I definitely think the less conventional Sousou no Frieren is, the better it fares. That may be the reason Fern kind of annoys me, because she’s certainly the most conventional anime character in the cast. Frieren less so, though my issue there is that she’s been kind of a cipher to this point (by nature). That’s starting to change, though, and the group dynamic with Fern and Stark has something to do with that. All humans are children to Frieren in a sense, but when the humans are actual children I think that draws something different out of her over time.
I do know this about Frieren – when we see the past from her perspective, it’s seemingly impossible to draw any conclusion but that she was in love with Himmel. The question is whether she’s starting to realize that herself (there are hints that she is). That may be the raison d’être for this whole journey whether she’s consciously aware of it or not. The revelation that the story of Himmel pulling the hero’s sword from the stone is fake is an interesting one. One doesn’t need the hero’s sword to be a hero, clearly. But that sword is sitting there waiting for somebody (I thought it might be Stark for a brief moment), and it seems like kind of a Chekov’s gun sword to introduce it in this way.
Mostly the focus here is on Stark, with a little more of his history being filled in. The whole “ecchi” bit with Fern comes off kind of stilted and out of place, and I wish they’d drop it already. It’s his 18th birthday, Frieren tells Fern, and Frieren plans to give him that potion for dissolving clothes (because Flamme told her men like that sort of thing) for a present. Fern in typically puritan fashion rebels at this and pours (most of) the potion over Frieren’s head before heading into town in search of a present herself.
I assume we’re building towards something romantic between Stark and Fern, given all the hinting and the fact that they’re so matched age-wise. The tsun thing with Fern is, again, pretty conventional anime by Sousou no Frieren standards. She of course has been getting presents from Frieren every year, and is taken aback to learn that Stark never got a birthday present (or did he?). His father considered him weak and a failure, and it seems as if only his older brother Stoltz (Eguchi Takuya) was occasionally kind to him. And Eisen isn’t the type to express sentimentality – at least in the conventional manner.
It’s nice to think that Eisen was giving Stark a present every year, even if the boy never thought of it in those terms. As for Frieren, after a flirtation with a ring (Chekov’s ring) in her valise, she decides to give him the same present Eisen always did. To wit, a giant (and I do mean giant) hamburg steak made using his recipe. “Anybody who works hard is a warrior” was Eisen’s justification for preparing them for his fellow party members, despite the fact that it’s supposed to be a reward for warriors. Obviously it’s a means of showing one’s affection, no more and no less, and probably the only one Eisen was comfortable with.
I’ve never quite known how to take the cowardice thing where Stark is concerned. I mean, his so-called cowardice is basically common sense, and courage amounts to acting even when you’re scared anyway. But the story treats it like a real thing, so I guess we’re supposed to regard it as such. It seems to define how Frieren and especially Fern view him in a way I don’t think is terribly fair, but I suppose it also serves as a motivation to drive himself forward. If Stark is afraid of anything it’s a fear of being afraid, and not doing what he should do as a result. But in practice there’s really been no evidence that’s an actual problem. I’ll be interested to see how much focus the story puts on that going forward.
Kim
November 26, 2023 at 5:38 amOh I definitely think they are hinting at romance for Fern and Stark but it will probably be in terms of anime time line so it will be forever until either realize their feelings.
But since this is the beginning of the story there is no rush.
Snowball
November 26, 2023 at 5:45 amFrankly, I find Fern to be the most boring of the main cast.
Guardian Enzo
November 26, 2023 at 9:23 amDitto.
Nicc
November 26, 2023 at 2:29 pmWhew, I’ve got some free time for writing again. For those in the USA, I hope that y’all had a nice Thanksgiving. It’s when we give thanks to family, friends, food and Black Friday deals all month long. I got some shopping done, put up the lights, put up the tree and took some ibuprofen to handle all that It’s now just a month before Christmas, which is pretty crazy.
The gang continues to move from one settlement to another. It’s an especially cold day out and Frieren is practically sleepwalking until she falls over. Fern decides to carry an extra load as she still doesn’t want Stark to put her hands on her mistress. While sleeping on Fern’s back, Frieren has a dream about the past. It’s something about Himmel finding the Hero’s Sword, which becomes relevant a bit later on. The storm calms down as they near the next town where Frieren is being expected. Frieren is supposed to be there for some monster elimination, and it seems that it’s a once-every-fifty-years deal. She’s 30 years late, but that’s a rounding error for Frieren. They go ahead and take care of business, including the boss creature. They find themselves in front of the cave where the Hero’s Sword still resides… Except it was supposed to have been wielded by Himmel, or so the tales go. The truth comes out and it seems that the sword didn’t find Himmel worthy, but he went ahead to defeat the Demon Lord anyways with a replica sword. Indeed, the weapon doesn’t make the hero and pulling the out the sword from the stone may have made Himmel the King of Britain, which he didn’t really have the time for.
The sword draws monsters to it and that’s why the monster elimination job is necessary. With the job done, the group moves on and Frieren will be back again in another 50 years or so. Their next destination is a large town and so it’s a nice stop to stay for a little while. Frieren wants to catch up on some grimoire reading and then casually informs Fern that Stark’s 18th birthday is today. Frieren is thinking about giving him that clothes-dissolving potion but has to find something else as Fern doesn’t approve. Luckily for Frieren, something in her luggage catches her eye…
Stark has been busy making himself useful around town and helping out all sorts of folks. Fern eventually catches Stark looking at some clouds. I mean, those were some suggestive-looking clouds. Because of the harsh upbringing from his family, Stark has never received a birthday gift. We take a look into his past and he was cast aside from being weak and with only his older brother showing him any kindness. Right, the closest thing Stark got to that were those giant patties that Eisen made for his birthday, which Stark’s older brother, Stoltz, did for him too. Fern eventually gets Stark a bangle (I was hoping that he’d get some armor) and that’s building up to the romantic tension.
Back at the inn, Frieren has been preparing those giant patties for Stark and for the entire group. She had a copy of Eisen’s recipe and seems to have either saved or found enough meat for that. I agree that Stark has a fear of being afraid and otherwise the “cowardice” he has shown is logical. I thought that they would get to Äußerst in this episode, but it looks like they may not be close yet.
Aera
November 30, 2023 at 1:11 amWhile I like Fern, her constant “pervert” is wearing me out really quickly in this episode. I’m never a fan of this series’ occasional usage of that kind of joke (or an attempt at it, I guess). I think that’s the biggest flaw this show has so far. On the other hand, I really like the exploration of Stark’s backstory and connecting his past with Himmel not being the “chosen one”, so I still enjoy this. Hope this series doesn’t rely too much on that as their “comedy” part in future episodes.
Guardian Enzo
November 30, 2023 at 4:01 pmThe problem is that it’s never developed as any sort of meaningful character construct. It’s just a gag, and if something is just a gag it had damn well better be funny – and this isn’t.