The thing I love most is that right when we think we've got the whole backstory; another layer is peeled back. Like Frieren's love of "useless" spells isn't entirely born out of praise, but it's also how she uses them. Frieren learned magic solely to kill demons, so why is her favorite spell the one that creates a field of flowers? Because it was the spell that comforted a lost little boy that would eventually become the hero and bring her into his party. That "useless" spell ended up changing someone's life and eventually the world.
“He’d once believed he had been four men in his life, but he now saw he’d grossly underestimated. He hadn’t lived as two, or four, or six men-he had lived as thousands, for each day he became someone slightly different. He hadn’t changed in one giant leap, but across a million little steps. The most important always being the next.”-Brandon Sanderson oathbringer
I finished watching Frieren a week b4 my father died after a long decline. I went to say good bye (i live far away from my parents house) and rewa5ched Frieren inmediatly after comming back. It helped me deal with his desth in a way i can barely understand. Everytime i.miss him, i hear the music of Himmels last adventure, and i cry and then feel better. It also inspired me to write my dads last adventure. Yes,art can help live. A lot.
The fact that there is still so many aspects of this show to talk about, proves that it is indeed peak anime and maybe even cinema generally. And it made me find your channel which is of surprisingly high quality and with regular uploads. Love it.
Frieren might genuinely be my favorite piece of media ever. It's presented so well and It has so much detail (too much to go over here) and that's what makes it so special.
I love how the show focuses on the little things. A spell to create flowers, with no practical use, Changing a boy's life. Little pieces of dialogue that gives us some insight into the mindset of the characters, like when Frieren points out it's strange that Fern had grown taller than her even though they have the same diet. Really illustrates how long she's spent wandering this world, and her grasp on time compared to a human's. The minimal dialogue in gener, even in flashbacks, but contribute so much to the character
really nice metaphor with the ice cube melting. the degrees before hitting the melting point mattered. there's a streamer who suddenly "hit the algorithm jackpot" back in november, but he didn't suddenly do anything particularly special (besides simply uploading shorts but that's not going to work for most and for many can have negative side effects). he has been doing the same stuff for years, slowly building an audience. he didn't actually just appear out of nowhere and he wasn't doing anything wrong before he got a lot of attention
Incremental character growth is an interesting concept, and I like the idea of the ice cube alongside it. A character can be witnessing these small moments that change them internally (perhaps without them or others noticing) until they experience a breakthrough or make an important decision. The “ice melting” doesn’t have to be a huge jump in the character’s worldview at the end of their arc, but rather just the last drop of a small moment that changes them enough to now reach an important decision. It can still have the narrative impact of a great change with the new change in a character’s actions, but their internal change can be subtly displayed as gradual through the inclusion of these small moments and the character’s small reactions to them. Now I wanna watch Frieren bro!!
Especially on youtube these days the idea that a breakaway hit is the result of lots of time, thought, and effort beforehand is something more people need to remember! Some of my favorite creators and series have talked about their early channel having less than a hundred subscribers for months/years until one day something about a video hit the algorithm just right and then the traction took off.
I like how your point about ice melting also holds a secondary meaning, as for us Europeans it’s 0°, so naturally we think about it more. Something along the lines that some things may seem more obvious from a different perspective.
Another great video. Thank you. Since you said that your next video is on the magic system, I want to post the following spoiler-free explanation of the system: The info is from episodes 2,3,5,10,16,21,26. As far as we know, there 4 components to magic in the Frieren world: (1) Mana: How much mana you have. (2) Control: How much mana you can control and how precisely you can control it. This also includes controlling spells after you've fired them off (eg, Frieren curving basic offensive magic around Fern's basic defensive magic). (3) Spell: The magical formulas that you know and are able to use. Example: Zoltraak, Reelseiden. Note that the spell formula dictates what is possible or not possible. Examples: (a) Standard Zoltraak cannot pierce dragon scales or basic defensive magic, regardless of the attacker's visualization. (b) Frieren's spell to clean a bronze statue not being usable for a stone statue. (4) Visualization: Needed to activate a spell since you cannot make something work if you can't clearly/exactly picture the outcome. Note that a weak visualization might further limit your spell, but a strong visualization cannot strengthen a spell. Examples: (a) Regardless of Aura's visualization, her scales were already tilting towards Frieren even though Aura herself was unaware that Frieren had more mana. (b) Ubel's visualization is only taking advantage of Reelseiden's formula to cut anything in a 5 meter radius. Even she is unable to fully maximize the spell, since she cannot visualize cutting defensive magic. However, she can visualize cutting more things than most people, so she's still a very proficient user of this spell. -------------------------------------------------- In summary, the visualization component of magic is just like in real life; you will surely fail if you have a 'bad' mindset, but a 'good' mindset does NOT guarantee success (ie, a 'good' mindset is a necessary, but insufficient condition for success since external factors are still a thing). Visualization is important, but it's not the be-all-end-all. Spells determine what's possible or not, and your visualization can make you achieve between 0% to 100% of a specific spell's power. You cannot just bs visualize/imagine yourself into winning/doing-the-impossible.
Really looking forward to the rest of these videos deconstructing Frieren. I was wondering if you have one planned around the way this show uses humor as a palate cleanser. The 3 best examples that come to mind are: Episode 12 with the gut punch combos about Stark, then ending with the 'dissolve clothing' potion. Episode 14 with Himmel's display towards Frieren with the ring, then followed by her asking Fern why Stark got her the bracelet. Episode 26 with the end of the 2nd test of the exam, then followed by Frieren getting stuck in the mimic.
That comment you made about being critical of tropes. In a way i agree. They feel like gimmicky writing tools. But on the other hand theyre kind of like a brand name to the viewer. They know what to expect and it brings comfort aswell as conveying more to the viewer without saying it
Incredible video essays my dude, I jumped in on your 3rd and had to backtrack. Going to rewatch the show now. Laughed and cried multiple times throughout the show.
I think I wouldn't have always agreed with you on your philosophy about overnight success, but about half a year ago I had a song kinda blow up. If you'd asked why it was so popular a couple days after I released it, I'd probably tell you it's luck. But my philosophy slowly began to change over time as I realized people who enjoyed that song were also enjoying some of my previous and future songs. But more to the point, I think another way you can look at this would be that it's easier to maintain an audience than it is to get one in the first place. Or to gain yet another lesson from this: you shouldn't give up on your dreams in art or music or whatever you might be making, because every single thing you put out is like another lottery ticket that could potentially pay off and find you your footing in whichever industry you're in. It only takes one thing to blow up to potentially convert some portion of your short term audience into a more long term audience And with that being said, I'm glad to see your Frieren videos have been doing so well recently, and considering your subscribers are up about 350% in the past month, I'm pretty hopeful that you'll have a lot of people stick around for your future content! Of course, there's still always the chance that something else will blow up even more and bring you to another level of viewership, so keep at it man!
Less than 10 minutes every week and in a few months not only will you come to appreciate Frieren and like Pey's videos, but will also learn to see things for what they really are.
There's a comment to be made somewhere regarding Lügner's opinion on geniuses and their supposed lack of cumulative effort to tie into this video, but alas it escapes my average brain. Well done once again, Pey!
I think it touches on human’s jealousy. We see extremely smart people who look like they do everything so easily. Little do we know their work is a culmination of their blood sweat and tears in the background. Lugner saw Frieren came out of nowhere and starts to mow down demons after demons and thought she’s a genius for magic. Little did he know Frieren have been training constantly for hundreds of years
Another banger, keep it up! This show has a way of getting me teary eyed that always surprise me, they sneak up on you. I liked that you brought up atomic habits and how that applied here. I haven't read that book but my buddy has. I felt like some of the lessons of that book were imparted on me by watching/reading Haikyuu. That story is very much about the continual process of developing a good routine and habits and how that can benefit you in so many ways. So I definitely agree that art can affect us and that it is something that compounds over time. And I think Frieren's storytelling approach that focuses on that that you highlight in this video is why the show resonates in the way it does. I don't think I've seen a story focus in on that idea the way Frieren has. I think it's why in particular the show is so effective.
Another excellent analysis!!! I also have rewatched the Frieren anime, as well as all 10 English language volumes of the Manga, and I can confirm your statement, that there is always something new which I did not realize or see before. I now finally realize how the Manga/Anime hooked me in the first Chapter/Episode even before they ended! This effect only happens with great art where one can always return, and receive something new which was not seen before. Ahh, the Magic System analysis next week! I'm hyped!
Hey there. Really enjoying your videos, especially about Frieren. I can say with confidence that if you keep up your good work, you will reach a million subs in no time. Just don't push yourself too hard, between finding new content to analyze.
You see, you comment about minor details that add. At that moment I saw Frieren earpiece and wand being red, maybe it's me but that for me represents a trigger for the character to always remember her master.
O wow I didn't expect this video to be so good / no offence/ when I saw it I thought it would only be about Friren, but it was diffrent in souch a good way! This was a really good analysis, it motiveted me, and I can feel that it all makes sanse + souch a deep topic deliverd in such more or less unusual example, it was just really interesting, especialy that when talking about videos about Friren, I watched many of them but none showed the aspects of the show in such a deep topic. I'm glad that I watched this video and this one qoute makes me buy this book hahaha Thank you !
I have been reading this graphic novel "Space Boy" by Stephen McCranie While waiting for him to finish the next chapter, I reread the series I was amazed at his subtle weaving of a web over many books
I’d love to see a part two of this where you analyze how the manga is micro episodes of the bigger thing and then juxtapose that with what George Martin said about people taking writers work and trying to make it their own and the creators of the anime didn’t try to make their own just the script that’s why it’s successful
Following because I spent half of the video trying to find the songs using Shazam with no success. The soundtrack choices for this one are great! I hope he adds the song list for the videos
if frieren series where to be focused on her adventures with the hero’s party, do you think it would better of worse? seems like her character didn’t develop as much during said adventure. do you wish to watch a spinoff of that nature?
The thing I love most is that right when we think we've got the whole backstory; another layer is peeled back. Like Frieren's love of "useless" spells isn't entirely born out of praise, but it's also how she uses them.
Frieren learned magic solely to kill demons, so why is her favorite spell the one that creates a field of flowers? Because it was the spell that comforted a lost little boy that would eventually become the hero and bring her into his party. That "useless" spell ended up changing someone's life and eventually the world.
“He’d once believed he had been four men in his life, but he now saw he’d grossly underestimated. He hadn’t lived as two, or four, or six men-he had lived as thousands, for each day he became someone slightly different.
He hadn’t changed in one giant leap, but across a million little steps.
The most important always being the next.”-Brandon Sanderson oathbringer
It did feel quite rewarding to connect the dots for why Frieren would collect a spell that makes grapes sour.
I finished watching Frieren a week b4 my father died after a long decline. I went to say good bye (i live far away from my parents house) and rewa5ched Frieren inmediatly after comming back. It helped me deal with his desth in a way i can barely understand. Everytime i.miss him, i hear the music of Himmels last adventure, and i cry and then feel better. It also inspired me to write my dads last adventure.
Yes,art can help live. A lot.
The fact that there is still so many aspects of this show to talk about, proves that it is indeed peak anime and maybe even cinema generally.
And it made me find your channel which is of surprisingly high quality and with regular uploads. Love it.
It's amazing how much benefit comes from building a story based on the understanding of human nature
Frieren might genuinely be my favorite piece of media ever. It's presented so well and It has so much detail (too much to go over here) and that's what makes it so special.
I love how the show focuses on the little things. A spell to create flowers, with no practical use, Changing a boy's life. Little pieces of dialogue that gives us some insight into the mindset of the characters, like when Frieren points out it's strange that Fern had grown taller than her even though they have the same diet. Really illustrates how long she's spent wandering this world, and her grasp on time compared to a human's. The minimal dialogue in gener, even in flashbacks, but contribute so much to the character
really nice metaphor with the ice cube melting. the degrees before hitting the melting point mattered. there's a streamer who suddenly "hit the algorithm jackpot" back in november, but he didn't suddenly do anything particularly special (besides simply uploading shorts but that's not going to work for most and for many can have negative side effects). he has been doing the same stuff for years, slowly building an audience. he didn't actually just appear out of nowhere and he wasn't doing anything wrong before he got a lot of attention
Good ol pirate software eh
also eisen mentions at some point, that sour grapes are his favourite food
saw a new pey video. clicked.
Based
Incremental character growth is an interesting concept, and I like the idea of the ice cube alongside it. A character can be witnessing these small moments that change them internally (perhaps without them or others noticing) until they experience a breakthrough or make an important decision.
The “ice melting” doesn’t have to be a huge jump in the character’s worldview at the end of their arc, but rather just the last drop of a small moment that changes them enough to now reach an important decision. It can still have the narrative impact of a great change with the new change in a character’s actions, but their internal change can be subtly displayed as gradual through the inclusion of these small moments and the character’s small reactions to them.
Now I wanna watch Frieren bro!!
Especially on youtube these days the idea that a breakaway hit is the result of lots of time, thought, and effort beforehand is something more people need to remember!
Some of my favorite creators and series have talked about their early channel having less than a hundred subscribers for months/years until one day something about a video hit the algorithm just right and then the traction took off.
UA-camrs that're underrated with great commentary/videos are a new trend going on. These videos are amazing
I like how your point about ice melting also holds a secondary meaning, as for us Europeans it’s 0°, so naturally we think about it more. Something along the lines that some things may seem more obvious from a different perspective.
I didn't notice the clapping. Always something more to notice with Frieren 😊
Another great video. Thank you.
Since you said that your next video is on the magic system, I want to post the following spoiler-free explanation of the system:
The info is from episodes 2,3,5,10,16,21,26.
As far as we know, there 4 components to magic in the Frieren world:
(1) Mana: How much mana you have.
(2) Control: How much mana you can control and how precisely you can control it. This also includes controlling spells after you've fired them off (eg, Frieren curving basic offensive magic around Fern's basic defensive magic).
(3) Spell: The magical formulas that you know and are able to use. Example: Zoltraak, Reelseiden.
Note that the spell formula dictates what is possible or not possible. Examples:
(a) Standard Zoltraak cannot pierce dragon scales or basic defensive magic, regardless of the attacker's visualization.
(b) Frieren's spell to clean a bronze statue not being usable for a stone statue.
(4) Visualization: Needed to activate a spell since you cannot make something work if you can't clearly/exactly picture the outcome.
Note that a weak visualization might further limit your spell, but a strong visualization cannot strengthen a spell. Examples:
(a) Regardless of Aura's visualization, her scales were already tilting towards Frieren even though Aura herself was unaware that Frieren had more mana.
(b) Ubel's visualization is only taking advantage of Reelseiden's formula to cut anything in a 5 meter radius. Even she is unable to fully maximize the spell, since she cannot visualize cutting defensive magic. However, she can visualize cutting more things than most people, so she's still a very proficient user of this spell.
--------------------------------------------------
In summary, the visualization component of magic is just like in real life; you will surely fail if you have a 'bad' mindset, but a 'good' mindset does NOT guarantee success (ie, a 'good' mindset is a necessary, but insufficient condition for success since external factors are still a thing).
Visualization is important, but it's not the be-all-end-all. Spells determine what's possible or not, and your visualization can make you achieve between 0% to 100% of a specific spell's power.
You cannot just bs visualize/imagine yourself into winning/doing-the-impossible.
Really looking forward to the rest of these videos deconstructing Frieren. I was wondering if you have one planned around the way this show uses humor as a palate cleanser. The 3 best examples that come to mind are:
Episode 12 with the gut punch combos about Stark, then ending with the 'dissolve clothing' potion.
Episode 14 with Himmel's display towards Frieren with the ring, then followed by her asking Fern why Stark got her the bracelet.
Episode 26 with the end of the 2nd test of the exam, then followed by Frieren getting stuck in the mimic.
That comment you made about being critical of tropes. In a way i agree. They feel like gimmicky writing tools. But on the other hand theyre kind of like a brand name to the viewer. They know what to expect and it brings comfort aswell as conveying more to the viewer without saying it
Incredible video essays my dude, I jumped in on your 3rd and had to backtrack. Going to rewatch the show now. Laughed and cried multiple times throughout the show.
I think I wouldn't have always agreed with you on your philosophy about overnight success, but about half a year ago I had a song kinda blow up. If you'd asked why it was so popular a couple days after I released it, I'd probably tell you it's luck. But my philosophy slowly began to change over time as I realized people who enjoyed that song were also enjoying some of my previous and future songs.
But more to the point, I think another way you can look at this would be that it's easier to maintain an audience than it is to get one in the first place. Or to gain yet another lesson from this: you shouldn't give up on your dreams in art or music or whatever you might be making, because every single thing you put out is like another lottery ticket that could potentially pay off and find you your footing in whichever industry you're in. It only takes one thing to blow up to potentially convert some portion of your short term audience into a more long term audience
And with that being said, I'm glad to see your Frieren videos have been doing so well recently, and considering your subscribers are up about 350% in the past month, I'm pretty hopeful that you'll have a lot of people stick around for your future content! Of course, there's still always the chance that something else will blow up even more and bring you to another level of viewership, so keep at it man!
Less than 10 minutes every week and in a few months not only will you come to appreciate Frieren and like Pey's videos, but will also learn to see things for what they really are.
There's a comment to be made somewhere regarding Lügner's opinion on geniuses and their supposed lack of cumulative effort to tie into this video, but alas it escapes my average brain.
Well done once again, Pey!
I think it touches on human’s jealousy. We see extremely smart people who look like they do everything so easily. Little do we know their work is a culmination of their blood sweat and tears in the background.
Lugner saw Frieren came out of nowhere and starts to mow down demons after demons and thought she’s a genius for magic. Little did he know Frieren have been training constantly for hundreds of years
I am greatly enjoying these videos delving into one of the best anime to have come out in years. Looking forward to more.
Love this series, Great breakdowns for a great show.
Your videos are art and one can see a lot of effort went into them... keep up the work for that breakthrough to come :)
Another banger, keep it up! This show has a way of getting me teary eyed that always surprise me, they sneak up on you. I liked that you brought up atomic habits and how that applied here. I haven't read that book but my buddy has. I felt like some of the lessons of that book were imparted on me by watching/reading Haikyuu. That story is very much about the continual process of developing a good routine and habits and how that can benefit you in so many ways. So I definitely agree that art can affect us and that it is something that compounds over time. And I think Frieren's storytelling approach that focuses on that that you highlight in this video is why the show resonates in the way it does. I don't think I've seen a story focus in on that idea the way Frieren has. I think it's why in particular the show is so effective.
Another excellent analysis!!! I also have rewatched the Frieren anime, as well as all 10 English language volumes of the Manga, and I can confirm your statement, that there is always something new which I did not realize or see before. I now finally realize how the Manga/Anime hooked me in the first Chapter/Episode even before they ended! This effect only happens with great art where one can always return, and receive something new which was not seen before. Ahh, the Magic System analysis next week! I'm hyped!
Hey there. Really enjoying your videos, especially about Frieren. I can say with confidence that if you keep up your good work, you will reach a million subs in no time. Just don't push yourself too hard, between finding new content to analyze.
This has become the new series I listen to while doing laundry, awesome stuff keep it up!
Another solid video in the series. I look forward to these each week.
Keep going.
You see, you comment about minor details that add. At that moment I saw Frieren earpiece and wand being red, maybe it's me but that for me represents a trigger for the character to always remember her master.
I love watching these. Been watching them since day one, and still excited for more! Kudos to you!
Ive never seen this show i was watching this for the information, the "a freind in my past showed appreciation for the spell" that hit so hard SO hard
I love this series! Keep up the great videos
O wow I didn't expect this video to be so good / no offence/ when I saw it I thought it would only be about Friren, but it was diffrent in souch a good way! This was a really good analysis, it motiveted me, and I can feel that it all makes sanse + souch a deep topic deliverd in such more or less unusual example, it was just really interesting, especialy that when talking about videos about Friren, I watched many of them but none showed the aspects of the show in such a deep topic. I'm glad that I watched this video and this one qoute makes me buy this book hahaha Thank you !
beautifull well said. my heart fluttered watching this and made me realize that i should be like frieren and find beauty in the mundane
I have been reading this graphic novel "Space Boy" by Stephen McCranie
While waiting for him to finish the next chapter, I reread the series
I was amazed at his subtle weaving of a web over many books
I’d love to see a part two of this where you analyze how the manga is micro episodes of the bigger thing and then juxtapose that with what George Martin said about people taking writers work and trying to make it their own and the creators of the anime didn’t try to make their own just the script that’s why it’s successful
Thank you for sharing😊
Oh man, fantastic music choices for this video! What is the song at 3:24? I’m a sucker for piano cello duets.
Following because I spent half of the video trying to find the songs using Shazam with no success. The soundtrack choices for this one are great! I hope he adds the song list for the videos
Fucking yeah dude, awesome series that you are making. 🎉
Babe wake up there's a new Pey video
Guess I’m in my video essay arc, I’m into it🤷♂️
it's the little things done with great love.
Oh this was beautiful
Excellent video. Now subscribed.
nice choice of background music 😉 phantom of the opera
When pey talked about the icecube i forgot freedom units exist qwq
I just thought: Why would 32°c would change it that much?
if frieren series where to be focused on her adventures with the hero’s party, do you think it would better of worse?
seems like her character didn’t develop as much during said adventure.
do you wish to watch a spinoff of that nature?
New video! 🎉🎉
idk guys I think this guy kinda likes Frieren
This guy and aninews should colab
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