Omg i cried multiple times watching this ep wtf😭

This two-parter before the show starts asking the real questions is all about finding it's themes and identity. I love the animation and music and the writing, it's wonderfully refreshing and unlike any anime I have seen before

_Frieren's_ first episode was a masterpiece. It moved me with the passage of time, Frieren's grief, the bittersweet beauty of her memories, and the promise of a new journey of self-discovery. It was a twenty-minutes episode that seemed to touch my soul. So, what went wrong with Episode 2? The central problem was the **break in pacing and loss of focus**. The first episode established a slow, contemplative rhythm, where every moment was loaded with meaning. Episode 2, in contrast, felt **empty and dragging**, wasting the emotional momentum established. The **transition was weak**. The end of the first episode was Frieren taking in the young Fern as an apprentice, at the request of the dying Heiter. I expected to see the _immediate_ continuation of Frieren's journey to better understand humans and honor Himmel's memory. Instead, I was thrown into a montage of **4 years (or 6 months, depending on the subplot)** of Frieren and Heiter. Frieren is there, reluctantly training Fern, but the focus shifts to a bizarre side plot. Most of the episode revolves around the **"Grimoire of Eternal Life" and the Degenerate Priest (The Central Flop)**. Frieren is tricked by the priest Heiter (the clergyman, not the hero) into staying for **years** to decipher a grimoire that she, the thousand-year-old mage, _knows_ is useless—a grimoire of "eternal life" that doesn't exist. Frieren, who just had an emotional awakening about the importance of time and grief, spends **months or years** on a _knowingly_ futile quest for a "magical" grimoire. The first episode showed her regretting wasted time; the second shows her _actively_ wasting time again, but in a way that feels like a low-budget anime joke. The idea of Frieren, such a powerful and stoic character, being **fooled** by a drunken priest to do household chores and chase seed-stealing squirrels is ridiculous and diminishes the depth that was built around her. It feels like an ill-timed joke from a generic _slice of life_ show, not the continuation of that solemn story of grief. Finally, the **Frieren-Fern relationship** is rushed. The climax of the subplot, when Fern gets emotional, is Frieren realizing the girl was worried about the priest. The main lesson she takes away from all this is... to continue traveling? The episode spends too much time on a low-emotional-impact _filler_ for development that could have been handled more elegantly. Episode 2 **removes the solemnity** of Frieren's grief, replacing the philosophical journey of self-discovery with nonsense. The second episode was **uninteresting, unnecessarily comedic** at moments that should have been serious, and **wasted the emotional momentum** established. **Final Rating: 1/10**. (A _very_ harsh rating, yes, but it reflects how disappointing the abrupt drop was after the standard of excellence set.)

almost cried twice and i already understand the "himmel the hero would have done this" sentiment