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The thing that kept distracting me was why Frieren's two teammates were even in the exam in the first place, other than as a plot device. I kept waiting for some reason (other than "they're idiots") that these two entered a potentially lethal exam for a legendarily ultra-elite level with their really limited range of skills.

One, they're not that limited (remember, they're the same rank as Fern is,) it's that they drew the short straw and… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 8:15 AM on May 22, 2024

So yeah, this was an interesting episode that illustrates what can happen when the adaptation gets to read ahead, as the B-side story here is dropping lots of hints for a major reveal later in the series (basically spelling it out without outright stating things.)
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 6:50 AM on May 10, 2024

An anime nerd, in other words.

No, it's genuinely more than that - there's a lot of things where we get to see how Laios hasn't had the best life because he's struggled with peopleing.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 2:20 AM on May 11, 2024

I love Maomao, but the Rear Palace, for all its fancy dresses, is a toxic nightmare. (Literally toxic, as this story demonstrates.)

The problem is that the issue is being a woman in this culture is a toxic nightmare, and we're coming to a scene where Maomao is going to blindside Jinshi with that reality, and that's going to force him to change his worldview.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 9:44 AM on May 10, 2024

Sadly, if you're following the manga, it's been reported that the series will go on indefinate hiatus after the publication of Chapter 130 on Tuesday. That said, there may be a silver lining with that - the series took a hiatus to work on the anime, so this may be a sign that Season 2 is in the works.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:35 AM on May 4, 2024

It's more that they're capable of reacting like the original (so they can use the original's powers), but they have no cognition - hence why Wirbel is able to fight Ehre's clone by attacking her surroundings, something the clone is incapable of grasping.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 6:39 PM on May 4, 2024

So, an apology - I wound up needing to take a week break from recapping just to re-energize. I'm going to pick up the schedule from here, but I do reserve the right to pause if I need to take a break again.

So, this was a nice chance to relax from the previous events, and get a bit into Team Touden's head. If you're curious which copies came from which person's memories, Kui has created a cheat sheet which helps explain not only who is connected to who, but why they have… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:45 AM on May 3, 2024

Where were dwarves tunneling from that they reached the dungeon?

It's not that they were tunneling anywhere, but that the Golden Kingdom is so ancient that it predates the elf/dwarf conflict, and the structure of the castle has both elven and dwarven elements.

Marcille in the Dub: "our typical lifespan..." Sub: "elves can live..."

We're getting close to… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:49 AM on May 3, 2024

So, since this has come up, let's note the floors of the dungeon to better understand how it's laid out:

* Floor 1: The catacombs, this is a mix of the dungeon and the burial halls used by the village prior to all the dungeoneering. As such, it's a weird mix - as Marcille noted, it's a bit creepy seeing people hanging out and eating around graves.

* Floor 2: The treetops, this "floor" is made of basically "treehouses" built in… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:55 AM on April 19, 2024

I like how Kabru is written. He doesn't instantly understand what's going on, but he constantly thinks about possibilities. He didn't figure out the treasure monsters, but here he considers that the treasure might have been some kind of trap.

The whole thing with Kabru is that he was trained to have the skills he has, which is meant to help drive home why the Boat Elves arriving is Serious Business. That said, he's pretty aware he has gaps in his… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 11:17 PM on April 19, 2024

It's probably good that the intro animation for this production run tries to ground the four central characters in the viewers mind among the swirl of other new and new-ish faces.

Kui did a matrix of Team Touden as the various races (from top to bottom: Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, Senshi, Izutsumi; from left to right: tallman, elf, halffoot, dwarf, gnome - portraits with the polka dot background are the character's "proper" race.) It's a… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:18 AM on April 26, 2024

The battle with the chimera was more bloody than I expected.

It's the sort of fight that the DM throws at the party to make the point clear that playtime is over, and the gloves are off. It is worth noting that none of Team Touden died in the fight - all the casualties were in the "NPC" parties, so to speak.

Is the chaining of souls to the dungeon really a curse, if it enables resurrection?… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 7:35 AM on April 26, 2024

Marcille is alarmed when Falin starts ripping her shirt off. Fortunately, she has censor feathers.

Unfortunately, the harpies don't, and we get a few shots of harpy jubblies throughout the episode. Poor Swamp Jawn's going to have to censor this episode's recap thoroughly.

Shuro loves "the way [Falin] thinks," but can't stand Laios.

This is more due… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 8:27 AM on April 26, 2024

With most of our main dramatis personae set, the series can now do what it does best - bounce characters off each other and see what happens. Of course the main dynamic is "place Maomao and Jinshi together, and see what happens", which is always good for some comedy or drama. This is also the first episode where we really get the Maomao/Gaoshun dynamic, in which he finds that she's just as much a handful as his erstwhile master. We also get to see that for being… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 12:12 PM on April 25, 2024

So yeah, Raid Boss Frieren - this definitely falls under the "Frieren-class threat" I talked about a while ago. And it's worth noting that she's not the only threat (though she is definitely the most serious) as every mage got cloned. Though this does show that all the worries about "future enemies" wound up being overblown for the Second Test, as it's clear that success here is going to be about cooperation - especially given how utterly dangerous some of the clones are.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:56 AM on April 24, 2024

But if no one ever passes Sense's tests (and a "Frieren-class threat" seems insurmountable), what really is the point, other than to beat the mages down?

First, there's a sense that Sense's tests have such high failure rates because the candidates don't grasp that she genuinely wants them to work together. The point of the test is that a first class mage must be adaptable (and we'll see why in Season 2, when we get to see first class mages… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:28 AM on April 24, 2024

With the first episode needing to focus on setting up the relationship between all the major characters, this is where we get to see the dynamics between our core cast develop. Of course, the central relationship is that of Maomao and Jinshi, as they are the main protagonists. We also get to see how Maomao plays with the Jade Pavilion crew, and it's clear that she settles in well - which also reflects on the fact that Gyokuyou selected her staff shrewdly - a point reflected on the commentary… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:32 AM on April 23, 2024

So, while this episode is technically part of the First Class Mage Examination arc, it more feels like a standalone episode as the examination only factors in at the very end, and even then not that much. It does, however, serve an important purpose - first, it serves as a palette cleanser which allows the First and Second Tests to have their own flavor, and it gives the characters to interact outside of the constraints of the Examination. A good example of this is Wirbel - we get an image of… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 9:07 PM on April 22, 2024

There were three series that generated a lot of chatter in the anime fandom in the Winter 2024 season - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Delicious In Dungeon, and The Apothecary Diaries. And for the latter, it's not surprising to see why - a strong and vibrant setting (and a willingness to not shy away from the dark side of that setting), well written protagonists who have fun interactions (half the fun of the series is watching… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:58 AM on April 21, 2024

Granny admonishes Mao not to set off explosives again(!)

Maomao is overly curious (there's a reason she has a cat motif) and way too eager to experiment with chemicals. Luomen calls her "mad scientist" as a pet name.

The serving girls are given black mourning(?) belts. That seems oddly Western (white being the usual color of mourning in the East.)… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 11:51 AM on April 21, 2024

It's worth noting that in the original novel, the case was against the tobacco industry, because at the time of its writing, that was the supposed "invincible" industry in the courts. By the time the movie was in development, however, the Altria lawsuit had been concluded with the company losing, hence the shift to the gun industry.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:52 AM on April 19, 2024

So yeah, this is a fun episode as we see the mages actually get into some conflict, in particular Fern and her team taking on Wirbel's crew. We also get to see the cruel deviousness of the structure of the First Test, as the setup and its inherent stresses become clear - especially when we see the bodies on the tree. It's clear that next episode is going to kick off the fireworks factory as we clearly have the Party IV/VIII and Party II/XIII fights to resolve.

More… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:18 AM on April 16, 2024

but don't the other test-takers seem somewhat... monstrous?

Not really - honestly, the issue is that Genau's an asshole, and created a test that's meant to put pressure on the candidates until they break (something that Denken dislikes.) Also, it's worth remembering that the Demon King's forces are still around in part (this is why they need the certification, remember) and that's shaped some of the candidates like Wirbel.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:44 PM on April 17, 2024

Many of these people are willing to kill each other to pass a test.

We only see one test taker who openly takes that particular position, and it winds up impacting him later in a few ways. Wirbel attempting to kill Ubel is more about his feelings about someone like her with her reputation than passing/not passing.

There's also the fact that the test is set up this way, and we'll get some background later on why that is (suffice it to say, Serie is as vicious as she is petty.)
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 7:14 AM on April 18, 2024

So, a bit of a programming note - with this, we've officially caught up with the show's release schedule. As such, I'll now just be doing Delicious in Dungeon recaps on Friday (as the episodes come out on Thursday.) This will open up space to cover another series, and I'll be recapping The Apothecary Diaries - another standout series, built around Imperial Chinese court intrigue and medical drama.

And again, Swamp Jawn has his episode breakdown, with… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 12:34 AM on April 17, 2024

Any half-foot Chuck knew who dabbled in black magic was kidnapped by elves...

As it turns out, anyone who does gets kidnapped by elves. Which will become a problem for Team Touden soon enough.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 9:53 AM on April 17, 2024

The structure of the test is worth noting, because it's designed to test what is expected of a first class mage:

* Able to work effectively in semi-random parties (we do see some pairings of mages with existing ties, like Lawine/Kanne.)
* Able to operate in areas with magically inclined threats and targets (as we'll see with the stille.)
* Able to accomplish a task given a deadline.
* Able to fend off external interference.

We'll see more of the latter starting next episode.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 6:06 PM on April 15, 2024

Well, that was a surprise - the most recent manga chapter that came out today (Chapter 128) revealed what Frieren's "holy emblem" actually means.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:48 PM on April 16, 2024

The big thing to note here is that this episode sets up Kabru properly as Laios' foil - as we note, their strengths and weaknesses are almost diametrical in nature:

* Laios is clueless about humans, while Kabru is a master of interpersonal dynamics.

* Laios has an encyclopedic knowledge of monsters, while Kabru's knowledge is dangerously lacking (hence their wipe to the treasure insects.)

* Related, Laios is effective at… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:44 PM on April 15, 2024

Oh, he realizes. He thinks Laios is a bad candidate for 'winning' the dungeon because he's a horrible judge of (human) character.

I didn't explain that well - Kabru thinks that Laios has fallen in knowingly with the goldstrippers, not realizing that he's in contention with Catarina Claes and Frieren for The Densest Object Known To Anime Fandom.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:34 AM on April 16, 2024

Yup, and Kabru has reasons why he'd be so brutal, which he's already hinted at in this episode. In his mind they're pushing the dungeon towards tragedy, and that's not something he's going to tolerate.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 7:17 AM on April 16, 2024

I mean, one of the whole core conceits of Spy x Family is the concept of found family and that the bonds we build are the ones we matter. The series also does an excellent job in making what would be gamebreaking powers - telepathy and precognition - less so by giving them to a) a young girl who while able to read the thoughts of others does not have the life experience to properly frame them, with a heaping scoop of imagination on top, and b) a dog, whose ability to act on… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:28 AM on April 16, 2024

"Shut off all the trash compactors on the detention level!" Marcille in the, well, trash compactor.

You're not the only one who made that reference, as Swamp Jawn covers that in his episode breakdown, including a watch of the Spanish dub.

The march of the boneless ham greatly benefited from animation.

The label following the hams into the blood was a solid gag.… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:45 PM on April 13, 2024

So yeah - Sein voices what we're all thinking (and he's right, though for the time being Fern's got more important things to worry about with the exam coming up.) We actually get a bit more about how the relationship between the two is, and there's a bit of playfulness between them - again, Fern didn't mind Stark touching her - it's just that he does forget his own strength. And from their interactions, we can tell they do care about each other deeply - but that also doesn't define them as… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:11 AM on April 12, 2024

That's...overthinking things, to be honest - the reality is that blatantly meaningful names in foreign languages is a staple in media (famous example: Darth Vader is Dutch for "Dark Father", which...yup.) In fact, this particular sort (meaningful German name in anime) isn't even unique to Frieren - G Gundam had the Neo-German pilot Schwartz Bruder, which if you've seen the show is basically "we're just going to spoil a major plot point from the get go."
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 9:41 AM on April 12, 2024

Perhaps, but the thing there is that we know how wrong that particular appellation is - as we saw (and will see in the next episode), that title is far from the sort of person Kraft actually is.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 11:12 AM on April 12, 2024

The statue that Sein's friend got the "Gorilla Warrior" moniker from is of Kraft, which the rest of the party notes.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 12:45 PM on April 12, 2024

We haven't seen animals used with revival magic so far; perhaps because the corpses were relatively intact?

Yep, and Marcille notes this - corpses with significant amounts of damage require external sources to supply material. If the body is mostly intact, the spell can pull from the body - it's noted that after a few ressurections, Kabru is noticeably thinner.

Falin eats some dragon.

I love how Senshi encourages her eating, telling her to take revenge.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 3:32 PM on April 11, 2024

Also, I found this English cover of "Sleep Walking Orchestra", and when you hear the lyrics, it becomes clear why this was selected for the show's first OP, as it so very much captures the themes of the series.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:13 AM on April 12, 2024

The last, bleak shot of Laios looking at the skull was very impactful.

In his episode breakdown, Swamp Jawn notes that is a Trigger adaption, as Kui went with a more classic Yorick style pose in the manga. The choice of the shot of Laios' eyes through the empty orbits of Falin's skull is meant to convey his terror and pain, and boy does it ever deliver, showing why Trigger is another of the top studios.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:44 AM on April 9, 2024

So yeah. Let's discuss the elephant in the plot, with is best summed up in a line from a song in Beauty and the Beast - "there's something there that wasn't there before."

Because after a year of traveling together - of fighting alongside one another, of braving the wilds, of surviving the brutal winters of the mountains - the friendship and camaraderie between Fern and Stark is (and this is pretty much obvious to all but the two at this… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 10:59 AM on April 6, 2024

To be fair, valrus, I've read ahead (that is, I've read the full manga run), so I know there are some later chapters that better illustrate their developing romance (and a couple are right past the end of the first season!) And I do like that their relationship is that of a couple of teenagers, because that feels authentic and genuine.

The point of the scene on the roof is that he's in tune enough with her that he catches her almost immediately after she starts to slip -… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 8:36 PM on April 8, 2024

Again, this is one of my favorite episodes, because The Dance is just an amazing scene - and it's worth noting that in the manga, we only get a couple of panels and the two page chapter title spread for it, so this scene is almost completely thanks to the animators at Madhouse. The looks on their faces as they whirl on the dance floor says so much, as does how they embrace in the dance. And then there's that adorable little dip at the end...

Look, in two episodes, Sein's… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 3:09 PM on April 8, 2024

So, since this has come up (and will be a major plot point later), let's take a note of the main "races" in the series:

Halffoot: light and nimble, they tend to excel in delicate work (hence why many serve as lockpicks for adventuring parties.) They're also the race with the shortest lifespans - 50-60 years, and are considered adults at 14. (This is why Laios asks Chilchuck if he should call him "sir" when he finds out he's 27 - as he's actually in… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 12:15 PM on April 7, 2024

I was pretty surprised where it went from there.

The next four episodes are when the series goes from "cute gimmick D&D based series" to "...and this is when the DM took the gloves off."
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 12:59 AM on April 8, 2024

So, a prior comment about elven gremlin energy had me thinking about one of the major challenges of the series - how do you write a character like Frieren? Because she winds up being a massive challenge to write, because she needs to be powerful to be credible as "the mage who slew the Demon King", but she can't be an "I WIN" button every time either, as that gets boring very fast. To the credit of the writer, they get this, and are very careful in what they throw at our elf… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 12:40 PM on April 5, 2024

So, after the more laid back pacing of the previous episode of the prior episode, we get a more dense episode that actually does a decent amount of exposition about the nature of the dungeon, as well as getting to learn more about Namari (who we only saw briefly in episode 1 prior to this.) The point about the souls being chained helps us understand more about how revival magic works (which is going to become important in a few episodes), and the interactions with the Flokes does a lot to help… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 1:20 AM on April 5, 2024

Yeah, Tansu's definitely an arrogant ass. But, he does genuinely love his adopted kids (as we see with his panic over Kiki's seizure by the tentacles), and other support materials note that when Namari gets killed in his service, she does receive hazard pay for it.

...have I noted how good Ryoko Kui is at world and character design? I'm sure I have, but some more gushing won't hurt.
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 11:55 AM on April 5, 2024

The first half of this episode is important in establishing why resurrecting Falin is so important to Marcille, as we'll need that context in a few episodes to understand why she makes certain decisions. It also helps lay out her bonds to Team Touden and Laios in particular as well. Finally, it shows more of Marcille's character and goals, helping lay out why she's with Team Touden.

The undine fight helps establish the threat of the lower levels, as well as why having a… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 2:14 AM on April 3, 2024

Falin mentions that raspberries and grasshoppers aren't poisonous. Japanese doesn't distinguish b/t poisonous and venomous, but it may be that Falin has already eaten some unusual things.

It's more about the difference in their backgrounds. Falin grew up in a subsistence household in the country, while Marcille is the child of court mages. So it's completely unsurprising that Falin knows how to safely forage while Marcille doesn't. To the latter's… [more]
posted to FanFare by NoxAeternum at 12:36 PM on April 3, 2024