Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the northern road beckons, as we settle down with our trusted traveling companions for an episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. What dangers lie ahead are unknown to us, but that’s really the beauty of long journeys; the ever-shifting scenery reminds us of both the vastness and inconstancy of the world around us, its capacity for transition, transformation, and renewal. And perhaps, by letting the road carry us forward and embracing the surprises it brings, we might hope to be transformed as well.
Our last episode offered some fine opportunities for personal reassessment, as Sein took a rare leadership role within the party, and Stark learned the finer points of courtly etiquette. Stark’s assignment saw him pantomiming the past to protect the future, offering the people a false assurance of their prince’s vitality, and through doing so acquiring a key memory of his own: himself and Fern on the dance floor, turning their torturous practice into a celebration of their bond. We cannot know what treasures might lie in store, and that is precisely why we must be open to experience, with eyes scanning the horizon rather than lodged in a grimoire. You hear that, Frieren? That one was pretty pointed, I’m sure you know I’m talking about you.
Alright, let’s get to the show.
Episode 16
“Long-Lived Friends.” A persistent preoccupation with Frieren, of course. The extended lifespans of elves make a convenient way of emphasizing a universal human experience – the gradual transition in mindset from “what will I do with my life” to “what have I done with my life,” as your own faculties and opportunities shift, and the things you once saw as stable points reveal themselves to simply have life spans longer than your prior lived experience. It’s an inevitable mindset shift that can only really be challenged by remaining present and active, by reframing your life as “what’s ahead of you” regardless of the time behind you, and by genuinely seizing new opportunities, rather than seeing them as intended for someone younger (as Sein originally did). Frieren’s regret comes from failing to do this – from simply hiding her nose in a book, rather than admiring and engaging with the ever-shifting world around her
Incidental shots lead us into a man fishing at a river’s edge, first introduced by his sleeve, then his lure, then finally an establishing shot from far behind him. The overall effect prioritizes the scene’s tone over its subject; the man is not the priority here, the priority is establishing this practiced routine, this clear stream, this bright and quiet day
The man is a young Sein, who is soon interrupted by his adventurer friend. His friend is animated with exuberant fluidity, drawing an immediate contrast between his energy and Sein’s passivity as he explains that some mage will be taking a photograph of them
“This is the start of our legend!” The partial body shots, soft focus, slow motion, and hymnal music all align to give this scene a mythic visual significance, emphasizing how Sein being dragged into motion by his friend is the essence of their relationship, and really Sein’s life in microcosm
That photo carries us into the present, where Sein sits examining it by the fire. Accurate color photographs are wildly out of step with the rest of this world’s technology, but to be honest, if you were looking to Frieren for consistency or richness of worldbuilding, you’d probably have dropped it before now
We’re now in the Klar region, marked by low rolling plains and plentiful farmland, all brought luxuriously to life in quasi-watercolor backgrounds. There’s sort of a natural tension there, which crops up in a variety of aspects of this production; the anime is filling in and elevating things which weren’t actually strengths of the original manga, from the worldbuilding to the character writing to the pacing, a practice which can occasionally rub against inarguable choices of the source text like that photograph. Frieren’s focus on aging, nostalgia, and being present in your life is the vital, compelling throughline of the original text – for everything else, the adaptors are clearly elevating the material, and occasionally running into friction with the original text’s more questionable choices
Apparently they’re meeting an old dwarf friend of Frieren’s, “Old Man Voll,” who has protected the upcoming village for four hundred years in spite of the average dwarf life expectancy only being three hundred years or so
“I want to chat with him before he dies.” An excellent line by Frieren, demonstrating both her changing values and her unchanging bluntness. She values meeting old friends, but she’s not going to be sentimental about death
God, all these long shots as they cross the fields are such an inherent pleasure. Frieren’s combination of lush, natural background art and inviting traditional music effectively conjures that feeling of a cozy, rambling renaissance journey, the same tone that Spice & Wolf employs so well
“Doesn’t he seem cool, like an old, seasoned warrior?” I do appreciate Frieren’s off-kilter sensibilities; she feels convincingly long-lived in that her impression of what is “cool” or “exciting” or “obvious” are all fragments scrapped from hundreds of years of vaguely engaging with the wider world, picking up scraps of alleged common sense that are indecipherable to her young companions
“Your strategies are as underhanded as ever.” He has lived this long as a warrior by presenting himself as non-threatening and always taking advantage of his opponents’ carelessness. In spite of his strength, Stark’s assumptions regarding this old man weakness and intentions get him knocked flat in a moment
Frieren’s “I’d like to stay here for a decade” running gag actually feels very enticing to me. I’m a person who likes to live slow, to admire the scenery, to just sort of exist in a place and embrace the tenor of life there. It sounds delightful to just settle into various ways of life like this for long stretches of time, but our modern human lives are short and goal-oriented, with modest contentment frequently condemned as unambitious passivity. I don’t want to rule the world, I just want to be happy and share some happiness within it
“I had no idea Old Man Voll had friends. I’ve never seen him converse so happily before.” That said, Voll does offer an interesting counterpoint to that philosophy. He is so long-lived that he actually can’t closely relate to the village he protects; the key points of his life are stretched too far apart for these human villagers to construct a meaningfully conclusive portrait of his overall nature. He is closer to Frieren than to them, yet has still found peace and purpose here; this village is a good place, and protecting it is a noble cause
It seems he actually is largely senile, but reuniting with Frieren and training Stark is reviving him a bit
And as ever, the essence of life is life in montage, the moments we remember from a seemingly endless procession of days
Frieren tells Voll that he’s the reason she got close to Himmel and the others
Back during their earlier adventure, Voll revealed that his motivation is “defending the village my wife loved”
His wife was human. During a brief flashback, the show combines soft focus, overwhelming bloom lighting, and variations in animation tempo to create the impression of a memory fading with time, a woman whose face he can’t quite recall
Himmel states that even though she’s dead, he’s sure Voll’s wife is happy that he’s keeping his promise. An unintended pledge to Frieren as well, attesting he’ll be happy she venerates his memory even when he’s gone
“Don’t insult me. I remember everything. Himmel is the reason I decided I’d get to know people.” In this, Voll clearly has more experience than Frieren – he’s lived long enough that even his most treasured memories are no more than intellectual touchstones, not experiences he can close his eyes and relive fresh. Frieren believes Voll’s insulting her dedication to Himmel’s memory, but the truth is, no matter how treasured a memory, it will inevitably lose color and texture over time
It seems like Frieren just can’t grapple with that eventuality, and so instead assumes Voll is joking
Frieren tells Voll her destination, and he replies “so you’re finally off to defeat the Demon King.” A reply that both emphasizes his clear senility and also calls into question what Frieren’s quest actually accomplished
“I’ll carry your memory into the future, too.” Even long-lived friends pass in time. She can’t bring back her old friend, but she can honor his memory
A willow in autumn foliage stands at the town’s edge, a clear visual parallel for Voll
“Frieren, I dreamed of my wife.” By celebrating the past, we can truly keep it alive. These rituals aren’t just for the dead – they are crucial for us as well, to rekindle our precious memories
Sein continues to enquire about his absent friend as they journey further north
Apparently some folks remember seeing him, which Sein attributes to his memorable title of “Gorilla Warrior”
“Are we still talking about this?” Thank you, Fern
Frieren states they are about a week from the city of Aubern
They stop by a village first, where incidental cuts reveal they dye cloth with inks
Sein is directed to a self-described “stubborn old woman,” who presents them with several tasks in order to learn more about Gorilla Warrior
They receive a letter to deliver to the neighboring village’s blacksmith. What fools they are, completing one task at a time rather than stacking every available quest and doing them all in one laborious sweep
“Our party only has socially awkward members.” The perils of lacking a charisma main in your adventuring group
Their last task is to polish the statues of a pair of old forgotten heroes. Though they quite resemble Sein and his friend, one of them is actually Kraft, the elf they met while holding up for the winter near that mountain range. A reminder that even in this world of legends and long-lived races, the particular longevity of elves leaves them fundamentally isolated in a certain way
Sein reflects back on finding a similar statue as a boy with his friend, who vowed to not be forgotten like Kraft and his companion. And yet, even with their names forgotten, simply existing as tokens of former heroism, they are still capable of inspiring new generations of seekers. A consolation that resonates with Old Man Voll’s story; he did not have to remember his wife’s particular features to maintain her significance in his life. The markers we erect to be remembered by do not tell the full stories of our lives, but they hold meaning all the same
“I’m going to become an unforgettable hero like Himmel.” The confidence of youth and inexperience – first that you think you could be remembered like that, and second that you believe Himmel is actually an ageless hero, as opposed to simply a more recent hero whose name exists in living memory. Himmel will be like these statues eventually, a marker signifying something no one can recall
It was precisely these forgotten heroes that inspired his friend’s unforgettable title
Ultimately, Sein learns his friend went in the opposite direction from their own journey. What will he choose to do?
And Done
Now that was a hearty serving of Frieren goodness! Though the episode’s title referred to long-lived friends, its true priority was long-lived memories, which proved a topic perfectly suited to Frieren’s gentle musings and character studies. For Voll, the significance of his wife’s memory endured far after all the details had passed on, giving his life a sense of unalterable purpose, and imbuing his every action with an affirmation of his love. But while individuals can attempt to hold tight to their precious memories, societies at large are not so attentive – and yet, even a monument whose original meaning has been lost can acquire meaning anew, as with the statue of Kraft and his companion. Though we raise graves and statues to venerate the dead, what purpose they serve for the living is variable and complex; our legacies are uncertain, but we must tend to them all the same.
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