Frieren: How time creates satisfaction

Key Takeaways

• Time breeds complacency: Frieren explores longevity and the dangers of neglecting important moments.
• Complacency is deeply rooted: Lack of change and fear leads to complacency without progress.
• The opposite of complacency: Frieren remains adept at performing magic in a rapidly advancing world.

Frieren: Beyond the end of the journey is an anime that plays with many philosophical ideas, one of which is how time creates satisfaction. This anime begins when the group of heroes returns from defeating the greatest evil in the world, the Demon King. The story really begins when Frieren, a powerful elven mage and former member of the group of heroes, says goodbye to his friend who has aged in the blink of an eye. He went in search of an understanding of himself and his time with them. Along the way, he encounters comforts from the past and comforts born of a time of peace.

Contentment is best described as a feeling of contentment or calmness despite danger or the need for change. This is where the saying “Ignorance is bliss” comes from. Frieren: Beyond the end of the journey talking about time and the satisfaction of extending time so that it seems there is no reason. Frieren lived so long that his ten-year journey to save the world looked like a Tuesday to everyone else. This allows the show to ask the question of how much time passes before it can be considered irrelevant to a person's entire life.

How time plays out in Frieren

Contentment is short-lived for two main reasons that work together. The absence of external forces or threats to demand change, and the fear of change are the main culprits behind complacency. Being able to continue without any necessary changes brings a sense of comfort, because the need seems fulfilled. When change is needed, it becomes difficult to accept that something has disturbed that comfort. So it's easier to ignore the problem at hand. Satisfaction is ingrained.

It is this trap of complacency that Frieren sets up entirely. After living his whole life and realizing how old he was, he calmed down and started acting. Despite the looming threat of the Demon King, Frieren didn't care about the future of the world he knew he would live in. He lived alone in the forest until the hero's party came to him and asked for his help. The ten years he spent with them allowed him to see the value of the smallest moment, because once a moment is gone, it cannot be regained.

This show's perspective on the importance of a moment and the lasting impact of an experience is reminiscent of how people view the show. With episodes lasting about 23 minutes, they are a small part of a day. However, this does not necessarily limit their impact. Philosophical ideas surrounding the satisfaction and importance of time can have deep and lasting effects.

Comfort being the undercurrent of the show, there are also examples of places that were never allowed to sit. As Frieren collapsed in contentment, the rest of the mages went as well. After the defeat of the Demon King, the top mages went to work analyzing and refining the demon's power. By the time the show's main story takes place, humans have been studying magic for over 80 years.

This is best shown when Frieren goes to face the demon Qual. In his day he had a final attack that killed everyone in his path. During the march of time, this attack became the basis for the development of human magic, and since Qual was unable to evolve with it due to being sealed by Frieren, it became similar to the basic attack that was learned. 'the modern mage's attack. and defend against. Humans have always felt the pressure and fear of magic, and so have not sat back with the satisfaction seen by those more accustomed to it. Humanity in general, at least in the realm of performance, never seems to find satisfaction. They continued to work harder, progressing their magical studies until, as Flamme had predicted, human mages emerged before the elves.

Another example of anti-complacency can also come from Frieren. Although he has found contentment in his life, the titular mage never stops practicing magic or searching for it. At first it seems like it's just a prank for him, but it turns out that through it he becomes a powerful mage. This dichotomy shows that satisfaction is not necessarily a consuming force, and can control different aspects of a person's life.

A deadline raises the stakes, and time lowers them. But stakes are not always life or death. Sometimes it can be as simple as whether an experience will lead to an opportunity to help someone, or just a smile along the way. Frieren: Beyond the end of the journey showing that even the smallest moments can, and probably should, hold as much import as the greatest. Time is running out, and it should not be wasted.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is now available to stream Crunchyroll.