5 Things That Made Frieren The Highest Rated Anime Ever...

[@frierency]

death isn’t the only goodbye really hits. reminded me of how i met and got close with so many people in highschool and one day, without any clear reason why, we eventually drifted apart. cherish what you have now, cause you never know when that will happen.

[@westsideotaku1555]

spot on

[@travvhunter]

I’ve watched over 200 anime series (not including multiple seasons of many shows) and Frieren is my favorite anime of all time. It’s not just recency bias it legitimately deserves all the praise it’s received - everything from the characters to the action to the story is top tier. You hit it all right on the head with this vid!

[@braddl9442]

This is what is called an evergreen story. Its a story that will hold up even years or decades from now. As an ANIME this is a LORD OF THE RINGS movies moment. Its going to be a production people look back on to think about how they want to create their anime. Predating that was Lodoss war the original OVAs.

[@luisguillermogarcia3724]

I have read many mangas and watch many animes, but Frieren is one of those manga/anime that you wants to continue as much as Frieren’s life, but is the same Frieren who reminds us that all things needs to come to an end, and that ending is just the beginning of something new, with or without us being part of it.

[@TheSpeedfoever]

I know it might sound crazy but not only is this is my anime of the year so far but it could also be anime of the decade. There's so many things I love about this show! Story, characters, music like everything about this is just incredible to me! I won't spoil it to people who haven't watched it yet but please give this a shot! Also I really love the OP and ED 1 and 2 songs and I mean both of them honestly it's all bops!

[@westsideotaku1555]

Oh my gosh the first OP is sooooooo good. And yeah the ED is just so damn pretty both visually (both 1st and 2nd) and the song itself. Such crazy visuals rather than being straight forward animation on those ED's. So much to love about this show, but if this was an overall review I will say the back half kind of took away the brilliance of the front half for me since my favorite moments with the show is "The Journey" but still love it.

[@loayzc10]

It's an anime of a lifetime for me. Hardly any show has touched my heart in such a profound way

[@friedhotwings]

@@westsideotaku1555the mage exam was part of the journey

[@emperornguyen]

Listening to you being broken from the line of how "Death isn't the only goodbye in this life" absolutely broke me. Throughout the entire anime, I took a lot of introspective thoughts on how I interact with others, and the Heiter moments always broke me because it reminded me of my parents and grandparents. Yet that line didn't sink in to be contrasted by the last line by Frieren in the season until you spelt it out. How at any given point in our life, we could lose someone for whatever reason. A few months ago, my best friend left me because I never allowed myself to grow, and did stupid things to her and the things relating to her. Never in my life had I experienced losing anybody out of anger, yet it happened. Maybe, just maybe, we can reconcile in the future. Yet there's the possibility where we'll never meet again. All I can do now is cherish my memories with her and learn to grow from it. I'm sorry for dumping this publicly, I just never truly felt the weight of it until you said it out loud. This anime, truly is something special. Thank you for giving a more in depth look as to why this anime is so loved.

[@westsideotaku1555]

[@meursaulty6672]

That one line was elevated so much just by the fact that it was Wirbel who said it. He is perhaps the one character other than Frieren who is most familiar with death, having taken lives himself and watching lives be thrown away. The line itself is powerful, but it just hit a little different coming from him.

[@westsideotaku1555]

I hope you guys enjoyed this! I have a simple vid coming soon on our community chosen anime for March (Skip and Loafer) and also hopefully will have something for my usual anime anniversary for Ouran. But for now I NEEDED to speak my truth on Frieren that may help vocalize why some can't say exactly why they loved Frieren.

[@killuazoldyck4742]

Godly adaptation, peak anime ... this is why I love anime since I was a kid. One of the highlight of my anime journey of 25 years now 😊 and im in my mid 30s

[@westsideotaku1555]

A fresh new one in that long journey of ours that is a pebble compared to the journey Frieren has been on xD We have a new modern masterpiece on our hands.

[@Danny01474]

I cheered when I saw the "The Journey to Ende Continues". It's probably the best way they could announce that there's going to be a S2.

[@westsideotaku1555]

I seriously was so happy when I saw that screen.

[@nephtys369]

I appreciate that you’re willing to be emotional in this. I think that’s why we love the show; we can relate.

[@westsideotaku1555]

🍷

[@briareus3]

I'm with you man, this show is like nothing else. Moves me to tears, and not sadly but happily, meaningfully.

[@westsideotaku1555]

Just has a vibe I haven't felt in so long that's just different.

[@sahargenish7058]

Frieren was never emotionless or emotionally distant. She always cared about her comrades, like turning sweet grapes sour for Heiter, or creating crushed ice for Aisen. She remembers Stark and Fern's birthdays, and made giant hamburgers for stark's birthday. She made a big effort to treat Fern for the best sweets in town just because. There are many other examples for that. The point is, people say that Frieren is "emotionless", but she's just calm in nature, and have different percepion of time, being practically immortal

[@westsideotaku1555]

Spot on. I think emotionless and careless are two different things, but in this sense perhaps a better word to use is "expressive"

[@Nuriawall555]

The sour grapes were for Eisen not Heiter

[@sahargenish7058]

@@Nuriawall555 right

[@stephy9]

Thank you... thank you for describing how impactful Frieren's journey is. I'm so grateful and so in awe of how well the music, animation, story, and characters are put together to highlight these certain moments of Frieren's journey. How organic everything felt really brought the characters and the world to life and allowed me to relate and immerse myself in these moments. Many episodes of Frieren were so fullfilling, and the series as a whole reminds me why it's important to be in the moment at times because life is fleeting. It's been a while since I had an anime I highly recommend for anyone to watch. I'm so happy you enjoyed it! 😊

[@westsideotaku1555]

And thank YOU for getting me to watch it

[@elliebrinjane6363]

Thank you!!! This video is just so beautiful! You broke it down so beautifully! Can’t wait to see the next season!

[@westsideotaku1555]

Thank you so much!! I'd like to do simple stuff like this going forward that doesn't require tons of editing. Hopefully this isn't a Made in Abyss situation where we have to wait 5 years.

[@eugenimacia7576]

As a lover of Frieren I have read a lot of reviews and comments on the serie. Yours is the one I like the most. I don't care on top lists, I care on what the history makes me feel and Frieren is in very special place on my hearth. Will look if you have reviews on my other loved ones like Violet Evergarden.

[@westsideotaku1555]

Woah really? Thanks Eugen! I feel like mine is super simple compared to the rest considering how scripted and broll filled they are, while I'm just talking on camera. I'd like to do more like this.

[@Monica_bondevik]

I love Frieren and I love full metal alchemist brotherhood, I personally believe they both deserve the top spot. Brotherhood was one of my foundational animes a show that showed me that having an ending was good, that a show didn't need to go on for thousands of episodes for me to enjoy it. Frieren teaches you to enjoy what you have while you have it

[@westsideotaku1555]

And neither fill with obvious filler. It all feels part of what ever this particular story is trying to tell.

[@Monica_bondevik]

@@westsideotaku1555 yes, filler can absolutely kill a show. Honestly one reason I can't bring myself to watch one piece is it feels like it's not allowed to end, the story is the same age as me and feels bloated and intimating to those that couldn't engage from day one. As much as I think I could watch 1000 episode of frienen or full metal alchemist (honestly both brotherhood and 03) I don't want it, I want to see it end even if the anime doesn't stay without the manga. I'd rather have an ending over bloating the series, I like FMA 03 because it took what it had and made an ending of it's own that is different to brotherhood and the manga and I especially enjoyed the 03 movie. I can recommend them because they're not bloated and a person doesn't have to dedicate years of their life to watching 1 story. Back on one piece my friend and I kinda joked that it'll probably never end till the creator passes away, we had the same joke with dragon ball (rip)

[@Sylenced1]

Watching and feeling your emotion as you spoke about the Anime helped me relive it once more. Doesn't matter how many people I watch talk about the series - it really did help bring the Anime community together in a way, and no, I don't think it deserves to outrank FMA, BUT it did for a specific reason : )

[@westsideotaku1555]

-and that reason being? :D

[@Sylenced1]

​@@westsideotaku1555 Oh boy you are asking for a Ted Talk w/ that question : ) Full Metal has not only the OG series a lot of us grew up watching via Adult Swim, a darker but more in depth character story, especially Nina's segment compared to Brotherhood. Hiromu Arakawa created an amazing Manga w/ FMA Brotherhood which was very well adapted in Anime form. In the early episodes a lot of the portions of the original series that was aired were glossed over, rushed essentially, but FMA vs. Frieren to me isn't even close. BUT that may be because we have only seen the beginning of Frieren's journey and as someone who hasn't read its manga, not knowing how far it goes, I am ignorant to just how much more beautiful the series of Frieren becomes. Alas, can it really defeat a classic embedded in the community like FMA with its fantasy, action, adventure, character growth, and more? FMA developed its characters very well, beyond just Edward and Alphonse. It's hard not to think of them all fondly, even the villains like Kimbley etc. I could write a paper worthy of an English 101 final on the series. I can't say the same about Frieren because it hasn't been as well developed yet as FMA OG series and Brotherhood has. The mere fact that the community came together to rate it higher than FMA Brotherhood gives it the recognition it deserves, but it has more to fulfill if it wants to maintain that rank : ) That is my debate for now XD

[@aslanhu677]

tearful goodbye aren't our style, we just wait patiently for second season, because that what himmel the hero would do😉

[@westsideotaku1555]

🍷

[@xIxjoshxIx]

I love your voice cracks it just shows how hard this show hits. I love this show. I tear up all the time thinking about things in this show. I love this show . 100/10

[@weaverIOG]

Dang, i got teary eyes from watching grown ass dude explaining a freaking anime, hat off to u as well sir ❤

[@westsideotaku1555]

🍷 So happy when I get the emotions to swell! I legit was feeling it while editing it

[@Sgt_SealCluber]

Evan Call did the OST for "Violet Evergarden" as well, one of the reasons that show is so good. Yes it's Kyoto, but without Evan's score I don't think it would have been as good.

[@westsideotaku1555]

Evan is a freaking legend in the anime composer scene, holy crap

[@cloudbreaddddd]

I agree with every point you pointed out. I love the music, idk why but it gives like a nostalgic vibes and just hits every scene perfectly. And because this is a story about after the main story of Heroes Party, every Frieren's memories of Heroes Party made it feels very special. Sometimes when they make the past and present intersected, it made me teared up a bit lol And yes, this anime got the first place in my heart 🥇

[@NamelessDragon21]

I absolutely love frieren because it’s different compared to other anime series most or all anime shows (with the exception of mob psycho) usually have an over arching theme where they have a goal to defeat a final villain but with frieren there is no goal to defeat the final villain because it’s already been taken care of which makes it great because isn’t about the main villain it’s about the character’s in the story and how you shouldn’t take others for granted and enjoy what you have before it goes away

[@westsideotaku1555]

YESSSSSS. It's something that does such a good job of being in the moment and in the present and that is something so fresh in story telling

[@looots1320]

"Fear brought me here" soundtrack might be one of the single best musical I have heard

[@anthax908]

Evan Call went balls deep..... and then someone managed to go further.. respect

[@tomokig2655]

There are very few animes or even series in general which have this quality and impact on you. Every episode has its own charme and the characters are well thought through. We can see that the creator got his inspirations by Lord of the Rings but instead of just ripping it off the team took every special aspect of this book (or even movie) and tried to apply this to their own work without just copying. The soundtrack reminds me of the movie's songs but are so well adapted to their own lore and theme that these songs have become masterpieces of their own. Each character is like JRR Tolkien did thought through in each aspect - the history, the leanings, the friends and enemies - you could just pickl one of the characters and create its own show about them without losing anything. In the end everything feels real in their own world with their own rules and life. This level of quality hasn't been done for a very long time - I just hope that the same team will work on the next season.

[@OMartinez91]

My hope from this anime is that other productions learn from Madhouse and the mangaka how to create a story similar to Frieren. I feel it's a kind of story not many like to tell anymore

[@Ryuseishun]

I remember a time when I felt like Violet Evergarden, a show by KyoAni whose OST is ALSO done by Evan Call, was never gonna be replaced as my #1 favorite anime, because how that one resounded with me so much. And then....this show, arguably one of, if not THE, best things I've experienced from the anime, came along, and took that spot without much hesitation. No, I didn't sob or break down in tears like I did with Violet Evergarden, but the feelings here for me with Sousou no Frieren felt like something far, far more profound. More than I ever expected to feel from something I honestly thought was just gonna be a great seasonal and nothing that much more. It's a testament to the endeavors by the director, the scriptwriter, the animation team, and the composer Evan Call himself, of course, in making me, an usually cynical individual (admittedly) have all this joy and emotions about it. Great visuals, great themes, great characters, great storywriting and direction....it was one of the closest things to perfection I've seen from the world of entertainment in quite a while, tbh. I pray that s2 will come in due time and still in good hands, cause like you said, there's so much more to explore. Frieren is just that amazing, through and through. ❤❤

[@westsideotaku1555]

More profound feels right. Telling what is a epilogue story and that is such a different feeling.

[@BGP369]

I would be a little detatched too, if i lived through the death of my village. Frieren shows many signs of autism of some level. Possibly even Aspergers. Speaking from experience. I think she reflects the apathy the modern younger generations show towards life. It could even be the people who made it are reflecting themselves in the characters. They do look the right age to have experienced what most of gen Z or perhaps Millennials have experienced.

[@ObiwanNekody]

Frieren, the character, is probably between 1300 and 1500 years old. Flamme was about 1000 years before Himmel. When Frieren met Flamme her uncompressed aura is about the same size as her current day compressed mana. Aura, the character, lets us know that that's the expected amount of mana for a mage over 100 years old but less than 300.

[@SilversEC]

Great video, and I agree with his analysis. However I couldn't stop hearing him say FEAR-ren when I pronounce it FREE-ren.

[@westsideotaku1555]

Your annunciation is what I usually go with it xD

[@nagato2240]

The crazy thing? The best part of the manga, for now, is yet to be adopted.

[@VergieOfDeath]

I like this anime, for many reasons. Fantasy being my favorite genre, I also liked that this anime, is very sincere with its story telling. I like how we get to see the story after the main thing happened from an Elf's POV. It didn't even need to have battles.

[@westsideotaku1555]

Straight up. That epilogue feel created this sense of absolute no urgency in this story that is something so rare to actually work out well. Yeah there is a plot introduced with an endgame, but it feels like it's a "at our own pace" type deal and really hope nothing happens that adds urgency to it to make it like the rest.

[@werdnaxela9553]

Frieren is the complete package. Madhouse really made a modern day classic.

[@westsideotaku1555]

-again. They did it again! Between Death Note, One Punch Man S1, and Hunter x Hunter it's wild how they got so many all time greats under their belt.

[@pabloruansabino3933]

This anime its just perfect! The peak of meaning masterpiece!

[@uraveragehoovy]

Finally, someone giving Evan Call the credit he’s due.

[@westsideotaku1555]

OH YEAH! I think his music is a massive part as to how we get so immersed in this quiet world where the characters aren't too expressive. He makes it FEEL alive and something of a legend.

[@dareka9425]

I love all the characters, not just the main ones. Everyone is kind towards each other. Not one stereotypical ignorant fat noble who makes things unnecessarily hard for everybody else or slimy backstabbers. And the characters are not comically smart like in other anime and their geniuses. Denken's party were bracing to fight Frieren's clone but after the first shot they just run out of the room and waited for the other examinees for help. These people in Frieren still lived in a harsh world: monsters and bandits roaming between settlements wars in the North and South, ancient magic and curses lying around, brutal mage exams. I love that the villagers never lose their humanity with all that bleak prospects surrounding them and believe in a better future.

[@westsideotaku1555]

The characters in this felt insanely grounded. A lowkey thing I appreciated about the show is the lack of the over the top back stories, chibi/crazy animations when they express something, and just many things that anime usually does to show what a character is feeling/thinking, but this they all felt incredibly real in this world we are watching.

[@monohe4d380]

Reading the negative reviews on MAL is just completely mind boggling. The first one i saw just said it has no characters. Like what?

[@westsideotaku1555]

There's gonna be tons of those reviews unfortunately on all anime.

[@samarthsingh11s16]

Bro, i subscribed you.

[@westsideotaku1555]

Thanks for subbing samar!

[@V1lkas]

i started listening the prerealase ost album 3 months before watching anime, almost everyday, in few places it always gives me goosebumps and sometimes i even cry idk how it works but i can not wait for full album release in 2 weeks and i definitely buying CDs, i want cry more Also try violet evergarden OST its also from Evan, chef kiss

[@westsideotaku1555]

I noticed Evan did Violet Evergarden as well while I was preparing my thoughts for this and YEP. Can totally hear it.

[@V1lkas]

@@westsideotaku1555this is the best feeling u can get, you listen to something where you dont know the artist and it pops into your head, I know it from somewhere... where did I hear that style...

[@boom350ph]

Forget who is the battle harden mage from the north in the magic kingdom arc but like he said what made him who he is is not himmels epic tales of slaying monsters but the nost mundane shit the town talks about like how he help a person cross a river , help a dude catch his lost chikens, help merchant fix his cart

[@dc1397]

Another great thing about this show is no screaming and yelling like Asta in Black Clover. I understand having an excited motivated character, but come on, tone it down a notch. Plus, it's subtle little things in Frieren. Whenever Fern blinks, she's getting ready to throw down.

[@westsideotaku1555]

TOTALLY. A point I didn't bring up is how there's is little to no tropes in this show. No bouncing boobs, no screaming to overcome challenge, no power of friendship, no "I must become stronger", just a straight forward peak into the lives of these characters.

[@hyperbrid8438]

Just a beautiful video. Nuf said.

[@westsideotaku1555]

Ay thank you so much brid!

[@RafikiafReKo]

The best thing when hearing people talk about Frieren with so much love is that I concider The Mage Exam arc to be the weakest arc in the manga, but it is still making waves. That's when you know you've found a gem

[@westsideotaku1555]

For me the Mage Exam distracts from what made the show great cuz it felt like an actual anime arc which is something this show didn't really feel like it was doing. It was breaking all kinds of tropes or more accurately not bothering with them. None the less Mage Exam still a nice watch tho!

[@nicofolkersma2535]

I haven't copleted Alchemist yet but Frieren I followed every week and the exam arc I've seen a couple of times. Frieren gave me a number of emotions, but the strongest one came from FMAlchemist, anger. Anger and grief. I think everybody who's seen the series knows which episode I mean; the one where this idiot melds his daughter and dog together to show he still counts. For that reason I would place both series on the number 1 spot, with Girls last tour a close second.

[@Executioner9000]

This show is damn close to topping Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann as my favorite anime ever.... Not quite, but it's the closest anything has ever come.

[@friedhotwings]

Me with Hunter X Hunter

[@lostfigure3703]

I couldn't focus on anything else other than his massive arms lol

[@Ninjaair64]

I'm gonna watch this darn show cause you all won't shut up about it. I want to see this masterpiece for myself!

[@westsideotaku1555]

Still holding up on MAL >_>;

[@LunaBlanche7328]

good video man. commenting for algorithm chan

[@westsideotaku1555]

Legend!

[@TheBilayer]

madhouse combat action animation is amazing! Frieren remind me of Cardcaptor Sakura and Claymore fusion. Frieren do not realise that she really love himmel.

[@westsideotaku1555]

idk if she romantically loves him, but more so grew to care about him more than others she met in her life with certain things that impacted her and that's why this whole thing was kicked off by that realization and her wanting to create better connections like she wish she did with him. That's just my interpretation tho.

[@heisnotlongbutthin]

i can Name 5 animes of the top of my hat that have better story than Frieren, BUT i cannot name a single anime that is produced to such a degree of perfection and its not close. The stylistic Choices the timings and/ or more specifically the way each episode and the season at large is directed is 10/10 perfection. Listen i am not saying Frieren has a bad story, BUT i am saying: Imagine for example if Full Metal Allchemist or whatever you favourite anime is, was directed and produced by the same talent that just brough us Frieren.

[@westsideotaku1555]

You know what.....I can see this pretty hard actually 😶👍

[@danielgwynne7266]

I mean I prefer the way they adapted stuff like Sonny boy, tatami galaxy, ping pong etc personally

[@felixlara2945]

Y'all see the writer got arrested for tax evasion 😭😭😭

[@user-lh5my4ws8j]

Re:Zero clears Frieren, but the average IQ of humans is low, so they can't fully appreciate true masterpieces. Frieren is perfect normie show with no depth.

[@westsideotaku1555]

and it's also important to know that art is subjective, never objective.

[@waranghira]

It's okay, it's not FMA'03

[@Almn68-Shiro]

FMAB is 🤮🤮🤮🤮