Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your life, but in a new way.

-Doris Lessing

I’ve written about my unique addictions in the past. I fell into one recently that I learned a lot from. I got caught up in a manga. Essentially, it’s a Japanese comic book. I know, I know. But this one was remarkably unique.

It starts with the hero who saved the world. The hero went on a journey with three others to accomplish this task. He’s the hero who challenges the demon king, except… he’s dead. He already killed the demon king and lived a long life. He died of old age.

Those formerly in his party reconvene at the funeral. Among them is an elf named Frieren. She was in the hero’s party during the 10 year journey to kill the demon king. She acts nonchalant at the funeral as if it doesn’t mean anything to her. She’s over a thousand years old. Decades have passed since their journey. 10 years is a minuscule fraction of her life. During the funeral procession, she begins crying uncontrollably. She’s sad. She’s heartbroken. She doesn’t understand why she’s sad. She doesn’t get it. She has to figure out why. Why does she care so much about the hero? She’s compelled to speak to the hero again. There’s a place she can go to do this, but it’s far. It’s the former demon king’s layer. And so her journey begins.

This start was compelling. I was skeptical it could keep my interest because of the lack of conflict. An elf wants to speak to her dead friend. Cool. But after a few more chapters, compelling conflicts and arcs arise. What I enjoy about manga are the themes that western art doesn’t touch. 

*Minor spoiler alert*

There was an unstoppable mythical beast in a village. It was frozen by the hero’s party because they couldn’t defeat it at the time. It was too tough for them. Its attack magic was novel. There was no way to defend against it. The unstoppable mythical beast is unfrozen, and the novice disciple of Frieren defeats it with ease. What? Frieren explains that it’s been 80 years since they fought this beast. His attack magic was studied by scholars and taught to mages. It’s now considered basic attack magic. What her disciple used to defend against the beast’s attack magic is now considered basic defense magic. Magic got better. Unstoppable, mythical beasts of the past with crazy magic are defeated by novice mages in the present day. Things improve with time.

There’s a sword in a cave, stuck in stone. Prophecies say that the hero who saves the world will be able to unsheathe this sword, and it’ll be the same sword that slays the demon king. There’s a flashback to the hero walking to the sword. He tries to remove it from the stone. It doesn’t budge. He shrugs it off and says he’ll slay the demon king anyway. He doesn’t need to follow the prescribed way of doing things. He can fake it until he makes it. He does.

Demons have integrated into a city’s society. They act human and are cooperative. Frieren doesn’t trust them. Demons are vile creatures who eat humans and have the worst intentions. She says as much and is thrown in jail for it. Times have changed, they say. The demons are trading with them. They’re co-existing. There’s a flashback to a little demon girl crying for her mom. She looks like a sweet little girl, just with horns. The hero party moves to slay the demon girl. The townspeople protest so they spare her life. A villager adopts the demon girl to be part of their family. Weeks later, the demon girl eats the family and burns down their house. Frieran is right. Demons use their words and communicate only for manipulating humans. One can’t trust someone whose intentions are solely against you. Demons are demons.

*Minor spoiler alert end*

Their journey takes them through towns Frieren previously visited with the hero party. Flashbacks happen in each town. They’re insightful to human nature. The good and the bad.

Some are typically Japanese but still ring true, e.g. it’s more powerful to hide your status than to flaunt it. Use your hidden status/power to your advantage. “This isn’t even my final form” is a meme in anime.

There are numerous other lessons I’ve been reminded of and learned. The importance of the heroes and their impact almost a century after they saved the world is still felt. The demons and evil beasts they fought were unprecedented. But what’s remembered are the little things they did for the townspeople they came across. Those were the stories that were passed down in those villages. The actions that showed they care. The actions that made people feel.

Then a few panels later, the manga will hit you with an opposite truth. There’s a statue of a warrior from hundreds of years back. Even the village elder doesn’t know what deeds they did. They know the warrior was a great hero and did amazing things, but they don’t know what the hero did nor why nor their name. Even the greatest of deeds fade with time.

The macro and micro themes it hits on are deep. Some people are born in the wrong era for their talents. Great warriors who live in a peaceful age will not have their names be known. One can have amazing strengths, but if they’re not useful for the tasks at hand, they’re not acknowledged.

Some of my favorite lessons are those retold in a new way. Parties raid dungeons to get the treasure at the end. But that’s not how the hero party did it. They explored every part of the dungeon. The treasure isn’t the point. Exploring the dungeon and solving the puzzles is the point. And you never know what you’ll find.