Sousou no Frieren - Vol. 3 Ch. 19 - Ambush

[Chkevinly]

Demonic little girl fighting with axe and high heels is surprisingly cute

 

[Kirche]

That last line was beautiful

 

[danvolodar]

@Trevoga I agree that the first arc was truly outstanding, while this second arc, ever since Stark's appearance, is merely good. Still, it makes for an entertaining read, and a story has to develop, it can't forever be dwelling in the same place and in the same tone.

 

[1992Drivas]

Who is the fastest quick shooter of magic in this fight? find out in the next episode

 

[livanbard]

@danvolodar
Typical Jump comic, they all start fairly fresh and then devolve into battle mangas.

 

[panda34]

@livanbard


I actually really like the way this arc has progressed. I think there's less of a change of genre than it maybe seems like there is. Typical mainstream shonen mangas feature fight scenes and violence for the sake of flash and spectacle. Looking back at this arc, I don't really see the same emphasis on spectacle. The art style is one big reason; there is no squash and stretch, no fancy perspective changes or camera tilts. The backgrounds remain mundane even as the action increases. Posing never becomes too cartoonish. Character reactions are all subdued. All of these choices are really good, and keep the story's tone consistent with the world, so I don't get a sense of genre drift.

It's also worth noting that conflict and fights are inevitably necessary; the story can only say so much about Frieren in a vacuum before it becomes necessary to contextualize Frieren against the antagonistic others, and that necessitates conflict. Generally, I think the story has done a decent job of prioritising theme over aesthetics; the fights themselves aren't really the centerpiece, but instead the container for the story's morals.

Take this last chapter, for example. The thematic core of this chapter was about how an unbroken chain of experience and lifespan does not necessitate superiority; Fern wins explicitly because humans live fleeting lives in comparison to the demons and the elves, and so live much faster and brighter. This is an idea which is thematically very related to the overarching ideas of the story--namely, how Frieren's long life impacts her worldview. Fern's magic, and the entire fight between her and the demon is just the container for this idea. Whereas in a lot of traditional manga we see fights for the sake of fights and full-page single-panel spreads for the sake of aesthetics and they end up being kind of empty and meaningless, here the fight has been conceived for the sake of theme and character rather than spectacle.

 

[KairenX]

@panda34 thank you for providing an example on how to critique a story. I agree that it hasn't yet drifted into a battle manga. We still only have Soul Tracker as a named attack

 

[mokonaarappa]

dam fern so bad ass

 

[TotallyNotT3mmie]

This manga is so incredible

 

[welcome2atlantis]

This disciple would never close the ability gap with the master.
It wasn't pride talking. Simply wisdom of age.

 

[HayashidaYuki]

Fern: "You are not the only one who held a big gun on this town."

 

[spekhz]

Fastest spellcaster in the north

 

[FindingPurpose]

"As have I"

 

[newmangareader246]

damn fern badass too. what an amazing line to end on before blasting him in half

 

[NYAHAHA]

there's literally zero tension lol. not even because of plot armour but just because any of these people could die and i would not care

 

[catadero5]

Fern is a cutie

 

[Tonikill1]

How old is fern again?

 

[rexmundi]

let's goo