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Dec 10, 2023
Unserious. Untypical. Unexpected.
Unserious
“Ehhh!? She hadn’t even finished her monologue yet!?”
“Fun” seems to be the most common word people are using for this anime, but perhaps it is that this anime doesn’t take itself too seriously. Whether it be Andy’s eternally-cheesy superhero grin, the over-the-top reality/world settings, or the rapidly evolving storyline – it doesn’t want to be taken too seriously. But that doesn’t mean it is unserious about everything it does.
Untypical
Perhaps one of this anime’s most surprising qualities is how it offers so many typical aspects of its genre and yet intentionally undelivers them: it is always leading from one ecchi-esc moment to the
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next, without every fully landing that moment; constant fight scenes almost as intense and over-the-top enough for you to think studio Trigger may have been involved (think more Kill la Kill than Cyberpunk Edgerunners); the unashamed drawing on of other well-known or popular series (Attack on Titan, Mob Pshycho, Elfen Lied, My Hero Academia, Ajin, etc). Yet it does all of these in its own way and successfully uncopies all of them.
Unexpected
What I expected was to be disappointed – awashed with petty fan service, meaningless action and stereotypical characterisations. Instead, Undead Unluck creates protagonists who aren’t perfect or idealised, rapid-fire bending of storyline and realities, and a desire to see what craziness comes next. And as a visual aside, it uses an intriguing colour palate that is seemingly designed to not work – including Fuko wearing three different tones of red – but this plays directly into the series’ seriousness at being untypical in its unseriousness.
Overall
This anime isn’t going to change your life – and it certainly isn’t trying to. But it is an unexpected and unique blend of energy and honest escapism that it is worth watching: partly to restore your faith that there are still fresh and crazy approaches to storytelling, and partly just because it’s a bit of fun.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 13, 2023
With lives so short, why do we even bother? To someone who lives for thousands of years, it is barely worth giving the wistful existence of humans much consideration, let alone getting to know them. That is, at least, until you meet one who is worth getting to know.
From the very outset, this series does not hide that it will focus on some of the tough questions in life: purpose, meaning, our own endings. Yet embedded within these, it unpacks the many guised forms of regret. Upfront it reminds us that our lives are short; our prime is even shorter. It is easy to be
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nonchalant or carefree – or to believe we are working towards “something” – but yet, after the fact has passed, what will we wish we did instead? What should have mattered to us more at the time?
In story, sousou no Frieren is about everything that happens "in the moment”, and the things we didn’t know we had until we find time to reflect; the end is what catches up to us when there is no tomorrow to put things off until. As our lives speed towards that end, we start to learn the meaning in making those small moments count. But did we not always know this? Wisdom is as much about its meaning as it is about how we come to acknowledge it. Our teacher may be there for only one one-hundredth of our lives, yet it only takes that one person to question us on the things we haven’t yet stopped to think about. For even if we don't appreciate wisdom at the time, once that seed has been planted, do we not continue to grow it unknowingly until the season is right for it to fruit?
Visually, while peppered with small parts of almost misplaced silly humour, sousou no Frieren captures the story’s deep sentiments with detailed subtleties: slight shifts in wrinkled expressions, dirt flicking up from a wagon’s wobbly wheel, the agefulness in the differences of characters' hands, or the objects that become absent from Himmel’s cabinet between scenes. The unobtrusiveness of the character banter is paired with genuinely “normal” character flaws that serve only to make the characters more real, as they struggle with their own vices, internal demons… and regrets. The music and sounds can almost go unnoticed: the crackling of lanterns in the otherwise deafening silence of night, the rushing water as they cross a stream, or the dampening fog of the wood. Combined, the story, visuals and sounds sustain a gently forlorn yet serious undertone that ensures you always know where this story’s journey is taking you.
The studios behind this series are well-known for quality and care, and thankfully they were given the time to pore over these details for us: for example, the cut scenes in episode four, of Frieren’s “master” and the finding of her magical tome, are short but powerfully emotive. As always, it's refreshing and reassuring to have series such as these – series that know they can hold their own against the usual roll out of typical tropes, formulaic story recycling, and the essential must-have fanservice; a series that takes the time to tell its story, to unpack its themes, that takes you on a journey and rewards you for your emotional investment.
Sousou no Frieren is a series that has the power to change how you choose to live your life: to reflect now on what you may live to someday regret and choose how you will take action to cherish it in the moment while you still live it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 5, 2022
So, where to start. Let me correct, for the record, what this anime is about and what it's not about. It's not about vampires; it's not about 14-year-old boys; it's not about insomnia; it's not about bad parenting; it's not about sex: It's about THE NIGHT. I get a sense that a lot of people writing reviews here have never experienced the night and never felt what this anime captures in such an honest way about the mood of the night. I also feel like fellow reviewers have never found a friend who brings out a different side of themselves in the night, who can
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cheekily draw out the relaxed side trapped within you but for all your seriousness. But that is what this anime is about.
If' you've read any of the other (positive) reviews, and have yet to watch an episode, I can certainly agree that the colours and art and soundtrack are perfect for the mood this anime is trying to set. But above this, there is something which hits me more and compels me to keep watching (because I'm not actually into vampires as a genre): It's the character banter. Perhaps this doesn't work as well in the dubbing version, I'm not sure. But the playfulness, the banter and the teasing is just so... honest. It's so casual and genuine and childishly silly and laughable. And yet, contradictory to this, much of this banter IS lewd, but it's equally innocent at the same time. Kou's such a straight character, and so much more so when contrast with Nazuna, but when he relaxes and plays back, they both come alive and share something that isn't easy to find. And this is even more beautifully contrasted by the introduction of Akira, who is just as straight as Ko but is someone who doesn't - or perhaps can't - relax into the night. She appears to be "nice" and genuinely caring, but can she relax to experience what the night has to offer?
For all of Nazuna's lewd jokes, skimpy clothing and sexual jostling, she is embarrassed (and perhaps scared) of romance. For all of her lewd jokes, skimpy clothing and sexual jostling, there has not been a single "pantsu" shot. Anyone know what colour her underwear is? I'm not sure you could really call any of the suggestive camera angles "fan service"; it doesn't actually fit the definition. It is sexualised, definitely, but fan service it isn't.
This isn't a story full of action. What it is is a story that draws upon the weird, wild and unusual emotions that can be drawn out of you when you engage with the night: these emotions aren't all sinister or salacious, but come in deep and complex forms as well.
If you have experienced the night, and know the depth of emotion it can stir within you... if you have made friends of the night who have made you feel alive like you never have during the day... Let me recommend this anime to you.
If you have trouble getting past unrealistic story line semantics like a 14-year-old who seems to spend all night out, sleeps all day instead of going to school, likes having his blood sucked by a lewd 20-something-year-old skimpily-clad vampire, then perhaps Hollywood would be better suited to your tastes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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