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.
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Agreed. Gives me Mushishi vibes with the atmosphere, characters, and pacing. My favorite from this season by far
Comparing it to Mushishi is absolutely enough to get me to think yes, I do want to watch this. Thanks
It absolutely rules. Definitely agree on the neurodiverse reading, Frieren’s character really speaks to me in that way, especially in reflecting on my relationship with a friend I lost a year ago. I think it’s the most tears per minute any anime has ever gotten from me and it’s my favorite new anime in years
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.
I really enjoyed reading it a while back, glad to see the adaptation is good.
I guess this is going on my recs since I also enjoyed Houseki No Kuni immensely
Should probably read this comment to manage expectations. https://hexbear.net/comment/4178868
Read and managed. Still sounds like something interesting to me, especially as a neurodivergent myself. I had also seen comparisons to Mushishi, so I’m still excited about what I might be getting into
Trailer looks good. Aside from Carol and Tuesday I haven’t had much interest in watching new anime in a long time, so I’ll check out both this one and Houseki no Kuni. Also as mentioned in another reply, love the stuff with a slow/mystical/melancholic feel to it, like Mushishi.
I wouldn’t call houseki no kuni slow in the same way. It’s more… Artistic. It deals with artistic image based allegory and poetically displaying things like the state of mind of characters through a sort of body horror that occurs. The characters are gems, thus their bodies can be fragile and shatter in a way that you can’t do with normal bodies. This opens up the act of someone literally shattering to represent their mental state shattering, that kind of thing. It’s absolutely beautiful and was the first fully 3d anime to actually use the 3d in a way that contributes something to the medium that you absolutely couldn’t do without the 3d. It’s main character’s problem is also very very trans with a strong ship of theseus thing going on as she goes through changes, and the community of gems is a commune. All in all my favourite show in a very very long time, it’s the kind of show you can analyse at a very very deep artistic level, you can watch it a dozen times and pick up new things in it to analyse every time, new meanings to everything. It’s as close to being “art” as it can be.
I liken the two mainly because the way houseki no kuni is representing a trans experience is somewhat similar to the way this show is representing a neurodiverse experience, although this show is far far less art-ey in the way it goes about it.
Have you read the manga? It’s quite a trip.
Houseki? Yes. I picked it up because the art is fucking incredible. Hard to talk about without fucking up a lot for people watching the anime though. It’s definitely getting another season eventually.
got it, the description is still enticing, I’ll keep it in mind for the future
