Freiren

That’s right, it’s the return of me watching anime!

I finished most of the first season of Freiren while I was sick last week, and I really loved it. I had tried to watch this twice and bounced off of it – but apparently it was just the speed my sick mind needed.

I have a lot of thoughts about this anime. It is, primarily, the story of an elf, Freiren, who has lived a vagrant and emotionally isolated life for several hundred years, and the story begins when a close friend of that elf, Hemmel, dies of old age, leaving her with surprising regrets. Because of this, she ends up becoming the guardian for a young girl, Fern, and training her as a mage. The plot alternates between Freiren’s journey with Fern and her journey with the now-deceased Hemmel, decades before. Over the course of the anime several secrets of Freiren’s life are revealed, showing just how remarkable she is – and how remarkable those she has loved have also been. There’s also some pretty great magical action – nothing that gets incredibly drawn out as some animes do, but very solid and cool.

Honestly, this anime blends a lot of what I have loved about anime as a medium. Some parts of it feel like Mushi-shi – disconnected reminiscence on the meaning of life in the face of its impermanence and absurd tragedy. Some parts of it, especially the setting and action, feel like Sword Art Online’s first (and only good, in my opinion) season. And throughout there is a deep layering of character building that really impresses me as a writer, similar to something like Violet Evergarden (but less weepy, thank goodness – I could not have handled crying with a head cold).

We’ll see where this story goes, but I am very taken by it.

Photo is taken from a promotion of the anime, not owned by me. But I really like this version of Freiren.