I only watch popular anime, so I haven't noticed this. As far as popular shows go, anime is in somewhat of a new Pax Romana right now. Dan Da Dan, Chainsaw Man, and Frieren are all really good, and I would argue CSM will be an all-time great. JJK is an amateurish story but has top tier animation.
If globohomo is hitting anime bad right now, this is where Trump being in office may be a good thing. We are still seeing lagging indicators of Biden's tranny paradise presidency, but the funding for that is likely curtailed.
Also, the American public's purported appetite - which is the main motivator for any changes - has massively turned against gayness. Millions of people are crapping on the Stranger Things finale specifically for the gay coming out scene.
I tried watching the first few episodes of Frieren and Chainsaw Man years back and I couldn't understand what the hype was. Frieren was just overly sentimental girls crying about not knowing what their friend's favorite dessert was, and chainsaw man, from what I vaguely remember, had a depressing MC become a submissive dog for some bossy female. Do those shows go through some radical change later on that I missed?
as a huge fan of Frieren, there were several things it brought to the table that were sorely missing in recent anime:
actual fantasy. not isekai shit, a straight up medieval fantasy world that is represented sincerely, not as a joke or wish fulfillment.
Chill. the show's pacing is very relaxed, with action interspersed. It's very pleasant to watch compared the high energy nature of other recent shows. don't get me wrong, I love a good high energy anime. Gurren Lagann is my favorite anime of all time. but the chill nature of Frieren is a nice change of pace.
an actual episodic show. most other seasonal anime have one or two self-contained episodes, then the rest is cliffhanger bait that draws out one Arc over 10 episodes. Frieren actually has self-contained episodes, with a few three episode arcs sprinkled in. of course, the last ark at the end of season 1 takes like seven episodes which was way too long, it is my biggest demerit against the show, but it at least wrapped The Arc up.
perfection of the Rei Ayanami archetype. for me, the draw of this archetype is watching someone essentially become human, developing a personality and learning to appreciate life. in most other shows, this archetype is so robotic that the character feels unrealistic. Frieren, on the other hand, is very animated. there are things that make her excited, and there are things that make her angry, even if she is extremely apathetic.
additionally, I'm a connoisseur of orchestral scores, be they from movies, games, shows, or anime. Frieren's score by Evan Call is one of the best scores I've heard in a long time, up there with Christopher Larkin's Hollow Knight score and Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score.
Frieren's score by Evan Call is one of the best scores I've heard in a long time, up there with Christopher Larkin's Hollow Knight score and Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score.
You sold me. The songs in the link are great, gunna have to give it a go now, and it was already high on my list for the anti demon stuff.
I love these scores too, usually the more 'epic' battle songs.
It sounds like you stopped before the dragon arc. One of the best drawn dragons I've seen in ages. The battle scenes in Frieren may be few, but they are EPIC. Gobsmackingly good.
Frieren is story-based, with the main (today) story and a flashback story of 50~odd years ago. Both are really engaging & endearing.
A third storyline deals with a much younger Frieren and her teacher, the greatest human wizard to have ever lived. She literally "writes the book" for human magic.
Yet she & Frieren aren't "girl bosses" at all. They're just the very best at what they do, which is killing demons. Because demons are pure evil & deserve nothing less than instant death.
Se.02 on the 16th!
Frieren starts slow, but in my opinion does live up to the hype. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I personally think it's great...but I can see why the first few episodes might drive some people away. It definitely picks up as it goes. Frieren is peak.
As to Chainsaw Man, I haven't read the manga or anything, but I know some of what's coming just from happening upon chatter online. Part of the whole point is that the MC is being abused; it doesn't seem glorified, he's just constantly beaten down and taken advantage of. And, as the other response said, a big part of the hype is the action/animation.
I'm a bit of a snob and don't watch much anime anymore. I actually watched the first couple episodes of Frieren, thought they were great, but was satisfied. It was a nice little self-contained story, with exactly the number of characters it needed and ran for exactly as long as it took. I can't imagine they're considered the weak point.
I can't imagine they're considered the weak point.
Not weak, per se, I just get why they wouldn't be to everyone's taste. A lot of people are going to want more action, and that doesn't pick up for a little while. A bunch of people want to see Frieren blasting demons, and that takes a little bit to ramp up. Intro isn't bad, but some people just won't have the attention span for it, I think.
That's why they released 4 at once: the first 2 are uneventful... until later you realize just how important they are!
Frieren is filled with "understated" things, pay attention to be rewarded!
The battles come later and they are EPIC. No standing there yapping while the enemy powers up, that's so idiotic. They fight "for keeps" and it's literal life & death.
Demons are bad & the critics didn't like that, it seems. Tough! They're literally animals that can talk. They can also become insanely powerful & kill lots of humans (their favorite food) unless stopped.
Frieren deserves a re-watch (in Japanese and the Dub is excellent too!) to fully appreciate it all. The art, the music, the characters are all God-Tier. The stories are "only" SS-tier 😄 But generally short & sweet.
If you get filtered by the first four episodes of Frieren, you don't deserve the segment where Frieren explains how demons use human language purely as a weapon. It's just that simple.
As far as CSM, if you don't like watching a broke-down kid try to figure things out then you're not going to enjoy it. The writing and animation are amazing though.
Frieren can be a little boring/slice of life and it has its problems, but it has some really nice meditations on the passing of time and an interesting take on the nature of evil. There isn't a lot of action until the demon arc a few episodes in, but it's pretty good.
The first few episodes of Frieren were all worshipful reverence of the ones who came before. I think the concept of demons is a useful rhetorical tool to have and is definitely the big draw. But even a quiet, slice-of-life tour of the statues commemorating civilization's greatest heroes was a breath of fresh air compared to something like "let the past die. Kill it if you have to."
I only watch popular anime, so I haven't noticed this. As far as popular shows go, anime is in somewhat of a new Pax Romana right now. Dan Da Dan, Chainsaw Man, and Frieren are all really good, and I would argue CSM will be an all-time great. JJK is an amateurish story but has top tier animation.
If globohomo is hitting anime bad right now, this is where Trump being in office may be a good thing. We are still seeing lagging indicators of Biden's tranny paradise presidency, but the funding for that is likely curtailed.
Also, the American public's purported appetite - which is the main motivator for any changes - has massively turned against gayness. Millions of people are crapping on the Stranger Things finale specifically for the gay coming out scene.
I tried watching the first few episodes of Frieren and Chainsaw Man years back and I couldn't understand what the hype was. Frieren was just overly sentimental girls crying about not knowing what their friend's favorite dessert was, and chainsaw man, from what I vaguely remember, had a depressing MC become a submissive dog for some bossy female. Do those shows go through some radical change later on that I missed?
as a huge fan of Frieren, there were several things it brought to the table that were sorely missing in recent anime:
actual fantasy. not isekai shit, a straight up medieval fantasy world that is represented sincerely, not as a joke or wish fulfillment.
Chill. the show's pacing is very relaxed, with action interspersed. It's very pleasant to watch compared the high energy nature of other recent shows. don't get me wrong, I love a good high energy anime. Gurren Lagann is my favorite anime of all time. but the chill nature of Frieren is a nice change of pace.
an actual episodic show. most other seasonal anime have one or two self-contained episodes, then the rest is cliffhanger bait that draws out one Arc over 10 episodes. Frieren actually has self-contained episodes, with a few three episode arcs sprinkled in. of course, the last ark at the end of season 1 takes like seven episodes which was way too long, it is my biggest demerit against the show, but it at least wrapped The Arc up.
perfection of the Rei Ayanami archetype. for me, the draw of this archetype is watching someone essentially become human, developing a personality and learning to appreciate life. in most other shows, this archetype is so robotic that the character feels unrealistic. Frieren, on the other hand, is very animated. there are things that make her excited, and there are things that make her angry, even if she is extremely apathetic.
additionally, I'm a connoisseur of orchestral scores, be they from movies, games, shows, or anime. Frieren's score by Evan Call is one of the best scores I've heard in a long time, up there with Christopher Larkin's Hollow Knight score and Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings score.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWFeSl4hhIg
You sold me. The songs in the link are great, gunna have to give it a go now, and it was already high on my list for the anti demon stuff.
I love these scores too, usually the more 'epic' battle songs.
excellent taste!
there are several Grand moments throughout the show, but do keep in mind it is more chill than grand.
It sounds like you stopped before the dragon arc. One of the best drawn dragons I've seen in ages. The battle scenes in Frieren may be few, but they are EPIC. Gobsmackingly good.
Frieren is story-based, with the main (today) story and a flashback story of 50~odd years ago. Both are really engaging & endearing.
A third storyline deals with a much younger Frieren and her teacher, the greatest human wizard to have ever lived. She literally "writes the book" for human magic.
Yet she & Frieren aren't "girl bosses" at all. They're just the very best at what they do, which is killing demons. Because demons are pure evil & deserve nothing less than instant death.
Se.02 on the 16th!
Frieren starts slow, but in my opinion does live up to the hype. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I personally think it's great...but I can see why the first few episodes might drive some people away. It definitely picks up as it goes. Frieren is peak.
As to Chainsaw Man, I haven't read the manga or anything, but I know some of what's coming just from happening upon chatter online. Part of the whole point is that the MC is being abused; it doesn't seem glorified, he's just constantly beaten down and taken advantage of. And, as the other response said, a big part of the hype is the action/animation.
I'm a bit of a snob and don't watch much anime anymore. I actually watched the first couple episodes of Frieren, thought they were great, but was satisfied. It was a nice little self-contained story, with exactly the number of characters it needed and ran for exactly as long as it took. I can't imagine they're considered the weak point.
Not weak, per se, I just get why they wouldn't be to everyone's taste. A lot of people are going to want more action, and that doesn't pick up for a little while. A bunch of people want to see Frieren blasting demons, and that takes a little bit to ramp up. Intro isn't bad, but some people just won't have the attention span for it, I think.
That's why they released 4 at once: the first 2 are uneventful... until later you realize just how important they are!
Frieren is filled with "understated" things, pay attention to be rewarded!
The battles come later and they are EPIC. No standing there yapping while the enemy powers up, that's so idiotic. They fight "for keeps" and it's literal life & death.
Demons are bad & the critics didn't like that, it seems. Tough! They're literally animals that can talk. They can also become insanely powerful & kill lots of humans (their favorite food) unless stopped.
Frieren deserves a re-watch (in Japanese and the Dub is excellent too!) to fully appreciate it all. The art, the music, the characters are all God-Tier. The stories are "only" SS-tier 😄 But generally short & sweet.
If you get filtered by the first four episodes of Frieren, you don't deserve the segment where Frieren explains how demons use human language purely as a weapon. It's just that simple.
Those are the people that need to be driven away. The first several episodes of that show were far and away the strongest of the whole season.
As far as CSM, if you don't like watching a broke-down kid try to figure things out then you're not going to enjoy it. The writing and animation are amazing though.
Frieren can be a little boring/slice of life and it has its problems, but it has some really nice meditations on the passing of time and an interesting take on the nature of evil. There isn't a lot of action until the demon arc a few episodes in, but it's pretty good.
Ah gotcha, maybe I'll try watching those shows a little further sometime.
Officially, Frieren is regarded as a shonen anime simply because the manga was published in Shonen Jump.
That's retarded.
If it walks like a seinen and quacks like a seinen, it's probably actually a seinen.
The first few episodes of Frieren were all worshipful reverence of the ones who came before. I think the concept of demons is a useful rhetorical tool to have and is definitely the big draw. But even a quiet, slice-of-life tour of the statues commemorating civilization's greatest heroes was a breath of fresh air compared to something like "let the past die. Kill it if you have to."