Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

TLDR: this show does a lot of things that are refreshingly unique, or which work well for the story/tone they are going for. however, i also think it is missing a lot, and at times falls quite short. i did find it enjoyable, but also at times very dry. Visuals------------- Very good. Exceeded my expectations for sure. the promotional imagery does a disservice. there are some scenes and animations that are simply excellent, and not just because they have a budget for it, the colors and cinematography work well. however, while some fights are choreographed well, others are a bit clunky and hard to read. bigmoments don't always have the appropriate buildup/cinematography to help viewers understand the play by play.

in general the character designs are appealing, and i appreciate that some side characters get slightly unique looks, though sometimes other side characters do feel a little too plain or out of place, meanwhile the main characters do have that "main character with colorful hair that immediately stands out" syndrome. flamme and frieren have my favorite designs for sure, balancing a unique and sharp look with something fitting to the character and world.

i think the biggest weakness visually is that many of the locations are same-y. despite having a map, it lacked a sense of place; it didn't really feel like the places differed heavily, even when they were far north, the winter was the only notable differentiator and even then it was pretty much the same in the summer. it feels like there could have been either localized details (like the blue lamps of Äußerst), or just architectural changes that correspond with the locations weather (taller roofs up north like in france, bigger more open places down in central)... it didn't lend itself well to the idea that they had traversed far.

Writing-------------
Tone- the strength of this show is with its tone, and generally more gentle approach. it was refreshing to have an action show whose main characters are more mature, reserved, and calm. Stark provides a nice contrast to this, though sometimes his antics feel a bit at odds with the tone. in general it carried a quiet, reminiscent air to it which i've never seen before, and was obviously the core theme of the show, and it worked this really well. normally id be more bothered by the amount of flashbacks, but as a show about remembering the past, i felt it was appropriate and kept things interesting. at first the characters did feel a little too bland, but i realized this maybe was intentional as, being from frieren's perspective, she is at first uninterested in others (so ofc they seem boring), but the more she digs in and tries to connect, the more they come to life, which was a great touch. this clicked for me the moment we learn heiter and eisen had been writing to each other on the side- it shows the author is certainly thinking more widely than what is initially presented, which is always a good sign that things will be more interesting than they seem.

Dialogue- that being said, the writing certainly isn't perfect, and sorry, not deserving of the highest MAL score. the dialogue is a weak point- while not annoyingly ham fisted as many shows are these days, it doesn't have a whole lot of intrigue or as much depth as one would like to see with such a pensive series. it sometimes flits between different topics that Frieren is focused on with any given person, which while sometimes nice, also feels a bit disorganized and more of a distraction than an addition. for example: NGE is a show that features many subdued, dour characters, but i think just a few moments of dialogue from them have as much personality as several episodes of frieren. some individual moments are very heartwarming and cute, but there are a lot of moments which don't do much, or just kind of show the same thing repeatedly.

Narrative & World- the narrative moves along okay, and again, i think it serves the goals of the show well, but it doesn't always work well as far as a story is concerned. in a way this is both a pro and a con- a lot of this show feels more true to what a real journey would be like, dicking around, wasting time, losing time with bad luck, getting distracted, and having some dull moments. sometimes they use this well to add characterization, but sometimes i feel like fern, itching to move to the next thing. i think the same is true of the world building- it does feel a bit more how i'd expect it to feel if such a thing were real, understood enough to work within it, but depending on your experience and teachers, you might have very different info or perspective. Frieren's is full of info and experience, but does have her own perspective on things, and (in line with her character) isn't the best at explaining magic in a way that makes it understandable. Like you get the basic idea, but very little indication on the limitations of magic, how one actually learns spells (some seem like they require practice while others just need to be read once?), how new magic is developed, and why certain things are more difficult and rare while others are easy. As we go along we do get more of an idea of magic, it's history, and how it has influenced the world, but by the end i felt far from satisfied. For example... what's the deal with staves? can literally anyone learn magic? where do demons/monsters come from? many more questions only received half answers.

Other thoughts----------------
Sound- Good, though nothing too unique. I think the soundtrack works very well for the tone, but it certainly doesn't take risks or stand out. It would have been nice to have a few riffs or melodies that stuck more.

MC- overall i did really like her and she was a fitting protag for this show. random weird complaint, i wish she didn't have that striped undershirt and brown boots, it feels like it clashes with the rest of her otherwise elegant fit. Her arc however is great, seeing the way she opens up to the others is sweet.

Fanservice- i love that the show doesn't really have this. even though there's a couple moments where they joke about others being perverted, and it's clear that this is a world in which people have sexual feelings, it never uses easy chances to disrespect any of the characters with cheap horniness. again, it feels true and accurate to the story they're going for. the fact that frieren is seen by some as desirable, yet always dresses modestly, and her big "seduction" move is blowing a kiss, is hysterical and very fitting.

Overall... this show was deeply refreshing, and at many times it surprised me. At it's best moments it's an 8.5, though sometimes lulls into a 6. I'd not recommend it for non anime fans though, nor people who I don't think already have interest in some of it's main selling points. i however will be watching the next season when it comes!