whole show you didn't discuss was when Denken is in Richter's shop after the mage exam, Denken is then giving Richter some advice in his wisdom. It seems to just be stereotypical advice from the wise and aged to the arrogant and young. Then you notice that Denken has been stacking items from Richter's own store onto the purchase counter, without even purchasing any of these items. Denken leaves after his advice, and Richter immediately scoffs that the old man didn't even purchase anything. That entire scene there resonated with me because Denken was subtly teaching a lesson in that Richter has all of the tools to enhance his Earth magic, and he even provides him the material that he already owns, but does not give him the answer outright. I am an anime only, but I have no doubt that maybe Richter will have noticed this advice in the future and expand his imagination on what his magic can really do. A deep flaw Richter seems to have is that his arrogance clouds his ability to think out every possibility magic can provide. It's why he looses to lower ranked teenagers with basic water and ice abilities (from his perspective). Overestimating his own experience for their quick wit and teamwork. I encourage anyone to watch this scene in Episode 27 to really understand what I am trying to convey here, I think it's a valuable lesson in listening to those who have come before us.
Would just like to comment that tolkien stated explicitly that there is no relathionship between the ring cycle and lotr. Or rather he stated something to the effect "Well they bith have a ring, and that is where the similarities end."
Great video, but LOTR is not inspired by the ring cycle ( Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen ). The author JRR Tolkien is a Catholic so most of the stuff in LOTR is a reference to Catholicism
adding to the list of Characters starting with the same letter: Lügner and Linie - even though they are evil and we only see them for a short time and demons don't have that kind of relation; your argument should be valid for them too.
I keep coming back to the Frieren-Boss-fight for that reason. There is a lot in there but for one example: in the very beginning we see the same defensive magic that everybody else uses at great scale: blue hexagons that shield you from attack. But with Frieren fighting an equal opponent, even though it's visibly the same hexagons, it's different! They appear and disappear in the blink of an eye and grow and shrink as needed. It's like a dynamic dance where other mages are only capable of conjuring up motionless obstacles.
Yeah, Frieren is not as oblivious as people think... I think she fully understood that Himmel loved her but she saw humans as ephemeral so decided to ignore it.
Ok. I noticed that from the very beginning. But... Did you noticed this??? 1st. Series image in episode 21, overlapping frieren's image. 2nd. Episode 9. Fern deliberately put down her staff to throw her clothes. Many thinks she dropped her staff from lugners attack. 3rd... Krafts statue has a sword..it means he is qualified to pull the hero's sword(but stark is the best contender) 4th... Sousono frieren in Japanese means frieren the slayer. Alternate is Soso no frieren/sousou no frieren is Chinese means frieren at the funeral.. But in Philippines.. "Suso ni Frieren" means "frieren's boobs"(which is non existent BTW😂)
2. then that would not add up fern got pushed in the wall over a few meters. you even see it as linie attacks how far away fern and stark stood. but fern staff was near the tower she was pinned against and not at the place they stood. 3. and? himmel is also always with his sword and he couldn't pull it. the status only represents their outfit and weapon (frieren staff).
@ShadowShiranui wrong, watch it again, episode 9, when she throw her clothes. They were already standing near the tower where she was pushed. So she wasn't pushed far. (Seriously, watch it again in slow mo) Also, I said qualified not verified. Qualification doesn't mean verification.. There are 5 individuals I'm rooting for for the sword, Stark, frieren, Kraft(he is a good person), stoltz, gorilla warrior. But gorilla warrior is now revealed as a shadow warrior in manga. So not him
@tanhouzer bro everyone is qualified, what has nothing to do with the statue. Statues are pictures of the moment. And that you put frieren as a mage in your list but not Wirbel who chooses himmels footsteps. Btw both would not have swords at their statues.
Perspective from someone that has only watched the anime. The fact that the hero's sword wasn't removed from the stone and the older dwarf that guards his late wife's village still believes Frieren is on her journey to kill the demon king and she was taken aback by the comment feels like a huge foreshadowing sign of things to come.
The tragedy that goes unnoticed, is that we have not talked about a billion dollar movie in the same way we talk about these anime. Hollywood does not understand how and why they have fallen, as they flail around into the abyss.
The amount of things that are ‘hidden’ throughout the series makes every rewatch feels fresh.
Gifts seem to be especially significant to Fern. Nearly every main character has given her something, and she’s held deep sentimental attachment to these items. (Parents- locket, Heiter- staff, Frieren- hair ornament, Stark- bracelet, Kraft- goddess pendant, Sein- purse). Perhaps losing everything as a child has given her a deeper connection to her loved ones through the physical items they’ve given to her. She understands the weight an item can hold - she pauses everything to help Frieren search for her ring and she won’t accept a substitute for Heiter’s staff.
In the comic, she has a talk with Stark about it. Apart from the clothes on her back, those are the only things she owns.
I know this is a searching for meaning video, but my brain just goes “the initial ring scene is so good because Frieren is a Anime series made with intention and love, where the anime elevates the manga. Where anime direction works in favor and elevates what the manga does not.” The Anime Creators added the Ring in early. As someone who read the manga first, I positively scream and pointed at the screen saying that wasn’t supposed to be there but also that’s amazing and great and it holds so much meaning that it was there.
As someone who is extremely manga biased and is salty about when anime never adapts a manga correctly, Frieren, as of up the mage arc so far, is what I consider an Anime that is better than the Manga. It doesn’t take out scenes it doesn’t need to. It gives the side characters their proper screen time. It doesn’t change the main theme and character intentions. What it adds is foreshadowing and world building. Where the adaptation doesn’t change the the source, but rather adds to a meaningful way. It also creates enhances great scenes and shots, like Stark and the Dragon or Ubel and the great directing with the shot between her legs.
Frieren treats it’s source material and it’s anime with love and respect. I haven’t found a scene in Frieren that disrespects it’s original source material or any scenes cut out that should have been there. And anything it adds is beautiful and uses the Anime Medium to it’s fullest.
Frieren is great and the anime deserves all the love it gets.
Anyways I’ll go cry in the corner about the theme of how the anime industry ruins every Shojo manga it touches now.
But aren't Shojo manga greatat ruining themselves anyway? 🤔
1000% agree. Like how the anime expands on and makes the fights awesome, when they just got a couple panels in the manga. Or the scene where Stark and Fern dance. Truly an amazing, fantastic adaptation.
Frieren, a story about looking back, would of course reward the viewers who looks back
This retrospective hit hard, pey. I love how you take the time to break down seemingly obvious concepts into bitesized pieces to make a delicious meal of a video-essay. I also like how you don't assume your audience gets it, but don't patronize in your explanations and descriptions. Case in point.
"I like anime, obviously."
*stops video, circles with marker: "pey likes anime."
This one little touch in your video much earlier in this Frieren-series shows us that, yes, you like anime, ... but you like us, too: enough to let us in on the joke. This video essay let us in on the joke of rings, and butterflies, and flowers, ... and sublime joy.
Thank you for letting us in on the joke.
I love how Frieren does foreshadowing - there's just so much under the surface that a person can keep discovering new things, either during a rewatch or just when thinking back to certain scenes / episodes. For example, I only recently realized the following:
In Episode 18, while Frieren, Fern, and Stark are riding on the back of a cart towards Auberst, Fern makes a comment how any sort of combat tests shouldn't be a problem for Frieren, because of just how powerful she is.
But, Frieren quickly points out that she was defeated 11 times in her entire life, many times by "weaker" opponents - and, out of all of those defeats, 6 of them were from humans.
Few episodes pass and, before a fight with Frieren's clone in the dungeon, Frieren admits that Fern's Zoltraak would be able to kill her.
Frieren then recalls a conversation she had with Serie after Flamme died, how the upcoming era belongs to the humans. And Serie predicts that if someone ends up killing Frieren, it will be either the Demon King or a human mage.
And, lo and behold, Fern succeeds in fatally injuring Frieren's clone with Zoltraak.
Multi-layered, hinted at, with a pay off - and the best thing is that it's just one of many examples of such nice foreshadowing in this anime. That's why I love it so much.
Thanks for tiding us over until Season 2 champion.
"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is a story about recontextualizing past experiences through new ones-engaging in the world around you and relationships in order to not live a life you regret."
Once again, I find myself admiring your ability to capture one of the central themes of this show in just a single sentence. Well done!
The symbolism of the credits songs is also super deep. Now that you mention it, the first ending song has flowers for Frieren, and the second one features a stop-motion Fern butterfly very prominently.
Rewatched frieren recently, this is exactly how I felt during every scene. Noticing the little things that would be explained later on made me feel so happy
I think it's worth mentioning that the ring shows up again in Stark's birthday episode when Frieren is searching through the suitcase for a new gift.
One parallel I'm enjoying is between Flamme with Fern. Two human characters raised under legendary Elven masters, seemingly with fathomless potential, but with diametrically opposite temperaments and eras in which they appeared. Through what we've seen and heard from Flamme, Frieren, and Serie we've gotten this fairly elaborate foreshadowing for the kind of impact Fern is set to have on the world. It's the kind of foreshadowing that'll take years of the manga to fulfill, but it's definitely become the arc that exists in the shadow of Frieren's quest.
one of my favorite thing about creating and experencing storeies is that symbolism/foreshadowing that is unintentional but adds so much more and fits in so well. I think it has to be on purpose but in my own creating it so often is just by happenstance. atleast some of those little nuggets.
Another subtle characterization detail is that Frieren values jewellery as a memento because it's both durable and portable. Look at her holy emblem: even though it's rusty and (almost) nobody recognizes its purpose anymore, it has survived through centuries of homelessness, loneliness, and danger. That might even be part of why Frieren loves treasure hunting - anything she finds has proven it can stand the test of time.
You now have as many videos as there are episodes of Frieren itself. Keep them coming!
You're curing our Frieren Friday's disease. Hope this will last until season 2 aired xD
After reading Frieren's manga, you can feel the foreshadowing even more after rewatching Frieren
I have watched everyone one of your videos on Frieren and each one is amazing. I love to listen to your thoughts and analyses on the show because they really help to drive home each of the plot points and themes Frieren has. Watching the show for the first time was really eye opening and gave me a lot to think about; so your videos on how Frieren expresses each of its themes really gave me an avenue to contextualize what I learned from the show itself.
Also the thought and effort put into each of your episodes is unbelievable. I can't wait for more.
banger after banger after banger pey. thanks for making this
Thank you! Listening to you and having you reaffirm my thoughts and put a spotlight on ones I hadn't seen before is such a pleasure!
6:30 Perhaps appropriately following the section where you talked about giving more than the benefit of the doubt and finding meaning in everything, iirc this scene with Frieren on the rooftop is from the same episode where Stark buys Fern a birthday present which is the bracelet with the same design as the ring Frieren was given by Himmel. You also talked about how Frieren seems to have a habit of keeping jewellery that act as mementos for people she was close to, with the ring being Himmel and the earrings being Flamme. In this scene where she's watching over Fern and Stark as he buys her the bracelet, she adjusts her collar to let her earring hang out which brings it into view.
My biggest draw to Freiren is how well the story does existential connections. Frieren is always in search for trivial spells that others wouldn't think are worth learning. But those little spells a precious to her because of how she uses them to connect to others.
Like the spell she has for cleaning bronze statues she uses to clean statues of Himmel, the spell for making grapes taste a little sour she has for Eisen because it's his favorite food. And the spell for making a field of flowers has the most significant because it is connected to all people who were a catalyst to her life's journey. So many subtle importance to small beauties.
The ring was also presented in episode 12. Also its worth saying the difference in the design - Fern's is blossoming mirrored lotus and Frieren's closed. In Eastern culture the lotus is a symbol of rebirth.
Love this series of videos you do. This show, just talking about it makes me shed tears.
Extremely well done. Might be the best one you have made, although you have made so many now it's difficult to compare peace wise to ensure the accuracy of that statement.
Like in the past when I have said similar, you took something that was known and articulated it extremely well, and found other connections that provided it with a stronger base.
I don't know if Fern's name is supposed to be a reference to nature. Since all of these names are of German origin, I don't know if the English word has any bearing. The German word "fern" means "distant"/"far". However, a very clever, probably intended thing, is the fact that Frieren and her mentor Flamme actually have "opposing names" as in the German word "frieren" being the verb that means "to be/feel cold"/to freeze" (as in what happens to you not what you do to something). "Flamme" means flame. Frieren is cold. She comes across as a cold person but she is also cold in a metaphoric sense: She's lonely. Fern is distant and therefore also lonely. Frieren had the advantage of having a very warm and caring mentor. A literal flame to teach her warmth. I think the interesting thing is that Fern and Frieren are actually not opposed. One is emotionally cold, the other emotionally distant and both are somewhat lonely.
I think Heiter and Himmel are a much more interesting pair (where I'll assume that the names were chosen on purpose): They seem to represent to different ways of pursuing good. "Himmel" is the German word for sky or heaven. Himmel is transcendent a transcendent good. It is very fitting that he dies first. People would assume that he went to the heaven he is so aptly named after. He has reached the happiness he sought. "Heiter" means jolly or happy in German. It shows that Heiter pursues a more earthly good or happiness. He is less altruistic but nevertheless he reaches a point of happiness as well. He did not pursue as transcendent a joy as Himmel but through his altruism in raising Fern and the joy remembering brings him, he also reaches happiness and so he also dies. He has also reached his goal. I think that pair is interesting because they represent the difference between transcendence and earthliness. Very cool. It's also funny how the priest is actually the earthly character.
i could listen you to you talk about Frieren for hours. Your videos are amazing!!
On creators who accidentally do great things and we look for it, I think its attached to the idea that there is an ultimate sort of truth out there. Some old philosophers assumed all knowledge was pre-existing and we're just remembering it. Religious folk have a similar concept. So when we realize a creator has tapped into some of that knowledge we assume as mere spectators that they have access to that knowledge even if they are not aware.
Sorta like a Muse. Good creators seem to have The Divine on tap. Sometimes they only had it for an instant. I think this is why sometimes an audience will pull away from a creator that gets too haughty. We believe these creators are able to access a higher, purer form of humanity so when they attribute all their skill or success purely to themselves rather than the greater human truths we realize faster that their success was accidental.
I'm appreciating that the stuff about human condition is subtle enough i can completely ignore it and enjoy the beautiful adventure.
I love these videos!! I feel like I'm getting a film school lecture every time but in the best way. I learn something even though I thought I already knew it.
Settings, mood and symbolism are important in visual media. In live action media, there are limitations. Budget, availability, location, lighting, etc. In animation, every decision is deliberate. Every scene is intentional. Every bit of foreshadowing is meant to be there.
Mentioning about subverting jewellery, every time one is put up the value of the ring is often diminished:
- The necklace which shows the goddess faith, a symbol of faith rather than of vanity
- The mage's necklace frieren has, once extremely valuable yet reduced to a mere relic of little value over time
- A ring with deep emotional value, given to an elf who is generally oblivious to such (as it is basically a proposal at that point)
The only exception I think is fern's hairclip, which is is fair considering it's also kinda a visual "trophy" for fern as she starts to travel with Frieren as a mage.
Small correction here: Tolkien's LOTR was not inspired by Wagner's opera. He was inspired by the mythologies that ALSO inspired the "Ring Cycle." I bring this up because Tolkien wrote about his inspirations quite specifically, and also apparently denied there being any connections to Wagner's "Ring Cycle."
Thanks for continuing to make you videos! They are quite enjoyable, and I have watched most all of them at this point. 😊
I thought that part of it was about how jewelry and rings had acquired increasing symbolic importance, not the connection between works? I mean we constantly get more and more examples of that, even the sodding Infinity Gauntlet was jewelry when it comes right down to it.
LoTR and lots of "western" fantasy cliches are taken 1:1 from Finnish paganism and mythology.
@@hatsikujimayonezwell, it's definitely not 1:1 with Lord of the Rings. Some of the names are definitely borrowed from Norse mythology (names like Gandalf, for instance can be found in the Poetic Edda). Dwarves and Elves are also as noble in the mythologies. Another incredibly important twist that Tolkien added was that the Ring needed to be destroyed. All of the mythologies had the hero seeking the ring of power, not trying to destroy it.
@@simonmagid4205when one says "___ was inspired by ___" that does imply a connection. In this case, a connection where there is none.
@@The_Tachmonite Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this was about the finger ring, not a deadlocked anal sphincter.
I still just want to know what the heck that bird that takes the dark dragon horn at the beginning of the show is! I've read the manga, no explanation still. Where does it go? Does Frieren have an even larger stash somewhere? What does the horn do? I haven't forgotten, Kanehito, I haven't forgotten.
same...
slight manga spoilers:
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she even got a brand new one at the end of golden land. what the heck is she doing with them? why does she need so many?!?!
Just like how u mentioned that rewatching a show gives us a new persepective or that we notice things that were obv now that u look back. Thats basically what frieren is doing with her retracing her steps to go to himmel, but this time she comes to understand the meaning and actions of what himmel was doing in each place🙏
Your analysis are always very deep, interesting and feels spot on.
and still he gets things wrong
note, because is see a lot of people getting this wrong:
“Fern” is not a nature-related name. Almost every name in frieren is taken from german. So it doesnt make sense to read her name in english. Otherwise the author would have named her “Farn” (which would be the correct german spelling).
“Fern” instead means “far away” or maybe “remote”.
The same applies to “Sense” by the way. In german this means scythe or sickle.
Other examples that might get confused are Lore (minecart), Ton (sound, note) and Land (country, ground)
yor voice is amazing and your videos are even better keep up the great work
Just started my second run of watching Frieren after catching up with the manga and I absolutely love it. This show is akin to revisiting to take a look at a good painting or re-reading a well written book and noticing new things or having new ways of looking at it from different angles every time,
I like the idea about giving the author of a work the benefit of the doubt on intention when they have clearly demonstrated that they have created something with a great deal of intention.
I recently had a small argument with someone who argued that the repeated usage of a trope in Dan Da Dan did not mean that the story was trying to express a related theme through the trope's repetition. My response was similar to the one expressed in this video, that when the author of a work of fiction has proven that they have woven intentional meaning into their work time and time again, then we should not be quick to write any storytelling element off as merely a storytelling technique and nothing more.
Your ability to stretch a 2 minutes long topic into an 11 minutes long video is unmatched
10:27 it is called Beyond Journey's End after all
Every video is stellar. So so so appreciative of your work.
4:32 "the only red in her character design" while her red collar decoration is onscreen
8:42 pretty sure her name means "far or distant" and not the plant (german "Farn")
Great video as usual, but I love what you did with the thumbnail & preview vid
4:30
love how the earrings are the "only red in her character design" with her collar button being right there
Babe, new Pey Frieren video essay dropped :)
That thumbnail to intro transition was crazy
I think it's especially reasonable to read into absolutely everything in animation because in animation every single grain of sand exists due to someone's intention.
In episode 10 there's the monk, and there's that scene/moment when he gives Frieren that religious symbol. When I watched I felt that Himmel's ring was for Frieren like that religious symbol was for Kraft, that the memory of Himmel was Frieren's "religion".
I am gonna be rewatching frieren soon and this series really made me love frieren so much more than I already did
Another series that does foreshadowing exceptionally is ascendance of a bookworm, I find a lot of the thing I like about them is pretty although the feel very different
They are 2 of my favorite anime and I would love it if you would check out ascendance of a bookworm
Apothecary Diaries also, if you haven't seen it yet. It's incredible with its foreshadowing.
@syd.a.m yeah i have watched it and i really like it
also i am very exited for the new season
Ah you got me right in the feels
I love all the care for detail in Frieren, and it's great to see someone who took the time to examine it! I also wanna say, however, that it really bugged me every time you said jewlery instead of jewelry.
The thumbnail seamlessly transitioning to the video is very clever, I just wanted to say that!
I'm a big fan of series that trust in the audience to connect the dots in various ways without drawing attention to them.
your videos are always so good thanks for this one man
One thing that I find fascinating is the kind of rhyme between the first party and the second party. Stark and Fern are the perfect, and in fact only, people that could inherit the story of the Great Party and carry it on, because each of them is a fusion of two of the prior party members. Fern has has magical power that may rival Frieren's by the end of the story but also has the piety, love of life, and ability to live in the moment that Heiter had. Stark has the pure, raw strength to surpass Eisen, but has the personality, charisma, and heart of Himmel the Hero where he can't pass anyone in need without try to help, especially in the little ways that others often over look. I don't know how the story is going to happen going forward; but I believe that Frieren encouraging both sides of each of them will be a defining feature of their growth and that this new party, the heirs of the new era, will be able to surpass the first party because they contain the best parts of each member of the old party.
Another amazing analysis
Can't wait for the Golden Land arc, which among other things puts Frieren's claim (in response to Himmel's recruitment talk) that she hadn't killed a demon in 500 years in a new light!
Masterfully written. Beautiful artwork. About time and relationship, where the main character has little understanding of either. I have watched it twice, and thinking to do it again soon.
I noticed this on my FOURTH rewatch! Sooooooo goooooood
This isn't quite foreshadowing, but I feel it's close enough being secret things in an anime.
I watched the "So I'm a Spider, So What?" anime before I read the LN and oh man is there some crazy reveals in the anime that you only get once you've gotten to vol 7-8 of the LN.
New frieren vid!!!
The series I have seen with the most rewatch depth is Senki Zessho Symphogear. Its got so many details hidden everywhere in it. As well as an insane amount of ties to real world mythology
I think something you missed about butterflies is their short lifespans. A butterfly is to a human as Fern is to Frieren: beautiful, but short-lived.
Fun! I didn't think of that
8:40 Is Ferns name really a connection towards the theme of nature? Yes, "fern" is a plant - atleast in English. But all names in Frieren are German! In German the plant fern would be called "Farn". "Fern" on the other hand literally means "far", as in "far away".
No idea whether this means anything but if her name was really meant to be the plant and a connection to the theme of nature, that would be quite inconsistent with the naming scheme of the series and I doubt it was an oversight by the author...
Every youtoober seems to get Ferns name wrong, bugs the hell out of me
It's a real shame this doesn't extend to the actual dialogue. The English translation of the manga is literally drier than defence economics texts and while I'm not entirely fluent in Japanese yet. The original doesn't seem to be any better.
It seems like the author made a choice to abandon any attempt at using poetic language, I'd assume out of a desire to maximise readability.
First moment Fern used attack magic as a kid, I thought 'NOPE, that's evil magic'.
i remember specifically the scene with fern conjuring butterflies for heiter, because when i saw that i thought it was like a retroactive choice by the author. like, they had established this motif of butterflies with fern and decided to use it later on as part of her backstory. choices like this make me wonder how intentional an author is and since when-the beginning, the middle, or only later on upon reflecting on the story?
Keep up the good stuff
One of my favorite scenes in the whole show you didn't discuss was when Denken is in Richter's shop after the mage exam, Denken is then giving Richter some advice in his wisdom. It seems to just be stereotypical advice from the wise and aged to the arrogant and young. Then you notice that Denken has been stacking items from Richter's own store onto the purchase counter, without even purchasing any of these items. Denken leaves after his advice, and Richter immediately scoffs that the old man didn't even purchase anything.
That entire scene there resonated with me because Denken was subtly teaching a lesson in that Richter has all of the tools to enhance his Earth magic, and he even provides him the material that he already owns, but does not give him the answer outright. I am an anime only, but I have no doubt that maybe Richter will have noticed this advice in the future and expand his imagination on what his magic can really do. A deep flaw Richter seems to have is that his arrogance clouds his ability to think out every possibility magic can provide. It's why he looses to lower ranked teenagers with basic water and ice abilities (from his perspective). Overestimating his own experience for their quick wit and teamwork. I encourage anyone to watch this scene in Episode 27 to really understand what I am trying to convey here, I think it's a valuable lesson in listening to those who have come before us.
great video, bravo!
Man, now I'm thinking that at the end of the series there would be a cut forward in time and we see frieren wearing Fern's hair clip.
Would just like to comment that tolkien stated explicitly that there is no relathionship between the ring cycle and lotr. Or rather he stated something to the effect "Well they bith have a ring, and that is where the similarities end."
The slow pacing when she picked up Fern and doing side quests really slow made me worried for her to be honest.
Great video, but LOTR is not inspired by the ring cycle ( Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen ). The author JRR Tolkien is a Catholic so most of the stuff in LOTR is a reference to Catholicism
omg 26 videos already?! time flies...
adding to the list of Characters starting with the same letter: Lügner and Linie - even though they are evil and we only see them for a short time and demons don't have that kind of relation; your argument should be valid for them too.
German:
Frieren = Freeze
Norwegian:
Frieren = The Proposer
Another great episode.
Each battle has their own secrets, too. Little callbacks, tactics to their magic that aren't explained at all but there for the hawkeyed.
I keep coming back to the Frieren-Boss-fight for that reason. There is a lot in there but for one example: in the very beginning we see the same defensive magic that everybody else uses at great scale: blue hexagons that shield you from attack. But with Frieren fighting an equal opponent, even though it's visibly the same hexagons, it's different! They appear and disappear in the blink of an eye and grow and shrink as needed. It's like a dynamic dance where other mages are only capable of conjuring up motionless obstacles.
4:33 'the earrings are the only red in her character design'
*shows pictures with the buttons on her clothings being red*
02:40 I don't think you can show that, homie. I like your vids and would hate for you to get in trouble with the big Goog.
thank you for pointing that out. I didnt even notice lmao
...was that censored within the last 7 minutes or are you guys talking about something else?
@@FFKonoko Looks like it just got censored.
this is why fight club is the greatest movie of all time
how many times have you rewatched frieren at this point.
NEW PEY FRIEREN VIDEO LETS GOOOOO
summertime rendering has alot of foreshadows aswell T^T its a very good anime and its very misterious
Yeah, Frieren is not as oblivious as people think... I think she fully understood that Himmel loved her but she saw humans as ephemeral so decided to ignore it.
Thanks for your thoughts 👍🏼
one of my favorite shows, easy.
Ok. I noticed that from the very beginning.
But... Did you noticed this???
1st. Series image in episode 21, overlapping frieren's image.
2nd. Episode 9. Fern deliberately put down her staff to throw her clothes.
Many thinks she dropped her staff from lugners attack.
3rd... Krafts statue has a sword..it means he is qualified to pull the hero's sword(but stark is the best contender)
4th... Sousono frieren in Japanese means frieren the slayer. Alternate is
Soso no frieren/sousou no frieren is Chinese means frieren at the funeral..
But in Philippines.. "Suso ni Frieren" means "frieren's boobs"(which is non existent BTW😂)
2. then that would not add up
fern got pushed in the wall over a few meters. you even see it as linie attacks how far away fern and stark stood. but fern staff was near the tower she was pinned against and not at the place they stood.
3. and? himmel is also always with his sword and he couldn't pull it. the status only represents their outfit and weapon (frieren staff).
@ShadowShiranui wrong, watch it again, episode 9, when she throw her clothes. They were already standing near the tower where she was pushed. So she wasn't pushed far. (Seriously, watch it again in slow mo)
Also, I said qualified not verified.
Qualification doesn't mean verification..
There are 5 individuals I'm rooting for for the sword,
Stark, frieren, Kraft(he is a good person), stoltz, gorilla warrior.
But gorilla warrior is now revealed as a shadow warrior in manga. So not him
@tanhouzer bro everyone is qualified, what has nothing to do with the statue. Statues are pictures of the moment.
And that you put frieren as a mage in your list but not Wirbel who chooses himmels footsteps. Btw both would not have swords at their statues.
So many people, mostly women, seemed to immediately latch onto that ring for some reason 💍
Talk about the map and world of freiren
"Frieren's earrings might stand out to you as the only red in her character design" uhhh what? are you sure about that?
Perspective from someone that has only watched the anime. The fact that the hero's sword wasn't removed from the stone and the older dwarf that guards his late wife's village still believes Frieren is on her journey to kill the demon king and she was taken aback by the comment feels like a huge foreshadowing sign of things to come.
Hey pey I love all the friren videos and I was wondering what show your going to do next? I am hoping you do undead unluck or code geass
3 minsss also thank you for helping me on my writing journey, you help me a lot and your voice just calms me which makes me learn more thank you 🙏
Sein and Frieren also are a pair of opposits when it comes to the start of the heroric journey the take or not take.
The tragedy that goes unnoticed, is that we have not talked about a billion dollar movie in the same way we talk about these anime. Hollywood does not understand how and why they have fallen, as they flail around into the abyss.
Thanks man.