Frieren; a new obsession
Rabu, 28 Agustus 2024
Setelah nonton Maomao dan heboh sendiri karena nggak banyak wibu terkenal di Indonesia yang bahas tentang anime itu, saya menemukan bahwa ternyata karakter Maomao selalu disandingkan dengan Frieren di setiap review anime dari luar negeri. Di Indonesia sih Frieren cukup rame, jadi saya nggak terlalu buru-buru untuk nontonnya, karena nggak perlu khawatir kelupaan. Waktu masih awal-awal rilis juga saya sempat nonton 2 episode tapi kemudian berhenti. Sekarang karena -seperti biasa- sudah kehabisan referensi maka saya mulai menonton Frieren. Dan memang layak Frieren serame itu dibahas di mana-mana, and now I want justice for Maomao. 😕
The demon king has been defeated, and the victorious hero party returns home before disbanding. The four-mage Frieren, hero Himmel, priest Heiter, and warrior Eisen-reminisce about their decade-long journey as the moment to bid each other farewell arrives. But the passing of time is different for elves, thus Frieren witnesses her companions slowly pass away one by one. Before his death, Heiter manages to foist a young human apprentice called Fern onto Frieren. Driven by the elf's passion for collecting a myriad of magic spells, the pair embarks on a seemingly aimless journey, revisiting the places that the heroes of yore had visited. Along their travels, Frieren slowly confronts her regrets of missed opportunities to form deeper bonds with her now-deceased comrades.
Frieren; Beyond Journey's End memulai ceritanya setelah Frieren dan kelompok Pahlawan yang dia ikuti kembali setelah menghabiskan waktu 10 tahun mengalahkan Demon King. Prestasi mereka yang sangat hebat membuat mereka menjadi sangat dikenal di penjuru negeri dan sangat dihormati. Setelah kembali dari misi penting itu dan diangkat menjadi pahlawan, kelompok Pahlawan pun bubar dan mereka meneruskan kehidupan masing-masing. Frieren memilih menjalani hidup dengan berpetualang mencari dan mengumpulkan mantra-mantra sihir baru, apapun bentuknya. Mantra sihir seaneh apapun dikumpulkannya, tidak peduli apakah itu akan berguna atau tidak. Frieren sangat terobsesi dengan sihir. Bagi Frieren, waktu 10 tahun yang dia lalui bersama teman-temannya bukanlah apa-apa dibandingkan dengan rentang hidupnya yang sangat panjang. Namun, tentu saja tidak sama dengan teman-temannya.
Dari adegam pertama, keunikan anime ini sudah tersaji. Ketika cerita-cerita petualangan biasanya dimulai sebelum karakter utama mendapatkan tugasnya, Frieren justru memulainya dari akhir cerita. Kita yang biasanya membuat-buat sendiri cerita setelah misi para jagoan berakhir, justru disuguhi cerita itu. Lalu, keseruan apa yang akan ditampilkan Frieren jika petualangan sudah berakhir?! Sejak menit-menit pertama tokoh Frieren tampil, saya sudah menduga kalau anime ini tidak akan menampilkan aksi-aksi heroik seperti Demon Slayer atau sejenisnya. Frieren dikenalkan kepada kita sebagai karakter yang dingin dan sulit memahami manusia, sehingga sudah pasti arah cerita ini pada character development Frieren yang hidup ribuan tahun. Kematian Himmel menyadarkan Frieren, bahwa 10 tahun bagi manusia adalah rentang waktu yang sangat lama. Dan di momen itu Frieren menyadari, "I knew human lives were short why didn't I try to get to know him better".
Kematian Himmel menjadi awal cerita Frieren. Setelah petualangan besarnya mengalahkan Demon King berakhir, Frieren melanjutkan hidupnya seperti biasa. Namun setelah persahabatannya dengan teman-temannya yang berlangsung hanya sekejap mata baginya, ternyata mereka menua dan meninggal satu per satu di hadapannya. Frieren menyadari betapa berharganya waktu, betapa dia harus memanfaatkan saat-saat yang penting bersama dengan teman-temannya. Frieren memulai kisahnya dengan sebuah kehilangan. Kehilangan teman yang sangat penting dalam hidupnya, bagaimana mereka membentuk dirinya,
freerun rej journeying the same path she took with her fellowship before but this time with new people and this time with. A New Perspective with new lessons that she's learn learned and as she Journeys this path once again this time with a whole new group of people this old Fellowship that we barely knew because their Journey was over when we started it weaves flashbacks from them along with her new Journey so we get to see we get to parallel her old Journeys her old lessons that she learned her old relationships that she built up the the way that she seemed so detached then but the love that they showed her the care that they had for her the the way that they appreciated their time with her and then we see that parallel with her being in these same places again and how now these same places have a new meaning for her now these same uh steps that she took the same experiences that she's having on again how she responds to them a little bit differently this time they carry more weight this time and she appreciates them a little bit more so maybe now she might hold her friend's hand when she's sick she might make sure to buy her a birthday gift where otherwise she wouldn't have cared now she'll actually see the sunrise that last time she was here she would not have gotten up she didn't get up to see because why should she care about a sunrise when sleep is so important but
Himel the best boy really wanted her to see it because he knew that she would appreciate it and this time she finally gets up even though she is not a morning morning person she finally gets up and is dragged there by her new companion Fern she sees the sunrise and it does nothing for her nothing it's a sunrise I could have been sleeping but then she looks over and she sees Fern appreciate it and then she realizes no I'm glad I'm here because of who I'm with because these moments are fleeting and they're precious and who I spend them with matters to me these characters frein her old fellowship and her new Fellowship I have become so attached to because largely because of the pacing because every single scene seems to just take its time every single scene is allowed to breathe and whether it's a big emotional moment that isn't rushed or if it's a small journeying moment that doesn't seem important but it is because it's these because it's the right now and that's what theory is doing the right now and how valuable that is I became so attached to these characters to the story to the world and in experiencing frein's life then and now and how these things have shaped her I love that this story isn't just an isolated period of time it's not fre freerun story when she's going to defeat the demon king or frean story when she'sdoing X it's a a spanning sprawling story that really showcases the fact that in life we have many experiences we have many seasons of life you may develop a found family a core people group that you live life with and who hold meaning to you and then that season of your life may end you may disband from them someone may move away someone may die and you have to continue living without the way things went without things when they felt so perfect but that doesn't mean that there is no future in fact the opposite there is a future there are more experiences more seasons in life more things to experience a lot of times in storytelling it can feel like the story is dropping in at the perfect moment at the peak of your life at the culmination of when you were supposed to be here and then it ends at the perfect time as well whereas freen shows that we have many seasons of life we have many people that impact our lives and a big part of living is carrying those experiences those pieces those things that those people have taught us those people their memories with us and how that informs how we move forward and I love that that's shown not just in frein but in the side characters as well there are people that will join frein's Fellowship live with her for a while become a part of her team and then move on then leave because they have another goal they have other phases of life to experience there's one character in particular who missed out on a relationship missed out on continuing A brotherhood that should have been so he joins frean and he bonds with them and he lives life with them and he develops a kinship to them but eventually it's time to move on eventually it's time to continue to seek the the the goal that he initially had and they separate and I'm so glad they did I wanted that when when it was presented to us that this might be time for us to separate my first thought was well it's too soon but my second thought was I hope they do because that's what the story is doing it's showing seasons of life it's showing times that we live with people and then times that we move on yet we carry them along with us and that's so true to life that's so true to the experiences that we have in real life where we're not always with someone forever but that doesn't change the impact that they had in the now the visuals in the story are astounding the quiet slow moments of Life the terrifying moments of peril the animation is so smooth the action is stunning there's so much in the slow and the fast of this story that draw you in not just because of the characters not just because of the world and the magic but because the way it's all brought to life in the animation and in the score is so intimate that it's emotional it hits you in the chest and it feels personal somehow another example of this is in heer obviously Himel is such a standout character because he's so genuinely good and it's obvious from the beginning that you're going to like him he's a true hero he just wants to make the world better he just wants to do the kindest thing because it's kind he wants to see the world be better because then the world would be better he's such an honest hero and not in a cliché boring way but in a really inspiring way but then you have other every character has their flaws to include himl he's very conceited comedically so and I'm sure he leans into that to kind of diffuse tension but I think he also means it but frean is lazy and at times apathetic to the point that other people have to put themselves out to care for her uh Fern her Apprentice that she takes on is um easily offended gets gets bothered by things too quickly and then becomes very standoffish and puts everybody out is very inconvenient to everyone while they scramble to try to alleviate her offense that she's taken Stark is introduced as someone who isn't as he appears he isn't what people expect him to be and in fact he's full of fear fear but he also faces that head on admits to it owns it and moves forward despite it each of these characters they have their very human flaws that do inconvenience each other and that do put each other out but that isn't a barrier it's something that they learn to live with and to live together with anyway they love each other through their flaws anyway that was a side tangent himl is the hero the the the the Great hero of the story The Great Character of the story heer on the surface I would think I would hate he is supposed to be the priest he's supposed to be the one that helps to heal them and that helps to guide them and instead he's constantly either drunk or hung over and lying and cheating and gambling and it's like what what good are you you're holding everyone back what I didn't expect was to love him so much in such a short period of time in a way that reinforces the themes of the story very simple scenes that are so particular but so rich in character like when frein says no I'm not going to take Fern as my apprentice and he just smiles and says I understand there's something else he doesn't push he doesn't try to force the topic he doesn't try to convince her or bargain with her he just gives her a task to focus on and then asks her to work with Fern in the meantime allowing uh allowing frein to build that relationship to build that connection that is suddenly far more important to frein now he knows how little time he has left he understands the fleetingness of life and he wants Fern to have someone to care for her someone to Mentor her to live life with her after he's gone this scene happens in chapter 2 and in these two chapters we see this huge character Arc that somehow feels so authentic and organic for this character where we saw who he was in chapter one and then in chapter two he tells us that himl died young and it's a tragedy because he was so honestly good and how that changed him when she asked him why he took in Fern he said because that's what himl the hero would have done and she said yes he would have then I suppose I'll do the same and in chapter two we already have incredible character moments incredible character arcs and we already are seeing how these characters have been Changed by each other how they have influenced each other's lives and shaped who they choose to be moving forward okay now I'm going to talk about my favorite episode it's episode 16 and it's only the first half of the episode but it's very important to me it's my favorite episode in the anime it I feel very strongly about it and I'm going to spoil the entire thing now I've tried to keep this video on the moderate side of spoilers so that it's accessible to people as long as you're not spoiler sensitive and if you haven't watched the the the anime or read the Manga this is a side quest this is not relevant to the wider plot and really The Wider plot really isn't the point it's not the biggest part of the series in my opinion but regardless this is my favorite episode in the anime and I will be spoiling the entire thing so if you would like to keep in the moderate if you don't want to have my favorite episode told to you before you watch it there's time stamps you can skip this part and then we'll just I'll keep to the moderate spoilers but I really want to talk about this episode
My Favorite Episode old man V frean and crew come along this Village they decide to stop and visit someone that frean once met in her first journey through here she wanted to see him again he's old now she wants to spend a little bit of time getting to reminisce about old times and check in with an old friend I love him from his introduction where he's pretending to be a scene old man he's pretending to not remember anyone and to be you know barely even moving and Stark thinks he's decrepit Stark thinks what a useless old man why are we even here and then immediately gets pummeled by the guy because he underestimated him and he had his guard down and that is a lesson that he gets to learn in this episode and he gets to train with old man V which good for you honestly I'm thrilled for you that you get to spend so much time with him and free run too gets to spend so much time with him so much elapsed time of just sitting and talking and she seems so happy just getting to reminisce with just getting to connect with an old friend and the villagers notice the same about him I've never seen him so happy I've never seen him so com to have a friend I didn't know he had friends but here he is truly enjoying the company of frean and through this villager who mentions that we also learn that they don't even know why old man V has been has been protecting their Village all these years for as far back as they can remember because dwarves too have long lifespans though not as long as elves and all they know is that for as far back as they know he's always been here he's always been protecting them from anything that should come and try to harm this Village and they don't know why and then we get the reveal that the reason is because of a promise that he made to his wife a human woman who didn't live as long as he who who passed away long long ago it is a promise to someone who has who is no longer here and hasn't been for a long time but it's one that he keeps because it was important to her that he protect a village that she loved first of all it's such a beautiful depiction of love his devotion that spans over years and past death one that he he he protects this Village simply because it was a village that she loved and he loved her but then you also have the passage of time and the fleetingness of life in that his memor start to wne he starts to lose her face he starts to lose her voice but he still remembers his promise and he's still devoted to it I love how that ties in with freen that she still remembers huml Himel that she still remembers his voice and his face and in fact finds it an insult that it would even be asked of her that she could forget him and when he starts to forget Fen once again thinks that he's just playing around he's just pretending to be scile that's the stick that's the joke but then he brings up the demon king I think you really could be the one to defeat the demon king and that's when fun realizes oh his time is coming to a close too
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it's for real he's forgetting and life
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is fleeting and I think it's so
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beautiful that as she was leaving he
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told her I dreamed of my wife I
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remembered her I got to see her again
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cuz we know that his time is coming to a
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close we know
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that his years are coming to an end but
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he got to remember his wife one last
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time and it was the reminiscing it was
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the time that frein took to spend with
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him and to speak with him that got his
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memory stirring again and gave him that
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gift of that one last look at his life
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at his wife before he passes away too
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and this is such a side quest this is
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such a side quest this is we will never
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see V again probably and yet his story
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is so important because it's his but it
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also so beautifully ties in with
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everything else that we're exploring in
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this story the fact that a person's the
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the little bit of time that we spend
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with a person is valuable that it is
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important that taking that time with
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them it does so much for us and for them
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as well as the theme of carrying that
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person with you they may not always be a
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part of your life they may not be in
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every season that you live in but you
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carry them on into the next season you
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learn from them you remember them you
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are moved and changed by them and it's
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so beautiful that frean just overtly
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tells him I'll carry your memory with me
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into the Future Okay and he says that
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doesn't sound half bad and that too ties
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in with her past of remembering that
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himl wanted her to carry the memory of
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them into the future as well because
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she'll live longer than they will so she
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will remember them they won't be
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forgotten because she carries them
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forward and this episode is such a great
More Frieren Thoughts
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illustration of one of the things that
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this series does so well and that's
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taking its time with what is seemingly
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unimportant in the grand scheme of the
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story but it's important because it's a
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person's story building that person out
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so well in such a short amount of time
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he is a living breathing person in this
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world who holds meaning and
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significance and reinforce forcing the
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core themes of this story and the core
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Journey that these characters are on
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through these Side characters that if
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you removed them from the story the
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story would stay the same but you keep
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them in and the story gets deeper and
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the story gets richer and it's
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constantly doing things like this and
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this is just my favorite example of it
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okay moving on to the next section which
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is the exams we go into exams Mage well
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not Mage training but Mage exams to
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become
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a first Mage an important Mage and when
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we first found out when we first
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switched to the Mage exams my first
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reaction was ah shs do we want this
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though do do we need to do this because
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this slow plotting Journey as we visit
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new places and we encounter new magics
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and we just get to know our characters
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and deepen their bond with each other
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this is this is the story to me and this
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is all I want from it I I'll take a
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hundred episodes of this
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and so then we make the switch and I'm
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like no we're going to have a tonal
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shift we're going to we're going to have
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a pacing shift we're going to be focused
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more on action which I understand is
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probably essential for keeping the story
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alive but it's not essential for keeping
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me in love with it so as a little bit
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hesitant but open-minded because the
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story's been so good I trusted it and oh
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has it been great I still miss The Slice
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of Life slow Journey but the Mage exams
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have proven that this story can be so
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many things and be them all so well
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we're introduced to a load of new
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characters but just like old man V they
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have their own stories their own
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personalities their own dreams and their
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own Magics that make them unique and
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make them each stand out as their own
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person in this world and when we explore
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them further they only tie back into the
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deeper themes of the story just like the
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side characters before them in these
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Mage exams there's a lot more action
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there's a lot more exploration of the
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magic how it works how diverse it is how
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much of the world is open to Mages as
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well as some really interesting tasks we
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get a deepening of characters of world
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of history and of magic and oh once
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again the animation is astounding in
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this series The Way magic is portrayed
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is unique and different each time and
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it's gorgeous it's stunning it's
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exciting it's thrilling and the pacing
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isn't ruined because there's a ton of
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action it still takes the time to
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breathe to have those emotional beats to
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have the deeper character Reflections
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and I just I love the story so much I'm
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caught up with the anime and I'm deeply
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sad about that I have more manga to read
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but I actually dropped the manga like
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halfway through the anime and just
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focused on the anime because I love it
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so much
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I may go back and re-watch it I don't
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know I'm definitely going to go back and
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rewatch my f my favorite episode and
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maybe like force someone to watch it
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with me and cry cuz I think it could be
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a standalone I'm going to I'm I'm going
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to try I loved this series I'm really
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really glad I watched it if you haven't
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watched it I do recommend it to you if
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you have I I would love to talk to you
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more about it in the comments this
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series is astoundingly deep and
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emotional and boy did it connect with me
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I would love to hear what you think of
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it though I'll talk to you more in the
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comments bye
