Frieren’s manga has been around since 2020, and the hype looks like it is due to the anime. But why would either be so popular?
Summary
- Frieren is a very popular show, both in Japan and outside of it.
- Frieren strikes a balance while being both a slice-of-life and an adventure.
- Frieren also has good worldbuilding and introduces and develops its characters well.
Frieren has been serialized as a manga since 2020, but it is the 2023 anime that seems to have caught everyone’s attention. Let’s take a look at why that might be.
No Shade
The manga is good. Every fan who has read the manga will tell you that it is good. However, anime is sometimes easier to consume, and a lot of people prefer watching a show to reading the manga. Frieren’s popularity clearly surged due to the anime, and we are sure that some of the viewers are now picking up the manga. However, here, we want to talk about Frieren the Anime, which deserves all the attention it is getting.
Different Genres
Frieren the anime is loved in and out of Japan. It gets thousands of upvotes on Reddit! There should be a reason for such a surge in popularity, and the most obvious answer is that the anime is good. It is worth a watch, and so people watch it.
But what does it mean for an anime to be good? That is a complicated question. If we look at Frieren, it appears to bridge different genres. On the one hand, it is an adventure anime, but on the other hand, there is plenty of slice-of-life content, where nothing too exciting happens but you are still glued to the screen. Both those parts are done well; they are captivating, and the anime satisfies the needs of two demographics at once: those who love adventure and slice-of-life lovers.
Worldbuilding and Characters
Aside from that, fans praise Frieren’s worldbuilding. Exposition is rare; usually, we slowly learn relevant details from the characters. For example, we learned about the legendary mage Flamme before we knew that Frieren was her student, and it was done very organically without direct exposition. Frankly, the biggest exposition was Stark talking about the Hero Sword. Frieren, as a rule, is more likely to use flashbacks than exposition.
Finally, the characters in Frieren are great. They are realistic, and they often have flaws, but they are all complex and interesting individuals that we grow to love. The only exception is demons. But demons are not people; they are monsters. When people are concerned, nuance is always there.
In general, Frieren simply does all the things it does well. The slice-of-life and action are good, the worldbuilding is great, and the characters are amazing. That is why we love Frieren.