I am enjoying this so fucking much. Almost as much as I enjoyed Houseki no Kuni, which I still think is probably one of the best damn shows since the 90s.
Manga readers might tell me I’m wrong about this as I don’t really know where this show is going to go. But at the moment I’m sort of seeing it as a take on the neurodiverse, there’s a fascinating thing about how Frieren just processes everything differently to other people, not in a bad way, she’s just different, and understanding that difference is something to be positive about rather than negative.
I dunno I don’t really have many thoughts beyond that at the moment and also don’t really want to spoil the show for others. But I can’t get over how willing the show is to just be… Slow. To just chill and dwell in a moment, to let the audience have some silence or to soak up a mood. There’s a vibe to it that just works.
Good show, watch it.
I just rewatched the first episode for a second time and I think my take is that it’s not just Frieren either, it feels to me like her apprentice Fern is also neurodiverse, but obviously in a more human way. Heiter the Priest saw Frieren in this little girl because of the similarity in their social behaviours. Frieren is like this because she’s an elf with a fucked up perception of time and what constitutes “knowing” a person is messed up compared to humans, 10 years spent together to her is hardly knowing someone. Fern on the otherhand is actually neurodiverse for a human but has a normal perception of time, it makes them something of an odd match together.
I love it so much.
The magic is mega interesting too. Their powers are on an unbelievable level while their behaviour is just so… Normal and casual. It creates a super interesting contrast seeing that presented in what I would call a “realist” way. It’s like watching incredible sports people do things that are super incredible and then be just totally normal people in the next moment, it makes sense and feels very human but it’s novel and refreshing in this setting.