(L) Sousou no Frieren (葬送のフリーレン)

[Kanon]

I binged the manga in two days. I'd say it's in my top 10 of all time, it just does everything right to me and has such great characters. I regret reading so fast a little bit but I still have the anime to enjoy it slower a second time. Many scenes to look forward to.

I was pretty sure of it in the anime, and I was glad to see Fern was confirmed to be a prodigy. She's the only one to have seen past Serie's mana restriction in at least a thousand years. She's not the best at everything, but her mana detection and suppression are second only to Frieren's. She's also grown a lot stronger with the experience she's gained, she did really well against Solitar, who even Frieren found to be an incredibly tough opponent (and in fact had to gamble on Fern being alive to make the killing blow). I like her budding relationship with Stark too. It's progressing super slowly given it's been almost three years since they met but it will get somewhere unlike Frieren and Himmel's.

The current time travel arc does have fanservice elements, but it's also definitely going to set up a major future arc. I'm happy to see Solitar again, who I'm pretty sure isn't actually dead in the present. She studied human magic extensively, it wouldn't be surprising if she could use the cloning technique. She's also still rather mysterious.

I really like that despite the fact she harbors regrets about Himmel, Frieren never attempted to change the past, because she values Fern and Stark just as much and wouldn't want to risk losing them.

And lastly... I hope Sein will come back soon. Frieren refusing to have Methode join them because the priest position is reserved for him gave me hope he'll come back after this time travel arc. He was a fun character and fit quickly into the group. Frieren trying to woo him by blowing a kiss remains one of the funniest moment of the manga.

[Shadow5YA]

I think Solitar is dead for good. No deaths in this series have been faked so far, but I guess what happened between the Omniscient Schlact and the Hero of the South has been vague enough that there could be a loophole in the future.

I never thought much about who wiped out Stark's village, but now that Rivale has been formally introduced I think they'll definitely face off in the future.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

I think Solitar is dead for good. No deaths in this series have been faked so far, but I guess what happened between the Omniscient Schlact and the Hero of the South has been vague enough that there could be a loophole in the future.

I never thought much about who wiped out Stark's village, but now that Rivale has been formally introduced I think they'll definitely face off in the future.

It felt like she received too much build-up to just die like this. IMO the clone technique was introduced beforehand precisely so it could later be used by someone to fake their death without it being an asspull.

[Shadow5YA]

I dunno, I think Solitar accomplished plenty already.

She's the only one so far to give Frieren trouble, and now that unnamed Great Demons are a thing, we now have a potentially unspecified number of enemies just as strong as the Seven Sages of Destruction that Frieren might not know about without having to revive dead ones.

[GDB]

After today's episode, I'm wondering if Stark will end up pulling the Hero's Sword to fight the one who killed his village. The manga didn't have Stark stare at it or have it appear as a flash during his flashback, after all. And since there's a very high probability that the Demon King will resurrect due to this time travel arc, it'd make sense. Plus that other demon who will do something catastrophic in 20ish years.

[Shadow5YA]

They've already long passed the village. It would take them years just to go back for the sword, then turn around again to head back north.

There's no reason for Stark to pull the sword either, because he's meant to be Eisen's successor, who also said he ran from his village after a demon invasion. If he's going to fight Rivale, it'll be with an axe just like Eisen.


Given that the anime tries to cover two chapters per episode (aside from the action packed Aura arc where they slowed down to one), I think they just tried to tie two unrelated chapters together better by having Stark remember his village early.

[Shadow5YA]

I did go back to the beginning of the time travel arc though and noticed that they've reached the Goddess monument at a faster pace than Himmel's party.

They're currently about 3 years out since Frieren set out for Aureole (started 28 years after Himmel's death, they're now at 31 years after Himmel's death).
When Frieren traveled back in time, it said that Himmel was already 7 years into his journey.

Assuming Fern and Stark will take 10 years to reach Aureole, they're probably going to hit a roadblock or a timeskip later down the line.

[Key Board]

Originally Posted by GDB

After today's episode, I'm wondering if Stark will end up pulling the Hero's Sword to fight the one who killed his village. The manga didn't have Stark stare at it or have it appear as a flash during his flashback, after all. And since there's a very high probability that the Demon King will resurrect due to this time travel arc, it'd make sense. Plus that other demon who will do something catastrophic in 20ish years.

the new hero will be Frieren
she's the new Himmel

//

[AndrewR5D4]

Were Himmel's feelings supposed to be obvious, because he never seemed to be openly into Frieren based on most of the flashbacks we've had so far.

That being said.... Falling in love with an elf is just asking for it. Frieren's long life span means she perceives things much differently than a human, and the lure of intimacy and even physical attraction is apparently not something that comes easily for elves, hence why they're going extinct. I assume even between two elves, it would take over a century before both could finally come to terms with such feelings. Humans don't have that long.

It seems she's just now starting to ponder what the memories of their adventures really mean to her.

Himmel had no family, meaning he probably took his feelings to the grave. This is not a story that can have a happy ending for the "Hero". Yet even knowing this, it's still a phenomenal read.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by AndrewR5D4

Were Himmel's feelings supposed to be obvious, because he never seemed to be openly into Frieren based on most of the flashbacks we've had so far.

In chapter 30, Sein says that the mirrored lotus means "eternal love".

We then get a flashback where Himmel buys the mirrored lotus ring that Frieren picked out randomly, makes a melancholic expression fully knowing what it means, and puts it on her finger while kneeling just like you would for a marriage proposal.

Himmel always puts others first though, and he already knew that Frieren didn't have feelings for him at the time.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by AndrewR5D4

Were Himmel's feelings supposed to be obvious, because he never seemed to be openly into Frieren based on most of the flashbacks we've had so far.

Of course they were. If it's obvious to us based on flashbacks from Frieren's POV, then it was obvious to Heiter and Eisen as well. I feel like it should have clicked for Frieren when she found out the meaning of the ring he gave her, but she ended up assuming he didn't know what it meant.

I'm pretty sure Fern figured out Himmel's real feelings a long time ago, but she knows it's not her place to say it. Stark is more dense.

The latest chapter actually makes Himmel's story more tragic, since it revealed marrying Frieren was his dearest wish (more than becoming the hero who defeated the Demon King), and he never came close to accomplishing that.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Kanon

The latest chapter actually makes Himmel's story more tragic, since it revealed marrying Frieren was his dearest wish (more than becoming the hero who defeated the Demon King), and he never came close to accomplishing that.

To be fair, that's not what Grausam's magic does. It grants dreams based on wishes they've already given up on or think will never come true.
It technically doesn't have to be what he wants the most, just something he already gave up on.

The scanlation is already accurate enough, but in case you're curious the official raw says:
私の魔法は決して叶わないと諦めた、幸せな夢でさえも実現できる。
（"My magic can even make blissful dreams that will never come true or you have given up on into reality")


It doesn't change what you said though, because whether it's his Number 1 desire or not he still wanted it.

[AndrewR5D4]

Yes, the ring was definitely a super-sized hint. It may have slipped my mind due to binging the manga quickly: It still leaves some big questions.
- Did Himmel ever love anybody else in the fifty years they were apart?
- What would Frieren think if she knew? Can elves even develop those kinds of feelings? I ask that question, because her own words implied they might not be capable.

[Shadow5YA]

Himmel died with no family or children, so probably not. He kept that dragon horn for decades just because Frieren asked him to, so he probably loved her to the end.

Frieren already showed that she's clueless when it comes to feelings and that her race doesn't have strong feelings of affection. Himmel puts others first so it was already painfully obvious to him that she didn't think much of him during their journey together.

That's slowly changing now, but it's too late for him either way.

Originally Posted by AndrewR5D4

- What would Frieren think if she knew? Can elves even develop those kinds of feelings? I ask that question, because her own words implied they might not be capable.

She may be dense, but she's not an emotionless demon.

If she couldn't develop feelings, then she wouldn't have cried at Himmel's funeral and Heiter's final years. Her sense of time was just different from everyone else's.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

To be fair, that's not what Grausam's magic does. It grants dreams based on wishes they've already given up on or think will never come true.
It technically doesn't have to be what he wants the most, just something he already gave up on.

The scanlation is already accurate enough, but in case you're curious the official raw says:
私の魔法は決して叶わないと諦めた、幸せな夢でさえも実現できる。
（"My magic can even make blissful dreams that will never come true or you have given up on into reality")


It doesn't change what you said though, because whether it's his Number 1 desire or not he still wanted it.

Thanks for clearing it up because that wasn't how I interpreted it.

Originally Posted by Shadow5YA

She may be dense, but she's not an emotionless demon.

If she couldn't develop feelings, then she wouldn't have cried at Himmel's funeral and Heiter's final years. Her sense of time was just different from everyone else's.

I think she was trying to protect herself by not getting too close to them, because as she said to their faces, they would soon die. It wasn't until Himmel died that she realized she had it backwards. She's learned from it and isn't making the same mistake with Fern and Stark. I loved the chapter where Fern got sick, it showed just how deeply she cares about her and that she's trying to be a good parent despite being very awkward.

[Shadow5YA]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I think she was trying to protect herself by not getting too close to them, because as she said to their faces, they would soon die. It wasn't until Himmel died that she realized she had it backwards. She's learned from it and isn't making the same mistake with Fern and Stark. I loved the chapter where Fern got sick, it showed just how deeply she cares about her and that she's trying to be a good parent despite being very awkward.

When they were clearing the mountain road landslide, she also said that elves have naturally have weaker feelings of affection and reproductive instinct because they have such long lifespans. We can also see that with how Serie treats her apprentices.
They all care, but they're awkward and don't know to, and often by the time they learn how to it's already too late.

Frieren still technically makes mistakes with Fern too because of how dense she is, like with Fern's staff breaking. It's just that she's learned how to be a little quicker on the uptake, and Fern is young enough that it's still not too late to fix her mistakes this time either way.

[Shadow5YA]

Since the episode hasn't aired yet, I'll post it here:

The official Frieren anime twitter has announced that Nakamura Yuuichi will be voicing Sein.
https://twitter.com/Anime_Frieren/st...24893878424000

Since the anime opening had Serie in it, I'm assuming it will cover up to the end of the magic exam arc in Äußerst.

[Kanon]

Yeah, the anime is probably going to end with Fern being promoted to First-class and the gang resuming their journey. I hope we'll get the full scene of Fern asking Serie for a spell for doing laundry, it was only an omake in the manga.

[GDB]

Was it just an omake? I thought it was part of a normal chapter, where she also told Frieren that she turned down being Serie's apprentice.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by GDB

Was it just an omake? I thought it was part of a normal chapter, where she also told Frieren that she turned down being Serie's apprentice.

No, it happened off-panel, with only the omake showing us Serie's reaction. Speaking of which, aside from Denken, what the other mages who were promoted asked for remains a mystery. I'd be rather curious what Ubel obtained.