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The Frieren anime officially premiered on September 29, 2023, at 9 pm JST on NTV's Friday Roadshow timeslot with a two-hour-long special episode, before being released in four separate installments on several streaming platforms. Produced by Madhouse, the episode captured the surrealistic essence of Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe's manga.
Apart from the breathtaking visuals, the episode mesmerized the audience with its apt pacing. Fans would like to know that this special episode adapted eight chapters of the manga without deviating too much from the source material. The episode saw the titular protagonist, Frieren, striving to learn more about human life and collect magical items at the same time.
While a poignant air filled the air throughout the episode, the stunning backgrounds and the lore simply wowed the fans. This article delves into the key moments of the first four installments of the Frieren anime that premiered as one special episode.
Frieren anime episode 1 highlights: The Elfen mage returns to the Capital along with her comrades
The first episode of the Frieren anime began with the hero party returning to the capital after ten years of adventure. It was revealed that they conquered the Demon King and brought peace to the land. Frieren was the mage of this party, while the other members were Himmel the hero, Eisen the warrior, and Heiter the priest.
After celebrating a grandiose reception, the four heroes reminisce about their time spent as adventurers. At that moment, the heroes witness the surrealistic sight of a meteor shower that occurs only once every fifty years and promise to experience the celestial phenomenon together once again in the future.
Fifty years later, Frieren returned to the capital and reunited with Himmel, Heiter, and Eisen. Since Frieren was an elf, her age span was significantly longer than that of other normal human beings. As such, she found her party members to be old. Nonetheless, the party lived long enough to keep the promise, as they witnessed the meteor shower once again.
The first episode of Frieren anime then saw Himmel's demise due to old age, and Frieren realized how short the human lifespan truly is. She regretted not getting to know Himmel well enough during their adventure days. This led her to embark on a new adventure to learn more about human beings.
Twenty years later, Frieren returned to the outskirts of the holy city of Strahl, looking for Heiter's home. When she lost her way in the woods, Frieren met a girl named Fren, who then took her to Heiter's place. It was revealed that Heiter had rescued Fren. After a moment of reunion, the old priest asked the mage if she could take the little girl as her apprentice.
However, Frieren politely refused, as Fren would only slow her down and get herself killed. Ultimately, the elfen mage decided to teach Fren some magic upon Heiter's request while staying at his place to decipher a grimoire that promised immortality and resurrection spells.
Freiren anime episode 2: The mage and her new companion search for the blue moonweed flower
Episode 2 of the Frieren anime followed the Elfen mage teaching Fren the arts of magic, all the while immersing herself in deciphering the grimoire that Heiter had given her. The old priest mentioned how Fren began to love magic so much that she started isolating herself in the forest to train. However, she was still far from being a full-fledged mage, according to Frieren.
The episode then saw Heiter succumb to his old age. He mentioned how miraculous it was for him to be able to move around and live a normal life until then. While he remained bedridden, Frieren continued her work to decipher the Grimoire and train Fren, who became a full-fledged mage.
The episode also teased the young mage's background story and showed how it was Heiter who had saved her from dying by suicide. As such, Fren wanted to repay the debt by becoming strong enough to survive on her own. At his deathbed, Heiter inquired about Fren's progress as a mage.
Frieren told him that the young mage could then be considered a full-fledged mage. To fulfill the last request of her old friend, Frieren then took Fren as her apprentice and set off on an adventure. The scene shifted to the Turk Region, where the mages were seen taking odd jobs before a herbalist's task brought them to Himmel the Hero's statue.
It was revealed that the woman had been saved by Himmel in the past when the village was ravaged by monsters. Frieren then cleaned the bronze statue and decided to give it a flair by decorating it with blue moonweed flowers. While she didn't know what sort of flower it was, she knew that it existed somewhere in Himmel's hometown.
After a tedious search, the elfen mage was finally able to find the flowers in an abandoned tower. She was mesmerized by the sight and reminisced about the past. Frieren then placed the Blue Moonweed flowers around Himmel's statue and put a flower ring on the statue's head before heading out again.
Frieren anime episode 3: Fren and Frieren continue their journey, as they face a foe from the past
The third episode of Frieren anime titled Killing Magic, saw the mages arrive at the trading city of Warm. Upon Frieren's request, they split up to replenish supplies for their journey. However, Fren saw through Frieren's lying face and was worried that she might buy useless things once again.
As such, she decided to stalk the elfen mage, which turned out to be a mini-adventure for the former. In the end, Fren realized that she forgot to do the shopping for herself and apologized to Frieren for doubting her. However, the elfen mage treated her nicely with her secret savings and also gifted her a beautiful hair ornament.
Episode 3 of the Frieren anime then saw the mages training at the Grobe Forest. Frieren was seen teaching Fren the arts of defensive magic. She mentioned how powerful defensive magic could be if used with proper tactics. After completing their training, the mages arrived at a village. It was revealed that the Elder Sage of Corruption, Qual, was sealed in this village.
Apparently, the Hero Party had sealed that monster back in their day because it was too difficult to defeat. However, the seal was about to be broken, and thus it was Frieren's duty to defeat Qual. The Elfen mage then took it upon herself and defeated the ancient demon without breaking a sweat. With Qual gone, the village could rest easy.
Frieren anime episode 4: The Elfen mage accepts Eisen's request and sets off on an adventure
In the fourth episode of the Frieren anime, titled The Land Where Souls Rest, Frieren and Fren arrived at the Granz Channel. It was revealed that the Granz Channel used to be a thriving port before it was abandoned by the people. The sea at this port used to be pristine and clear. However, it was turned into a mausoleum of broken wreckage.
Frieren and Fren then accepted the cleaning request with the Great Mage, Flamme's grimoire as the reward, although it was fake and a poor imitation. The episode then saw Fren almost acting like a mother to Frieren, asking her to get up and do the cleanup work. Eventually, they managed to finish their duty before the New Year anniversary festival.
The next segment of Frieren anime episode 4 saw the Elfen mage visiting Eisen after thirty years. She asked her old companion whether he needed some help. As was revealed, Eisen wanted to search for The Great Flamme's original notes. Apparently, this note could be found somewhere in the Voll Basin.
Thus, they commenced their search for the legendary notes. It was said that in the Great Mage's notes, there was a record of her conversing with the dead. Eisen hoped that Frieren could use that to talk to the spirit of Himmel, considering the Elfen mage regretted not being able to know the Hero as a person.
Finally, they were able to discover the true location of this note which was hidden inside a tree protected by magic. Upon reading the legendary mage's note, Frieren discovered that there existed a place called Aureole where the souls of the departed rest.
According to the notes, The Great Mage conversed with her former comrades at the Aureole, which is known as the Land of the Dead. However, this heavenly place was located in the northernmost part of the continent known as Ende. Interestingly, it was also the location of the Demon King's Castle.
Eisen mentioned that it took the Hero Party around ten years to reach Ende during their time as adventurers. As such, a long and perilous journey awaited Frieren who eventually accepted Eisen's request, and embarked on a new journey, with Fren as her mage apprentice.
Be sure to keep up with more anime news and manga updates as 2023 progresses
