Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today a late summer storm is currently raging beyond my window, fleets of rain shaking the trees as I sit quietly ensconced in my bedroom. It’s a scene much like the comfort of watching snow fall from beside a warm fire, a snug feeling of safety within a tumultuous world, and the whole scene has me thinking it’s just about time for an episode of Frieren.

Frieren has so far proven itself a show all about enjoying moments like these, the incidental fragments of impossible beauty scattering our passage through life. When we are preoccupied with distant goals and tangible landmarks, we have a tendency to miss the observations and indulgences that ultimately furnish our memories, transforming a list of tasks accomplished into a journey rich in unexpected wonders. Whether it’s in narrative drama or our own lives, the incidental, ephemeral things matter more than we might think, adding distinct texture to our experiences, and texturing our own personalities and memories in turn. Let’s see what memories our pair make next as their journey continues!

Episode 5

We arrive with a reprise of Frieren’s new quest: journey to Aureole, the land of the dead, and make your last goodbyes to Himmel

I’m of two minds regarding this new quest. On the one hand, it does seem like a fine enough way to provide closure for Frieren’s prior journey, which is clearly what she’s been seeking all along. On the other hand, I actually quite liked the idea that she actually wouldn’t ever get to speak to Himmel, would never have the opportunity to say the words she held back, as that’s quite often how it goes in real life. I’d have been fine with that lack of closure inspiring her efforts to pay more attention this time around, as well as a personal journey of coming to peace with past regrets

Regardless, it’s clear Frieren is invigorated by the thought of reprising their prior adventure, as we see a rare full smile from her as she considers the journey ahead

Having previously seen Fern through the context of horny twitter fanart, it is quite funny to watch this show and see she’s generally portrayed as a featureless lump within a heavy coat

“Even if I taught them, they’d die in no time.” The reprise of this discussion on apprentices emphasizes again how Frieren was previously thinking purely in terms of end goals, of tasks completed that would stand the test of time. The only value she saw in teaching an apprentice was the end result of a talented mage, not the actual time spent getting to know your student, watching them grow, seeing them find their own path. Frieren was content to stick to her own concerns, essentially fast-forwarding past the incidental yet deeply meaningful pleasures of life

“My adventure with you wasn’t even one one-hundredth of my life.” And yet it has stuck in memory all this time. You can’t measure the important things in life by their temporal volume

“That one one-hundredth changed you”

“It’s been half my life, you know,” reflects Fern, and Frieren smiles in response. We can’t hold onto everything, but we can make meaningful changes in the time we have, impacting the lives of those we encounter

It recalls a song I quite like, “Head Rolls Off” by Frightened Rabbit, which is all about coming to terms with mortality. All we can ultimately do is pave the way for those who will follow us, pledging that “while I’m alive, I’ll make tiny changes to the earth”

Fern dreams of a conversation with Heiter near the end, when he said he might come visit her if she were a good girl. The recollection is itself a fulfillment of his promise; he is still with her, even if only in memory

Arriving at a new village, they are warned to avoid the mountain pass, which is apparently haunted by ghosts

Interviewing survivors, they learn that people witnessed the ghosts of dead family or acquaintances

Frieren deduces it’s a nasty monster and is happy to just leave, but Fern insists they stay and help, saying “unlike you, I’m a good girl”

They are hunting an Einsam, a monster that uses illusion magic to lure its human prey

This creature embodies the other side of memory and nostalgia, emphasizing how lingering in memory can be a trap that steals your future

Their discussions regarding their willingness to shoot phantoms of their loved ones emphasize how odd this pair truly is. Fern is becoming Frieren’s bridge to greater emotional engagement with others, but Fern herself is not a particularly emotive or personable sort – she’s a child of war and magical savant, and her eyes rarely betray any emotional warmth. Though Frieren is often surprised by Fern’s feelings or priorities, she in truth couldn’t have picked a better apprentice for easing her into more human modes of behavior, since Fern is herself much closer to elf behavior than the average human

Fern believes she is ready, but this phantom of Heiter exploiting her memories still causes her to hesitate

Meanwhile, Frieren is surprised to see her phantom is now Himmel, instead of her master as before. She takes this as an affirmation of Eisen’s words, confirmation that her journey with this heroes actually changed her, and is glad for it

I again like how corrosive magic like this is framed as an aesthetic intrusion on reality, a sort of toxicity that seems to pass beyond the mortal realm, conveyed through its distortion of the show’s usual textures and color design. I generally prefer when magic maintains an air of dangerous mystery like this, when it is portrayed as something useful and powerful but ultimately untamable, which often aligns neatly with the themes of whatever story is being told. Magic that is simply convenient and exploitable doesn’t seem particularly interesting to me, whereas magic like this garnishes its every use with a sense of ominous uncertainty

I suppose that also reflects what I seek to extract from fantasy dramas. I like ambiguity and horror, whereas more clearly defined or controllable magic lends itself more directly to action and power fantasies, like much of modern isekai

They next come across a dragon, its nest bearing a grimoire Frieren’s been seeking

“Dragons use objects infused with magic to build their nests.” A fine enough explanation for dragon troves

Some nice understated comedy in Frieren just blankly observing Fern’s useless attack, then announcing it’s time to run. Deadpan comedy requires a holistic tonal approach to really pull off, and this show’s seemingly effortless, never-obtrusive comedy beats are a profound testament to the skills of director Keichiro Saito. Dude’s got an extremely bright future ahead of him, so long as he can continue grabbing projects that are worthy of his talents

That’s really the biggest challenge facing anime’s greatest current directors, sadly. An industry dominated by adaptations of shounen manga, light novels, and gacha-based properties offers little opportunity for even the greatest staff to make work that’s dramatically impactful, rather than simply exceptional in terms of its adapted aesthetics. You need writing too, and adaptations from mediums where narrative structure and mastery of prose are an afterthought are not going to get you there. That’s why the best works tend to be either anime-originals (where you can pull in exceptional professional writers) or adaptations of traditional novels, be they modern or old classics

“If we repeat that process enough times, we’ll beat it eventually.” Frieren all in favor of the “poke the giant boss, retreat beyond its leash, poke it again” Dark Souls strategy

Stymied by the need for a front-liner to draw aggro, our pair elect to recruit Stark, a warrior who was apparently Eisen’s apprentice

We learn Stark actually held off the dragon three years ago, and has since then stuck around to prevent future attacks on the local village

Stark warns them not to rile up the dragon. It seems he’s embraced a sort of truce with the dragon, but that truce means he can’t leave, can’t move forward in his own life

Frieren immediately questions this state of affairs, saying he has no real reason to stay in this village

I like how Frieren’s goal here is intentionally framed as trifling; there’s no strong moral incentive to defeat this dragon, she just wants it done. That in turn balances this drama entirely on Stark’s motivation for maintaining this truce versus proactively dealing with the dragon, without any moral complexity muddling that core question

“There was once an idiot who complimented me on the spells I gathered. Is that enough reason for you?” Our reasons for walking forward need not be heroic, so long as they successfully encourage us to keep moving

Stark reveals he was actually paralyzed by fear when facing the dragon, and that it apparently spared him on a whim. He actually has no confidence in his abilities to fight a dragon – I mean, it’s a fucking dragon!

Fern only sees Stark as a coward, but Frieren can see the kindness in him choosing to remain as a symbol of safety to these villagers, even if that safety was an illusion

And Done

Thus our party acquires its third member, the cowardly yet powerful warrior Stark. The encroaching demands of narrative continuity meant this episode didn’t fit as neatly into the “fantasy parable” mode of its predecessors, but there was nonetheless plenty to enjoy along the fringes of Frieren and Fern’s journey. I suppose it makes sense that a story about enjoying life’s incidental pleasures would itself be so well-furnished with precisely those sorts of pleasures, from the graceful deadpan gags to the beautiful scenery of Frieren’s world. And with the brief flourishes of animation dedicated to the dragon already impressing, I’m excited to witness our team’s first encounter with a worthy opponent. It’s time to slay a dragon!

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