Oct 4, 2024
Watching this anime is very similar to watching grass grow in terms of being enjoyable. You are watching the grass grow from the nicest chair, in the nicest weather, but it still fails to entertain. Don't get me wrong, I have quite a few slice-of-life anime that I have watched in my anime list, but this one somehow lacks focus on a specific enjoyable thing in everyday life that I can experience and enjoy on earth, at least in the first 4 episodes. Also, if you are a hater of anime focusing on "cute anime girls doing things" then avoid this anime.
Since the MAL AI
...
is telling me to talk more about it, and suggesting ideas, here is what I think about Sousou no Frieren:
THE STORY (I only watched 4 episodes out of 28, all my points are ~13% of the entire anime)
The story seems unique in that despite taking place in a fantasy world, its focus is almost entirely not on the things that make it a fantasy, but on experiencing life through the eyes of our protagonist. It is not a story that is supposed to build up expectations but is more similar to an autobiography of an average old lady living her daily life. Because it is that way, you cannot expect to be entertained in many ways by it. Since I stopped watching it so early, I cannot predict if the story lacks entertainment until the end. If this story is about teaching young people about the value of their time, it might not be a bad story. If you already know time is short, and that's what this story wants you to learn, you might find this anime extremely average.
ART STYLE
The art style is well done, duh, since it's animated by some of the best producers in the industry. The art style is not unique. On the contrary, it is quite average.
THE CHARACTERS
The characters I got introduced to haven't done much at all from the first to the last episode I watched. While Frieren had the opportunity to remember the past and travel to visit her older companions, her companion Fern seems like she was inserted there so the lack of plot wouldn't be too unbearable for those who wouldn't be entertained with Frieren alone. It feels like she is there to cover for the everyday worrying part of life that we all experience like waking up on time, doing groceries, cooking, and other mundane tasks. Despite her being added to enrich the story, she was the sole reason I dropped the anime. It might have been better if it was about Frieren alone for at least 10 episodes rather than adding a cute anime girl just to keep the neurons of the average watcher engaged.
DO I THINK OTHERS WILL ENJOY/DISLIKE THIS SERIES?
Of course, some people like it, and some people hate it. So moving forward, there will still be people who like it and people who don't. In my humble opinion, this series is grossly overrated and I expect future viewers who were told to come and watch it to be more disappointed on average than pleased with watching it. Although, based on the ranking it got on MAL, it either has a lot of legit fans, or there was a plan to make it number one, and people mass-ranked it a 10/10 to get it in the top. I didn't get to experience anything close to a ten out of ten with regard to any genre of this series and I am massively amazed by its ranking.
An anime that I could call a ten out of ten and recommend instead in the Drama and Fantasy genres which deserves the title of masterpiece and the number one ranking is Violet Evergarden.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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