Posted in: Anime, Crunchyroll, Review, TV | Tagged: anime, Crunchyroll, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Review
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 1 Ep. 6: A New Hero Introduced
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, "Phantoms of the Dead" & "The Hero of the Village" introduces a new hero to frontline our adventurers.
The last two episodes of Crunchyroll's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, "Phantoms of the Dead" & "The Hero of the Village," introduce a new hero to frontline our adventurers. The journey to the north starts, and so does the adventure. Frieren and Fern are heading to meet the souls of Frieren's late friends. So far, it has been a lovely story of loss and adventure and the bonds that tie us together.
I thought after the last four episodes were released together, it was only fair to review these last two episodes together since they introduce Stark, our new front-liner with hero capabilities. At first, I was unsure of how time passes on this show as it feels very slice-of-life, and I cannot lie, but it always throws me off when things are so calm and chill, but the balance with magical and fantasy gets me out of it pretty quickly. I also like how we get the story in snippets of flashbacks sprinkled in between. It does make it more exciting to watch— I do not think linear would work with this anime.
Frieren and Fern continue their trek north, unfortunately not to search for Jon Snow, but a Stark. Haha, yes, I just laughed at my own "dad joke." They manage to reach the city but are unable to beat the dragon, and Frieren realizes they really need someone who is capable of fighting, and who else better than Eisen's own disciple, who we find out more as Frieren's memories unfold as the episode goes along and we find out more of the boy and why he left Eisen behind. Once again, pretty sad and heartbreaking as it seems to be the backstory for every character I love nowadays. Turns out, as opposed to what they were made to believe at first: Stark is a scaredy cat who was just in the right place at the right time and is now regarded as the hero for beating the dragon away. Spoiler alert, he did not.
However, what Stark does have is the potential and resolve to protect the village that warmly welcomed him when he was not a real hero, as Fern tells him. Turns out Stark is a good boi hiding behind his lies, trying to be better than what he believes he is. And surprise, he really is better than what he thinks, and while things were left in such a bad way with Eisen, it was all a misunderstanding because of how scared Eisen got in the midst of training and how much power actually resides within Stark. He agrees to help Frieren and Fern, and so they go to beat the dragon, which Stark ends up doing by himself without even realizing it.
It was a pretty sweet and magical episode. I like seeing Frieren open up, and I hope we can see her reunite with Himmel and her previous master. I am especially curious after Frieren mentioned she was used to hearing her beg for her life. Like what happened there? This part reminded me of Vanitas a little. I am very much looking forward to seeing what is hiding in Frieren's past and seeing how much she has changed without realizing it. Also, I just need to add that Crunchyroll's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is so aesthetically pleasing— the characters are so pretty, and it makes my heart smile. Not a bad trait for an anime.