Anime
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yeah, oof. personally,
I didn’t think he was a tragic figure because his desire to destroy humanity was relatable (that segment was honestly fucking baffling and contradicted almost everything they said before and after it), I found him tragic because the implication was that because he’d observed the future where he had chosen that specific course of action, he was powerless to change it thanks to time paradox/quantum wave function collapse fuckery.there is a really interesting take on determinism vs free will there that makes it engaging to me, buuuut your mileage may vary obviously, considering how problematic a lot of stuff in the show and some of the author’s personal views are/were.
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Overall, I definitely enjoyed it as a popcorn watch. Shallow, surface level, with amazing action animation and over the top nonsensical plot.
I think it’s one of those disconnects where I don’t really dislike the work, I’m just gnashing my teeth at the (very vocal) segment of the fan base that absolutely worships Isayama. I’m going to forever be grateful to this show (and yeah, sword art online) for being a gateway drug to so many people into this medium.
But gosh,
I’m extremely tired of hearing this story hyped up like it’s some literary masterpiece full of foreshadowing. Looking at the structure of things, it’s pretty easy to see that most of the stuff that was supposed to be foreshadowing was backfill. A lot of dangling pieces of that story make absolutely no sense, everything having to do with Historia ended up being of no consequence, and gosh there’s a lot of problematic things to unpack with having Ymir be in love with the person who raped and enslaved her. The 11th hour revelation that Erin murdered his own mother so that he could get revenge for murdering his mother, and the cut line from Armin, thanking him for becoming a mass murderer for their sake. The line doesn’t actually exist in the anime, but it really doesn’t have to.Anyhow, many problems, but I clearly liked it enough to finish it!
In the end, it’s a cultural phenomenon, and it’s very hard for me to complain about more people watching anime.
(I’m just maybe a teeny little bit chafed by the fact that it might run away with anime of the year again don’t mind me.)
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I’m gonna la la la la about AoT because I watch it with my spouse and we paused mid way through season 4 to wait until the entire show was over to finish at once.
We’re watching Shield Hero rn. Boy was that a shock after the first twenty or so minutes.
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Guys, please watch Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End [Crunchyroll]
Elevator pitch:
Where most stories end, this one begins. Frieren is the quintessential nearly-ageless elf caster who is part of the Hero’s party. Together with her companions, she embarks on a journey of a ‘mere 10 years’, culminating in the defeat of the Demon Lord. All of this offscreen, as our story begins with a celebration of that accomplishment with a backdrop of a beautiful meteor shower that Frieren bemoans as underwhelming - she knows a better spot for it. The party goes their separate ways, agreeing to meet up for the next meteor shower - in a mere 50 years.
What follows is the gradual thaw of an emotionally distant character, learning to not take the passage of time so lightly, and recognizing that every relationship she has is more valuable than she realizes, and a new journey retracing her former party’s steps with her newfound apprentices, doing good deeds, slaying demons and dragons, and facing other trials along the way.
I have an unreasonable
amount of anime under my belt, and this one’s special. I’d recommend it to damn near anybody, even non anime watchers.
It’s slow without being boring, with some of the most peaceful imagery as connective tissue.
It’s earnest without being saccharine,
it explores loss without being mopey and what it means to continue on with the memories of your loved ones always at your side, their life inspiring who you continue to be as a person - that loss is never total as long as there’s someone to carry the memory of you forward.
Its action segments have no right to be as utterly captivating or beautiful as they are for what’s sold as a ‘drama’.
And Frieren is a loot gremlin who can’t help but check every treasure chest. Every. Treasure chest. Even the mimics.
This is the best Fantasy show I’ve seen, hard stop, and it’s worth your time to give it the 3 (or 4) episode test no matter what your tastes in anime are. There’s something to like here for everyone.
(Note: Episodes 1-4 were released as a combined drop and were meant to be watched in one sitting. Optional, of course, but it’ll give you the proper impression of the show’s overall tone vs. just watching Episode 1.)
Did I mention it’s the current number one anime of all time on MAL?
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I ducking CRIED
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I love Frieren so much
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The Anime Awards’ days of not being taken seriously are certainly coming to a middle.
Not even worth being mentioned in the same sentence as the rest of those shows, and of course it wins.
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@Solstice Not surprised by the rigged outcome. Crunchyroll co-produced it with Aniplex, there’s no way they won’t have it picked with how much they invested in it.
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Deeply frustrating all the same. I mean… 9 awards, including… Best Score. For Solo Leveling. In a period that included Apothecary Diaries and Frieren. No. Get right outta here with that snub.
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I didn’t even realize Crunchyroll did an Anime Awards, but it also dawns on me that any Award ‘show’ presented by an anime company is probably going to be heavily biased.
Is there an Awards show for Anime independent of the companies that produce it somewhere else?
Solo Leveling definitely doesn’t stack up to a lot of those other shows ‘nominated’, but I won’t deny that I enjoyed watching it. Personally, out of those options, I enjoyed Dan Da Dan and Kaiju No. 8 the most. Can’t comment on Apothecary Diaries because it’s honestly not my thing, and I’m not done with Frieren yet, so I’m still deciding on that one.
