When great foreshadowing goes unnoticed
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Sometimes little moments that contain significant depth go unnoticed. Not just normal foreshadowing, more subtle than that. This video explores multiple components of Frieren that make such a compelling story, things like symbolism, foreshadowing, and jewelry
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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.
Not one to have stuff...
So wait, would she want to get all the possible grimoires since like, Flame "created/brought magic" and while she "doesn't care" she cares about what she brought to the world and wants to amass them?
I love this interpretation and I agree wholeheartedly!
They’re the only things that don’t leave her
The amount of things that are ‘hidden’ throughout the series makes every rewatch feels fresh.
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.
That spell for making a field of flowers, the spell that serie dislikes and thinks is boring, is the spell that defeated the demon king by inspiring young himmel. Phenomenal show
@@nade5557Nonetheless, Serie used that "boring" spell to grow flowers in her garden, and they're the same flowers that Frieren grew around Flemme's tomb. This says a lot.
Another one yall left out that's present/new, is the spell Fern got for passing the Mage exam. The spell to COMPLETELY clean clothes. It's thought of as completely useless and it shows a connection they have as girls/women, or just something they share because they always find like ogre blood a hassle to deal with.
Also the matter of fact of just simple spells that Fern uses, saying that's all she'll ever need, being displayed versus the demons.
The dynamic between the 2 and 3 are so nice.
Frieren, a story about looking back, would of course reward the viewers who looks back
get a load of this guy, dude woke up just to spit bars and then go on about his day
The journey home is in itself an exercise in both looking and going back. Like passing ships. Where they are and also where they came from AND what they are returning to AND from. Pure cinema.
@@ChrisSummers-AlienFaeREvery well said
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.
I'm starting to think that this is actually Fern's story, in a way. Sure, the focus is on Frieren, but I think she's just the background for the story of Fern's life. I think the whole series is going to end when Fern passes. And this time, instead of Frieren realising she didn't appreciate someone until that person is no longer (like with Himmel and Heiter, and I bet with Eisen too), she will realise that she's been there for Fern all along and got to know her to the fullest, and that instead of the loss being a wakeup call for lost opportunity, it is instead confirmation of a deep bond.
@@CristiNeagu thanks I didn't expect to wake up and cry today
@CristiNeagu Very similar to how in Fairy Tail almost everyone believes Natsu is who the story is centered around. If you look closer though, it is more accurately a story of Lucy.
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.
@@Alceste_ Depends on the shojo series. This and that are different things anyways.
But like, they usually get the 3rd quality treatment in anime even if the original source is super popular in its own rights.
@@grimscar Some of the fight scenes were so ridiculously amazing and gobsmackingly gorgeous that my initial, knee-jerk response was "okay, these animators are just showing off now lol" -- of course I'm all here for that, but it's kinda incredible how they hit a point that got me to feel a sort of meta-humor response on top of the normal feeling of watching that.
@@NathanSimonGottemer they were showing off a bit hah. since there was no source material to adapt for how many of the spells should be rendered they literally just told them, 'make it look cool' - so they did
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.
nice take, certainly well within context of the developed personality.
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.
Taking this name conversation a different way. Frieren is a new winter stuck beneath the ancient trees all around, i.e. the older elves. The demons come, a blight, and cut down the older trees. Flamme comes and burns away the devastated forest as well as the blight that killed the ancients. The winter sees it's first chance at a treu spring. The soil is given a chance to grow now that the soil has been renewed and the sky cleared, Himmel. When the sky falls and darkens, the rain comes. Thus, there is now a chance for new life. The earth awakens, Heiter, and the earliest plants begin to grow, Fern.
A true progression of nature purely through names and experiences.
Pey should know they never do anything with names randomly or by coincidence. Could not believe he said that. As far as the specific meanings and attributes to character; that is something they allow you to do.
There are so many intentional and/or unintentional details in those character names alone.
As you said, like Frieren being seemingly a bit emotionally stunted and cold as character, but she is also like she is frozen in time, unlike most other characters. Other characters are born and grow old and die and Frieren is there seemingly same as she was 20, 80, 300 or 900 years ago like she is literally frozen when everything else changes around her. Kingdoms and societies are established and crumble around her while she continues her hobby. Also while story is partly about her change as a person, that change too is very slow quite like a glacier changing slowly over time. She could just spend next 15 years doing something that is interesting to her at the moment as she has done in the past.
Sometimes is seems there are so many different levels of symbolism on top of each other. What was funny when someone said that names in the series seem totally random, author just pulled different German words from their behind because they sound cool, but when one stops to think about those for a while either with most characters it's a constant bunch of miraculous coincidences, or the author actually spend bit of time thinking about then and maybe some of those connections were born purely subconsciously but there clearly was thinking behind naming of those characters.
"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!
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.
Thanks for tiding us over until Season 2 champion.
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.
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.
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.
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
You now have as many videos as there are episodes of Frieren itself. Keep them coming!
This is one of the rare times I hear people talk about good art creating more meaning than the creator intended.
Good designers craft things that are beautiful, but a masterful work of art makes beauty its creator didn’t intend. The example I always think of is a chandelier my dad made (he was a blacksmith). The chandelier had four pine tree cutouts at the top, and inside are 4 light bulbs. When he turned it on for the first time we were awed to discover a dense ring of tree shadows cast on the ceiling. Each bulb casting its own shadows, lightening others, and creating a forest scene completely without intention. The design he had made was so good it created its own beauty.
I think Frieren does something similar. The significance packed into each character and their symbols is so strong that simply by being together they create meaning. Was it intended by the authors and animators? At this level of artistry that almost doesn’t matter. The genius isn’t in the artists thinking through all these thousands of possible interpretations, it’s that they made something so artistically beautiful that it creates its own beauty.
"Don't be sad, Frieren. Life feels longer once you start aging."
Frieren, at its core, is ultimately about the most inevitable thing in the world: change-though here, it focuses more on losing loved ones. Alongside other matters, it touches on this theme so immaculately in every episode. Imagine being immortal. For thousands of years, lives beyond our comprehension-when viewed through our contemporary minds-have passed from this world, yet one of the few desires human beings have always had remains the same: immortality. But at what cost? Every time the show gives us another flashback with Frieren and her Hero party, this is the strongest feeling that I can't get out of my chest.
This almost child-like, casual person-well, in this case, an elf-has something to teach us. Not always through her words, but most of the time simply by being her authentic self. Beneath that monstrous power lies her genuine and true approach to life, which serves as a lesson for everyone. Seeing her being silly, finding happiness in the smallest things, and being nurtured by her apprentice truly complements her character. Another theme I love that the show explores is the fears we carry. The best example of this, I think, is in the flashback scene where Stark's master has shaky hands. Frieren is surprised by Eisen's acceptance of fear. He says, "Being afraid isn't a bad thing. It's my fear that brought me this far." The more we escape from our fears, the worse they become, and the show bravely touches on this truth.
The show must have the best magic system I've ever seen. It feels so real-so real that it makes me think, if magic were real, this is how it would work. Now, I feel like if I tried to describe it, it would just sound like any other magic system. But it truly feels unique. Even in the way people talk about magic in the show, you can sense it.
Frieren is truly a heart warming and fulfilling masterpiece in my eyes and can't wait for the second season. A very well put video essay! Subbed and belled 😅
The magic system is indeed one of the best, if not the best. And I think the biggest reason for this is that there are spells that carry out trivial everyday tasks, utterly bizzarre spells that serve as curiosities, as well as devastating fighting spells. Very rich variety which makes the magic system feel particularly immersive and believable. Also magic works based on how vividly a mage can visualize something inside their head. Mages with powerful imaginations are superior. I haven't seen this anywhere else, it's quite a thoughtful detail.
"and being nurtured by her apprentice" i immediately thought of the blizzard scene where she collapsed from exhaustion. her snuggling into Fern's hair commenting how she smells nice. the minor things that matter to both master and apprentice, since despite Fern's visual exhaustion she wouldn't give her to Stark because of that (at least in my opinion)
@angelodescordo8455that's what makes the magic system really stand out certain spells exist for seemingly niche or insignificant purposes but magic in Frieren isn't just about power but finding joy and beauty in the little things
During the exam arc Frieren tells Serie that her that her favorite spell is one that creates a field of flowers because of it's significance to the people who are important in her life that one spell not only changed Frieren's life but made it possible to assemble the heroes who would defeat the demon king
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.
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 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.
Man.... Your format is so emotionally moving. This anime struck a chord with me and your format and recap of it covers it in a beautiful and extremely thematically fitting way.
Love this series of videos you do. This show, just talking about it makes me shed tears.
I hate the fact just watching random scenes from the show in the background and remembering the show brings up tears. This show was that good for me.
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
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)
thank you so much for pointing this out, i was gonna send a comment about it too lol. even noting earlier in the video that the names are german and then completely forgetting about that later and reading fern's name as english is a bit silly
It could simply be both. Very common for characters in manga/anime to have names that can be read multiple ways.
@@PequenoSegundaEtapa yea. because usually thats japanese names and kanji have multiple readings.
look, im not saying there couldnt be a manga where some author comes up with a clever german/english double name.
but here its just not the case. the whole manga is extremely consistent when it comes to naming. every single name is german. and not the usual misspelled anime-german, but proper german words.
(source: german is my first language).
saying ferns name is flower-based or nature-based is plain wrong.
@@TheVergile Language is a tricky thing and I'm not trying to lecture you on your first language, but it's simply not an impossibility because we're talking about a medium that constantly tries to create names with multiple meanings. Yes, that has to do with the Japanese language, but it's not as if the authors stumble upon these meanings. They are deliberately chosen with themes in mind, and saying that in this circumstance it's a complete coincidence seems like more of a reach than the other way around. Fern is not the only possible name they could have chosen given the German meaning, but it is what she chose.
Honestly, it reminds me of the debate surrounding Toriyama's naming of Pan where some fans argued that Pan was a continuation of the Satan > Videl > Pan (mother's line) naming scheme while others argued it was the continuation of food Kakarot > Gohan > Pan (father's line) and in reality none of that matters because both are equally valid interpretations.
@TheVergile I also spotted this "mistake".
Luckily I browsed the replies first, before making a duplicate comment. Your comment is perfect, much better than I could have said it!
While I agree that Fern's name could be a double meaning ("Fern" and "Farn") as is often used in Japanese stories, the one argument against the author doing this, would be the title character's name "Frieren", which has no double meaning I am aware of. It only means "freezing" or "feeling cold" in German and has no meaning in English.
If the MC does not have a double meaning in her name, I somehow doubt that any other character's name would be treated more sophisticatedly than the MC's. Hence in my opinion there really is only the German meaning in these names, nothing else.
6:13 - when Fern is laying in the clover, you look to the left between the two white flowers, you see a four leaf clover! 😮
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.
8:30 I love it how you incorporated "your own" foreshadowing, I didn't expect that. I did realize that the mention of the butterfly was glossed over a little bit, but that didn't send of any expectation of "this is going to be used later" subtle, but great
This show was incredible, but I was not prepared for the existential crisis it gave me.
Your analysis are always very deep, interesting and feels spot on.
and still he gets things wrong
8:42 pretty sure her name means "far or distant" and not the plant (german "Farn")
Himmel's sword had some great foreshadowing in that episode.
It was done just right.
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!
This was interesting to watch.
For me personally a big Part of the Manga/Anime is how the people you met influences you. How - as you mentioned near the end - you sometimes realize how much a relationship meant to you once its over.
I don't know how old you are - but I imagine I might be double your age easily. And I attended a few funerals. I saw my niece grow up - from toddler to a young woman visiting university. I made friends and I lost friendship - one way or another.
And for me frieren kind of hits sometimes hard as I can relate a lot when Frieren revisites some old memories of someone she once knew.
And I also get the urge to talk to someone again who is already out of reach.
Thanks for giving me even more inside into one of my most favourite manga
I liked your video, but subbed because you understand. I got 99% of it all the first time and the other 1% the second time, it was so beautifully done.
The consistency is what got me, from start to finish, she felt old, ancient even. Yet she was always looking for the new, experiencing something she hadn't before.
Awesomeness.
been rewatching this series over and over again just to get over the first season ended.
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.
🥲
I'm appreciating that the stuff about human condition is subtle enough i can completely ignore it and enjoy the beautiful adventure.
banger after banger after banger pey. thanks for making this
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.
This might be the best breakdown yet.
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🙏
i could listen you to you talk about Frieren for hours. Your videos are amazing!!
Great video as usual, but I love what you did with the thumbnail & preview vid
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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.
.
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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?!?!
Incidentally, that blue bird from the beginning was the same bird that the Magic Association used in order to inform the participants about the second phase of the First Class Mage exam. The birds delivered those parchments to the participants. They must be some generic birds that mages use for transporting objects.
But one could wonder about others details as well. For example, when mages make their magic staff vanish into thin air, where does the staff go? Where does Frieren keep all of her grimoires? Where do Frieren, Fern and Stark store their thick winter clothes? But it's possible that the author doesn't care about these details.
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 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.
Pey dude the way you talk is so captivating and just sucks me into any video you talk about, I'm going to try to study and learn from you if that's okay because you're way too goated and I need to level up my YT scripts 😅
Keep up the amazing work!
Happy Holidays!
Happy holidays! Glad you enjoyed the video. I watched a bit of your manga competition video before some stuff came up but I think you're doing a pretty good job! Keep making videos and trying to be better and I think you'll make some really cool stuff
@@PeyTalksAnime Wow! I can't believe you replied and even more watched my video! That really means a lot!! You're a huge inspiration to me! I'm trying my best to improve with each video, so thank you again for your kind words!
Amazing video Pey, greetings from Costa Rica
I started watching this show because of your videos. This show hit me in a way similar to cowboy bebop. I'll definetely carry this experience for my hole life. It is something else, beyond good.
After 70 years, now I can recognize a great phylosophical saga at first sight. Fieren was one of these.
00:01 seconds in and I already love how smoothly the video transitioned from thumbnail to video.
Just to add something when you were discussing names and parallels between them and characters. Idk if you seen that or made a video that said about it, but most of names in Freiren have meaning, frieren is a verb meaning freeze or to freeze, as Frieren is basically frozen in time or seems to be cold character, fern is an adjective meaning remote or far like Fern who seems to be like that. Stark once more adjective, it means strong as Stark is strong yet doesn't know that. Sein means "to be" or exist and Dasein is a term from German philosophy (I recommend to look it up), as if all of that Sein was looking for a purpose to exist, to rediscover the reason of his being. Now Himmel means heaven, or more like sky (my guess here is Frieren is going to actually visit heaven or the afterworld to see Himmel and Himmel himself seems to Frieren, and to viewer imo, like a memory, like heaven, distant yet always present, in a way inspiring), Heiter means happy, cheerful and sunny. Also Lügner means a liar :D
4:32 "the only red in her character design" while her red collar decoration is onscreen
For me, Frieren is just a breath of fresh air. It was so enjoyable just sitting through the show and going on the journey with the characters which I feel like is lost in today's media. While I agree that it's more about the journey than the destination, I think having both matter is where some of the best pieces of work ever comes in. My example would be LOTR, the destination is so much more fulfilling because we went on that journey with Frodo, Sam, Aragorn etc. and the destination ends up amplifying the experience of the journey. I see the three movies as one piece of work so I don't necessarily have a preference between them, but my favourite part of the story always is starting off in the Shire where everything is peaceful and fun.
However, you do need to be careful with the destination as if it isn't done properly it can ruin the entire thing and the opposite works too. I don't remember any examples but I do know theres stuff out there where it would be better with no ending at all or the ending could have been better if there was a better journey.
I love the symbolism in frieren being associated with flowers and Fern being a butterfly which sustains itself through flowers. A wonderful metaphor for teaching.
I love frieren i recently completed the series and ive never felt more better for the most of the last few years. It is the most colourful experience ive had due to the factors of my life,
I love the cenemategraphy and storytelling, I have an interest in deeper meanings and its one of the things i strive for in anything in real life or anime, so this is the perfect anime for me.
Honestly Frieren is just a masterpiece that i cant wait more for
Okay, you got me, time for a rewatch
Each person that leaves a positive trace in our lives gift us a way of loving the world. Whenever I think of the people I've loved or lost, I remember what they taught me to appreciate and the simple memory of their joy and smiles fills me with happiness ! That is, in my opinion, one of the most precious jewels that humans can hold :)
as always, love your zoomed in take on frieren. if you ever watch dungeon meshi (if you havent yet), i hope youll do in depth analysis videos too. that and frieren are my top favorite anime of this decade
10:27 it is called Beyond Journey's End after all
been on you since exploring frieren episode 1. proud of your growth man you’re doing good 👍
I just realized another reason why this show is so good. It is that with most episodes (1-17) Frieren (and the audience) obtains something substantial versus waiting until a climax or end of the movie to obtain that "substantial takeaway".
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.
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.
"A picture is worth a thousand words" essentially assigns a nominal rate of return on one's storytelling in an animated work, since there are only so many frames per episode. One can use that analogy to gauge a work's quality somewhat. I like to say that Frieren has (what I call) a ludicrously good "frame economy" - that is, its ability to cram such a high amount of symbolism, worldbuilding, emotion, story-significant content, and philosophical questions into every scene that you can't help but wonder how they pull that off every week for half a year. That just scratches the surface, of course, but it's relevant to why there's so much to unpack and how you could make a series nearly 30 episodes long and still not hit on everything.
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,
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!
Every video is stellar. So so so appreciative of your work.
I'm a big fan of series that trust in the audience to connect the dots in various ways without drawing attention to them.
And then there is the emotion bringing music that feels like it enhances every moment just that much more.
yor voice is amazing and your videos are even better keep up the great work
First video I have ever seen by you and I had to subscribe, you have an amazing way on analysing and expressing your views on media.
Looking forward to seeing what you produce in the future.
It's one of those anime that the more times you rewatch it, the more you pick up on all sorts of delicately laid out clues that don't interfere with the main plot's drive. Instead, each re-watch brings a deeper step of self-discovery. One smiles to oneself when new insights and discoveries are made. That's what makes this work feel like a masterpiece. I just hope the manga ends up with a nice finale and not a crappy one.
One important thing to note about subtext and symbolism and hidden meaning and foreshadowing and all that fun stuff: Sometimes the creators of the work don't realize what they're adding to it. Any good writer will tell you that sometimes, character or the world will go places that the author, at the start of the work, never consciously had in mind. Creation is just such a complicated process, and no creator goes into it devoid of their own assumptions, prejudices, and beliefs. Those things can leak out so very easily without even thinking of it.
This is one of the impetuses behind the "Death of the Author" school of media analysis. Sometimes even the author and all the things we know about them and can rationally assume about them are able to completely explain every detail behind a work. People are weird and complicated and unpredictable, authors especially, so you sometimes need to set the author aside entirely and look at the story itself and what it seems to say, even if the creators might have never intended to say that in the first place.
Fantastic video, dude, I'll try to come back for more!
DAM, i love this video and i love to listening to you!! Thank you PEY TALKS ANIME!!!!!
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.
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.
6:39 The animation of frieren is so clunky and cute
Your ability to stretch a 2 minutes long topic into an 11 minutes long video is unmatched
I love those names - it feels like they were picked out of a dictionary for their sound alone, ignoring their meaning. Unless this goes deeper, which with a Japanese author is very much possible:
Frieren = to be cold
Fern = far away or far removed or just far, depending on context
Himmel = sky or heaven, depending on context
Heiter = joyful
Sein = to be
Stark = strong
One of my favorite cases of this is in the second Spiderverse film (Across the Spiderverse) where Hobbie is grabbing random items from Miguel's lab, or so we think, when we later get a cobbled together watch. HE EVEN SAYS DURING THE SCENE "Make your own watch." AS HE STEALS EVERYTHING TO MAKE ONE HIMSELF BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHAT'S ABOUT TO HAPPEN! The scene is incredible for the short time span of a film.
Frieren is the best at foreshadowing. The layers upon layers of meaning.
If we take fern's butterflies and frieren's flower motifs, it feels like that relationship to magic mirrors their relationship to one another. On being succor and another sustenance. Also directly speaks to fern's rejection of super old elf's mentorship: on the surface serie (honestly forget flamme's teacher's name) doesn't appreciate the little things, using flowers as private means to remember loses, but not sharing those wonderful memories with anyone else.
Serie is a hoarder, so that tracks tho. lol
Babe, new Pey Frieren video essay dropped :)
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
Meeting fern is like a butterfly effect to frieren
your videos are always so good thanks for this one man
I was not emotionally prepared for this video.
Always love these videos. Ty
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.
The thumbnail seamlessly transitioning to the video is very clever, I just wanted to say that!
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".
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.
That thumbnail to intro transition was crazy
I noticed this on my FOURTH rewatch! Sooooooo goooooood
I had this thought while I was listening to your intro, on how great artists leave behind works that become "open to interpretation." How we immediately give them the benefit of the doubt that this tiny butterfly actually symbolizes something relevant. In fact, I do believe they do. Each and every single piece in an artist's work where he poured his entire being into is a reflection of his culminated knowledge and experience in his present life when said work was created. Why did he think to use butterflies? Because he probably read about it somewhere or someone taught him the information. When we as people who analyze their works notices this little detail and ask why it was there, we are actually looking into the very soul of the creator himself albeit without proper context. If you ask the creator himself, he probably hasn't quite pieced together everything so specifically as we interpret it as I've seen in many interviews, but rather it was placed there somewhat subconsciously due to a past the creator hadn't fully realized at the time. It's a rather humbling and lovely thought that we may not fully understand the intent of the artist behind a work, but it's also wonderful to be able to look into the life and soul of another person expressing themselves and their life up to that point in the best way they know how.
Pey can you drop a vid that isn’t a complete banger please? I can’t keep getting this hype when I see an upload