thanks for letting me rant you guys - definitely want to do more of this since i havent been able to share with you just yet about this new adventure in anime/manga!
I see a lot of recommendation for violet evergarden whenever a youtuber reacts on Frieren. Frieren, is deeply emotional, authentic amd sincere. The anime has perfect pacing in the way it "unpacks" everything but u might not realize it if you are reaading ahead on the manga. i sincerely suggest you to give an episode a try without reading ahead (i genuinely do) just stop wherever u are on the manga and see how the anime handles the reveals and twists and subversions in its own pace. and see how u like it. the anime genuinely has the best perfect pacing in any visual media and i dont think it is a good idea to rob the unique experience from it yourself. It is infinitely rewatchable but first viewing is something you can only do once. Also, about violet evergarden, emotional but in a cry-bait tearjerker way. like i get teary but it feels kinda cheap cuz it tries too hard and makes me feel st00pid for it. it tries to force it. Meanwhile Frieren doesnt force it, it just sets everything up and WAITs. the viewer/reader will do everything else. Violet Evegarden still has Evan Call's music. But the show is not as good as frieren, it even has a legacy character/ "Himmel" equivalent but that character falls flat and never lives up to the hype or whatever(most legacy characters in fiction barely do, Himmel is an exception. he is him). So yeah Violet Evergarden might not work as well depending on the viewer
If you want an anime outside of the box, not many people have seen or reacted to that has a very mind bendy story, try Ergo Proxy. It was one of the first anime that lead me on the path to seek depth of story over animation and why Frieren has such high praise from me over any other anime recently.
Anime that get you emotional and in deep thought, for me are these: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Monster, Violet Evergarden, Link Click and DAN DA DAN(it was just one episode, but it was pure art). There are others but they have too many caviats, these are easy to access.
Couldn’t imagine a better first anime. Super glad you decided to start your anime journey with the journey’s end. Just hope your expectations aren’t too high afterwards, because there are few anime as great as Frieren
I think the lesson I learned after watching so many anime is that: what is defined as "great" is not how deliverable all of the things that anime can offer are, but how enjoyable anime can be.
ITs a great and terrible first anime. Great because of how great it is. Terrible for a first one because there's only a handful of others that are at this level. Not just anime either, IMO this is one of the greatest stories ever.
Glad you liked Frieren! The anime adaptation of Frieren just also happened to be one of the rare instances of an anime adaptation of a manga being just as a good or even way better than the source material. The anime stayed true to the plot of the manga while adding so much more detail and polish to it. You can definetely feel that the people working on the anime poured their heart and soul into it.
it is probably the only case where i genuinely think if you read ahead the manga then you missed out on the Godtier adaptation with perfect pacing giving ypu the blind watchthrough experience
Monster comes to mind when I think about anime being better than the manga. I read it first before watching the anime and was flabbergasted about how well adapted it was
I love the manga to death but if there's one flaw in it, a flaw even the artist of the manga admitted to, is that it's not very visually good. The characters' expression has greatly improved now compared to the early chapters, but the fight scenes (thankfully not that many) still aren't quite there. It's just an unfortunate weakness of the artist, but the art is still fantastic in other aspects and still improving so at least we know they are trying. I'm glad the anime managed to cover up the weak spot of the manga artist to elevate the series to its fullest potential.
One of my favorite anime of the past few years is called A Place further than the Universe. A story about a group of girls who start as strangers but become friends who all for various reasons want to go to Antarctica. It’s a lovely story about friendship
The pitfall, with a lot of stories, is that there's this bigger, usually world ending plot that takes away time from the characters, and towards the events. Here, since the world ending part has already been taken care of, they can afford to take it slow, which results in incredible character building. Also yes this is a good first anime, i started with Jojo, which was... something.
I started with Sailor Moon until Inuyasha, stopped for a while (in 2008), then got back into it with a mecha anime I forgot the name of (in 2016) and never looked back since haha
@@hundvd_7 I started for the memes. I went up to like episode 6 (the leave hamon kite incident) before giving up. I restarted a few months later, and when it went to Joseph i was hooked. Even today i'm not someone who watches a lot of series/anime, even less back then, but Jojo has this vibe that makes my #1 show
Another manga/anime you should really check out is Delicious In Dungeon. It is a good sister show to Frieren. And the soundtrack is fantastic. It’s only one season atm. but the manga is complete with 14 volumes. Highly recommended. Love your videos 😊
Since it’s your first, I don’t really know what to recommend genre wise, but as a general fan of art, I highly recommend Girls’ Last Tour. Either the anime or manga (though the final act was never animated, so the ending is manga only). It’s a beautiful story with a really simple premise and fairly short. Could get it finished in a day if you’re so inclined. It’s very heartfelt and impossible to forget. Mellow, calm and very optimistic, in it’s own way. I don’t want to give anything away. You really should experience it yourself As for Frieren, it really is a wonderful tale with some great themes. I think Frieren presents a message that few other works ever even considers. While Frieren is about not taking things for granted, it is also about how the end of the chapter is not the end of the story. Like a highschool graduation, it puts your carefree school life behind you, but ahead you can still experience the best times of your life. Unless you peak in highschool. Glad you’re allowing anime and manga to prove themselves to you rather than stick with the prejudice
From a music perspective, Violet Evergarden would be another good one, especially since Evan Call also composed the music for that. Kevin Penkin is another incredible composer, so really any of the shows he's composed for would also good to check out. Made in Abyss specifically is probably the one that got him the most attention in the anime industry. These two composers really made me start to appreciate that style of music much more, so I cannot recommend either of them enough.
So, I've been studying classical Japanese literature for years at this point out of a desire to find out what it is about certain anime and games that really speak to me and one of the most important concepts in Japanese literature is called "mono no aware." It's a very subdued and subtle yet all- encompassing awareness of the fleeting and transient nature of all things. It has its roots in Buddhism but instead of viewing impermanence as completely bad the Japanese also see it as something to be, if not completely happy about at least appreciate of. Deep sorrow is indicative of an equal joy that's been removed, and there's a deep humanity in the act of feeling sorrow. To my understanding, Frieren is dripping with this kind of ethos, which doesn't surprise me considering the cultural heritage it came from. With all that being said I have to make a few recommendations myself. The first is Mushishi, a very unique anime whose subtlety and otherworldly atmosphere is matched by the depth of its humanity. Next I'd recommend Natsume's Book of Friends, another slower, more pensive work about being a good person inspite of past and current hardship. I would love to explain more but this is already plenty long so I'll leave it at that. Cheers,
Hey Marco! Glad you’re liking Frieren! A series I think you would enjoy is “Legend of the Galactic Hero’s” it’s an older anime but I think it would be up your alley. It heavily uses classical music from the romantic era and true classical era. If I were to give the show a quick summary, it’s about 2 factions the “Free Planets Alliance”, a democracy similar to that of the US and the “Galactic Empire” which is a Monarchy based on old Prussia. These 2 factions have been at war for 150 years with no end to their conflict. 2 great men arise on each side of the conflict. The fist being Reinhard Von Lohengramm who is heavily influenced by Napoleon and Alexander the Great. He is a young, ambitious, idealistic military genius who wants to reform the monarchy to get rid of the corruption that has plagued it for 500 years. On the FPA side, you have Yang Wenli, who is a reserved, historian who just wanted to study history but was forced to become a soldier to pay off his student loan debt. This is my favourite anime of all time and it would mean a lot of me if you checked it out. It’s fairly long at 2 movies + 110 episodes but it’s well worth it. It’s on par with if not better that Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood which was my original favourite. I apologize for the yap, have a good one!
P.S the entire series is available on RUclips last time I checked. The recommended watch order is the first movie which is a prequel to the main series which is “My Conquest is the Sea of Stars” which is only about an hour long. The next is a remake of the first 2 episodes called “Overture to a New War” which gives added character depth and background. Once you watch those two, you can hop into episode 3 of the main series and watch from then. Cheers!
Hah, I was about to make a similar comment - that if Marco enjoys the relaxed, thoughtful pace of Frieren, Legend of the Galactic Heroes would likewise be to his taste. Not to mention the hours upon hours of classic symphonies used as its soundtrack, I'm certain he'd delight in analyzing the specific choices and how they work in the different scenes, and how each side in the conflict have their own group of composers that build their atmosphere!
@@thesunthroneit’s nice to see a fellow LOGH enjoyer. I watched it earlier this year with my mom and completely changed her view on anime. It’s definitely a top 10 show of all time!
Yes, yes and more yes. So glad to find LotGH fans here, what a pleasant surprise! Second this recommendation, the Franco-Prussian War in Space is peak space opera. Thanks to it, I found a new respect for classical music and listen to some pieces regularly. And this show so far has the best use of Ravel's Bolero in media I have ever seen.
I remember really getting into anime during my college years and stumbling on titles like Maison Ikkoku and Here Is Greenwood, where I was able to strongly identify with the struggles of the main characters. I've always been fond of shows that embrace that relatable, human element of storytelling (even if they are an elf). If you like that kind of show, I also recommend Your Lie in April, about a young pianist struggling with his relationship to music, or March Comes In Like a Lion, about a boy struggling to overcome personal trauma and open up to people. Both are excellent dramas.
"Vinland Saga" is an absolutely amazing experience weather you read it or watch it. It's set in the time period of the vikings and it's about a kid following a mercenary to get revenge on him. It does start as a "the situation keeps getting worse" type of story, but early on it goes into a much more calm and retrospective narrative. I can't say much without spoiling, so all I can say is that the protagonist's arc is my favorite arc in fiction. It somehow shows us the worst parts of humanity while teaching us about the importance of pacifism. We need more stories like it.
One of the reasons I love Frieren as much as I do is because it's slow and it doesn't shy away from silence. Any show that does that always gets points for me. Eva is a great example of that. But this show does it better than anything else, and I think that's one of the best ways that this show does the humanity thing like you talk about. The show intentionally lingers on set pieces and scenes that any other show wouldn't really bother with, while also being dead silent, because I think, as another comment in here has said, Frieren has time to be slow and let her grief heal and all that jazz. She's going on the same journey that she went on with Himmel and others, but without them, and she's sorting through her emotions, and because she doesn't have a time limit and the emergency is gone, she can do so as she pleases. And the way the show communicates that is by silence. Silence would have been hard to come by for Frieren when she was on her original journey however many decades ago, but now she has silence in spades. And it's beautiful. And I think that's one of the reasons why the music in the show is so powerful. Like this isn't entirely a discussion about music, but the fact that the show isn't afraid of having a COMPLETELY silent shot of Fern walking to go buy bread or whatever makes the scenes with the already immaculate score all the more impressive.
This. Mushishi has been my favorite for over a decade now. It's absolutely astounding and I still think that after spending years studying classical Japanese literature. It's sublime.
If you're looking for something similar to Frierens presentation and storytelling, you could try Mushi-shi. It's really something different in its dark but thoughtful tones. It's definitely a slow burn, but well worth the experience.
As a music person you might like "Your Lie in April"--I think one of the best music anime and one that impacted me kind of like how you describe Frieren impacting you. I will echo recommendations for Violet Evergarden. And I will add "The Apothecary Diaries" as a recommendation.
Also good anime with music as a main theme are, "Sound! Euphonium" great high school band drama show. There were some moments that really captured what it was like for me when I was in high school band. "Kono Oto Tomare!" The Koto music in this was so good that I found a shipping service in Japan to order the Koto soundtrack (not the regular music OST) and ship it for me (the seller didn't have international shipping. The story is also pretty good. "Nodame Cantabile" Really great romance between a messy whimsical girl who is a natural genius with piano and a top class musician (violin. piano, composer) who is also a perfectionist. I didn't actually watch Your Lie in April. I watched the first episode and said to myself, "I know exactly where this is going. And I don't want to watch it."
As someone who has been experiencing grief for various loved ones ever since 2015 (It's been some rough 10 years) Frieren is a story that has struck so close to my heart. It encapsulates many of the lessons i've learned about life and moving on and how the smallest of things can be the dearest memories. In fact it's ironic in a certain way that this anime made me cherish much more the fact that the last thing i watched with my father was Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, which was also my first time watching it. Two stories about human connections and the pain of loss that now connect to me because of my human conections and the pain of loss.
It's my first time to see your channel and you definitely selected the perfect start! I spent a long time to watch many reaction channels and I wanna give you an advice. If you decide next anime with asking your listeners or making a poll, please tell them your preference correctly. Otherwise you can only get the show which is not your favorite genre in a low and end up disliking anime.
i would like to suggest Wolf Children. Its a nice story about raising children but with a magical touch. Its super touching and the music is great. Or for something completely different, One Punch Man; a spoof on super heros with a really cool soundtrack. The main character dreamt of getting strong enough to fight every monsters and win but he’s gotten too strong.
You NEED to watch The Ancient Magus Bride if you liked Frieren. It isn't like Frieren, but, (spoilers) The pase is exactly like Frieren, the music is amazing, there's incredible character growth for all characters, and dozens of plost twist with great resolutions. PD: Love your vids love your soul
To Your Infinity is a good shout for something that deals with the same themes as frieren in som ways. Brotherhood elevates FMA so much I havent been able to re watch the original since
Really glad to hear your having such a meaningful experience with Frieren Marco, in terms of other reccomendations I'll echo Legend of the Galactic Heroes (seriously the best use of classical music in anime and despite being a war story has many beautiful character moments) and Mushi-shi (incredibly meditative and poignant stories almost every single episode). I'll also throw in one more, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, which is a beautiful story about performance art (Rakugo is a traditional Japanese performance art focused on live storytelling) and the joys and tragedies of life. These last 2 are probably the most emotionally engaging television shows I have watched in over 30 years of my life
Anime, and by extension manga is a deep deep rabbit hole. If you're looking for some other stuff to check out I wanna throw in a suggestion for Made in Abyss - gorgeous show with interesting world-building and exploration of trauma (and in your case, excellent music), mileage may vary on your squeamishness tho.
I think I've already suggested it to you either on Twitter or another video, but 86 should be up your alley :D (amazing music in the anime and there is a lot more for you to enjoy in the light novel, which is amazing, but the anime really elevates it imo)
I'm glad to see you decided to watch/read Frieren, it really does have a charm that few other anime do. That being said another one that does have a charm to it, is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I highly recommend that as your next to watch(it also follows the manga basically verbatim so if you wanted to read it you can, but both Japanese and English voice cast for it are AMAZING)
I'm so glad you're watching Frieren as your first, as I'm currently re-watching it with my sister (her first viewing of it). Frieren is able to establish an emotional connection that i find few other anime are capable of. For a recommendation, i would suggest "To your eternity", which has some similar themes, especially the interaction between immortality and humanity.
It's shown that Elves do FEEL as regular humans and dwarves do, they simply take a very long time to process their emotions. You can certainly extend this to real life and how people can repress trauma and grief. If you want a great anime experience I recommend Cowboy Bebop and Trigun (the original one not the remake). The music in Bebop is exceptional.
Oh, Trigun was a pretty good one. But what anime where the protagonist is wearing a trench coat isn't? Trigun, Hellsing, Fullmetal Alchemist, Darker Than Black...
iIcouldn't be more glad that this is your first anime. my bias and connection to anime aside, frieren as a standalone piece of media is something that moved me beyond the medium with how goddamn good it is. of course the music played a huge part but from all the anime i've seen, frieren is just written, scored, voice acted, and animated in a way that I dont think any other anime is doing at the level that they are. Such a unique story too that both deviates and heavily leans into what the fantasy genre has to offer. Here's to more insights from you from this incredible show and at least to me, a wonderful foray into anime as a whole for you to explore and discover
My personal recommendation to you would be hibike euphonium, as a coming of age drama centered around characters and their relationship to music, that also deals with many of the very specific anxieties and conflicts that people who have played in concert band face. ...The good thing about coming from a background of being an "anime hater" is that diving into it immediately opens you up to an entirely new medium of media.
Frieren is the first anime that felt to me like every single episode was good. In particular, I like that the emotions you feel are not really hurting (like in Violet Evergarden feels to me sometimes), they are healing. It does not just mourn what is lost, it celebrates what is, now. It teaches us to learn from Frieren's mistakes and inspires us to do what Himmel the Hero would have done. Before Frieren, my favorite anime was Assassination Classroom, which also has a lot of life lessons (it is about a teacher and his students after all). The conclusion of the story was satisfying in a way, and all that was learned during the two seasons felt complete. I ended up liking Frieren more, but Frieren is different, so I couldn't really compare them.
Frieren is truly one of a kind, because it's a very daring story. In a world of very action focused, or fast paced, or other kinds of indulgent series, Frieren just trusts you to sit down and take it in. It's like participating in a tea ceremony and slowly sipping the tea while enjoying the scenery versus grabing a coffee at a vending machine before rushing off wherever. Frieren demands your full attention - and it rewards all of it. There's so many layers to it, it's truly inspiring.
A great story, a very human story is Vinland Saga, you really should check it out. The first season is intense, while the second one in contrast is as "slow" as Frieren was at times.
Hey Marco! I'm glad you're enjoying Frieren. I haven't read the manga, but I can honestly say the show has had a greater impact on my life than any other piece of media I've experienced in my short 42 years on this planet. I simply love Frieren. I want to recommend to you "Fruits Basket" (2019). The humanity of the story hits just as hard as Frieren, but its more of a slice-of-life anime rather than Fantasy or Shonen. I like to describe Frieren to people as Fruits Basket + Lord of the Rings, so if you take the D&D elements out of Frieren you get Fruits Basket. Whether you check it out or not, I wish you a pleasant journey on your way into the anime world 😁😁
When you talked about benevolence, my mind drifted back to the convenient spells Frieren loves to collect. It makes me think about how people don't enjoy the simpler things in life anymore, like washing clothes with hands or enjoying farm-grown food or reading a book. Everything nowadays is so automatic, filled with machine wonders, that people has become so dependent on it that they don't know what to do when there's a power outage. Obviously we don't have anything as instantaneous as a spell about turning grapes sour, but we do have SO many food flavors that people are addicted to them to the point of only thinking about how many flavors they could buy, instead of what kind of food they can make WITH their families. So yeah, just something I noticed haha
My favorite detail in all of Frieren is that we learn, almost in passing that Eisen loves sour grapes, almost in passing that Frieren at one point learned a spell to turn grapes sour... And then when the two meet up, we get to see them eating sour grapes together.
I'm so happy you watched it, I knew this would hit deep. It did for all of us. It's written SO well. Honestly in my top 3, probably for forever. It just keeps getting better ;) enjoy! Can't wait to watch the reaction. I'm also very happy to hear you reflect on how you 'hated' on bias, everyone is allowed an opinion but being able to reflect upon them with objectivity is something that makes me proud to watch your content.
Marco, I've been watching you for a bit more than a year now and have truly enjoyed your pieces! I've especially been enjoying your leap into songs in anime. If you're looking for another very introspective show - you mentioned things similar to Frieren and Violet Evergarden - a lesser known one that is a personal favorite is "From the New World," or its Japanese title "Shin Sekai Yori." It follows a girl through different stages of her life, through her interactions with others in her community within a very different and sometimes suffocating society where telekinesis is real and the society must protect against and plan around this. It's fascinating, it's touching, and at times tragic, but always paints with a brush of humanity, be it 'good' or 'bad'. P.S. Oh, I should note-- the original piece is a novel, not a manga. The manga for it came out after the anime and I think is way too.... provocative...? Detracting from the underlying messages. I'd stick with the anime on this one, as the novel (I don't believe) has been translated as of yet.
That's a good show to start! I also have to praise your words, you are so interesting to listen to, you speak with truth, I can't find the words to describe, but I'm very glad that you're enjoying this new journey through Anime and Manga! 🎉
Definitely a great one to start with! I'm glad you are enjoying your foray deep down the otaku rabbit hole. There are so many amazing stories out there that are so well crafted that they have a way of profoundly making the watcher stop and thing about the deep things of life, as well as being superb visually. Also I hope you keep an eye out for many of the none mainstream stuff, their are some really hidden gems out there I feel people forgot about or never had a chance to watch. Interesting to hear your struggle between manga vs anime. So far I've refined my dichotomy of the two as: watch anime to get an introduction for the story, characters, sound, etc. read the manga for when the anime ends and I want more story and more in-depth character backstory; and or on occasion read the light novel if I want the deepest dive into head thoughts of the character, etc.
love watching your videos marco, always amazed me how you could listen to anime songs and figure out themes and topics just from their sounds - happy to see you getting comfortable with reading and watching aswell, lots of treasure and beauty to find out there! Not 100% sure but things you might consider checking out: - Houseki no Kuni - Barakamon - Fune wo Amu - Blue Period
Glad to see you getting into anime. The medium has been used to tell some excellent stories, and will continue to do so for many years to come Anime defenitely has some ... 'quirks'... that will show their head here and there, but personally i've always managed to look past that stuff (and in some cases enjoy it!) I defenitely had some truly touching experiences while watching some shows. I hope it'll be the same for you!
As an old man that has seen some stuff i agree with you. Frieren is a masterpiece that shows real life in a very charming, fantastic way. It's like a beautiful, detailed painting, where you can appreciate every detail. You can look at it and look at it and still find something new to ponder
It pains me knowing you've experienced grief and also comforts me to hear a like-minded appreciation of Frieren as a result. I tend to be drawn to media that explores loss and grief. One show that explores this surprisingly well is actually a child's cartoon called "Steven Universe." It has a lot of zany bits and slapstick as it is a kids show, but I cannot express enough how emotionally aware this show is if you're willing to give it your time. There is so much to appreciate. It only gets better and better throughout the series, and it's also got some really fun and cute music.
Frieren is a really subtle slow burn that explores its themes and movements in a timeframe that they deserve with an extremely deft hand. I've watched it twice, and plan on re-watching Delicious in Dungeon and then going straight back to another Frieren re-watch. It's so comfortable and fun and walking this path with the characters gives me a very unique sense of fulfillment and discovery, despite having already watched it twice.
Frieren is honestly the most GOATED anime or even story i've seen. I love it so much and just immediately felt connected with it. Genuinely the best first anime for anyone imo.
A lot of people are recommending other series but I'm gonna go a different route - A Silent Voice and Maquia: When the Promised Flowers Bloom. These are two films I don't think I can rewatch but still remembers the impact of both films. And yeah, Frieren easily became one of my favourite series, up there with Twelve Kingdoms (a novel that needs an anime remake and continuation because my god, still one of the best isekai stories I have read/watched before isekai became what they are these days.) because it's a breath of fresh air - it lets the story move at the pace at which Frieren sees time. You go from first episode where to her, 50 years was just a blip for her but to others, it's a lifetime. It uses time as a storytelling device. From the time lost between Frieren and Himmel, the time she never realized she lost until it was too late, the time that she slowly started to appreciate at a slower pace as she travelled with Fern and Stark. All the while, you still have this overarching plot and mysteries that has to do with the demons. And it's just so damn masterfully done. Can't wait for next season because of how big it was gonna be.
I am going to recommend a movie as well. as a 180, watch redline. balls to the wall high octane action that is so well animated and the music will keep your blood pumping.
I have so many shows rn that I need to wrap up that it's causing me paralysis, Frieren is one of them, I'm only 10 episodes in but they were 10 of the best episodes I've ever seen of anything, it really is all about the authors message, everything in it is merely a vehicle for that and I think that's great. Brotherhood is probably my favorite anime of all time, either that or JoJo's, you'll love Brotherhood it's very human too. And hopefully you get to JoJo's too eventually, it's a longer show but it is just such an amazing journey that covers all sorts of bases. Watching your channels I've seen you throw away old biases about all sorts of media like when Undertale really opened your eyes as well, that's really great I love that. Anime is a whole other world of entertainment and storytelling that you've opened the door to. FMAB, JoJo's, Dragon Ball, Toradora, and Death Note in some order are my top 5 personally. Might get shaken up when that Guilty Gear anime drops next year tho...
yes, finally someone who doesn't start with death note and AOT, i'm glad to see that my idea for frieren as the first anime i proposed on another channel actually came true, dear god what a good day today.
Frieren is like the Arrival of anime. It is soo artfully paced and framed, and there is as much complexity and depth as you choose to look, without demanding that you pay attention or being concerned about what you may miss on a first viewing. It's probably the best anime I've ever seen, even if it isn't my favorite.
If you want some emotional series, aside from Violet Evergarden, Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day And Clannad/Clannad Afterstory Are both series known for tugging at the heart. They are also both known for having music that can make weebs cry just by hearing it.
If you want another recommendation: A silent voice I think you would love that, by the same makers of violet evergarden. After that, I would also recommend watching the analysis of this movie by "Under The Scope", amazing analysis of the movie. Another series I will recommend is: The ancient magus bride A very human emotionally heavy movie, be ready for that, also with the analysis by Bonsai Pop, really emotional that one.
If you want something super wholesome and also well animated then I wholeheartedly recommend Mob Psycho 100. The story and manga is made by ONE, who did One Punch Man, but I fully believe that Mob Psycho 100 is his magnum opus, and the studio that animated it - studio Bones for all three seasons - did an amazing job. Also the OP and ED for every season are fantastic music. If you want something admittedly heavy but also well worth it, then the manga and anime of Pluto is fantastic.
I love anime/manga/LNs capacity to be so genuine and unabashed. Even in genres or works I don't personally like, it's inspiring to see creators express their vision and feelings freely. And yes, that applies to the various tropes/archetypes that you'll often see people complain about online. Anything could be exactly what someone is looking for! I wanted to avoid making a food analogy but...it's comparing apples to oranges saying that nothing will ever compare. That said, Frieren is one damn good apple.
Seeing a lot of Violet Evergarden recommendations in the comments and loving it. My favourite anime by a long shot. The OST alone makes it one of the greats. Especially when you notice that Even Call uses a typewriter as a percussion instrument in the “Theme of Violet Evergarden”.
That's a good choice for your first anime. If you enjoy slice of life genre, you might also like Natsume's Book of Friends. I started watching it recently, and the character development is very good. Slower pace than newer anime but it's executed really well. Lots of focus on friendships / relationships and how people care for each other. Very heart-warming series.
The hardest part is that, since you started with one of the best ones, from now on it'll be harder for you to satisfied 'that emptiness' that's left in you when you finish Frieren SS1.
I can heavily recommend clannad after story, it requires to watch clannad first to establish the premise and characters, but the followup hits so hard, even if you don't have children yet. Code geass, re;zero, koe no katachi, monogatari series and steins;gate are really good too (especially the stories)
Its great to hear you grew and changed your views about anime and manga, although i am fondle of weeb culture, anime is a medium beyond it and there are series that are a must and you can't experience like it anywhere else
Keep an eye out for Witch Hat Atelier, anime planned to be released next year! That series alongside Frieren and Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi is generally regarded as a trio. Like "if you like one of them you most probably would like the other two" kinda deal.
I remember my first anime being Inuyasha, better yet it was in the Latin American dub so the VA was passionate the first anime you watch and the experience you get from it really does set the “tone” and the foundation of the rest of the anime’s you watch
Helck, Violet Evergarden, Beyond The Boundary, Kino's Journey. Helck, and Beyond the Boundary also have some good music tracks within the anime itself - not just the OP and ED, I imagine the others did as well. Beyond the Boundary - Nozomanu Tatakai, Opening of a strange little story. Helck - The Tradegy, Azudra
Glad you are enjoying Frieren! If you want a really experimental and surealist anime, I recommend watching Serial experiment Lain. Very convoluted tho, but at least it doesn't treat itself as a cartoon.
It's funny how you mention connecting with friends, as my entire take away of the show was how important connection with others is. It made such an impression I even wrote a piece on it on my website (shameless plug 😇) I loved the anime, and loving reading the manga. Glad you're enjoying it too
Frieren, as a first anime, sets a high bar. Not every production company puts the same level of love into sound, animation, or story-fleshing. From what other people have said about the show, the director spent time adding animation to some scenes that only got one panel, but makes a lot of sense in the anime. You chose a good one, but keep the expectations grounded. That being said, there are a lot of good shows based on good manga, so enjoy! One of my favorite manga that is receiving an anime adaptation soon is Ubelblatt, it comes out in January. If you haven't read the manga yet, I suggest trying it out. More of an action/drama and less character-driven story, but the art is chef's kiss. Apothecary Diaries was a surprise to me, I didn't think I would like it as much as I would, and it is visually beautiful. As old as it is, Cowboy Bebop is a classic with lots of great character development. You would enjoy the music as well. Highly recommend.
My three recommendations: 1. Haibane Renmei. A hidden gem about taking things in stride and moving on. Short too. 2. Rascal Does Not Dream. Oh, that series is beautiful; its characters are so layered and complex, as are their plights. 3. Re:Zero. Perfection. The story, the characters, THE MUSIC. They hit hard, like, real hard. Happy viewing, Marco. And merry xmas and happy new year.
Oh Haibane Renmei slipped my mind when i was suggesting things. It's absolutely a viewing experience that can hit someone hard if they're not ready for it.
Top tier anime: Attack on Titan Vinland Saga Eighty-Six [86] Other good-great anime: Mob Psycho 100 Golden Kamuy Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Jujutsu Kaisen Chainsaw Man Violet Evergarden Terror in Resonance The Promised Neverland (S1)
I haven't watched the anime adaptation, but I would recommend the manga Monster, from Naoki Urusawa. It's a very different kind of story, because it explores the dark side of humanity and the nature of evil but it's so great. Also, there's another anime directed by Frieren's director, Keiichiro Saito, Bocchi the Rock! and it's also commonly considered as an adaptation which manages to elevate the source material. It's about a teenage girl with huge social anxiety troubles who wants to be in a rock band, and how That Band (reference to the title of my favourite song in the show) helps her to evolve as a person.
If you'd like more anime that hits on notes of humanity, connection, an exploration of life and death. Would suggest as you said "Violet Evergarden", "To Your Eternity", "Mushi-shi" and "Girls' Last Tour"
I've been watching anime since I was 6 (yes, six years old), in 1979, when Starblazers/Space Battleship Yamato aired here in Canada, and I've got to say that Frieren is one of the best I've ever seen. It's a hell of a high bar to start your anime journey on! Two easy recommendations: The Apothecary Diaries, which aired in both of the same seasons as Frieren, and is just as good. Maomao, the lead (voiced by the always incredible Aoi Yuki) narrowly won for best character over Frieren and Fern. For me, I mean. Even then, t's really tough to to pick best of anything between the two shows. And wait till you meet Denken...if you love complex characters, he's wonderful. For the kind of themes you like, you might like to check out the two series (26 eps each) of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and the first movie, GitS: Solid State Society. They're all from the early 2000s or so, very good sci-fi/cyberpunk explorations about what makes us alive/human/sentient/individuals. And a bonus, my favourite anime ever (so far), Gintama. It's a lot, though, like 360+ episodes all told, but it's a great series that's mainly billed as a comedy, but it'll also get dark and heavy, and has one of the saddest single episodes I've seen in any anime. I don't expect anything, of course, but I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention Gintama when recommending anime! ;) ps, I rarely comment, but I like your other channel, especially showing classical music people video game music. That's really fun! Now to find out you're doing anime stuff over here? Okay, I'm subbed.
Same here, I would watch anime before but never anything too serious because to be honest I didn't think anime di serious stories. I watched that and was blown away by it and completely changed my views on anime.
one of the best aspects of Frieren is the deamons / demons, I hope you talk about them when you get to them! (Idk which it is in Frieren so I said both)
I found Mob Psycho 100 delightful, it's about how maybe having main character powers isn't everything you need to be a happy person and having relationships with people around you and being in touch with your emotions might be more valuable. Also has some cool unique music.
Best of luck getting the monetization for the channel fixed, truly. I know other anime-adjacent YTers have definitely had some issues with RUclips or the publishers being way too heavy-handed with everything related to that. I hope it doesn't hurt your desire to put out content, but I understand if it does.
Just found this channel. Cool that you're also doing anime content now, I enjoy your video game music stuff. Frieren made me cry a few times. I like the anime way better than the manga, I thought the themes were delivered much better. The OST is also a banger. If you like this kind of anime, I'd also suggest Steins Gate.
I personally would recommend checking out clannad and clannad after story. The first part, clannad, comes off as a generic romcom but watching it elevates the second part that leaves a deep impression upon the viewer and seriously hammers the concept of family in a way I feel no other show in media has.
March Comes in Like a Lion is good but very different to a lot of other anime. About a pro shogi player dealing with the competitiveness of shogi and his battle with depression. It's amazing and beautiful.
I think season 2 of Vinland saga would appeal to you in an extremely similar way as Frieren. It is truly beautiful and explores the other side of its own janus face
I recommend reading Holyland, Land of The Lustrous, and The Horizon. At their core, they're very human stories that deal with some philosophical ideas that a lot of people contemplate at least once in their life, like having a sense of place, if life is worth it, and what makes a human. And I hope you're alright.
I prefer watching an anime over reading the manga, even though I'd usually say I prefer the original book over a movie adaptation. For me, it's the same reason as to how I discovered this channel. I really think the music, or even just the ambient sound effects, in many shows and games add so much more to the whole experience, and certainly deserve a deeper analysis like we often see here.
If you ever get to Violet Evergarden, please watch Clannad as well. The score can be stunningly melancholic and that doesn't even come close to how to describe it in context, and to this day I can't think of some scenes without tearing up and it's been more 15 years since it ended. If you have any time, please check it out. I know you'd love it.
Man you really hit the ground running then. Frieren is a wonderful anime. If you you like the sublime and peaceful feel of it then I'd recommend Natsume Yuujinchou afterwards. (Natsume's book of friends). And Mushishi.
thanks for letting me rant you guys - definitely want to do more of this since i havent been able to share with you just yet about this new adventure in anime/manga!
I see a lot of recommendation for violet evergarden whenever a youtuber reacts on Frieren.
Frieren, is deeply emotional, authentic amd sincere. The anime has perfect pacing in the way it "unpacks" everything but u might not realize it if you are reaading ahead on the manga. i sincerely suggest you to give an episode a try without reading ahead (i genuinely do) just stop wherever u are on the manga and see how the anime handles the reveals and twists and subversions in its own pace. and see how u like it. the anime genuinely has the best perfect pacing in any visual media and i dont think it is a good idea to rob the unique experience from it yourself. It is infinitely rewatchable but first viewing is something you can only do once.
Also, about violet evergarden, emotional but in a cry-bait tearjerker way. like i get teary but it feels kinda cheap cuz it tries too hard and makes me feel st00pid for it. it tries to force it. Meanwhile Frieren doesnt force it, it just sets everything up and WAITs. the viewer/reader will do everything else. Violet Evegarden still has Evan Call's music. But the show is not as good as frieren, it even has a legacy character/ "Himmel" equivalent but that character falls flat and never lives up to the hype or whatever(most legacy characters in fiction barely do, Himmel is an exception. he is him). So yeah Violet Evergarden might not work as well depending on the viewer
If you want an anime outside of the box, not many people have seen or reacted to that has a very mind bendy story, try Ergo Proxy. It was one of the first anime that lead me on the path to seek depth of story over animation and why Frieren has such high praise from me over any other anime recently.
For me it was Vinland saga... better than many movies/books
Anime that get you emotional and in deep thought, for me are these:
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Monster, Violet Evergarden, Link Click and DAN DA DAN(it was just one episode, but it was pure art).
There are others but they have too many caviats, these are easy to access.
After adapting one day do gintama the real hardcore anime
Couldn’t imagine a better first anime. Super glad you decided to start your anime journey with the journey’s end. Just hope your expectations aren’t too high afterwards, because there are few anime as great as Frieren
brotherhood is next which im reallllllly excited about
I think the lesson I learned after watching so many anime is that: what is defined as "great" is not how deliverable all of the things that anime can offer are, but how enjoyable anime can be.
@@Marcoweebball Solid second anime. give the older shows a spotlight because too many reaction channels focus too much on newer shows nowadays.
@@CocogoatMemes Agreed.
ITs a great and terrible first anime. Great because of how great it is. Terrible for a first one because there's only a handful of others that are at this level. Not just anime either, IMO this is one of the greatest stories ever.
Glad you liked Frieren! The anime adaptation of Frieren just also happened to be one of the rare instances of an anime adaptation of a manga being just as a good or even way better than the source material. The anime stayed true to the plot of the manga while adding so much more detail and polish to it. You can definetely feel that the people working on the anime poured their heart and soul into it.
it is probably the only case where i genuinely think if you read ahead the manga then you missed out on the Godtier adaptation with perfect pacing giving ypu the blind watchthrough experience
Monster comes to mind when I think about anime being better than the manga. I read it first before watching the anime and was flabbergasted about how well adapted it was
I love the manga to death but if there's one flaw in it, a flaw even the artist of the manga admitted to, is that it's not very visually good. The characters' expression has greatly improved now compared to the early chapters, but the fight scenes (thankfully not that many) still aren't quite there. It's just an unfortunate weakness of the artist, but the art is still fantastic in other aspects and still improving so at least we know they are trying. I'm glad the anime managed to cover up the weak spot of the manga artist to elevate the series to its fullest potential.
Violet Evergarden is so good. Made me cry in pretty much every episode.
i totally agree. Watched it like 4 times, cried like a baby each time 🥲
Your lie in April did that for me
I can really recommend clannad after story if you love crying
And Evan Call also made the music for Violet Evergarden, fyi.
it still one of my favorite anime ever.
Its just so pure
One of my favorite anime of the past few years is called A Place further than the Universe. A story about a group of girls who start as strangers but become friends who all for various reasons want to go to Antarctica. It’s a lovely story about friendship
Yes, it's great, one of my favorites too.
My god yes. That show was spectacular
Yes, that anime made my eyes bawl just because of a scene where one of the MCs booted up a laptop.
@@impakt0 Literally after I replied I looked that clip up, cuz I apparently hate myself. Its a definte must watch anime, imho.
LITERALLY MY FAV ANIME OF ALL TIME
The pitfall, with a lot of stories, is that there's this bigger, usually world ending plot that takes away time from the characters, and towards the events. Here, since the world ending part has already been taken care of, they can afford to take it slow, which results in incredible character building.
Also yes this is a good first anime, i started with Jojo, which was... something.
ya you're so right
I started with Sailor Moon until Inuyasha, stopped for a while (in 2008), then got back into it with a mecha anime I forgot the name of (in 2016) and never looked back since haha
That's not necessarily a pitfall, also Frieren does have that too.
Starting with Jojo is crazy
Like, it's excellent for someone already heavily into this medium, but as in introduction? Damn
@@hundvd_7 I started for the memes. I went up to like episode 6 (the leave hamon kite incident) before giving up. I restarted a few months later, and when it went to Joseph i was hooked.
Even today i'm not someone who watches a lot of series/anime, even less back then, but Jojo has this vibe that makes my #1 show
Another manga/anime you should really check out is Delicious In Dungeon.
It is a good sister show to Frieren. And the soundtrack is fantastic. It’s only one season atm. but the manga is complete with 14 volumes.
Highly recommended.
Love your videos 😊
Since it’s your first, I don’t really know what to recommend genre wise, but as a general fan of art, I highly recommend Girls’ Last Tour.
Either the anime or manga (though the final act was never animated, so the ending is manga only). It’s a beautiful story with a really simple premise and fairly short. Could get it finished in a day if you’re so inclined. It’s very heartfelt and impossible to forget. Mellow, calm and very optimistic, in it’s own way. I don’t want to give anything away. You really should experience it yourself
As for Frieren, it really is a wonderful tale with some great themes. I think Frieren presents a message that few other works ever even considers. While Frieren is about not taking things for granted, it is also about how the end of the chapter is not the end of the story. Like a highschool graduation, it puts your carefree school life behind you, but ahead you can still experience the best times of your life. Unless you peak in highschool.
Glad you’re allowing anime and manga to prove themselves to you rather than stick with the prejudice
God yes, please watch Girls' Last Tour. And that goes for everyone reading this comments section. It's such a lovely show.
From a music perspective, Violet Evergarden would be another good one, especially since Evan Call also composed the music for that. Kevin Penkin is another incredible composer, so really any of the shows he's composed for would also good to check out. Made in Abyss specifically is probably the one that got him the most attention in the anime industry. These two composers really made me start to appreciate that style of music much more, so I cannot recommend either of them enough.
So, I've been studying classical Japanese literature for years at this point out of a desire to find out what it is about certain anime and games that really speak to me and one of the most important concepts in Japanese literature is called "mono no aware." It's a very subdued and subtle yet all- encompassing awareness of the fleeting and transient nature of all things. It has its roots in Buddhism but instead of viewing impermanence as completely bad the Japanese also see it as something to be, if not completely happy about at least appreciate of. Deep sorrow is indicative of an equal joy that's been removed, and there's a deep humanity in the act of feeling sorrow. To my understanding, Frieren is dripping with this kind of ethos, which doesn't surprise me considering the cultural heritage it came from.
With all that being said I have to make a few recommendations myself. The first is Mushishi, a very unique anime whose subtlety and otherworldly atmosphere is matched by the depth of its humanity.
Next I'd recommend Natsume's Book of Friends, another slower, more pensive work about being a good person inspite of past and current hardship.
I would love to explain more but this is already plenty long so I'll leave it at that. Cheers,
Hey Marco! Glad you’re liking Frieren! A series I think you would enjoy is “Legend of the Galactic Hero’s” it’s an older anime but I think it would be up your alley. It heavily uses classical music from the romantic era and true classical era. If I were to give the show a quick summary, it’s about 2 factions the “Free Planets Alliance”, a democracy similar to that of the US and the “Galactic Empire” which is a Monarchy based on old Prussia. These 2 factions have been at war for 150 years with no end to their conflict. 2 great men arise on each side of the conflict. The fist being Reinhard Von Lohengramm who is heavily influenced by Napoleon and Alexander the Great. He is a young, ambitious, idealistic military genius who wants to reform the monarchy to get rid of the corruption that has plagued it for 500 years. On the FPA side, you have Yang Wenli, who is a reserved, historian who just wanted to study history but was forced to become a soldier to pay off his student loan debt. This is my favourite anime of all time and it would mean a lot of me if you checked it out. It’s fairly long at 2 movies + 110 episodes but it’s well worth it. It’s on par with if not better that Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood which was my original favourite. I apologize for the yap, have a good one!
P.S the entire series is available on RUclips last time I checked. The recommended watch order is the first movie which is a prequel to the main series which is “My Conquest is the Sea of Stars” which is only about an hour long. The next is a remake of the first 2 episodes called “Overture to a New War” which gives added character depth and background. Once you watch those two, you can hop into episode 3 of the main series and watch from then. Cheers!
Hah, I was about to make a similar comment - that if Marco enjoys the relaxed, thoughtful pace of Frieren, Legend of the Galactic Heroes would likewise be to his taste. Not to mention the hours upon hours of classic symphonies used as its soundtrack, I'm certain he'd delight in analyzing the specific choices and how they work in the different scenes, and how each side in the conflict have their own group of composers that build their atmosphere!
@@thesunthroneit’s nice to see a fellow LOGH enjoyer. I watched it earlier this year with my mom and completely changed her view on anime. It’s definitely a top 10 show of all time!
Yes, yes and more yes. So glad to find LotGH fans here, what a pleasant surprise! Second this recommendation, the Franco-Prussian War in Space is peak space opera.
Thanks to it, I found a new respect for classical music and listen to some pieces regularly. And this show so far has the best use of Ravel's Bolero in media I have ever seen.
I remember really getting into anime during my college years and stumbling on titles like Maison Ikkoku and Here Is Greenwood, where I was able to strongly identify with the struggles of the main characters. I've always been fond of shows that embrace that relatable, human element of storytelling (even if they are an elf).
If you like that kind of show, I also recommend Your Lie in April, about a young pianist struggling with his relationship to music, or March Comes In Like a Lion, about a boy struggling to overcome personal trauma and open up to people. Both are excellent dramas.
"Vinland Saga" is an absolutely amazing experience weather you read it or watch it. It's set in the time period of the vikings and it's about a kid following a mercenary to get revenge on him. It does start as a "the situation keeps getting worse" type of story, but early on it goes into a much more calm and retrospective narrative. I can't say much without spoiling, so all I can say is that the protagonist's arc is my favorite arc in fiction. It somehow shows us the worst parts of humanity while teaching us about the importance of pacifism. We need more stories like it.
One of the reasons I love Frieren as much as I do is because it's slow and it doesn't shy away from silence. Any show that does that always gets points for me. Eva is a great example of that. But this show does it better than anything else, and I think that's one of the best ways that this show does the humanity thing like you talk about. The show intentionally lingers on set pieces and scenes that any other show wouldn't really bother with, while also being dead silent, because I think, as another comment in here has said, Frieren has time to be slow and let her grief heal and all that jazz. She's going on the same journey that she went on with Himmel and others, but without them, and she's sorting through her emotions, and because she doesn't have a time limit and the emergency is gone, she can do so as she pleases. And the way the show communicates that is by silence. Silence would have been hard to come by for Frieren when she was on her original journey however many decades ago, but now she has silence in spades. And it's beautiful.
And I think that's one of the reasons why the music in the show is so powerful. Like this isn't entirely a discussion about music, but the fact that the show isn't afraid of having a COMPLETELY silent shot of Fern walking to go buy bread or whatever makes the scenes with the already immaculate score all the more impressive.
I honestly recommend giving Mushishi a try, I don't see a lot of people talk about it but its fantastic.
This. Mushishi has been my favorite for over a decade now. It's absolutely astounding and I still think that after spending years studying classical Japanese literature. It's sublime.
An absolutely fantastic series. Read the manga too.
If you're looking for something similar to Frierens presentation and storytelling, you could try Mushi-shi. It's really something different in its dark but thoughtful tones. It's definitely a slow burn, but well worth the experience.
Absolutely, YES. Mushi-shi is such a hidden gem. 💜
Dang this was your first? Congrats!! It's just so good.
As a music person you might like "Your Lie in April"--I think one of the best music anime and one that impacted me kind of like how you describe Frieren impacting you. I will echo recommendations for Violet Evergarden. And I will add "The Apothecary Diaries" as a recommendation.
Also good anime with music as a main theme are, "Sound! Euphonium" great high school band drama show. There were some moments that really captured what it was like for me when I was in high school band.
"Kono Oto Tomare!" The Koto music in this was so good that I found a shipping service in Japan to order the Koto soundtrack (not the regular music OST) and ship it for me (the seller didn't have international shipping. The story is also pretty good.
"Nodame Cantabile" Really great romance between a messy whimsical girl who is a natural genius with piano and a top class musician (violin. piano, composer) who is also a perfectionist.
I didn't actually watch Your Lie in April. I watched the first episode and said to myself, "I know exactly where this is going. And I don't want to watch it."
As someone who has been experiencing grief for various loved ones ever since 2015 (It's been some rough 10 years)
Frieren is a story that has struck so close to my heart. It encapsulates many of the lessons i've learned about life and moving on and how the smallest of things can be the dearest memories.
In fact it's ironic in a certain way that this anime made me cherish much more the fact that the last thing i watched with my father was Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, which was also my first time watching it.
Two stories about human connections and the pain of loss that now connect to me because of my human conections and the pain of loss.
Delicious in Dungeon has been one of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced. Would highly suggest
Takes a little bit for it to start to REALLY get cooking, but once it does its amazing.
@@argetlam05 they start cooking in the first episode
Add Apothecary Diaries as well
It's my first time to see your channel and you definitely selected the perfect start! I spent a long time to watch many reaction channels and I wanna give you an advice. If you decide next anime with asking your listeners or making a poll, please tell them your preference correctly. Otherwise you can only get the show which is not your favorite genre in a low and end up disliking anime.
i would like to suggest Wolf Children. Its a nice story about raising children but with a magical touch. Its super touching and the music is great.
Or for something completely different, One Punch Man; a spoof on super heros with a really cool soundtrack. The main character dreamt of getting strong enough to fight every monsters and win but he’s gotten too strong.
You NEED to watch The Ancient Magus Bride if you liked Frieren. It isn't like Frieren, but, (spoilers)
The pase is exactly like Frieren, the music is amazing, there's incredible character growth for all characters, and dozens of plost twist with great resolutions.
PD: Love your vids love your soul
To Your Infinity is a good shout for something that deals with the same themes as frieren in som ways. Brotherhood elevates FMA so much I havent been able to re watch the original since
*eternity 🙂
Really glad to hear your having such a meaningful experience with Frieren Marco, in terms of other reccomendations I'll echo Legend of the Galactic Heroes (seriously the best use of classical music in anime and despite being a war story has many beautiful character moments) and Mushi-shi (incredibly meditative and poignant stories almost every single episode). I'll also throw in one more, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, which is a beautiful story about performance art (Rakugo is a traditional Japanese performance art focused on live storytelling) and the joys and tragedies of life. These last 2 are probably the most emotionally engaging television shows I have watched in over 30 years of my life
Anime, and by extension manga is a deep deep rabbit hole. If you're looking for some other stuff to check out I wanna throw in a suggestion for Made in Abyss - gorgeous show with interesting world-building and exploration of trauma (and in your case, excellent music), mileage may vary on your squeamishness tho.
I think I've already suggested it to you either on Twitter or another video, but 86 should be up your alley :D (amazing music in the anime and there is a lot more for you to enjoy in the light novel, which is amazing, but the anime really elevates it imo)
@@asyhei on the list!
I'm glad to see you decided to watch/read Frieren, it really does have a charm that few other anime do. That being said another one that does have a charm to it, is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I highly recommend that as your next to watch(it also follows the manga basically verbatim so if you wanted to read it you can, but both Japanese and English voice cast for it are AMAZING)
im on book 17 of the manga and i cannot wait to watch it.
I'm so glad you're watching Frieren as your first, as I'm currently re-watching it with my sister (her first viewing of it). Frieren is able to establish an emotional connection that i find few other anime are capable of. For a recommendation, i would suggest "To your eternity", which has some similar themes, especially the interaction between immortality and humanity.
It's shown that Elves do FEEL as regular humans and dwarves do, they simply take a very long time to process their emotions. You can certainly extend this to real life and how people can repress trauma and grief.
If you want a great anime experience I recommend Cowboy Bebop and Trigun (the original one not the remake). The music in Bebop is exceptional.
Second these.
Oh, Trigun was a pretty good one.
But what anime where the protagonist is wearing a trench coat isn't?
Trigun, Hellsing, Fullmetal Alchemist, Darker Than Black...
iIcouldn't be more glad that this is your first anime. my bias and connection to anime aside, frieren as a standalone piece of media is something that moved me beyond the medium with how goddamn good it is. of course the music played a huge part but from all the anime i've seen, frieren is just written, scored, voice acted, and animated in a way that I dont think any other anime is doing at the level that they are. Such a unique story too that both deviates and heavily leans into what the fantasy genre has to offer.
Here's to more insights from you from this incredible show and at least to me, a wonderful foray into anime as a whole for you to explore and discover
My personal recommendation to you would be hibike euphonium, as a coming of age drama centered around characters and their relationship to music, that also deals with many of the very specific anxieties and conflicts that people who have played in concert band face.
...The good thing about coming from a background of being an "anime hater" is that diving into it immediately opens you up to an entirely new medium of media.
Loss and regret are universal experiences.
There is, functionally, no person that won't experience them.
Thats one of the reason it hits so hard.
Frieren as your first anime is actually insane. What a wonderful introduction
Frieren is the first anime that felt to me like every single episode was good. In particular, I like that the emotions you feel are not really hurting (like in Violet Evergarden feels to me sometimes), they are healing. It does not just mourn what is lost, it celebrates what is, now. It teaches us to learn from Frieren's mistakes and inspires us to do what Himmel the Hero would have done.
Before Frieren, my favorite anime was Assassination Classroom, which also has a lot of life lessons (it is about a teacher and his students after all). The conclusion of the story was satisfying in a way, and all that was learned during the two seasons felt complete. I ended up liking Frieren more, but Frieren is different, so I couldn't really compare them.
Frieren is truly one of a kind, because it's a very daring story. In a world of very action focused, or fast paced, or other kinds of indulgent series, Frieren just trusts you to sit down and take it in. It's like participating in a tea ceremony and slowly sipping the tea while enjoying the scenery versus grabing a coffee at a vending machine before rushing off wherever. Frieren demands your full attention - and it rewards all of it. There's so many layers to it, it's truly inspiring.
That's a great analogy. Frieren is indeed a tea ceremony only the patient people can appreciate.
A great story, a very human story is Vinland Saga, you really should check it out. The first season is intense, while the second one in contrast is as "slow" as Frieren was at times.
Hey Marco!
I'm glad you're enjoying Frieren. I haven't read the manga, but I can honestly say the show has had a greater impact on my life than any other piece of media I've experienced in my short 42 years on this planet. I simply love Frieren.
I want to recommend to you "Fruits Basket" (2019). The humanity of the story hits just as hard as Frieren, but its more of a slice-of-life anime rather than Fantasy or Shonen. I like to describe Frieren to people as Fruits Basket + Lord of the Rings, so if you take the D&D elements out of Frieren you get Fruits Basket.
Whether you check it out or not, I wish you a pleasant journey on your way into the anime world 😁😁
When you talked about benevolence, my mind drifted back to the convenient spells Frieren loves to collect. It makes me think about how people don't enjoy the simpler things in life anymore, like washing clothes with hands or enjoying farm-grown food or reading a book. Everything nowadays is so automatic, filled with machine wonders, that people has become so dependent on it that they don't know what to do when there's a power outage.
Obviously we don't have anything as instantaneous as a spell about turning grapes sour, but we do have SO many food flavors that people are addicted to them to the point of only thinking about how many flavors they could buy, instead of what kind of food they can make WITH their families. So yeah, just something I noticed haha
My favorite detail in all of Frieren is that we learn, almost in passing that Eisen loves sour grapes, almost in passing that Frieren at one point learned a spell to turn grapes sour...
And then when the two meet up, we get to see them eating sour grapes together.
@@DoctorShroomIt's such a small but wholesome detail :)
I'm so happy you watched it, I knew this would hit deep. It did for all of us. It's written SO well. Honestly in my top 3, probably for forever. It just keeps getting better ;) enjoy! Can't wait to watch the reaction.
I'm also very happy to hear you reflect on how you 'hated' on bias, everyone is allowed an opinion but being able to reflect upon them with objectivity is something that makes me proud to watch your content.
Marco, I've been watching you for a bit more than a year now and have truly enjoyed your pieces! I've especially been enjoying your leap into songs in anime. If you're looking for another very introspective show - you mentioned things similar to Frieren and Violet Evergarden - a lesser known one that is a personal favorite is "From the New World," or its Japanese title "Shin Sekai Yori." It follows a girl through different stages of her life, through her interactions with others in her community within a very different and sometimes suffocating society where telekinesis is real and the society must protect against and plan around this. It's fascinating, it's touching, and at times tragic, but always paints with a brush of humanity, be it 'good' or 'bad'.
P.S. Oh, I should note-- the original piece is a novel, not a manga. The manga for it came out after the anime and I think is way too.... provocative...? Detracting from the underlying messages. I'd stick with the anime on this one, as the novel (I don't believe) has been translated as of yet.
That's a good show to start! I also have to praise your words, you are so interesting to listen to, you speak with truth, I can't find the words to describe, but I'm very glad that you're enjoying this new journey through Anime and Manga! 🎉
Definitely a great one to start with! I'm glad you are enjoying your foray deep down the otaku rabbit hole. There are so many amazing stories out there that are so well crafted that they have a way of profoundly making the watcher stop and thing about the deep things of life, as well as being superb visually. Also I hope you keep an eye out for many of the none mainstream stuff, their are some really hidden gems out there I feel people forgot about or never had a chance to watch.
Interesting to hear your struggle between manga vs anime. So far I've refined my dichotomy of the two as: watch anime to get an introduction for the story, characters, sound, etc. read the manga for when the anime ends and I want more story and more in-depth character backstory; and or on occasion read the light novel if I want the deepest dive into head thoughts of the character, etc.
love watching your videos marco, always amazed me how you could listen to anime songs and figure out themes and topics just from their sounds - happy to see you getting comfortable with reading and watching aswell, lots of treasure and beauty to find out there!
Not 100% sure but things you might consider checking out:
- Houseki no Kuni
- Barakamon
- Fune wo Amu
- Blue Period
Glad you love it we are always here to listen
Glad to see you getting into anime. The medium has been used to tell some excellent stories, and will continue to do so for many years to come
Anime defenitely has some ... 'quirks'... that will show their head here and there, but personally i've always managed to look past that stuff (and in some cases enjoy it!)
I defenitely had some truly touching experiences while watching some shows. I hope it'll be the same for you!
Can’t imagine being a newcomer to Anime these days and having options like Frieren as your first anime. What a time to be alive
Much love to you Marco. It hit me that way, too, for some different reasons.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Frieren's OST. Feels like a character of its own
As an old man that has seen some stuff i agree with you. Frieren is a masterpiece that shows real life in a very charming, fantastic way. It's like a beautiful, detailed painting, where you can appreciate every detail. You can look at it and look at it and still find something new to ponder
It pains me knowing you've experienced grief and also comforts me to hear a like-minded appreciation of Frieren as a result. I tend to be drawn to media that explores loss and grief.
One show that explores this surprisingly well is actually a child's cartoon called "Steven Universe." It has a lot of zany bits and slapstick as it is a kids show, but I cannot express enough how emotionally aware this show is if you're willing to give it your time. There is so much to appreciate.
It only gets better and better throughout the series, and it's also got some really fun and cute music.
Frieren is a really subtle slow burn that explores its themes and movements in a timeframe that they deserve with an extremely deft hand. I've watched it twice, and plan on re-watching Delicious in Dungeon and then going straight back to another Frieren re-watch. It's so comfortable and fun and walking this path with the characters gives me a very unique sense of fulfillment and discovery, despite having already watched it twice.
Frieren is honestly the most GOATED anime or even story i've seen. I love it so much and just immediately felt connected with it. Genuinely the best first anime for anyone imo.
A lot of people are recommending other series but I'm gonna go a different route - A Silent Voice and Maquia: When the Promised Flowers Bloom. These are two films I don't think I can rewatch but still remembers the impact of both films.
And yeah, Frieren easily became one of my favourite series, up there with Twelve Kingdoms (a novel that needs an anime remake and continuation because my god, still one of the best isekai stories I have read/watched before isekai became what they are these days.) because it's a breath of fresh air - it lets the story move at the pace at which Frieren sees time. You go from first episode where to her, 50 years was just a blip for her but to others, it's a lifetime. It uses time as a storytelling device. From the time lost between Frieren and Himmel, the time she never realized she lost until it was too late, the time that she slowly started to appreciate at a slower pace as she travelled with Fern and Stark. All the while, you still have this overarching plot and mysteries that has to do with the demons. And it's just so damn masterfully done. Can't wait for next season because of how big it was gonna be.
I am going to recommend a movie as well. as a 180, watch redline. balls to the wall high octane action that is so well animated and the music will keep your blood pumping.
I have so many shows rn that I need to wrap up that it's causing me paralysis, Frieren is one of them, I'm only 10 episodes in but they were 10 of the best episodes I've ever seen of anything, it really is all about the authors message, everything in it is merely a vehicle for that and I think that's great.
Brotherhood is probably my favorite anime of all time, either that or JoJo's, you'll love Brotherhood it's very human too. And hopefully you get to JoJo's too eventually, it's a longer show but it is just such an amazing journey that covers all sorts of bases.
Watching your channels I've seen you throw away old biases about all sorts of media like when Undertale really opened your eyes as well, that's really great I love that. Anime is a whole other world of entertainment and storytelling that you've opened the door to. FMAB, JoJo's, Dragon Ball, Toradora, and Death Note in some order are my top 5 personally. Might get shaken up when that Guilty Gear anime drops next year tho...
I appreciate that
yes, finally someone who doesn't start with death note and AOT, i'm glad to see that my idea for frieren as the first anime i proposed on another channel actually came true, dear god what a good day today.
Frieren is like the Arrival of anime. It is soo artfully paced and framed, and there is as much complexity and depth as you choose to look, without demanding that you pay attention or being concerned about what you may miss on a first viewing. It's probably the best anime I've ever seen, even if it isn't my favorite.
Good for you
Frieren is masterpiece
One of wonderful anime
If you want some emotional series, aside from Violet Evergarden,
Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day
And
Clannad/Clannad Afterstory
Are both series known for tugging at the heart.
They are also both known for having music that can make weebs cry just by hearing it.
If you want another recommendation:
A silent voice
I think you would love that, by the same makers of violet evergarden. After that, I would also recommend watching the analysis of this movie by "Under The Scope", amazing analysis of the movie.
Another series I will recommend is:
The ancient magus bride
A very human emotionally heavy movie, be ready for that, also with the analysis by Bonsai Pop, really emotional that one.
If you want something super wholesome and also well animated then I wholeheartedly recommend Mob Psycho 100. The story and manga is made by ONE, who did One Punch Man, but I fully believe that Mob Psycho 100 is his magnum opus, and the studio that animated it - studio Bones for all three seasons - did an amazing job.
Also the OP and ED for every season are fantastic music.
If you want something admittedly heavy but also well worth it, then the manga and anime of Pluto is fantastic.
Seconding Mob, such a wonderful story
@@cyberspacecat Third both Mob and Pluto.
I love anime/manga/LNs capacity to be so genuine and unabashed. Even in genres or works I don't personally like, it's inspiring to see creators express their vision and feelings freely.
And yes, that applies to the various tropes/archetypes that you'll often see people complain about online. Anything could be exactly what someone is looking for!
I wanted to avoid making a food analogy but...it's comparing apples to oranges saying that nothing will ever compare. That said, Frieren is one damn good apple.
Seeing a lot of Violet Evergarden recommendations in the comments and loving it.
My favourite anime by a long shot.
The OST alone makes it one of the greats. Especially when you notice that Even Call uses a typewriter as a percussion instrument in the “Theme of Violet Evergarden”.
In terms of vibes, Frieren really reminded me of Mushishi. I would definitely recommend that one.
That's a good choice for your first anime. If you enjoy slice of life genre, you might also like Natsume's Book of Friends. I started watching it recently, and the character development is very good. Slower pace than newer anime but it's executed really well. Lots of focus on friendships / relationships and how people care for each other. Very heart-warming series.
The hardest part is that, since you started with one of the best ones, from now on it'll be harder for you to satisfied 'that emptiness' that's left in you when you finish Frieren SS1.
I can heavily recommend clannad after story, it requires to watch clannad first to establish the premise and characters, but the followup hits so hard, even if you don't have children yet. Code geass, re;zero, koe no katachi, monogatari series and steins;gate are really good too (especially the stories)
Its great to hear you grew and changed your views about anime and manga, although i am fondle of weeb culture, anime is a medium beyond it and there are series that are a must and you can't experience like it anywhere else
Keep an eye out for Witch Hat Atelier, anime planned to be released next year! That series alongside Frieren and Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi is generally regarded as a trio. Like "if you like one of them you most probably would like the other two" kinda deal.
I remember my first anime being Inuyasha, better yet it was in the Latin American dub so the VA was passionate the first anime you watch and the experience you get from it really does set the “tone” and the foundation of the rest of the anime’s you watch
Helck, Violet Evergarden, Beyond The Boundary, Kino's Journey.
Helck, and Beyond the Boundary also have some good music tracks within the anime itself - not just the OP and ED, I imagine the others did as well.
Beyond the Boundary - Nozomanu Tatakai, Opening of a strange little story.
Helck - The Tradegy, Azudra
Also Haibane Renmei, Rascal Doe Not Dream, and of course Re:Zero.
Glad you are enjoying Frieren!
If you want a really experimental and surealist anime, I recommend watching Serial experiment Lain. Very convoluted tho, but at least it doesn't treat itself as a cartoon.
It's funny how you mention connecting with friends, as my entire take away of the show was how important connection with others is. It made such an impression I even wrote a piece on it on my website (shameless plug 😇)
I loved the anime, and loving reading the manga. Glad you're enjoying it too
Frieren, as a first anime, sets a high bar. Not every production company puts the same level of love into sound, animation, or story-fleshing. From what other people have said about the show, the director spent time adding animation to some scenes that only got one panel, but makes a lot of sense in the anime. You chose a good one, but keep the expectations grounded.
That being said, there are a lot of good shows based on good manga, so enjoy!
One of my favorite manga that is receiving an anime adaptation soon is Ubelblatt, it comes out in January. If you haven't read the manga yet, I suggest trying it out. More of an action/drama and less character-driven story, but the art is chef's kiss.
Apothecary Diaries was a surprise to me, I didn't think I would like it as much as I would, and it is visually beautiful.
As old as it is, Cowboy Bebop is a classic with lots of great character development. You would enjoy the music as well. Highly recommend.
My three recommendations:
1. Haibane Renmei. A hidden gem about taking things in stride and moving on. Short too.
2. Rascal Does Not Dream. Oh, that series is beautiful; its characters are so layered and complex, as are their plights.
3. Re:Zero. Perfection. The story, the characters, THE MUSIC. They hit hard, like, real hard.
Happy viewing, Marco. And merry xmas and happy new year.
Oh Haibane Renmei slipped my mind when i was suggesting things. It's absolutely a viewing experience that can hit someone hard if they're not ready for it.
Top tier anime:
Attack on Titan
Vinland Saga
Eighty-Six [86]
Other good-great anime:
Mob Psycho 100
Golden Kamuy
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Jujutsu Kaisen
Chainsaw Man
Violet Evergarden
Terror in Resonance
The Promised Neverland (S1)
Delicious in Dungeon / Dungeon Meshi you must read / watch too! It's another brilliant take on storytelling and the basics of humanity!
I haven't watched the anime adaptation, but I would recommend the manga Monster, from Naoki Urusawa. It's a very different kind of story, because it explores the dark side of humanity and the nature of evil but it's so great.
Also, there's another anime directed by Frieren's director, Keiichiro Saito, Bocchi the Rock! and it's also commonly considered as an adaptation which manages to elevate the source material. It's about a teenage girl with huge social anxiety troubles who wants to be in a rock band, and how That Band (reference to the title of my favourite song in the show) helps her to evolve as a person.
That first episode destroyed me. When Frieren broke I imploded. Such a god tier anime.
If you'd like more anime that hits on notes of humanity, connection, an exploration of life and death. Would suggest as you said "Violet Evergarden", "To Your Eternity", "Mushi-shi" and "Girls' Last Tour"
I've been watching anime since I was 6 (yes, six years old), in 1979, when Starblazers/Space Battleship Yamato aired here in Canada, and I've got to say that Frieren is one of the best I've ever seen. It's a hell of a high bar to start your anime journey on!
Two easy recommendations:
The Apothecary Diaries, which aired in both of the same seasons as Frieren, and is just as good. Maomao, the lead (voiced by the always incredible Aoi Yuki) narrowly won for best character over Frieren and Fern. For me, I mean. Even then, t's really tough to to pick best of anything between the two shows. And wait till you meet Denken...if you love complex characters, he's wonderful.
For the kind of themes you like, you might like to check out the two series (26 eps each) of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and the first movie, GitS: Solid State Society. They're all from the early 2000s or so, very good sci-fi/cyberpunk explorations about what makes us alive/human/sentient/individuals.
And a bonus, my favourite anime ever (so far), Gintama. It's a lot, though, like 360+ episodes all told, but it's a great series that's mainly billed as a comedy, but it'll also get dark and heavy, and has one of the saddest single episodes I've seen in any anime. I don't expect anything, of course, but I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention Gintama when recommending anime! ;)
ps, I rarely comment, but I like your other channel, especially showing classical music people video game music. That's really fun! Now to find out you're doing anime stuff over here? Okay, I'm subbed.
@@iDEATH 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Violet Evergarden is the anime that made me fall in love with the slower stories.
Same here, I would watch anime before but never anything too serious because to be honest I didn't think anime di serious stories. I watched that and was blown away by it and completely changed my views on anime.
This just might be my favorite video of yours
Ergo Proxy would be my recommendation. I think you'd enjoy how heavily it leans into classic European art and philosophy.
one of the best aspects of Frieren is the deamons / demons, I hope you talk about them when you get to them!
(Idk which it is in Frieren so I said both)
I found Mob Psycho 100 delightful, it's about how maybe having main character powers isn't everything you need to be a happy person and having relationships with people around you and being in touch with your emotions might be more valuable. Also has some cool unique music.
Frieren is so beautiful. And the music is phenomenal. I think my favorite song is "Knife to the Throat."
That's awesome.
I'm glad you enjoyed Frieren.
I'm convinced Violet Evergarden would touch your heart as well.
Best of luck getting the monetization for the channel fixed, truly. I know other anime-adjacent YTers have definitely had some issues with RUclips or the publishers being way too heavy-handed with everything related to that. I hope it doesn't hurt your desire to put out content, but I understand if it does.
it's become a bit of a passion so it's not too bad :)
Just found this channel. Cool that you're also doing anime content now, I enjoy your video game music stuff. Frieren made me cry a few times. I like the anime way better than the manga, I thought the themes were delivered much better. The OST is also a banger. If you like this kind of anime, I'd also suggest Steins Gate.
I personally would recommend checking out clannad and clannad after story. The first part, clannad, comes off as a generic romcom but watching it elevates the second part that leaves a deep impression upon the viewer and seriously hammers the concept of family in a way I feel no other show in media has.
March Comes in Like a Lion is good but very different to a lot of other anime.
About a pro shogi player dealing with the competitiveness of shogi and his battle with depression. It's amazing and beautiful.
I think season 2 of Vinland saga would appeal to you in an extremely similar way as Frieren.
It is truly beautiful and explores the other side of its own janus face
This reminds me of when Andy from the office said "I wonder if there's a way to know you're in the good old days before youve actually left them"
This
Vinland Saga, The first season is very action heavy, but it definitely develops into one of my fave stories of all time
I recommend reading Holyland, Land of The Lustrous, and The Horizon. At their core, they're very human stories that deal with some philosophical ideas that a lot of people contemplate at least once in their life, like having a sense of place, if life is worth it, and what makes a human. And I hope you're alright.
Eureka Seven, has a bit of everything, but the characters and their depth is where it really shines. An amazing anime.
I prefer watching an anime over reading the manga, even though I'd usually say I prefer the original book over a movie adaptation.
For me, it's the same reason as to how I discovered this channel. I really think the music, or even just the ambient sound effects, in many shows and games add so much more to the whole experience, and certainly deserve a deeper analysis like we often see here.
You’re for sure right
If you ever get to Violet Evergarden, please watch Clannad as well. The score can be stunningly melancholic and that doesn't even come close to how to describe it in context, and to this day I can't think of some scenes without tearing up and it's been more 15 years since it ended. If you have any time, please check it out. I know you'd love it.
Man you really hit the ground running then. Frieren is a wonderful anime. If you you like the sublime and peaceful feel of it then I'd recommend Natsume Yuujinchou afterwards. (Natsume's book of friends). And Mushishi.