‘Frieren’ Season 2, Praise Aureole, We Back Like We Never Left

Two Mages and a Coward Walk into a second season of the best anime smoking right now

No, recap of events, no previously on. None of that. Just that familiar folksy music, a shot of the grassy knoll, a briefcase and the wind blowing through our favorite trio’s hair. We are so fucking back, mages. The anime doesn’t need to do this, but I will because I’m a gracious host:

When we last left our hero’s way back in early 2024 aka before we slid further into the worst timeline ever IRL, Stark had finished cosplaying as a noble son, Fern became a First Class Mage while turning down Serie’s request to train with her. This was right after she told Frieren, probably the current strongest alive, to kick rocks and denied her First Class Mage status, mostly out of spite. And the thing that’s awesome about Frieren…its not even that big of a deal. Logistically, the First Class Mage status allows the party to travel north towards Aureole legally because the lands can be so dangerous.

But it changes nothing. Fern is badass with limitless potential, Frieren is still Frieren the Slayer, whose last feat of strength was killing her own doppelganger and bringing down a seemingly impenetrable barrier to help out a couple of little acolytes. And Stark is, well, Stark. That sounds like a throwaway line, but we’ll actually get back to that later.

One of the reasons that Frieren went on to become one of the best debut seasons of an anime ever is because it knows what is important to the story its telling and really does not get bogged down by the typical tropes of storytelling, and that’s specifically hero’s journey storytelling. Season Two continues this trend.

We Could Always Run

As the party’s journey north continues, Fern notes that they are broke and will need to look for work. Eventually, Frieren stumbles upon a crystal that nullifies magic, which of course takes away Frieren and Fern’s ability to create magic. However, the crystals are worth a fortune, and selling them could solve their money problems. You see where this is going right? But not only is this particular plot dealt with in like eight minutes of runtime during the episode and quickly moved on, but how it is resolved when a predictable conflict comes is handled in a very non-predictable way. Both giving us a robust character moment for Stark, another sage moment from Frieren, of course informed by a flashback to what she learned from Himmel.

The anime just knows where it wants to go and how it wants to get there. But instead of ignoring the usual beats that some storytelling would take a whole episode to focus on, it takes them along for the ride. A short ride. And then drops them off on their way to the actual larger point. So what’s the larger point of the season 2 premiere? Like the show, acknowledging what you actually want.

“So Be Nicer to Me”

Frieren has a great line early in the episode, “Some things are simply out of humanity’s reach.” This is said in somewhat gest about a specific thing, but it also alludes to the trouble with relationships, sometimes how we maintain them, and how we see ourselves in them. Also, importantly, how we often have trouble knowing what we want from them. The tension between Fern the youngest, coldest den mother ever and Stark, the eager to please goofball, has existed since they first met. They have had their moments of affection of course, but their interactions are often asymmetrical. You can’t say they fight because usually Fern gets mad (or disappointed) and Stark either apologizes or just frets on his mistakes. And since Frieren is taking this Humans Comp II class, she picks up on Stark’s general malaise.

When an opportunity presents itself for Stark to leave the party, you would think, ok, that will never happen. My dude is in the cover art, he ain’t going anywhere. But like, do you remember Sein, the great priest? If you don’t, I don’t blame you. He was with the party for like 3 episodes. Perfect fit, he made them a quad, just like the original heroes’ party that defeated the demon lord. And then he was like, yeah, I’m out. Catch ya never, maybe. Based on that, it’s not impossible to think Stark or even Fern could leave if the situation called for it.

The genius of the back half of the episode, is that what seems like an obviously centered episode on Stark regarding his prowess, turns to an episode highlighting Fern and how her rigidity affects the party. She is slowly learning what it means be around humans much in the same way that Frieren is.

“Shall We Go Then?”

The title of the episode reiterates what the anime is so good at: continuing on. The themes that are important are ever present. But it resolves things in such a human and nonchalant way that important character beats and reflections don’t have to be hammered into us. Frieren herself is an all-timer. Just point blank, no bullshit. She is possibly one of the three most powerful living beings, and it means something when she tells Stark that she trust him with her life. Her subtle way of telling Fern what is going on with Stark without casting blame or trying to influence his choices is such a confident approach for a character.

Is there a lot of bombastic over the top fights in this episode? Nah. Were there big blow up arguments and conflict that left us wondering how they could ever be repaired? Nah. But there was Frieren waking up early for once and being praised for it. There was Stark claiming he couldn’t walk because his legs hurt from running. There was Fern smiling while she washed her jewelry because they were gifts from Stark and Frieren. And in the end, they walked up the hill, into the wind, toward their next adventure. Like I said, we are so back.

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