Sousou no Frieren – Episode 01

Episode Synopsis:

Frieren, an elven mage, and her companions (Himmel the human hero, Heiter the human priest, and Eisen the dwarven warrior) have just returned to the royal capital after defeating the demon king.  After the celebration, they view a meteor shower and Frieren vows to view it again with them in 50 years’ time.  When she returns, she finds her companions have aged greatly, while she, with the long life of the elves, is unchanged.  After viewing the shower, and later attending the funeral of Himmel, she realizes how short the lives of humans are, and decides to learn more about her companions during future journeys.  20 years later, she meets an aged Heiter, who asks her to research some life-extending spells and to teach magic to Fern, a young human girl with a strong affinity for magic.  Frieren agrees.

Episode Review:

Here at the beginning of Frieren’s new journey, I find that I’m already pretty invested in the story that will be told.  It doesn’t hurt that the show looks good – character animations are solid and the backgrounds look nice.  Everything has a softness that is appropriate to the feeling they’re going for.

Also strongly contributing is the very deliberate pace of the story.  Characters take their time to walk places.  Plenty of time is spent on reminiscence.  If there’s a nice background, the shot will pan over it slowly.  There are stretches without any dialogue, just scenes of travel of quiet companionship.  It really seems to be encouraging you to slow down and take the journey at Frieren’s pace – and she doesn’t hurry because she has all the time in the world.

The show’s emotional feel also feels right.  While there is certainly a mild melancholy at most times, with sharper grief as Frieren begins to lose her companions to time’s passing, there are also moments of celebration, and also of humor.  It seems Frieren is just a touch greedy about treasure, much to her chagrin and the delight of mimics.

Overall it’s a strong start, with the promise of a new story beginning between her and Fern.  While the first episode largely feels like the backstory and setup, it’s the second episode that’s going to really set the tone for the rest of the show.  I can only say that I’m looking forward to it.

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