I felt like Frieren was just flexing on other anime, 'Oh you have issues with boring parts? Character development? Pacing? How about action animation? Yeah I don't have those problems, thanks.'
Definitely. The way the last episodes told Stark's whole story in Äußerst in maybe 20 seconds of screentime and a handful of dialogue is worth a video of its own.
You're right. But I also think it's a bit problematic that we have come to think of the slow/slice of life parts as boring as if in a show there is a constant need for something to happen whether that is drama between characters or action scenes and if those are not there then it is boring. And I'm not talking about matters of taste. Not everyone likes the same thing and that's fine and a good thing. I'm moreso just talking about the idea that this kind of stuff is inherently boring. This isn't at all a jab towards you specifically as it's very much a norm to think this way (which I am challenging) and I very much agree with your points. Just to make sure you don't get the feeling I am saying you are wrong or anything. Felt like I need to say that as it's often easy to misunderstand intent behind words on screen and that often leads to misunderstandings and angry comment sections in this platform 😆
Himmel means sky. Notice how beautiful the sky is when Frieren finds the flowers, and how it frames her against the sky. Symbolically Himmel was with her when she saw the flowers and was very happy to share them with her.
Yeah I always translate names from this anime. There is so many of those little Easter eggs hidden. Burg, the guy ubel cut in half means castle. Guy was a castle, and she cut him like a house of straw.
Himmel means both sky and heaven. Makes the scene where stark asks where they're going and frieren answering "heaven" while looking at the sky hit so different 🥲
This episode moved me. Even full movies rarely do that. Fern’s conflict being her stubbornly clinging to her identity, repeatedly expressing that she will learn anything to make do, and it just happened to be magic, made me question why I chose visual art in the first place. All I want is to tell good stories, so why not just make literature? And then at the climax, when they find the blue moon weeds, Frieren’s philosophy finally gets through to Fern. Immediately tears welled up in my eyes. Two years ago this scene hit me hard in the manga. And now it hits me hard again in the anime. The thought process that Frieren conveyed to Fern really dumbed it down for me. I just want to tell a good story. True. But I chose comics and animation, not anything else. Visual arts coincides with my vision. It can incite the emotions I want to in my audience. In a nutshell, I like how Frieren dumbed it down for Fern. It almost felt as though I was Fern at that moment. I chose and am choosing visual arts, before and even after I studied anything else.
Fun fact, there's another term in Russian literature named after Checkov - Checkov's dialogues. Chekov in his writing LOVED dialogues about nothing, that do not move the story forward or explain the world around. They were there simply to make scenes feel more real.
And yes I am a manga reader too, and if the manga lays the story's foundations very good and it's very well thought, the animation adds a lot, especially in slice of life moments (Fern and Stark dance for example) and obviously battles (Schlacht and Solitar battle was amazing already in the manga and I can't wait to see that animated)
@@i_want_a_day Late reply, but I do recommend you need to stop stomping down on everyone's comments because I've seen you a lot in this TL while they're trying to share their struggles and how Frieren helped them reflect over it. They, including me, call Frieren a masterpiece because it blew us away with the messages it tries to convey and it made us relate to that. I don't need you to watch or see what we "see" on screen. Because I know you will never be able to understand it at all like how we, the so-called "normies," understand it. But that makes me all the more feel sad for you because I can only assume you have never seen the goodness in your life.
I don't really have much relevant to say about this episode in particular. But I'd like to use this as an excuse to say my absolute favourite part of Frieren was the part with that ancient demon guy, who had a spell so powerful that no mage could hope to defeat it, and it was almost completely unstoppable. Then, when he was finally awoken, Frieren told Fern to block the attack, and she was super worried because she heard that nobody had ever been able to block it. Then the moment hit when she realized that it was just incredibly basic offensive magic of their time. That moment still send chills down my spine every time I think about it, and it was such a clever way for the show to emphasize the time scale.
And don’t forget the subtlety of Qual, the demon who invented the offensive spell, saying “So you can fly now” implying that Frieren didn’t really fly at the time of their first encounter. Just that one line added an interesting aspect to the world-building
Ohh, i feel so stupid when im wondering how Fern catch Stille faster than Frieren, before couple weeks ago someone point out all those early episodes of animals comes to Fern. That just blow my mind, really subtle indeed.
Absolutely well made video. This is actually my favourite episode of Frieren. This is also the part where Frieren made Fern realise why she chose and learned to love magic as she did - not for selfish reasons of getting more powerful, but for how it made their connections with their loved ones stronger. Frieren's Field of Flowers magic and Fern's Illuminated Butterflies which they showed to Himmel and Heiter, respectively. From this point on, I felt Fern's love and appreciation of Frieren grow more as she relates to her and actually understand when Frieren said "We are the same". Commenting for algo-chan. Hope you do more of these analyses. Very relaxing voice. You deserve more subs.
Your attention to detail in scriptwriting, clip choice, editing, diction, nuance, timing, the way you give structure to these shows’ amazing aspects that go unnoticed, and the overall high quality of your work shine as much as the quality of the movies and shows you review. It’s almost poetic to see your passion for these pieces of art and media seep into your own video making process, the way new inspirations spark from the inspired artist. I’m very worn out by the current landscape of anime reviews on youtube when these shows have such intricate and unnoticed details, but you always manage to capture them beautifully and effectively. Can’t wait to see the rest of this series (about my favorite series)
I went into this show based on a strong recommendation from a friend. I read nothing and knew nothing about it, just started watching. It was an amazingly beautiful experience. Watching your video series after finishing the show is just making the experience even more amazingly beautiful.
Episode 2 also has one of my favourite moments of subtle storytelling. At the beginning of this arc of the episode, we get Fern’s perspective for the first time and she comments on the folk spell rewards the keep acquiring. Made to sound so mundane, it feels like a throw away joke. One of these spells is on how to turn grapes sour and whilst it’s never talked about, it’s referenced in both a flashback and a time-passes-montage in episode 3/4 as being a favourite food of Eisen, the dwarf in the party of heroes. From a visual joke about a mundane seeming spell of no use to Fern or Frieren , to being one of actual significance and useful application. Wonderful storytelling.
Spoilers for a moment at the end of the season: The other spell was for getting tough stains out of clothing, if I remember right? Well, what does Fern ask Serie for, as her pick of any possible spell? One to keep her clothes clean and smelling nice. She's come so far to appreciate just how valuable such small things can be.
@@darksunrise957 The other two were making hot tea and cleaning bronze statues. I agree, there is an element from those more mundane seeming spells that Fern came to appreciate. Plus, I recall at first viewing, my first thought was actually the blood on Fern's and Stark's clothing that caught them off guard from their first Demon fight.
@@MagikanVearlae Good point about the blood stains. Hadn't thought about that, but it's the kind of thing she'll probably be wary of in the future. Though I'm SURE they mentioned a spell about tough to remove stains at one point. Must have been later in the series, then...
ngl I kinda already knew that they'll find the seed because of the "squirrel" but that was just luck I also thought the grandma was evil for some reason hahaha. Even though I know how it would end I still was moved. It was just perfectly done, like a classic. The old disney movies always hit the right spot no matter how many years passed and now I feel like Frieren will be one of those classic that ppl will come back to have those feelings again. Even though I love fantasy and like to watch or read kinda fantasy thing... Frieren has being the only one that really took me to other place and forget about everything else. Also it's the first time I was so obsesd about an OST, I would never listen to any OST because for me was just a "background music" something that just add a little flavor to it. But god damn this is the first time I'm like I need a fcking vinyl record of that OST as soon as possible
seriously this guy is good. lots of phony "video essay" youtubers have emerged over the past couple years with nothing interesting or intelligent to say, its always nice to find a real video essayist who knows how to keep you hanging on every word. this guy will blow up, and frankly, im rather shocked, and a bit dissapointed he hasnt yet. his frieren series has been incredible and reminds me SO much of another anime youtuber, Aleczander, my favorite animetuber due to his incredible HxH video essays. this guy has the same way of captivating you and making every word count. a great video essayist doing a great series on a great(underselling it here) anime. everyone wins.
If you loved Frieren for its slow pace, check out Mushi-Shi (assuming you haven't already). Same deep world building that isn't just there to serve the plot. The episodes are self-contained, and the "protagonist" Ginko often even isn't the protagonist of the episode, focusing on single-episode characters. It has massively chill vibes, too.
You can translate to videos the density of the show, that is amazing! I can feel that we can make a master degree just studying this anime, his background, their producers, autors, etc. Its so densily full of content that blow up our minds. A absolute masterpiece this anime and your channel!
you are incredibly talented. thank you for covering frieren and doing it justice. ill be here from now on for the rest of this series, as well as anything else you decide to cover/discuss. in an age of phony, pretentious video essayists who dont really get it, you immediately stand out as a TRUE talented video essayist who absolutely DOES get it and is able to articulate wonderfully just how passionate and emotional you are about this show, and also how incredibly intelligent and RARE an piece of media like this truly is nowadays. wonderful stuff, keep it up man.
Another great video, though not as blessed by the algorithm as the one I previously commented on, but still. I see what you call worldbuilding in Frieren a bit differently, personally. How much do we really know about the world of Frieren? Where are the elves? The dwarves? Humans seem to be dominant yet it's unclear if there are even countries or if they're all mostly city-states. I'd argue that Frieren doesn't actually have much worldbuilding. Not even subtle worldbuilding. And... you know what? I'm fine with that. As you mentioned, those things aren't Chekhov's Guns either. I'd argue it's actually more of a matter of character development and establishing relationships. It also allows for time and experiences to let the audience bond with the characters. It's a "show, don't tell" approach to these things, a more or less deliberate stylistic choice. The author(s) going, "you know what? We don't need to rush from one major plot point to the next, from one action scene to another, to make an interesting story." And I'd say it works. And I also couldn't blame anyone who said they thought it's too slow. I almost stopped watching early on for that very reason. But it charmed me regardless and I came to appreciate the beauty in those slower moments, the attention to detail. I don't remember any scene or episode that pushed too far into this either. Just a consistent stylistic choice giving Frieren soul and personality. I'd go further and say that the slower pace and attention to smaller character moments are meant to really make you see things through Frieren's eyes. She has all the time in the world and simultaneously feels like she, in a way, wasted the time she had with Himmel. Now, she cherishes the beauty and magic (haha) of what she'd previously considered mundane or perhaps even boring. I think Frieren is an ode to stopping to take a breath, cherishing the people in our lives, and appreciating the little things.
I think the "Art of subtlety" is only but one of many tools for worldbuilding (one that fits Frieren) but the real secret to ALLOW worldbuilding comes from the "lack of urgency". Many shows starts with a clear goal or conflict to fulfill while Frieren's not: The Demon Lord (which would be the conflict in any other show) is already defeated and the world is at peace. What is left is to enjoy what is further that, specially when you have time to spare as Frieren has. The lack of urgency gives the viewer space to enjoy each part of the journey without feeling the need to "hurry up to finish a task". Worldbuilding is about enjoying the side quests when the "main story" is already completed.
Checkhov’s gun is a trope born of plays, where there are very few props. This means it really only applies to objects that are focused on, because in a play with few props, each prop is significant.
To clarify, the idea that everything should matter in some way is good advice, but Checkhov’s gun can lead people to overemphasize how much certain things should matter, or underestimate what is acceptable use for an element. A small moment or detail can be used to expand the world, character ls or other dynamics without being individually vital to the story because the job of subtle foreshadowing, worldbuilding or character development is still important. My point being that the medium changes the rule but it is still applicable outside plays in some form. If you spend 3 pages describing an object in a book, you have set it up as important and are wasting time if it ends up not being important. Same with zooming in on an object in a visual medium.
Your voice and narration is brilliant, love the idea of breaking every episode of this masterpiece. The more content qbout frieren I watch and the more I think about it the more I want to change my mark from 9/10 to 10/10, but with all its' brilliancy, It somewhat lacked something in the second part of the season. Perhaps it wasn't the best moment to end the season
Idk man, there were stakes in that episode, they were just somewhat subtly implied… or perhaps just not violent in origin. Fern was risking losing years of her life to Frieren’s whims, and the idea that the apprenticeship established earlier might become a massive burden and waste of her life has some significant stakes to the audience. Plus the threat to their relationship if Fern had to spend years searching for the flowers there or Frieren had to give up that connection to her friend for Fern. That show is truly a masterpiece.
i love simple fantasy. where you can really feel like a part of the world. lord of the rings is and always will be the GOAT of fantasy and frieren only expands upon the simple but beautiful nature of fantasy.
My interpretation of Fern's interactions with animals was to reinforce the contrast in maturity between Frieren and Fern. Fern's a very young woman that is still closer to her childhood than adulthood. Maybe it's a stereotype, but we all understand that little girls often adore cute animals. Also, after Heiter adopted her, Fern grew up in the woods isolated from other children. Animals were probably her everyday companions. Finally, as other comments have noted, Fern's experience with small woodland creatures helps her with the first exam of the mage certification arc. It's a pretty subtle callback that's separated by a whole lot of story, something like 16 episodes?
Okay, i think it's nonsense when Eisen wouldn't go after Stark to clear up a misunderstanding. Eisen was living and training with Stark for 10 years and every year he would cook hamburger steaks for Stark, as a sign of appreciation. So he is intelligent enough to comprehend his feelings and acts accordingly, even if not by vocal communication, he's still able to through actions. Eisen could have gone after him for a hug, a gift, or any physical interaction to show to Stark that he's not mad at him. Yet he didn't even try for 3 years, until Frieren conveniently showed up. So he might be an idiot, but not to a believable degree that could convince me. Hence, the writer used a plot device (Eisen's stupidity) based in absurdity to create a plot-twist. The 1000+ year old reign of the demon king. So demons are a species that over the years evolved with the ability to deceive humans, to the point of feigning peace negotiations in order to infiltrate and murder them all. Their biggest weakness is their own arrogance. They are essentially nazis. Yet, in over 1000 years, the humans weren't able to capitalize on their weakness. Both sides are necessarily too stupid or incompetent to achive their goal for more than a 1000 years, which is what im supposed to believe? I guess the humans eventually won, but the whole narrative doesn't hold up and only serves as a fantastical starting point for the story. The heroes absence of reflecting on their actions. Himmel is continuously portrait as this unselfish, courageous, helpful young man, who puts himself in harms way to protect the weak. Yet, when he encountered a demon who murdered and ate a child, he insisted on letting the demon walk to have a little experiment. Turns out that ignoring the mother of the murdered child, ignoring Frieren's initial warning and sitting idly by, while the demon has it's foster parent for lunch and then takes another child hostage, wasn't such a good idea. Obviously this was told from Frieren's viewpoint, but it never came up again. A tragic story, which apparently nobody cared to ask questions about afterwards. So, basically the characters in this show, are just not very thoughtful. As if nothing matters outside of mundane tasks to create little moments of "wholesomeness". I also feel like Fern's introduction, Frieren's emotional intelligence, Heiter's addiction, the lack of worldwide events outside of the main cast's reach and lack of persistent antagonists, was handled poorly, or at least certain aspects in those weren't further explored. Overrall the show sacrifices a chunk of consistency and philosophical questions surrounded by tragedy for arguably more subtle storytelling. It's just not enough of what i prefer.
While I do agree on some of your points, I believe this is what the show is subtly trying to tell us on face value. The nonsense and stupidity we see and think through logic upon watching the series are equal to imperfection. And the show precisely shows us that none of the characters here are perfect. But it makes me all the more believe in them as real people. Sure, they could have done things the right way to avoid more conflict and fix things like you said. But you have to remember, you and I can make mistakes the way these characters could make their own mistakes. Sure, whatever these characters did could be stupid but you and I are capable of creating even more stupid things. Because that's just how we are in our lives; we are imperfect. But that doesn't mean we should hate that part about ourselves. And this is what the show has been telling us through its own subtleness, "so what if you make a grave mistake? You're still here and you can learn so much from that mistake to move forward. Why dwell on it more, when you still have a life ahead of you?" Eisen isn't stupid as we thought he was. He was called (perhaps by himself) a coward because he ran away when his family was in danger. Over time, he began to learn to confront his fears by facing stronger foes. Because he is a coward, he isn't stupid to face something stronger than him. But because he is a coward that he couldn't save anyone back then, he decided to throwaway the logic of escaping and start fighting like a real warrior. As for the aftermath of his argument with Stark, I think he couldn't chase after Stark to apologize because he's probably still scared and his instincts won over his thoughts on comforting the poor boy. Yes, it was an accident and Eisen could have done something to comfort him. But given what information the show gave us, it's obvious Eisen probably saw Stark as a totally different monster compared to how we see Stark during his first introduction. Heiter, on the other hand, is a corrupt priest who just loves alcohol but that doesn't make him a bad person. Despite his alcohol addiction tendencies, he was able to be there for his party in their prime years and wasn't a burden to them. I am honestly more interested in how he fought now ever since I saw how Sein fought as a priest. And I think the show deliberately withheld that piece of information about Heiter and saved it for the future. But other than that, I genuinely like Heiter as a person in all of his alcoholism and trickery because he still chose to be a priest for good despite it. And he chose to believe that the Goddess does exist and that Heaven also exists because as he said in his own words, "it's convenient that way." He genuinely believed that those who passed on will live in a second life such as heaven, instead of believing that they will be passed on as nothing. As for Himmel's case and the humans, you should understand the nature of these demons. Demons do not harbor any emotions but they are capable of speech and they used that to prey on humans by manipulating their emotional turmoil through "magic" words. Despite that humans already know how to combat them, keep in mind that we as humans are more sensitive to emotions. Himmel was human and he was inevitably rather sensitive to emotions as well. The demon girl in the village was probably his first time encountering a demon so he was totally unprepared despite Frieren's warnings in advance. And Himmel, as from what I learned about him through Frieren's memories, is genuinely good who is willing to help those in need and he probably never killed a human--or a monster that does look and speak like a human. Hence why he was so hesitant and why he let Frieren kill the demon girl instead of him because he still wouldn't be able to do it. But I'm sure, after that incident, Himmel began to learn from that big mistake and was able to steel his resolve to kill. Because how else did he and his party defeat the Demon King if he stayed naive as he was when he first encountered the demon girl? Although you probably think of me just yapping at you, I am only telling you this is because these characters need to be imperfect because imperfection is also a part of what makes them a living person. And as for other aspects, the story is currently still in the process of world building. As far as I can see, the plot doesn't necessarily need to flow the way you want it specifically to flow. It flows this way because it wants to. The philosophical questions that you spoke of are there, it's just that you didn't see it because you wanted the show's philosophical questions to be grandiose. But later down the line, you have to realize that this story isn't written to be bigger like any other popular fantasy genres. Frieren is written because it wants to tell us something that we have never considered before. But that's something you will need to find out if you want to give it another chance.
So I will comment on that because I think that Frieren's world building is probably the thing that hold's back the story the most but at the same time allowed it to pick up steam very early for audience to be instantly engaged. What do I mean by that? It's simply built on cliches. Simple as that. Frieren took one idea for doing something new with the most overused and unimaginative setting and run with it. In terms of WHAT it shows us it's just not that interesting and the world itself suffers from the same lucklaster logic that plagues the entire genre that it comes from this semi-isekai semi-game like world. If you think about it for even a little bit the world falls apart or does not provide answers. But in terms of not giving you answers it can allow itself to do that because it is the same world the audience has already seen plenty of time. We don't need to explain that a group goes on a quest (what does that mean) to defeat The Demon King (who is that? what does he want?). We don't need to explain magic (if it works on imagination why are spells necessary?). Is there something that makes each place unique in some way? Not really. The NPCs in the places we visit are interchangable. We get no clue where does the idea of a Hero comes from. Do the different nations compete with each other? idk. Is there a reason dungeon exists since they appear to be a worldwide thing but must take considerate effort to create and serve no real purpose? idk. The whole visualisation of magic thing would suggest that the most powerful mage alive should be simply the most confident one since in the end if they believed their spell can work on the opponent it will work. Ubel defeated the hair lady on that principle even though she appeared to be stronger. Why are the mages in decline if magic is so useful even aside from combat power it provides in times of relative peace? Can spells be created? If so why hasn't Frieren or anyone we know of tried to craft one. If no where do they come from? That said Frieren does some interesting stuff with the setting it chose to use (because we can't really talk about creating one). They inclusion of physical elements in magic as a counter to development of barrier magic is a cool idea for the magic system.
I guess that's why I was able to understand the terms and the fantasy logic of this particular setting. It withheld so much information to avoid info dumping on the audience, but chose to slowly leak the information to us in little things and cliches, whether subtle or not, and managed to be conveyed in a simple explanation. And this process is the hardest to do in terms of writing.
I've loved Miyazaki since the 1980s, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that "The Boy and the Heron" is absolute shite, I'll never get the time back I spent in that cinema and if I was by myself I would have walked out in the first 15 minutes.
Your description of chekhov's gun just sounds incorrect tbh. Something being necessary to the story includes it being used for the themes, subtext, atmosphere, I don't see a reason to claim adding in plants to a story not focused on botany or something is somehow going against this guideline. Noone uses such a narrow version of it unless you're talking something cheaply made or written. What would go against chekhov's gun is something like a very serious battle scene, then a soldier who's been fearing for his life sees a whoopie cushion on the ground. It doesn't tonally fit and isn't adding to the story. Just spending time on the ecosystem is pretty much a predictable fantasy thing to do.
I don't really think that this is particularly good world building. We see a squirrel like creature once. We see a squirrel like creature a second time. We see a Squirrel like creature a third time. Frieren follows it and info dumps on what the squirrel like creature does (Plot twist, the same thing that real squirrels do). The creature isn't creative, it's just a squirrel. If the times that we saw the animal before were all focused on that animal hiding seeds places, it would potentially be a good setup. However, the anime doesn't show us the squirrels burying and forgetting seeds, we are just told that by Frieren. Good world building should be so much better then just "thing exists in background" then "Monologue about what thing does"
Creativity isn't measured by the difference it has to other things, it wouldn't be creative to make the squirrels lay eggs to simply be different. The point of the video is that good world-building implies that the world exists outside of the narrative. The squirrels weren't introduced then immediately useful, and every time we saw them they were running away with a seed. There was light foreshadowing in addition to the audience's expectations of what a squirrel does. It's overtly explained to guide the audience that didn't pick up on the hints, of what's going on. But it could've easily had no explanation and these scenes will set it up enough: - Opening Scene (Squirrels take seeds from pumpkins then run away with them) - Middle Scene (Squirrels get into the flower store, take some seeds, then run away) - Ending Scene (Squirrels take some seeds from Frieren, then run away) Creativity is measured by how it uses knowledge assumed by the audience and told to the audience to tell a story that takes you back and makes you reflect on everything you just saw/ We can now assume that every time a squirrel runs off with a seed across the entire show, it can create a lovely garden that is undiscovered. We are asked to pay more attention to the small background details that don't seem relevant to the plot, and that there will be payoffs for anything we look into.
@@littlemonztergaming8665 That's not what creativity is. Creativity is "relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas". Squirrels are not original nor did they take imagination to create in the story. It may be subtle world building, but it isn't creative. Also, the previous scenes don't set up that the creatures bury their food or even that they eat their food elsewhere. In the first scene, the squirrel only leaves the pumpkin when it starts to be levitated with magic. In the second scene, the squirrels clearly eat the seeds in the store and then Fern takes them outside to release them. (Also the fact that a weed that is being propagated by squirrels burying seeds across the forest is only found in one place and isn't everywhere is unrealistic. The only reason why a weed would only be in one small place is because it has no way to spread, which isn't the case when squirrels are actively spreading the seeds.) Also, you say that there are payoffs to noticing small details, but are there background details that come up in the rest of the series that have payoff? I'm not saying that Frieren is a bad show, just that we don't need to pretend that literally everything is a masterpiece of writing. The fact that there are squirrels that are set up in the background that has a payoff a few minutes later isn't something that needs a 10 minute video praising how much of an intricate masterpiece the world building is.
Good world building =/= Original world. Seed rats looks like squirrels, behave like squirrels and are essentially just rebranded squirrels, and that fine. Everyone watching it with 2 connected neurons understood they're basically squirrels from just their first appearance scene. And squirrels do bury their food. You don't invent new alien species to build a good and coherent world. And having an original world doesn't necessarily mean you have a good world building. If I can watch that episode on mute and without sub and still understand why there is a field of flowers at the top of the tower then it's good world building. Another example of good world building: you asked why there is no blue moon weed in the forest, part of it is obviously for the narrative, if these flower were so easy to find, there would be no conflict. But it doesn't necessarily mean there is no likely explanation even if it's not explicitly dumped on us by a character. Remember that tortoise that was fed by Fern? Remember what it ate? This is what I call good and coherent world building. There are over a hundred definition for creativity and you tunnel vision on the idea that taking an existing entity from reality and integrate it into the fictional world isn't creative, which sure in itself isn't. But in my field of activities for example, creativity doesn't necessarily mean creating new original items: Most of the time, we are more creative when we hack existing stuff to repurpose them. So while the seed rat itself is a not a original creature, the way the author exploited it to justify the existence of a flower field at the top of the tower is certainly creative.
I think that is a fair criticism. While I wouldn't call it bad world building, it does seem like a world building short cut was taken by using rebranded squirrels. In context, I think it was an understandable prioritization decision by the writer. If you rank the narrative goals of that half-episode, world building comes up fourth place at best. The contrast in the ways Frieren and Fern experience time would be first, adding another facet of Frieren's connection to Himmel would be second, and adding another instance of how Himmel is remembered, by changing a life, even in just a small way, would be the third. In the attention economy of a reader or watcher, the attention pie is limited in size. When there's only a thin slice of attention pie left, a writer may have to take some short cuts to get the job done. Your point does raise the question of what would be a better example of world building in Frieren? Not limited to episode 2, necessarily. I would choose magic aura sensing and control, the hamburg steak tradition of warrior dwarves, or the ancient history implied by the dungeon in the second exam in the mage certification arc. I particularly like the ancient history world building, because it didn't resort to a flashback or exposition dump like most of the rest of the world building. It's almost entirely shown or conveyed through dialog or direct experience (Frieren finding the secret room). Not that flashbacks are necessarily bad in this context: Frieren is more than 1000 years old, after all, and reminiscing is a logical consequence of her age.
Say what you will, but I think you're being far too focused on the squirrel being something common, and not seeing how the squirrel was written to catch the audience's attention. Sure it could have been just a random squirrel in the background because as you said, it is insignificant. But the story is written to make us care about something so random, so simple, and so insignificant like the squirrel. Even if you still don't believe that the squirrel is a Chekhov's gun and not a creative idea, I will not change your mind. But I believe using the squirrel is a creative way of reminding us readers and viewers to care more about the little things than the bigger things.
I felt like Frieren was just flexing on other anime, 'Oh you have issues with boring parts? Character development? Pacing? How about action animation? Yeah I don't have those problems, thanks.'
Indeed. It's showing that a show can do it all.
Definitely. The way the last episodes told Stark's whole story in Äußerst in maybe 20 seconds of screentime and a handful of dialogue is worth a video of its own.
Top tier glazing
Frieren is light on action, something like JJK require top tier action animation every episode
You're right. But I also think it's a bit problematic that we have come to think of the slow/slice of life parts as boring as if in a show there is a constant need for something to happen whether that is drama between characters or action scenes and if those are not there then it is boring.
And I'm not talking about matters of taste. Not everyone likes the same thing and that's fine and a good thing. I'm moreso just talking about the idea that this kind of stuff is inherently boring.
This isn't at all a jab towards you specifically as it's very much a norm to think this way (which I am challenging) and I very much agree with your points. Just to make sure you don't get the feeling I am saying you are wrong or anything. Felt like I need to say that as it's often easy to misunderstand intent behind words on screen and that often leads to misunderstandings and angry comment sections in this platform 😆
Himmel means sky. Notice how beautiful the sky is when Frieren finds the flowers, and how it frames her against the sky. Symbolically Himmel was with her when she saw the flowers and was very happy to share them with her.
Yeah I always translate names from this anime. There is so many of those little Easter eggs hidden. Burg, the guy ubel cut in half means castle. Guy was a castle, and she cut him like a house of straw.
Himmel means both sky and heaven. Makes the scene where stark asks where they're going and frieren answering "heaven" while looking at the sky hit so different 🥲
its swedish for sky
@@dante19890 it's German, Swedish just has the same word
@@fam3at762 mhmm.
This episode moved me. Even full movies rarely do that.
Fern’s conflict being her stubbornly clinging to her identity, repeatedly expressing that she will learn anything to make do, and it just happened to be magic, made me question why I chose visual art in the first place. All I want is to tell good stories, so why not just make literature?
And then at the climax, when they find the blue moon weeds, Frieren’s philosophy finally gets through to Fern. Immediately tears welled up in my eyes.
Two years ago this scene hit me hard in the manga. And now it hits me hard again in the anime. The thought process that Frieren conveyed to Fern really dumbed it down for me. I just want to tell a good story. True. But I chose comics and animation, not anything else. Visual arts coincides with my vision. It can incite the emotions I want to in my audience.
In a nutshell, I like how Frieren dumbed it down for Fern. It almost felt as though I was Fern at that moment. I chose and am choosing visual arts, before and even after I studied anything else.
Daaaaaamn that hits hard.
Fun fact, there's another term in Russian literature named after Checkov - Checkov's dialogues. Chekov in his writing LOVED dialogues about nothing, that do not move the story forward or explain the world around. They were there simply to make scenes feel more real.
Fern has a Disney princess thing going on with the forest animals. She can make her mana barely detectable, maybe this is why they gravitate to her?
Frieren is just a masterpiece of fantasy, everything is so well balanced and detailed it makes me think: did they really do that on purpose?
Yes, they did. You can see this because of how the anime further polished these bits from the manga.
@@ObiwanNekody i know, it's just so incredible that I find myself discovering new details every time I rewatch a scene
And yes I am a manga reader too, and if the manga lays the story's foundations very good and it's very well thought, the animation adds a lot, especially in slice of life moments (Fern and Stark dance for example) and obviously battles (Schlacht and Solitar battle was amazing already in the manga and I can't wait to see that animated)
I’m sick with these normies that calling every new anime they’ve watched a masterpiece.
@@i_want_a_day Late reply, but I do recommend you need to stop stomping down on everyone's comments because I've seen you a lot in this TL while they're trying to share their struggles and how Frieren helped them reflect over it. They, including me, call Frieren a masterpiece because it blew us away with the messages it tries to convey and it made us relate to that.
I don't need you to watch or see what we "see" on screen. Because I know you will never be able to understand it at all like how we, the so-called "normies," understand it. But that makes me all the more feel sad for you because I can only assume you have never seen the goodness in your life.
I don't really have much relevant to say about this episode in particular. But I'd like to use this as an excuse to say my absolute favourite part of Frieren was the part with that ancient demon guy, who had a spell so powerful that no mage could hope to defeat it, and it was almost completely unstoppable. Then, when he was finally awoken, Frieren told Fern to block the attack, and she was super worried because she heard that nobody had ever been able to block it. Then the moment hit when she realized that it was just incredibly basic offensive magic of their time. That moment still send chills down my spine every time I think about it, and it was such a clever way for the show to emphasize the time scale.
Scenes like that show how crazy humanity in fantasy can be.
Never underestimate the weak, short-lived creatures that manage to survive and thrive in the world of the powerful and cruel.
And don’t forget the subtlety of Qual, the demon who invented the offensive spell, saying “So you can fly now” implying that Frieren didn’t really fly at the time of their first encounter. Just that one line added an interesting aspect to the world-building
@@CalmClamFam Frieren does mention later in the show that flying is a relatively new spell, and it's not properly understood yet.
@@CalmClamFamIn Frieren magic work like science I guess
Ohh, i feel so stupid when im wondering how Fern catch Stille faster than Frieren, before couple weeks ago someone point out all those early episodes of animals comes to Fern.
That just blow my mind, really subtle indeed.
Absolutely well made video. This is actually my favourite episode of Frieren. This is also the part where Frieren made Fern realise why she chose and learned to love magic as she did - not for selfish reasons of getting more powerful, but for how it made their connections with their loved ones stronger. Frieren's Field of Flowers magic and Fern's Illuminated Butterflies which they showed to Himmel and Heiter, respectively. From this point on, I felt Fern's love and appreciation of Frieren grow more as she relates to her and actually understand when Frieren said "We are the same".
Commenting for algo-chan. Hope you do more of these analyses. Very relaxing voice. You deserve more subs.
Your attention to detail in scriptwriting, clip choice, editing, diction, nuance, timing, the way you give structure to these shows’ amazing aspects that go unnoticed, and the overall high quality of your work shine as much as the quality of the movies and shows you review.
It’s almost poetic to see your passion for these pieces of art and media seep into your own video making process, the way new inspirations spark from the inspired artist. I’m very worn out by the current landscape of anime reviews on youtube when these shows have such intricate and unnoticed details, but you always manage to capture them beautifully and effectively.
Can’t wait to see the rest of this series (about my favorite series)
very kind comment. I'm glad that the effort I put into these videos is noticed
well said, this guy is awesome.
This is is such a beautiful series, you present it so well i cant help but come back each week.
I went into this show based on a strong recommendation from a friend. I read nothing and knew nothing about it, just started watching. It was an amazingly beautiful experience. Watching your video series after finishing the show is just making the experience even more amazingly beautiful.
Episode 2 also has one of my favourite moments of subtle storytelling. At the beginning of this arc of the episode, we get Fern’s perspective for the first time and she comments on the folk spell rewards the keep acquiring. Made to sound so mundane, it feels like a throw away joke.
One of these spells is on how to turn grapes sour and whilst it’s never talked about, it’s referenced in both a flashback and a time-passes-montage in episode 3/4 as being a favourite food of Eisen, the dwarf in the party of heroes.
From a visual joke about a mundane seeming spell of no use to Fern or Frieren , to being one of actual significance and useful application. Wonderful storytelling.
Spoilers for a moment at the end of the season:
The other spell was for getting tough stains out of clothing, if I remember right? Well, what does Fern ask Serie for, as her pick of any possible spell? One to keep her clothes clean and smelling nice.
She's come so far to appreciate just how valuable such small things can be.
@@darksunrise957 The other two were making hot tea and cleaning bronze statues.
I agree, there is an element from those more mundane seeming spells that Fern came to appreciate.
Plus, I recall at first viewing, my first thought was actually the blood on Fern's and Stark's clothing that caught them off guard from their first Demon fight.
@@MagikanVearlae Good point about the blood stains. Hadn't thought about that, but it's the kind of thing she'll probably be wary of in the future.
Though I'm SURE they mentioned a spell about tough to remove stains at one point. Must have been later in the series, then...
This very quickly became one of my favorite series on CZcams
Not going to lie, but your video didn’t even feel like 11 minutes either. You’re definitely doing this right.
ngl I kinda already knew that they'll find the seed because of the "squirrel" but that was just luck I also thought the grandma was evil for some reason hahaha. Even though I know how it would end I still was moved. It was just perfectly done, like a classic. The old disney movies always hit the right spot no matter how many years passed and now I feel like Frieren will be one of those classic that ppl will come back to have those feelings again. Even though I love fantasy and like to watch or read kinda fantasy thing... Frieren has being the only one that really took me to other place and forget about everything else. Also it's the first time I was so obsesd about an OST, I would never listen to any OST because for me was just a "background music" something that just add a little flavor to it. But god damn this is the first time I'm like I need a fcking vinyl record of that OST as soon as possible
Pey is about to take off in the anime CZcams world.
seriously this guy is good. lots of phony "video essay" youtubers have emerged over the past couple years with nothing interesting or intelligent to say, its always nice to find a real video essayist who knows how to keep you hanging on every word. this guy will blow up, and frankly, im rather shocked, and a bit dissapointed he hasnt yet. his frieren series has been incredible and reminds me SO much of another anime youtuber, Aleczander, my favorite animetuber due to his incredible HxH video essays. this guy has the same way of captivating you and making every word count. a great video essayist doing a great series on a great(underselling it here) anime. everyone wins.
Binging this playlist rn. This has got to be some of the best content I've watched, you're gonna make it big someday. Excited for more!
If you loved Frieren for its slow pace, check out Mushi-Shi (assuming you haven't already). Same deep world building that isn't just there to serve the plot. The episodes are self-contained, and the "protagonist" Ginko often even isn't the protagonist of the episode, focusing on single-episode characters. It has massively chill vibes, too.
Good vid, good analysis!
Finding anime analysis that’s more than surface level explanation of the story is so refreshing!
Your videos on Frieren are lovely, subbing and waiting patiently for the next
This video is really good, the background music, the editing, the script. Congrats !
After how to do 'Subtle' you should tell how this show do 'hype'! Cause as a Shounen fan, this show is full of hype done well!
Just subbed today and you upload a new vid! What timing
This is a high quality video. I hope to see your videos get more views. Subscribed!
You can translate to videos the density of the show, that is amazing! I can feel that we can make a master degree just studying this anime, his background, their producers, autors, etc. Its so densily full of content that blow up our minds. A absolute masterpiece this anime and your channel!
you are incredibly talented. thank you for covering frieren and doing it justice. ill be here from now on for the rest of this series, as well as anything else you decide to cover/discuss. in an age of phony, pretentious video essayists who dont really get it, you immediately stand out as a TRUE talented video essayist who absolutely DOES get it and is able to articulate wonderfully just how passionate and emotional you are about this show, and also how incredibly intelligent and RARE an piece of media like this truly is nowadays. wonderful stuff, keep it up man.
Can you make it two episodes per week, I'm itching for your Frieren videos man..
Thank you for this refreshing essay!
Another great video, though not as blessed by the algorithm as the one I previously commented on, but still. I see what you call worldbuilding in Frieren a bit differently, personally. How much do we really know about the world of Frieren? Where are the elves? The dwarves? Humans seem to be dominant yet it's unclear if there are even countries or if they're all mostly city-states. I'd argue that Frieren doesn't actually have much worldbuilding. Not even subtle worldbuilding.
And... you know what? I'm fine with that. As you mentioned, those things aren't Chekhov's Guns either. I'd argue it's actually more of a matter of character development and establishing relationships. It also allows for time and experiences to let the audience bond with the characters. It's a "show, don't tell" approach to these things, a more or less deliberate stylistic choice. The author(s) going, "you know what? We don't need to rush from one major plot point to the next, from one action scene to another, to make an interesting story." And I'd say it works. And I also couldn't blame anyone who said they thought it's too slow. I almost stopped watching early on for that very reason. But it charmed me regardless and I came to appreciate the beauty in those slower moments, the attention to detail. I don't remember any scene or episode that pushed too far into this either. Just a consistent stylistic choice giving Frieren soul and personality.
I'd go further and say that the slower pace and attention to smaller character moments are meant to really make you see things through Frieren's eyes. She has all the time in the world and simultaneously feels like she, in a way, wasted the time she had with Himmel. Now, she cherishes the beauty and magic (haha) of what she'd previously considered mundane or perhaps even boring.
I think Frieren is an ode to stopping to take a breath, cherishing the people in our lives, and appreciating the little things.
I think the "Art of subtlety" is only but one of many tools for worldbuilding (one that fits Frieren) but the real secret to ALLOW worldbuilding comes from the "lack of urgency". Many shows starts with a clear goal or conflict to fulfill while Frieren's not: The Demon Lord (which would be the conflict in any other show) is already defeated and the world is at peace. What is left is to enjoy what is further that, specially when you have time to spare as Frieren has. The lack of urgency gives the viewer space to enjoy each part of the journey without feeling the need to "hurry up to finish a task". Worldbuilding is about enjoying the side quests when the "main story" is already completed.
Checkhov’s gun is a trope born of plays, where there are very few props. This means it really only applies to objects that are focused on, because in a play with few props, each prop is significant.
To clarify, the idea that everything should matter in some way is good advice, but Checkhov’s gun can lead people to overemphasize how much certain things should matter, or underestimate what is acceptable use for an element.
A small moment or detail can be used to expand the world, character ls or other dynamics without being individually vital to the story because the job of subtle foreshadowing, worldbuilding or character development is still important.
My point being that the medium changes the rule but it is still applicable outside plays in some form.
If you spend 3 pages describing an object in a book, you have set it up as important and are wasting time if it ends up not being important. Same with zooming in on an object in a visual medium.
Amazing video man
Your voice and narration is brilliant, love the idea of breaking every episode of this masterpiece. The more content qbout frieren I watch and the more I think about it the more I want to change my mark from 9/10 to 10/10, but with all its' brilliancy, It somewhat lacked something in the second part of the season. Perhaps it wasn't the best moment to end the season
Idk man, there were stakes in that episode, they were just somewhat subtly implied… or perhaps just not violent in origin.
Fern was risking losing years of her life to Frieren’s whims, and the idea that the apprenticeship established earlier might become a massive burden and waste of her life has some significant stakes to the audience.
Plus the threat to their relationship if Fern had to spend years searching for the flowers there or Frieren had to give up that connection to her friend for Fern.
That show is truly a masterpiece.
i love simple fantasy. where you can really feel like a part of the world. lord of the rings is and always will be the GOAT of fantasy and frieren only expands upon the simple but beautiful nature of fantasy.
i really like your words magic man :>>
You should check out Apothecary Diaries, it's easily one of the best shows of the year because it also utilizes subtlty in its character interactions.
I looked at the thumbnail and thought it said sobriety - I guess it's over for me
Hello! I appreciate the video and was wondering what soundtrack or ost you used?
My interpretation of Fern's interactions with animals was to reinforce the contrast in maturity between Frieren and Fern. Fern's a very young woman that is still closer to her childhood than adulthood. Maybe it's a stereotype, but we all understand that little girls often adore cute animals. Also, after Heiter adopted her, Fern grew up in the woods isolated from other children. Animals were probably her everyday companions. Finally, as other comments have noted, Fern's experience with small woodland creatures helps her with the first exam of the mage certification arc. It's a pretty subtle callback that's separated by a whole lot of story, something like 16 episodes?
5:30 Does anyone know what is the music in the background called?
stop making have an urge to rewatch the show
I've watched Frieren 3x already 😂
I'm planning to rewatch it with my mom 😊
great script
Okay, i think it's nonsense when Eisen wouldn't go after Stark to clear up a misunderstanding. Eisen was living and training with Stark for 10 years and every year he would cook hamburger steaks for Stark, as a sign of appreciation. So he is intelligent enough to comprehend his feelings and acts accordingly, even if not by vocal communication, he's still able to through actions.
Eisen could have gone after him for a hug, a gift, or any physical interaction to show to Stark that he's not mad at him. Yet he didn't even try for 3 years, until Frieren conveniently showed up.
So he might be an idiot, but not to a believable degree that could convince me. Hence, the writer used a plot device (Eisen's stupidity) based in absurdity to create a plot-twist.
The 1000+ year old reign of the demon king. So demons are a species that over the years evolved with the ability to deceive humans, to the point of feigning peace negotiations in order to infiltrate and murder them all. Their biggest weakness is their own arrogance. They are essentially nazis. Yet, in over 1000 years, the humans weren't able to capitalize on their weakness.
Both sides are necessarily too stupid or incompetent to achive their goal for more than a 1000 years, which is what im supposed to believe? I guess the humans eventually won, but the whole narrative doesn't hold up and only serves as a fantastical starting point for the story.
The heroes absence of reflecting on their actions. Himmel is continuously portrait as this unselfish, courageous, helpful young man, who puts himself in harms way to protect the weak.
Yet, when he encountered a demon who murdered and ate a child, he insisted on letting the demon walk to have a little experiment. Turns out that ignoring the mother of the murdered child, ignoring Frieren's initial warning and sitting idly by, while the demon has it's foster parent for lunch and then takes another child hostage, wasn't such a good idea.
Obviously this was told from Frieren's viewpoint, but it never came up again. A tragic story, which apparently nobody cared to ask questions about afterwards.
So, basically the characters in this show, are just not very thoughtful. As if nothing matters outside of mundane tasks to create little moments of "wholesomeness".
I also feel like Fern's introduction, Frieren's emotional intelligence, Heiter's addiction, the lack of worldwide events outside of the main cast's reach and lack of persistent antagonists, was handled poorly, or at least certain aspects in those weren't further explored.
Overrall the show sacrifices a chunk of consistency and philosophical questions surrounded by tragedy for arguably more subtle storytelling. It's just not enough of what i prefer.
While I do agree on some of your points, I believe this is what the show is subtly trying to tell us on face value.
The nonsense and stupidity we see and think through logic upon watching the series are equal to imperfection. And the show precisely shows us that none of the characters here are perfect. But it makes me all the more believe in them as real people.
Sure, they could have done things the right way to avoid more conflict and fix things like you said. But you have to remember, you and I can make mistakes the way these characters could make their own mistakes. Sure, whatever these characters did could be stupid but you and I are capable of creating even more stupid things. Because that's just how we are in our lives; we are imperfect.
But that doesn't mean we should hate that part about ourselves. And this is what the show has been telling us through its own subtleness, "so what if you make a grave mistake? You're still here and you can learn so much from that mistake to move forward. Why dwell on it more, when you still have a life ahead of you?"
Eisen isn't stupid as we thought he was. He was called (perhaps by himself) a coward because he ran away when his family was in danger. Over time, he began to learn to confront his fears by facing stronger foes. Because he is a coward, he isn't stupid to face something stronger than him. But because he is a coward that he couldn't save anyone back then, he decided to throwaway the logic of escaping and start fighting like a real warrior. As for the aftermath of his argument with Stark, I think he couldn't chase after Stark to apologize because he's probably still scared and his instincts won over his thoughts on comforting the poor boy. Yes, it was an accident and Eisen could have done something to comfort him. But given what information the show gave us, it's obvious Eisen probably saw Stark as a totally different monster compared to how we see Stark during his first introduction.
Heiter, on the other hand, is a corrupt priest who just loves alcohol but that doesn't make him a bad person. Despite his alcohol addiction tendencies, he was able to be there for his party in their prime years and wasn't a burden to them. I am honestly more interested in how he fought now ever since I saw how Sein fought as a priest. And I think the show deliberately withheld that piece of information about Heiter and saved it for the future. But other than that, I genuinely like Heiter as a person in all of his alcoholism and trickery because he still chose to be a priest for good despite it. And he chose to believe that the Goddess does exist and that Heaven also exists because as he said in his own words, "it's convenient that way." He genuinely believed that those who passed on will live in a second life such as heaven, instead of believing that they will be passed on as nothing.
As for Himmel's case and the humans, you should understand the nature of these demons. Demons do not harbor any emotions but they are capable of speech and they used that to prey on humans by manipulating their emotional turmoil through "magic" words. Despite that humans already know how to combat them, keep in mind that we as humans are more sensitive to emotions. Himmel was human and he was inevitably rather sensitive to emotions as well. The demon girl in the village was probably his first time encountering a demon so he was totally unprepared despite Frieren's warnings in advance. And Himmel, as from what I learned about him through Frieren's memories, is genuinely good who is willing to help those in need and he probably never killed a human--or a monster that does look and speak like a human. Hence why he was so hesitant and why he let Frieren kill the demon girl instead of him because he still wouldn't be able to do it. But I'm sure, after that incident, Himmel began to learn from that big mistake and was able to steel his resolve to kill. Because how else did he and his party defeat the Demon King if he stayed naive as he was when he first encountered the demon girl?
Although you probably think of me just yapping at you, I am only telling you this is because these characters need to be imperfect because imperfection is also a part of what makes them a living person.
And as for other aspects, the story is currently still in the process of world building. As far as I can see, the plot doesn't necessarily need to flow the way you want it specifically to flow. It flows this way because it wants to. The philosophical questions that you spoke of are there, it's just that you didn't see it because you wanted the show's philosophical questions to be grandiose. But later down the line, you have to realize that this story isn't written to be bigger like any other popular fantasy genres. Frieren is written because it wants to tell us something that we have never considered before. But that's something you will need to find out if you want to give it another chance.
So I will comment on that because I think that Frieren's world building is probably the thing that hold's back the story the most but at the same time allowed it to pick up steam very early for audience to be instantly engaged. What do I mean by that?
It's simply built on cliches. Simple as that. Frieren took one idea for doing something new with the most overused and unimaginative setting and run with it. In terms of WHAT it shows us it's just not that interesting and the world itself suffers from the same lucklaster logic that plagues the entire genre that it comes from this semi-isekai semi-game like world. If you think about it for even a little bit the world falls apart or does not provide answers. But in terms of not giving you answers it can allow itself to do that because it is the same world the audience has already seen plenty of time.
We don't need to explain that a group goes on a quest (what does that mean) to defeat The Demon King (who is that? what does he want?). We don't need to explain magic (if it works on imagination why are spells necessary?). Is there something that makes each place unique in some way? Not really. The NPCs in the places we visit are interchangable. We get no clue where does the idea of a Hero comes from. Do the different nations compete with each other? idk. Is there a reason dungeon exists since they appear to be a worldwide thing but must take considerate effort to create and serve no real purpose? idk. The whole visualisation of magic thing would suggest that the most powerful mage alive should be simply the most confident one since in the end if they believed their spell can work on the opponent it will work. Ubel defeated the hair lady on that principle even though she appeared to be stronger. Why are the mages in decline if magic is so useful even aside from combat power it provides in times of relative peace? Can spells be created? If so why hasn't Frieren or anyone we know of tried to craft one. If no where do they come from?
That said Frieren does some interesting stuff with the setting it chose to use (because we can't really talk about creating one). They inclusion of physical elements in magic as a counter to development of barrier magic is a cool idea for the magic system.
I guess that's why I was able to understand the terms and the fantasy logic of this particular setting. It withheld so much information to avoid info dumping on the audience, but chose to slowly leak the information to us in little things and cliches, whether subtle or not, and managed to be conveyed in a simple explanation. And this process is the hardest to do in terms of writing.
what is this song
I've loved Miyazaki since the 1980s, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that "The Boy and the Heron" is absolute shite, I'll never get the time back I spent in that cinema and if I was by myself I would have walked out in the first 15 minutes.
Your description of chekhov's gun just sounds incorrect tbh. Something being necessary to the story includes it being used for the themes, subtext, atmosphere, I don't see a reason to claim adding in plants to a story not focused on botany or something is somehow going against this guideline. Noone uses such a narrow version of it unless you're talking something cheaply made or written.
What would go against chekhov's gun is something like a very serious battle scene, then a soldier who's been fearing for his life sees a whoopie cushion on the ground. It doesn't tonally fit and isn't adding to the story. Just spending time on the ecosystem is pretty much a predictable fantasy thing to do.
I don't really think that this is particularly good world building. We see a squirrel like creature once. We see a squirrel like creature a second time. We see a Squirrel like creature a third time. Frieren follows it and info dumps on what the squirrel like creature does (Plot twist, the same thing that real squirrels do). The creature isn't creative, it's just a squirrel. If the times that we saw the animal before were all focused on that animal hiding seeds places, it would potentially be a good setup. However, the anime doesn't show us the squirrels burying and forgetting seeds, we are just told that by Frieren. Good world building should be so much better then just "thing exists in background" then "Monologue about what thing does"
Creativity isn't measured by the difference it has to other things, it wouldn't be creative to make the squirrels lay eggs to simply be different. The point of the video is that good world-building implies that the world exists outside of the narrative. The squirrels weren't introduced then immediately useful, and every time we saw them they were running away with a seed. There was light foreshadowing in addition to the audience's expectations of what a squirrel does. It's overtly explained to guide the audience that didn't pick up on the hints, of what's going on. But it could've easily had no explanation and these scenes will set it up enough:
- Opening Scene (Squirrels take seeds from pumpkins then run away with them)
- Middle Scene (Squirrels get into the flower store, take some seeds, then run away)
- Ending Scene (Squirrels take some seeds from Frieren, then run away)
Creativity is measured by how it uses knowledge assumed by the audience and told to the audience to tell a story that takes you back and makes you reflect on everything you just saw/ We can now assume that every time a squirrel runs off with a seed across the entire show, it can create a lovely garden that is undiscovered. We are asked to pay more attention to the small background details that don't seem relevant to the plot, and that there will be payoffs for anything we look into.
@@littlemonztergaming8665 That's not what creativity is. Creativity is "relating to or involving the imagination or original ideas". Squirrels are not original nor did they take imagination to create in the story. It may be subtle world building, but it isn't creative.
Also, the previous scenes don't set up that the creatures bury their food or even that they eat their food elsewhere. In the first scene, the squirrel only leaves the pumpkin when it starts to be levitated with magic. In the second scene, the squirrels clearly eat the seeds in the store and then Fern takes them outside to release them. (Also the fact that a weed that is being propagated by squirrels burying seeds across the forest is only found in one place and isn't everywhere is unrealistic. The only reason why a weed would only be in one small place is because it has no way to spread, which isn't the case when squirrels are actively spreading the seeds.)
Also, you say that there are payoffs to noticing small details, but are there background details that come up in the rest of the series that have payoff?
I'm not saying that Frieren is a bad show, just that we don't need to pretend that literally everything is a masterpiece of writing. The fact that there are squirrels that are set up in the background that has a payoff a few minutes later isn't something that needs a 10 minute video praising how much of an intricate masterpiece the world building is.
Good world building =/= Original world. Seed rats looks like squirrels, behave like squirrels and are essentially just rebranded squirrels, and that fine. Everyone watching it with 2 connected neurons understood they're basically squirrels from just their first appearance scene. And squirrels do bury their food. You don't invent new alien species to build a good and coherent world. And having an original world doesn't necessarily mean you have a good world building.
If I can watch that episode on mute and without sub and still understand why there is a field of flowers at the top of the tower then it's good world building.
Another example of good world building: you asked why there is no blue moon weed in the forest, part of it is obviously for the narrative, if these flower were so easy to find, there would be no conflict. But it doesn't necessarily mean there is no likely explanation even if it's not explicitly dumped on us by a character. Remember that tortoise that was fed by Fern? Remember what it ate? This is what I call good and coherent world building.
There are over a hundred definition for creativity and you tunnel vision on the idea that taking an existing entity from reality and integrate it into the fictional world isn't creative, which sure in itself isn't. But in my field of activities for example, creativity doesn't necessarily mean creating new original items: Most of the time, we are more creative when we hack existing stuff to repurpose them. So while the seed rat itself is a not a original creature, the way the author exploited it to justify the existence of a flower field at the top of the tower is certainly creative.
I think that is a fair criticism. While I wouldn't call it bad world building, it does seem like a world building short cut was taken by using rebranded squirrels. In context, I think it was an understandable prioritization decision by the writer. If you rank the narrative goals of that half-episode, world building comes up fourth place at best. The contrast in the ways Frieren and Fern experience time would be first, adding another facet of Frieren's connection to Himmel would be second, and adding another instance of how Himmel is remembered, by changing a life, even in just a small way, would be the third. In the attention economy of a reader or watcher, the attention pie is limited in size. When there's only a thin slice of attention pie left, a writer may have to take some short cuts to get the job done.
Your point does raise the question of what would be a better example of world building in Frieren? Not limited to episode 2, necessarily. I would choose magic aura sensing and control, the hamburg steak tradition of warrior dwarves, or the ancient history implied by the dungeon in the second exam in the mage certification arc. I particularly like the ancient history world building, because it didn't resort to a flashback or exposition dump like most of the rest of the world building. It's almost entirely shown or conveyed through dialog or direct experience (Frieren finding the secret room). Not that flashbacks are necessarily bad in this context: Frieren is more than 1000 years old, after all, and reminiscing is a logical consequence of her age.
Say what you will, but I think you're being far too focused on the squirrel being something common, and not seeing how the squirrel was written to catch the audience's attention. Sure it could have been just a random squirrel in the background because as you said, it is insignificant.
But the story is written to make us care about something so random, so simple, and so insignificant like the squirrel. Even if you still don't believe that the squirrel is a Chekhov's gun and not a creative idea, I will not change your mind.
But I believe using the squirrel is a creative way of reminding us readers and viewers to care more about the little things than the bigger things.