Frieren isn't boring, it's deliberate

People who think anime like Frieren are boring not once pay attention to the story. If you bring up how one of the "boring" scenes is actually really representative of an important plot point, they'll be really confused or surprised. Because they didn't care.

Who was it that said, something like "if you're bored, that just means you're boring"?

the show is also slow, to reflect how Frieren sees the world. For her, things are slow and laidback, because she is in no hurry. This is her pace through life.

I found myself immediately attracted to Frieren, because im building an story about god living among us mortals, what is life like to someone who will outlive its creations and then start again?, what is like to find someone interesting, that could possibly wake your curiosity, and then lose it from sight in a heartbeat? What happens on the mind of god, who knows all and sees all, and yet want desperately to hold a connection long enough to at least satiate his curiosity, even if just a little?

Most anime watchers are so in-tuned with the fast-paced crazy training arc actions that their brains get accustomed to them and just wants to skip flashbacks to get to the action moments. What the real boring moments are like the naruto and one piece filler episodes, Frieren on the other hand isn't because it's just really their pacing and that the flashbacks are some of the most substiantial areas of the makn story.

One thing I like to point out about Checkhov’s Gun is that its advice for plays.
Applying it over enthusiastically to media outside of plays is taking it out of context. It does not apply to television or books. You can take lessons from it that apply to those mediums, but strict adherence to it as a rule is likely to get in the way more than help.

Frieren is a mage built for a peaceful era. I think that is what this show explores and why conflict is not at the center. This is talked about briefly in the show but I think a theme that is so interwoven throughout.

I loved Frieren for the same reason I loved Kino’s Journey: A Beautiful Adventure. On the surface, it didn’t seem like a lot was going on, but there were a lot of moment that the viewer had to put together. There was a lot that wasn’t explicitly stated but was inferred in subtle yet beautiful ways.

Nowadays dialogue has to fill every second of media, and this tires me. I have watched some old shows and saw perplexed how they would convey whole dialogues in looks and nods.

I remember specificaly Shield Hero as a more recent good example, I believe at the first or second episode, but its the moment the MC is accused and he is in his lowest point.
There is a 30 second sequence with no dialogue, slowly showing him going about, making us seeing him downcast, but not inactive, still trying to do what must be done to survive.

It was a powerful moment because it gave us time to sit with the situation he was facing, and letting us digest how F*$ he was.

That first season was golden.

another good example of a piece of media i think you can read any chapter on and be able to follow the story is horimiya the manga.

i was watching this and thought frieren is like one of the more lovingly written slice-of-life shows

also! im interested on what you'd think of oshi no ko, and! also just wanted to say, when i saw that evan call was the composer(?) i was like this is gonna be good, and also i think it can be true that animes that have their own weird kind of opening music tend to be more surprising ie dandadan, beastars, mob psycho even, and frieren. i mean seriously! the opening is so elf-y!

This show gives me the same vibe when I play Pony Town on a safe server

Just came across your channel. Would love to see you do a vid on Berserk: The Golden Age Arc.

Its boring..thats it

One thing about the himmel is that that guy only appread in the first show alive and passed away but his story as well added the many forshadowing of things that made the Anime a good anime.

The image of her and the mimic never gets old 😂😅

i couldn't focus on your talking because of the music, it fits frieren so much

Frieren feel like it's made my Studio Ghibli since it has quite moments

It’s honestly boring, even as a slice of life.

its the same with grimgar, if it clicks its so worth it if it doesnt its boring. i love grimgar its definetely in my top 10 just under frieren.

I loved the scene when they cross the log. I noticed it presents a bit of character insight, with Freiren crossing with slow deliberation and Fern starting out shaky, but quickly gaining confidence and speed, eventually crossing the log more quickly. Scenes shouldn’t only contribute to plot. They can also contribute to characters or theme.

Anyone bored by this show isn't someone id be interested in hanging around.

"Deliberate" isn't the word I'd use. I think the correct term is "it insists upon itself".

"so little but so much happening at once" really drives at the core of Frieren because of the theme of the "ever-lasting elf." If we step into Frieren's perspective, her initial quest happened in a minute fraction of her life, and in that context every day "nothing" happens and in those few years "not much" happened. But from a human perspective, "so much" happened. Each individual drop of water from the ocean is a teeming ecosystem with hundreds of life forms when seen under a microscope.

So little, yet so much.

I honestly think Frieren is not (so far) a story for your typical action anime fans. To me, it's obvious why your mother would have enjoyed the series because it's heavily aimed for an older audience. While watching the series I found several key elements that a younger person could not relate to.

Being past 50 I have more family dead than still alive, I completely relate to losing most of your family through simple time. Seeing the of those you've known in your lifetime pass away isn't something a twenty-something can truly understand. I also relate to reconsidering your relationships with those now deceased and asking yourself "did I really try to get to know them or did I take them for granted?".

Another aspect which only an older person can understand is accepting that this is no longer your world. You see this in places you've known no longer existing or being vastly changed. Your world is done and gone and this world now belongs to the next generations. Stepping aside and letting them drive the world is a hard lesson that some never learn to accept as is accepting the inevitable changes (ergo many of the problems in our present day world).


And, Frieren is in many ways a parental figure to Fern and Stark. She steps aside to let them discover their abilities while remaining close enough to act in case of emergency. Even letting the romance between Stark and Fern develop at its own pace without too much interference.

Frieren's "goal" is to go and talk to her dead loved ones. That's not something usually even considered by young people. When the road behind you becomes shorter than the remaining road ahead death and loss are in the forefront of your mind and honestly ever present. Just consider the things you have to seriously deal with once you pass that point like retirement, long term healthcare, and estate planning.

In many ways Frieren is the old mentor archetype like Obi-Wan. She doesn't want the recognition of her past or the spotlight in the present. She's there to drive Fern and Stark into becoming the heroes for this world now. This is even something you see during the exam arc and her relationships with the younger mages and could explain Serie's animosity towards her lack of ambition. From a narrative standpoint, this may be her last adventure (whether she will die or survive at the end is still hard to say).

So between the pacing of the story and the character of Frieren herself I see the show to be far more appealing to older anime fans than to the majority of the younger audience.

Personally, one of many things Frieren made me realize is that we should take our time and enjoy the journey, rather than just focusing on the destination. This resonates deeply with the conversation between Eiser and Himmel—when Eiser was worried about them goofing around while people were dying through this journey. Himmel responded with, "Would you prefer a difficult and painful journey? I'd rather enjoy a ridiculous and fun journey i can laugh about when it's over." which really stuck with me.
Also,
At first, the anime sets up the idea that Frieren, as an immortal, saw her 10-year journey with her friends as just a fleeting moment. That was honestly heartbreaking and sad for me. But as she continued her travels, she was constantly reminded of them in small ways, which made me realize that even a brief memory, just a few minutes long, can change a person forever for the better(or for worse).
The way she carries herself, the decisions she makes, and the kindness she shows all reflect those moments, even if she doesn’t explicitly acknowledge it. It’s as if her body remembers more than her mind does. Her growth isn’t about a dramatic realization(which makes it boring for many people)-it’s quiet, slow, and deeply ingrained in her everyday life. In a way, those minutes she spent with Himmel and the others never truly ended. They continue to live on in her actions, her choices, and the way she views the world. Even as centuries pass, those fleeting moments remain a part of her—immortal, just like she is. The memories of mortals may fade from history, but through Frieren, they are carried beyond time itself.

I always hated Chekov's Gun. A firearm on the mantle can be a piece of set dressing, it can inform the audience that the home's owner is a hunter or veteran or holds certain values, it can describe the culture of the region, it can live outside the direct story & improve the story in many ways. That's how you bring a world to life, you introduce materials that expand beyond the narrow insight we have to the whole.

I'm of the opinion theme is core to all stories. All stories can be broken down into what they want to say, characterized with obfuscation & plays with the audience. Though sometimes, as in comedies, it is more about the play itself than the messages. In any case, it is the exploration of something which makes art, art.

I am sorry, but this show is really boring. Cause the solutions for most raised problems are very straightforward. Village is sleeping? Sure, we know why. We need to find a beast/demon? Sure, they are this way. We need to fight it? This is how we do it.

I kind of get that Frieren is too much OP to not solve problems, but really, they could have added at least some interesting reactions and characters! Maybe some problems that can't be solved by brut force.

man i love this show its perfect for me, i even got annoyed or at least a little bored? when combat happened lol i was just waiting for them to get back to looking for a spell to rewarm tea

frieren have pay off for almost everything, meanwhile there are tv shows that have 15 seasons and nothing really happens and the plot never moves fowards or in some cases they go backwards like supernatural when they killed the people saved by the two brothers.

The terms I would use to describe it's strong points are: scenic, immersive, wholesome, charming.

this anime is better than most of the anime ive seen and ive seen and read a lot of anime/manga

Like Winnie the Poo and Christopher Robin. The way the characters speak creates the gentle, relaxed feeling in your mind. Frieren's story is expansive, full of heartbreaking sadness, gleeful happiness, moments of amazement and excitement. Basically, the story is like riding on an old steam train of emotions poking along on a hilly roller coaster and the whole time, the entire coaster is sinking. So fight the tiring hypnosis off long enough to get the premise, and you'll be hooked.

I love your channel please never die

Got it, it's garbage not boring

No it's pretty boring. People are animated like they're in molasses, and no that's not "hand drawn animation" it's trying too hard. Plenty of Hand Drawn animation that can make a scene without being PHSYSICALLY SLOW.

The most engaging part of the show is watching every character lightly gaslight Frieren into thinking she's wrong for being the way she is.


There is literally an episode about a flower that practically went extinct, despite magic that conjures flowers existing, and despite they find a whole tower filled with them, implying they live without need of much nutrients in the soil, and can survive flooding, considering they live in small basin on top of the tower in DROVES. The only interesting part of this episode was wondering if the town INTENTIONALLY killed off these flowers considering they're practically an infestation hazard.

Like I can say the show is OK, kinda derivative, but definitely boring. It's no "greatest anime of all time" it's just "one of the anime of all time," and that's just a fact. If you love it, good for you, but it's still boring, and that's OK.

People who say this is boring are the same morons that don’t like one piece.

Naw I’m sorry but it’s mid. Intentionally slow doesn’t mean the character are interesting or the conflict is good.

Frieren didn't instantly click for me either
it took almost 10 mins

Anyone know the music used? It's sad to see this video doesn't have them listed in the description like the others I've watched did, I've saved so many songs from just this guy's videos alone.

How bad one's ADHD has to be to call Frieren boring?
I've got ADHD and in my opinion, the silent, tense and slow scenes are the greatest.
For example the scene in Ghost in the Shell where she's fighting the spider tank.

Everything just stops, slow scene changes, atmospheric music, slow cuts... nothing much happens... we just wait...

And you could cut that emotion and excitement with a knife it's that thick....

One of the greatest scenes in film history.

Or the famous elevator scene in the NGE... one of the greatest scenes ever.

I've no patience (pun intended) for those who just can't use their own brains and expect constant feed by the conveyor from the screen...

Constant action vs good storytelling

Personally I don’t hate the pace, but the whispering/soft tone every single character seems to take does bother me at times.

This show has too much boring bits to be an all-time great. It does have good and great moments but let's be real here. There's about 4-6 episodes of fluff that could be left out and presented as an OVA.

I never had a thought Frieren's boring.
It's.. chill. Relaxed. Cozy.

Hey I love ur Frieren series try watching heavenly delusion it's nice and I think u'll like it

My comment is deliberate.

It feels like a lot of the time, when people see a highly rated popular show, they go into it expecting high payout power trip anime. When I was watching this I thought, this is a perfect mix of longing and memories from violet evergarden and peacefulness of natsume yujincho. And somehow they turned it into more cinematic, delicate and peaceful show. So for a lot of people this anime broke a stereotype. Because when people complain about this show is boring, it felt like , YEAH that is the purpose of it, the bad guy is dead. It's about a immortal elf taking her time to find ways so that she can make up for the lost time she neglected with her human companion and get to meet him again. Even the show makes it a point that her idea of time and pace is different than the humans in the show and that translate to us too.

I think that it is super interesting that you state that Frieren isnt build around conflict, while I would argue that it absolutely is. The conflict lies in Frieren's inability to comprihend what Himmel meant to her (and what she meant to Himmel in return). The depth and intensity of the central conflict is the equalivant to the story as air is to sustain human life.

What I found incredible telling in episode 14, is how Fern responded to Frieren looking for her missing ring. When Frieren said, 'it wasnt important, I lose stuff all the time,' it was Fern who stood up and said that they would not leave the forest until they found the ring.

That line is a living, breathing cliche, yet Fern hardly raises her voice in a similar way. To me, it showed that Fern understood that that ring from Himmel, with the same symbol on it as her bracelet and dispite them both not knowing what it meant, is that a lot of love and diliberation went into choosing an appropiate gift for their loved ones. Fern does not get to see the flashback, yet I think that Fern had a similar moment of connection and an awakening of her growing feelings towards Stark.

Fern understood the emotional weight of the ring and responded to the unresolved romantic conflict between Himmel and Frieren. The writers know how to call back to that same underlying, unresolved conflict with every single scene that they show. Because when Frieren walks over that tree, she does so with confidence while Fern is shown as insecure and inexperienced. It is later when you see how Frieren reaches out to Fern to assist her.

Not because she has to, but because she is chosing to. And it is the same with the pairs of animals that the series often portray. It is about developing closeness and deeping relationships.

And it is very beautiful indeed.