It’s nothing new how incredibly polished and consistent Sousou no Frieren has been all the way since its first few episodes, so it’s to no one’s surprise that the last episode of this ambitious two consecutive cours project was remarkably good as well, to the point it might seem redundant or even effortless to write about it. And that might really be the case, actually, but I think that encapsulating the core values and themes of this entire adaptation (and story) in 24 minutes of animation to conclude a majestic 28 episodes long journey was no simple feat, and yet it was surely achieved in the best possible fashion, so much so that it does, indeed, deserve to be written about.
That being said, I’m in no way qualified to write a full-fledged review of Frieren‘s 28th episode, and any attempt to do so will most likely result in a pretentious mess of an article. So, instead of doing that, in this article I’ll be focusing on what caught my attention the most while watching the episode for the first time: Keiichirou Saitou‘s storyboard.
While I’m yet too unexperienced to write about one’s “style”, I can definitely provide some of my insights on certain scenes and shots and what tools they use to convey specific feelings or ideas in a visual way.
One of the aspect where Frieren shines the most, especially when it comes to this anime adaptation, is certainly the characterization of the space around the characters, with special attention to how and where they’re are placed and framed.
Frieren‘s world needs to be perceived as alive and dynamic, even outside of the character’s perspective; time passes and leaves its marks even if we’re not there to see it. In short, the space where the characters move in is not just a static, background entity, rather, it has an actual presence and a distinctive role which needs to be portrayed visually as well.
And it’s these almost contemplative shots, where the characters are immersed and engulfed in what’s around them instead of being the bigger presence in the frame themselves, that convey this idea so subtly. Suddenly they’re not the focus anymore, and are instead just one of the tiny elements of this grater, larger world, simply acting inside of it as many others are.
There are many other shots that rely on this kind of subtle and clever framing throughout the episode, highlighting, and more importantly embedding in it, this core theme of space.
Balancing the presence of the characters and the background in a frame is not the only interesting aspect of it, the (visual) relation between the characters and the background elements around them has a lot to tell for itself as well.
For example, just a quick glance at this frame will immediately make clear whose vision on magic has been more flourishing over the years; which great mage has put the most effort in understanding humanity, between Frieren and Serie. Framing the two of them at such an angle that the flowerbed appears bigger and thicker on Frieren‘s side and thinner on Serie‘s.
Before moving on to the next section, let’s stick with “space” for a bit and talk about another scene that caught my attention: Frieren‘s and Lenren‘s confrontation. Or rather, the moments before their actual confrontation.
Space is not only about the physical distance or placement of characters and elements in the background, but can as well be used to describe and portray the figurative distance between characters’s minds and feelings. This scene does a particularly good job at that, with some very clever storyboard at play.
The feeling of uneasiness (or that at least something not good is about to happen) is already present from the moment Lenren appears (aided by the dialogue he had with Serie in the previous episode), but the almost jarring close-up shots on the eyes of the two characters certainly help escalating the ominous tone of the scene.
Midway through their dialogue, the entire space in the frame is suddenly filled up with the eyes of Frieren first and Lenren second, cutting out everything else that was previously present in the frame; an intimate shot that abruptly nullifies the distance between us and the character’s true feelings and emotion in that moment, and in doing so also cuts Stark out of the scene (there’s no close-up eye shot of his), since he cannot see nor feel what the two mages are really seeing.
Space is a recurring theme in the whole series, but it’s definitely not the only one, and even more definitely, not the main one. The one topic that has been extensively present throughout Frieren as a whole, being the major thematic element of the story, is of course, time. The passage of time and its outcomes, to be precise.
Saitou has already proven his ability to impactfully portray this concept in the previous episodes he storyboarded (look no further than the very first episode of the series), so it’s only natural for it to shine in this last episode as well.
What I particularly liked about episode 28 though, is how seamless and dynamic the transitions between present and past were.
Although it was really well done, featuring an especially great art direction (which already is a major strength of Frieren‘s production as a whole), I’m leaving Wirbel‘s backstory aside to focus the attention on two specific scenes, one of which has got to be one of the best and most creative transitions I’ve seen in recent memory.
Using a simple physical movement to transition between both space and time sounds like a really clever and compelling idea, and it really is clever and compelling even in practice. Initiating the transition to a flashback, so a “movement in time”, with an actual “movement in space” with Frieren jumping down the wall she landed on, transferring her momentum to a snappy cut to the actual flashback as her boot touches the ground, is one of those little touches that prove how deeply refined this show is even in small details; the effort to design such an interesting way to transition to a flashback instead of relying on more conventional methods (let’s say, for example, a simple fade-in) conveys nothing but a heartfelt passion towards both the source material and the medium of animation.
Moving on to a more proper representation of the passage of time, the last scene before the credits start rolling is the perfect example.
We’ve certainly seen something like this many times before throughout the previous episodes (especially in the first cour), but a parallel between the present and the past for Frieren is the utmost perfect way to end this series, both thematically (or course) and as its “visual identity”.
When I said “seamless transition” before, this is exactly what I was talking about; the immersion of Frieren as she recalls her memories is beautifully portrayed as the background transitions to the one where the flashback takes place, while Frieren herself is the only element on the screen that does not change. This is made even more clear with the shot of the hero’s party directly paralleling the one of Frieren, Fern and Stark of a few cuts prior. The connection between past and present is strongly present in Frieren‘s narrative as much as it is visually, showing how much (and yet, at times, how little) things have changed; these kind of parallel shots have been a recurring visual element throughout the series and are indeed very effective at depicting that.
Hearing Himmel sharing his words of wisdom for one last time feels somewhat nostalgic already, but after a quick overview on how some of the other characters are going on with their lives as the ending theme plays, we’re back to the present, where our main party sets off for a new journey.
It’s gonna be hard to fill the gap Sousou no Frieren left in my weekly anime consumption, but at least its final episode was truly remarkable as much as the whole series was, encapsulating all its core elements on both a thematic and visual perspective. Really a delightful journey, packed with soul and passion, like we haven’t experienced in a while, but let’s keep this goodbye quick, since as Himmel said, it would be embarrassing when we (if ever) get to meet again.
