This is going to contain spoilers through season 1 episode 10.
My tastes in media have become somewhat more demanding as I’ve gotten older. I used to enjoy pretty much anything with a fun adventure, but now I need my entertainment to also be educational or growth-provoking in some way.
I mostly enjoyed episodes 1-7 because even though it was a cute slice of life, it was coming at it from a more unique angle of how we form and value relationships and I felt that it was emotionally meaningful.
But then by episodes 9 and 10 suddenly all these villains have really specific quirks, and the combat is drawn-out as characters over-exposit every detail of what’s going on. They even tell you what’s going to happen with the fight well before it ever occurs, and then they still drag out the result for some reason. It was very disappointing and I’m concerned this is just going to be the state of things from now on.
I got kind of excited about the way Frieren was talking about demons because her beef with them sounds a lot like what a pig or chicken would think of humans, and I got almost a racist vibe, but my partner’s reaction made it seem like we’re not going to get introspective about our biases and hipocrisy, and he suggested we move on to something else. (He’s read the comic and wanted to watch the show together.)
Thoughts? I’d like to think the story is going somewhere, but it won’t be good for our relationship if it just ends up with me complaining the whole time.
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The show wouldn’t be very interesting if we didn’t understand why these insurmountable odds mean nothing to mage like Frieren (or the Hero’s party) They explain why these enemies are so tricky so that we have a comparison of how much mastery Frieren, her disciple, and Eisen’s disciple have. However, they aren’t impervious, that’s why it’s interesting despite being obviously one-sided.
The second half is more action than a slice of life. Each fight is different and very well done but there are people that just prefer SoL. From what you’ve written (about your partner reading the manga) sounds like he likes the show. I’d try to continue to watch the show and try to keep complaints to yourself till the end of the show. Then you can discuss what you liked and what you hated about the show.
Unfortunately having read ahead it’s my opinion that the calm slice of life vibes in the first several episodes aren’t what the story spends most of its time focusing on going forward.
The show’s mostly slice of life and the scant remaining fights won’t be like 9 and 10 if that’s worth anything. Of those, the fights that need explaining will do all their setup beforehand and not rely on mid-fight exposition.
You’ve convinced me to try it a bit longer. It’s really well animated, and I’m attached to the characters, so I’ll try to be content with the fact that it’s not going to get political.
Yeah, Frieren using absolutes to characterize one group set off red flags for me. I hope I don’t have to drop it later because the author is a crazy right-winger like Ranking of Kings.
I had to look up what that was about, and oh my god.
The manga is ongoing, so there’s a potential for positive development, but it could also go down the tubes too.
Are you sure this is about Frieren?
But then by episodes 9 and 10 suddenly all these villains have really specific quirks, and the combat is drawn-out as characters over-exposit every detail of what’s going on. They even tell you what’s going to happen with the fight well before it ever occurs, and then they still drag out the result for some reason. It was very disappointing and I’m concerned this is just going to be the state of things from now on.
Yeah, this is why Frieren is classified as a Shounen anime.
I got kind of excited about the way Frieren was talking about demons because her beef with them sounds a lot like what a pig or chicken would think of humans, and I got almost a racist vibe, but my partner’s reaction made it seem like we’re not going to get introspective about our biases and hipocrisy, and he suggested we move on to something else. (He’s read the comic and wanted to watch the show together.)
This is another reason Frieren is targeted at Shounen (i.e. young, less mature boys). Conflicts are always so black and white; villains are villains just because, and there’s no deeper motivation.
In fact, this is true of most GOATs of shows: LOTR, MCU, Avatar.
The only counterexample I can think of off the top of my head is
title spoiler
Attack on Titan
Thoughts? I’d like to think the story is going somewhere, but it won’t be good for our relationship if it just ends up with me complaining the whole time.
If I were in your shoes, I would drop it. I don’t know about you, but my time is extremely limited. I’d rather watch another anime, or just do something that I enjoy more than invest more time into a show on the off chance that it turns out great for me.
I didn’t realize it was shounen. I used to really enjoy the genre, but I think it’s because I’ve seen and read so many things now that none of them are introducing me to new concepts anymore. I can still recognize a given entry as good by having cool characters or nice animation or whatever, but I can’t stay interested very long because it’s like I’ve seen it before. Like, I think the MCU is fine, but largely uninteresting. (I got really hyped about Killmonger though!)
Your counterexample is possibly the last Japanese thing I really enjoyed because it had these conflicting ideologies and delved into issues like human rights and international relations.
