The #1 Anime of 2023 | Glass Reflection

Told you it would be it's own whole video......

#Anime #Discussion #2023 #frieren #Top10 #AnimeAnalysis #Analysis #Opening #OP #ED #GlassReflection

[Questionable_Content]

My favorite spell Frieren learns is the one that makes grapes sour. She offhandedly mentions it early on and only after a few episodes do you find out that one of her party member's favorite snacks is sour grapes.

[TobiNightcore]

Frieren has done the impossible of making sidequests memorable

[pokepawchannel]

Fun fact: "Sousou" the way it is spelled means (according to jisho) "attending a funeral procession; seeing off the deceased; burial of someone's remains; observing a burial​", which in a way Frieren does, sending off her old friends. But also "Sousou no Frieren" is the name demons give her, because she sends them to their grave

[aladoristcg]

Frieren is the only show I've ever seen that will have one episode feel like an hour, and the next feels like 5 minutes. Both are equally engaging, both leave me wanting more. It's so incredibly well done.

[Alexander-kcoq]

I don’t know what arguments are made in this video but I agree

[AscendantStoic]

Stark's motivation is actually a little bit more nunanced than you made it to be.

It's not really vague or shonen-esque (i.e about getting stronger or proving anything), he told Fern in one of the episodes that his main motivation is to have an epic adventure and many interesting tales of adventure that he can go back and tell to his master Eisen before Eisen dies of old age, that's his true established motivation so far which is quite unique IMO.

[lloydlego]

Frieren’s tiny smile at Fern and Stark’s antics, her smug look when she thinks she is going to blow everyone away with a bit of knowledge or the gift she picked out. Fern’s pouty face when she is annoyed, or her look of disappointment when she was about to be impressed by Stark’s words, until he actually says them. It is the small things that I love, but then Even Call’s score swells, and someone is going to do something badass. Love this series so much.

[pfeilspitze]

One thing that really impressed me is just how much happens in the first episode. Solo Leveling in two episodes has less happen than Frieren did in 10 minutes. It's a masterful presentation of how to start a show.

[Nejifangal]

Frieren has already made it into my Top 3 anime of all time. I hope it continues to be great.

[LizardMan]

I started Frieren on a whim and wound up binging all released episodes in a single weekend. I truly wasn’t expecting it to be as phenomenal as it was.

Also I describe Stark to people who haven’t seen the show as Zenitsu, but he doesn’t suck.

[keithricker]

I personally think there is one thing that this show does well, that almost every other show somehow misses. The timing of the lack of dialogue is perfect. Simple words, gestures, and silent head nods say so much more in this show than others that I have watched. The best example is the exchange between Old Man Voll and Frieren when leaving the village. It was just him saying that he dreamt about his wife, and how talking with her helped that to happen. All Frieren said was, "See you, " then she smiled slightly and turned away. That simple 15-20 seconds said so much about the level of story-telling that this show has. Because I, personally, could feel the 3-4 hour conversation that had just actually happened between them in that little space in time. It made me smile and tear up at the same time. Even if you took away the conversation they had earlier in the episode, you would still feel the exact same thing from it. Because of the "hidden" words between the two of them. At least that's what I believe.

[merlyworm]

Yaknow what Frieren's favorite spell is? The field of flowers spell. That really says it all. Its such a beautiful story. And her arch-nemesis? Mimics! giggle.

[scottjs]

This show is probably one of the best shows to really hit home about living life after losing someone you love in such a way that really can't be understated. The old dwarven man forgetting his wife really hit home because I can barely remember my grandfather and yet he was such a huge person in my life that I still wish he were alive because he very well could've been. His impact on who I am is immense and yet I can barely picture him in my head, or hear his voice anymore...

[arashimiyazawa]

The "Final Farewell to the Departed" isn't referring to where she's going, it's referring to the entire story. She's retracing their steps to remember them and get to know them in a way that she failed to do so the first time. The entire journey is her farewell to her departed friends. The easier version of that title "Frieren at the Funeral" works better in this way. The entire journey is an extended funeral.

Personally I don't think "you can talk to the dead at Ende" is going to turn out to be literally true, and Frieren will get there and realize that by revisiting the journey she's heard everything she needs to hear from them already. I mean, despite Flamme writing about it and claiming it will revolutionize the study of souls, nobody else has ever heard of it, including Frieren herself. I think Flamme just wrote that because she knew Frieren would need to read it in the future (since she clearly was able to see the future to some extent).

[shaikhulud]

If the pacing of the Exam arc is to judge, you won't be dissapointed until the very end of the first season. If anything, it only gets better from there.

[mosesmm]

Frieren as a character is one of the most interesting takes on the Elf character I've seen as I wouldn't say she's emotionless, she does feel them but she's lived so long that she's experienced most things they are to experience enough times that they don't register like they should. But it was her first journey with Himmel and the rest that reawakened her interest by showing her that even if she's done this before, it can still make life worthwhile.

Before Himmel, she only kept up her magical training because her master asked her to, she saw it as an obligation. But after him, she does it because he complimented her on it, saying that he could tell that she enjoyed it and that she should continue that. Even the other members of the party like Heiter and Eisen helped her to understand things she didn't or had forgotten such as the concept of faith even when you're not sure and true bravery. And we see her take such lessons and apply them t herself, such as how she believed in Stark when he didn't believe in himself, and why she so set on that one Priest joining them.


Gigguk said something in his review of the manga which really sticks out to be which was that while her party saw her a friend, she was too disconnected from to say the same, which was why when she finally internalized that Himmel had died of old age, she wasn't so much crying over the loss of a dear friend as she was at the wasted opportunity to be his close friend, the signs of which were placed in the beginning and mid-points of that first part when she sees how the party celebrated their 10 year quest coming to a end, and Himmel revealing that he kept that one thing she gave him, despite the bad vibes for 50 years-just because his friend asked him to keep an eye on it, something that at first couldn't understand as it was 'just a spell ingredient' and '50 years isn't much time'.

Also, there is a hint of tragedy to the story as we see that while the entire party were close to her, she was closest to Himmel who sought her out in the first place over a hunch, was the one she interacted with the most, would get her to engage with them in a social situation, and even would scold her whenever she did something bad like damaging the bodies of the reanimated. A lesson she still follows over 70 years later and will take GREAT offense to if a demon tries to tell her is stupid. There was even the reason he posed for so many statues as Himmel did it for her, so that in 10, 50, or 200 years time, they'll be evidence that they existed, that they did the things they did and that they were her friends so she could just find one of them on her later journeys, and be able to think back to the time they spent together.


We also see through the ring sub plot that Himmel might have developed romantic feelings towards her, which he never tried to pursue, and she never noticed till 20 years after he dies which leaves us, and her feeling sad as it's anything thing she missed out on, but also another reason to cherish what she still has.

[ClintEPereira]

I feel like Frieren (and maybe all elves) has some kind of eidetic memory. She's traveling around, mapping everything in her head (she remembers the layout of the trees, for instance), and then she updates the mental map when she returns (I think we get a hint at this when she has to realize that Eisen isn't as young as he used to be). Humans, unlike the landscape, are constantly dying and changing so they're just a mess of different faces and relationships. But the passing down of knowledge (specifically magic) to the next generations stays the same. It's something about humanity she can hold on to. That is, until she finds there are people she regrets not knowing and observing grow up and grow old. And I think that's what makes this story so beautiful is that we watch Frieren go from a living database of humanity's magical knowledge to having this deep desire to become a memorial for and to honor her old friends. Living for generations, remembering exactly how they were, and passing that knowledge down to their pupils are things that only Frieren can do for them. Plus maybe she'll get a second chance to watch those pupils grow old, something she missed out on before with her previous friends.

[worldkat]

Having read ahead in the manga I am shocked how well it keeps its pacing morals even in darker events. Love it.

[horizontide]

Frieren is about "The friends we made along the way" and its superb. One of the most memorable Anime ive ever watched.

[jondonom]

With how reknown and well recieved frieren has been i hope the industry changes for the better so we can appreciate more art like this instead of quick cash grabs.