Summary
After Himmel's party defeated the demon king and went their separate ways, we follow Frieren on her journey. Years after the death of Himmel, the story is focused on Frieren starting to understand the emotions of humans as well as coming to terms with her feelings. As an elf, the ten-year Journey she went on was a fleeting moment in her life, while to the party it was a significant portion of theirs.
Frieren is Wonderful.
If there is a core to this show that is going to make you love it, it's Frieren herself. She is fantastic in her role as the show's lead and has a very interesting presentation. A big part of the show is how time is viewed differently by someone like Frieren who has lived for so long that the entire lifespan of a human is fleeting. She is a great mix of feeling cold and distant in most of her actions while showing a lot of personality. Her seemingly cold nature makes a lot of sense, but the show never lets it feel like Frieren is just emotionless and doesn't react to tragic events. It's a great presentation of what you would think a life as long as hers would be like.
Not to mention she is just a fun character in general. The way you see her bounce off the original party in flashbacks is great, and you can see why people grew attached to her as a party member despite her typical demeanor. She is curious, and excitable at times (her falling for mimics being a running gag), and she is able, with a little prodding, to remember the difference in how others perceive time.
I walked away from this show loving her as a character. It's both sad and sweet to see her start to understand both her own as well as The Hero Himmel's emotions as time passes. It's obvious to us the viewer that Himmel was in love with Frieren, and there is a lingering question of how Frieren felt for Himmel. Wanting the know the answer to that is a driving force of her character's story and the thing I'm most interested in.
The Animation and art is Beautiful
This is just a pretty show to watch in motion. There are a lot of small details that get animated making things feel alive, there is a big variety of demons, and when you do get action in this show it is flashy and grand. The spells Frieren cast feel as powerful as you would expect of a legendary mage. And there is such a variety of spells you see as well.
I don't like most of the sidecast.
Despite the brief inclusion of the priest Sein, I do not care much for the other members of Frieren's current party. Where she seems to have a lot of chemistry with memories of her party with Himmel, in the modern time I just don't feel the connection. One big problem is having raised Fern for so long, Fern has taken a very similar demeanor to Frieren. And two cold distant characters being the main focus isn't all that interesting. They do share some adorable moments, but by and large, it's just not an interesting dynamic.
This continues when Stark joins the group, and they try to build a relationship between him and Fern. At the end of the day, I just don't feel it. Both of the characters I find largely uninteresting. And they are already both so powerful, as beautiful as many of the fights look it's hard for me to get invested.
The pacing of the show can drag.
This largely ties to the last point. So much time gets spent on those two, and frankly, it's just not interesting or engaging. It feels like too often Frieren, the thing we care about, is just there to oversee these two. Which would be fine if I cared, but at the end of the day I don't. It was fine with a character like Seing, who did feel like he helped push Frierens story along all while feeling like his own character, but he did that in just a few episodes. Fren and Stark largely feel like they are just there for Frieren to have a party to travel with.
A big reason this is so disappointing for me is that Frierens story is all about her learning of her emotions in large part with her interactions and learning of humans, and understanding what it means to live such short lives. Yet the two core people attached to this are this uninteresting.
Final Thoughts
Those last two issues I had made the show hard to keep watching. Too much of what I'm watching I just don't care about. For many, this is going to be a very compelling show with a very interesting idea, and a great lead character. But there are going to be people like me who can't really connect with much of the cast, and if that ends up being the case the show can feel slow and quickly becomes boring. At the end of the day, for me, Frieren on her own wasn't enough to get me through the show and the things about it I disliked.