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Apr 10, 2025
A few hours ago, I was browsing r/anime when I stumbled across the announcement that this anime was batch released on Netflix. Of course, I did the sensible thing and proceeded to watch all of it, even though it's mediocre at best.
It really needed more episodes to fully explore the emotions it was trying to evoke. If it had been released weekly, it wouldn't have been as bad, but several time skips in a show that isn't told chronologically aren't ideal when binge-watching.
Give us a training arc instead of one episode and some direct aftermath of episode 13, damn it. That at least would give
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us some good character interaction and help the characters feel less like cardboard cutouts.
The animation is solid, the character designs are by the FMA mangaka, and the dub is decent. I guess you could consider it just another Netflix addition. Fine for background, but not something worth paying full attention to.
Hours of buildup for an ending that would have been better if we took some time to explore the characters. The scaffolding is there but it's not enough to get a good series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 28, 2024
My issue with sequels is that their expansion can undermine the original work. This is also the case with #Brake-broken. I can’t talk about this without spoilers, so if the tag was not enough be warned.
This sequel explores characters in ways we didn’t get to in the first instalment. We get to see Hijiriido die for the first time in an id well and the effect it has on Hondomachi’s mental well-being. We also continue to explore Kaeru and Kiki Asuka as a character. This is all delightful, but I prefer it when it is more up to interpretation.
My main problem is with Hakaido. Sure,
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She gives insight into Inami as a person, but it is done while she is in a coma due to the anime's events. This might not be an issue to some people, but it is to me. Fukuda is also in a coma. Meaning by this logic Anaido can be used again. In my opinion, this undercuts his ending. Because of this, I prefer the more open ending of the anime. Anaido wasn’t brought back, so at least the writer seems to agree with me on that front, but it doesn’t change the fact that the door to Anaido reviving is now open. Despite the insight into Inami, I don’t think it was worth explicitly opening up that possibility.
If you want character expansion, this is an ok read, but it might come at the cost of the closure provided by the anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 30, 2024
“Yatagarasu: The raven does not choose its master” is an adaptation of the first few novels from the Yatagarasu Series by Chisato Abe. There isn't an official English translation of the novel at the moment. making the anime the most accessible version for people like myself who can't read Japanese.
The first 13 episodes are based on the stories "A raven for all seasons" about Asebi and "The raven does not choose its master" about Yukiya. The manga adaptation of these novels have an official translation and a fan translation, respectively. The two stories take place concurrently and share scenes. Fortunately, we do not have to
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see the same moments over and over. The second novel “The raven does not choose its master” is the main plot. “A raven for all seasons” is B-plot. This shifts the attention away from Asebi, who is used in the first novel to infodump. As a result Yukiya, a recurring protagonist in the novel series, receives more attention.
This encapsulates everything great about the anime. The main novel series is complete. The writers have a good idea of what to alter, keep and discard. This makes the Yatagarasu anime the best novel adaptation I’ve ever seen. The fluff and unnecessary narration is absent. It’s a way better experience compared to 90% of the trash that comes out of the entertainment industry.
The ending of episode 13 teases the contents of the next arc “Kin no Karasu”, based on the third novel of the series. This novel currently has no manga adaptation. The anime is the first visual adaptation of this arc.
The main story is 6 novels. At this pace, the anime will end with a teaser for “Kūkan no Karasu”. Another part with Yukiya as protag. So I’m looking forward to a possible season 2 announcement.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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May 4, 2024
Frieren so far (129 chapters in) depicts demons mostly in a biologically deterministic way. Biological determinism is the belief that only genetics drives behaviour, disregarding the role of environment and culture. The idea of biological determinism plays a role in eugenics (biological determinism is also called genetic determinism) and this is probably what people are catching onto when they call Frieren racist. After all, this belief enforces the idea that people AND ethnic groups can never improve and change. This belief has been used to say certain groups are inherently superior to others, including to reinforce the false notions that men are genetically superior to
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women and certain races are inherently superior to others. In general, this is not a belief that is considered acceptable anymore.
Even though Frieren is, understandably, biased against demons, Frieren is about change. The fact that Frieren changes as the story progresses proves that the author does not buy into biological determinism. On top of that, demon behaviour does not seem to be entirely genetic. Demons are abandoned from birth and therefore do not know what a family is, impacting their socialisation. In chapter 74 a demon child asks to be praised by an older demon after stabbing a human. Why would demons want to be praised for what comes naturally to them? On top of that, I don't recall even once in the story demons were killed just because. So far the demons killed or tried to kill someone before being killed. Only one demon has so far shown the desire to change, and that is all the writer needed to create a possible opening to refute biological determinism. We still don't know what the deal is with the demon king. He did try to live together with humanity before that backfired. Nor do we know what happened in that battle between the hero with future sight and the demon with future sight. There is something that the writer is setting up and I can't tell if it will be great or a disaster. I hope Frieren can pull it off without the ending looking like a rushed ass pull.
I can't blame people for assuming that "Frieren: Beyond the Journey's End" is a racist manga based on early chapters. Just like I can't blame Frieren for being prejudiced against demons considering they destroyed her home. Based on how some people view all demons as untamable wild animals just because they are a different species when evolution is explicitly mentioned in chapter 88, I have serious doubts that people understand the demons in Frieren. It is difficult for them to change, but that doesn't mean they are unchanging.
Frieren seems to be going for a generic "everyone can change" message, which I'm tired of. It has a nice atmosphere and decent characters. The art is beautiful. I will probably not reread it once it is finished. People not understanding what is wrong with depicting an entire group as inherently unchangeably evil, something I think Frieren will subvert, proves that a series like this still needs to exist for those who still subconsciously use genetic determinism to view the world.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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