I seem to have reached some sort of nexus point with Sousou no Frieren. I don’t know whether the show itself has actually leveled up or I simply got to the buy-in stage for nebulous reasons – as sometimes happens with slice of life. But it’s clicking for me now in a way it (mostly) wasn’t before. I have an “OK, now I sort of get it” feeling watching these last couple of episodes. I’m appreciating what the series does well more than I ever have, and less focused on what it doesn’t. Having more characters has definitely helped (as they’re the right characters).
One of those things Sousou no Frieren is very good at is scoring points when no one is saying anything. Part of it is Evan Call’s (superb) BGM. It’s also the clever way it shows us the characters reacting to each other, revealing bits of themselves they’d never (well, apart from Heiter, who had no filter) say out loud. As an example, I don’t mean this in a remotely snarky way, but Fern is at her best when she’s not talking – because most of what she says is her defense mechanism to push people away and assert her perceived dominance. And Frieren betrays her love for others only with her eyes and smile – never with her words.
It’s hard to overstate how much Sein and especially Stark have improved the chemistry here. Because Frieren and Fern are indeed so prickly as individuals, Stark’s “stark” openness stands in opposition. He’s a complete teddy bear of a kid, vulnerable and incapable of deceit. He’s a sweet and kind soul and makes (maybe because he can’t) no effort to hide it. Stark makes Fern a lot more bearable, as mean as she is to him, because he brings out both good and bad things in her that make her more interesting.
Sein takes the spotlight in the first half of the episode, which finds the Frierengumi arriving at a village which finds everyone asleep. Frieren correctly assesses it to be a curse, which is a problem as mages are weak against curses. Only priests can fight them (that’s convenient), because only the magic of the Goddess can counteract them. The primer we get on this is a touch clumsy, but sort of makes sense in context as Stark might plausibly not know anything about this. He falls asleep first, then Fern, and finally Frieren herself. Given that Sein’s power is only enough to awaken someone for about five seconds, this is a problem – especially when the cause turns out to be a “chaos flower” which can deflect magical attacks.
This is an effective expansion of the series’ mythology, and it’s nice to see Sein have a chance to be the hero (though Frieren is the one who lands the kill shot). Trust established, Heiter-san. The main event, though, comes when the partt arrives in the major fortress town of Vorig – roughly the halfway point of their journey. And they’re immediately accosted by Lord Orden (Uchida Yuuya – one of many names I’d rather have seen cast in Rurouni Kenshin 2023 than the ones we got), who’s weirdly obsessed with Stark’s personal appearance.
This extended set piece is another of those low-key, slow-play scenarios that Frieren is able to draw emotional resonance out of very effectively. Orden is another prickly cuss for Stark to be a foil to, and while his practical reasons for asking Stark (bribing Frieren) to impersonate his son Wirt are valid, there’s obviously an emotional component to this as well. It strikes me that Stark really gets the raw end of the deal here – he’s the one who has to go to finishing school for three months while Frieren and Fern hit the dessert buffet and Sein goes cougar hunting. At least Fern gets drafted to clean up her act too, but only for the final month.
For Frieren this is like a dream come true – she gets to chill with sweets and books for three months when she literally has all the time in the world, and a grimoire at the end to boot. She also gets to see her babies grow ever closer, as their forced interaction for the upcoming soiree has them looking at each other (again literally) in a new light. The fact that the series doesn’t oversell this – just shows us these people looking at each and revealing their true feelings – is testament to its skill at this sort of material.
I also think Stark comes off really well here, though he’d already won me over. He immediately identifies with Orden’s younger son Mut, who struggles to live up to the Orden name – and his older brother – in their father’s eyes. Stark does his best to nudge Orden into being a better father to Mut (though one senses he’s not as bad as it first appeared), and suffers through the indignities of the training, and finally aces the performance on the big night. I look forward to the moment he gets the chance to make things right with Eisen, and a stark (sorry) difference with Orden and Frieren is that he can say what need be said to someone still in this world (if he hurries, anyway).
KlingKlang
December 17, 2023 at 2:32 amThat may have been the most beautiful dance scene that I’ve ever seen animated. We finally get to see Fern out of those frumpy robes that she always wears.
Shouldn’t all of the other guests have been buzzing with speculations on who was the girl that Wirt/Stark partnered with?
Collectr
December 17, 2023 at 11:43 amThe dance scene illustrates your point about not using (or needing) words. Stark invites Fern to dance, and after her usual snarky comment, they dance, quite well in fact. Stark gives her a small, tentative smile. For the first time (I think), she smiles back. A connection has been made, away from their usual disguises, thanks to the disguises they have to wear to the party.
sonicsenryaku
December 18, 2023 at 8:10 amI think your fondness for the show might be growing simply because (as you alluded to) the characters are finally starting to do it for you. The show seems to be at long last, forming a genuine emotional circuit between you and its cast through the insight it’s providing on them as they (and we as the audience) experience the passage of time. Even Fern, whose prickly, almost one-note demeanor can come as a turn off to the viewer, is starting to unravel through the passage of time as a person who has relatable adolescent struggles that define the way she behaves, which in turn, is bringing dimensions to her character and making her someone we can give the benefit of the doubt to through our understanding of her.
The author of this work clearly has things to say about the inevitability of time and death; you can tell there’s a tender melancholy with which they approach this topic as the characters ponder on things like fulfillment, relationships, and legacy. At the end of it all, is a bittersweet story with heart that celebrates and champions companionship and love. I think as the show goes on, these facets become more and more apparent and elegant in their portrayal. I think that continuous build in storytelling quality, consequent of both its in-world passage of time and the time it has had to unravel narratively, are key reasons why you’re feeling your investment grow. It’s an absolutely good-natured show and the more that pours out through its reflective writing, the more it endears the viewer to its conceit.
Based on your previous write-ups, it’s not like you’ve ever viewed Frieren as an “average” show, but you put it on echelon of “great” either (within reason); that seems to be slowly changing with the passage of time, similar to how Frieren’s feelings for Himmel are deepening (or at least her realization of those feelings) along that same vein. Quite the ironic effect happening there, and I think that’s partly due to the nature of the show being tied to these themes and motifs.
Guardian Enzo
December 18, 2023 at 9:48 amI think the importance of having two characters (Stark and Sein) who actually show emotion other than haughtiness can’t be overstated. Frieren and Fern didn’t provide much resonance and very little contrast with each other.
It’s always been obvious that the writer has a grasp of big questions that trouble people that think too much. This is personified in Heiter (one of those people), who also gives voice to them.
sonicsenryaku
December 18, 2023 at 1:04 pmYea; Stark and Sein are two characters that are easy to root for and feel attached to simply because they allow themselves that vulnerability for the viewer to resonate with. Frieren herself, I’d argue does express other things other than haughtiness, even in the beginning, but engaging with her emotions is more of a slow drip feed compared to the others. Fern is probably the only character I’d say leaned heavily into prickliness to the point of risking viewers detaching from her. As you pointed out already, trying to connect with those two initially can understandably feel a bit difficult when one of them is nonchalant and dry in the way they mostly express themselves while the other is a monotone prude
Nicc
December 18, 2023 at 10:37 amThe other characters in the party get the spotlight in this episode as Frieren spends most of it sleeping, snacking or reading grimoires. She does take a few seconds to dispatch a monster and so she wasn’t completely inactive.
Sein is up to bat in the first half as they party enters an village which seems really quiet. They find bodies lying around and assume the worst, but it turns out that they’re people who are all asleep. Right, it turns out to be some kind of curse and the sleeping will eventually lead to death if something isn’t done. Mages like Frieren and Fern aren’t good with curses, but priests are as they use a different kind of magic. It’s the arcane magic vs divine magic thing we’ve seen in other settings (That’s why you always want to have a cleric/priest in the party. A rogue/thief would be helpful too, as they alluded to earlier). This gives Sein the ability to break the curse, but also to resist it. A monster has cast the curse over the entire area and Stark is the first to succumb to it. The others eventually follow suit and Sein is the only one left standing. He has to face the flower monster alone as Frieren is sleeping nearby. Indeed, this is his chance to become the hero, but he’s a facing a difficult opponent who can deflect magic. He then remembers Frieren’s words about not fighting it along and Heiter’s words about trusting her words. He can only keep her awake for five seconds, but it’s more than she needs to defeat the monster.
The day is saved and they move on to the next city, Vorig. It looks like they’re getting ever so closer to Äußerst. But, then they are accosted by some noble who singling out Stark for some reason. The Lord Orden wants Stark to play as his son, who died in a recent battle against the demons. The purpose is to keep up the morale of the city as it recovers from the battle (I should watch “Kagemusha” again one of these days. It’s been too long). There’s a major shindig that’s going to be happening in three months and so Stark will have to learn how to play Wirt, Lord Orden’s late son whom Stark does have a resemblance to. It’s tiring work for him as the others just take it easy (Must be nice to be able to convert calories into mana). However, “Wirt” is going to need a dance partner for the shindig and so Fern gets recruited for that.
While training, Stark also gets to meet the younger brother of Wirt and the new heir, Mut. He can identify with Mut, who also has difficulty living up to his older brother. Lord Orden does seem to have done well with encouraging Mut and to the point that it has given Mut a big head, but it’s better than not doing so. The big night comes and both Stark and Fern seems to have nailed their parts. My shipping goggles are often out-of-focus, but their feelings are very apparent without having to say anything. After the party is over, Lord Orden seems to want to ask Stark if he wanted the keep the part, but Stark turned him down first. It was great to see the others get the spotlight in this episode and Frieren should be refreshed enough for the next moves in the journey.