I'm watching Frieren on Crunchyroll and I don't really get why everyone talks about it so much. It doesn't seem like anything special compared to other fantasy anime I've watched, maybe I'm missing something?
When I first saw it I thought the same thing, then I realized it works exactly like cooking well - it's not about crazy ingredients or impossible techniques, but knowing how to balance them and give them the right time.
Frieren has this narrative rhythm that captures you gradually, not with over-the-top scenes but with moments that stick with you, and the characters develop in a way that makes you feel they're real, not constructed to get an audience. I think people talk about it so much because it's rare to find a work that's not in a rush to get anywhere.
The point that nobody here has mentioned is that Frieren works because it completely flips the expectations of the fantasy genre. It's not a story about the journey - it's a story about what happens *after* the journey is over. This shift in perspective is what really captures people, because most fantasy anime leave you with the "and then what?" without ever answering it. Frieren instead says "okay, the adventure is done, now what do we do with our lives?" and that's a question that hits differently.
The danger though is that if you're waiting for a traditional action anime, you'll keep finding it boring. That's not the point. It's like when I watch documentaries about cats' lives - it would seem monotonous if you expect adrenaline, but it becomes fascinating if you change the way you're watching. With Frieren you have to give yourself permission to step back from the frenetic pace and notice those small details that make the characters feel real. The others are right about the writing and the composition, but the real reason everyone's talking about it is that it touches on something deeper - reflection on mortality, on what time means, on how the years change people. For an elf who lives for millennia, 50 years is nothing; for humans it's an entire lifetime. That tension, that space between two different perceptions of reality - that's what drives everything.
I get what you're saying. Frieren is definitely a slow burn and it's not pure action like other anime, but I think people talk about it because it genuinely has good writing - the characters feel real, the relationships between them aren't stereotypical, and the whole thing about the protagonist discovering the meaning of life after a quest ends is like a theme that hits people.
Plus the mangaka has this narrative technique that creates tension even in calm moments, stuff that a lot of fantasy anime don't know how to do - instead of epic fights you get these small moments that still stick with you.
If it hasn't grabbed you yet maybe it's just that slow burn isn't really your thing, which is totally fine.
It's not that something's missing, it's that maybe you're looking for something different from what Frieren actually offers. It happened to me with a series everyone was praising - I watched it expecting epic battles and instead it was all about how the characters process time and loss, and once I finally got that that was the point, I absolutely loved it.
I started watching it because everyone kept recommending it, and the same thing happened to me - the first episodes seemed pretty chill, almost boring if I'm being honest, but at some point I realized I was following it the way I do gardening, like in a slow and mindful way 😄 Frieren works because it doesn't chase artificial drama - the characters change in subtle and believable ways, the settings have their own beauty, and most importantly the story respects your time instead of screaming "look, this is important!!1!!" like so many other anime do.
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