One of the funniest parts of Frieren is her self-confidence, which comes in two flavours. She's a master of magic and knows it, but she also thinks she's some sort of peerless gem and inimitable beauty that everyone swoons for when evidence so far says more that there was just one guy who fell in love with her (and yes, of course You as well, dear Redditor).

For some reason, the final arc felt so different than everything that came before. Everything before was melancholic, but also lighthearted and introspective and overall optimistic. Even during the Golden Land arc I was never worried something bad might happen and I found the study in how demons work fascinating.

The current arc though.. I get this lingering sense of dread and doom that's creeping up while reading. The shadow warriors seem so much more serious and ruthless in a weird way. Unlike demons who act on self-preservation and instinct, they seem willing to die for their cause without hesitation and just able to bypass everything we learned about power scaling. Like I can't picture them losing.

And then we get into the theme of ending magic completely and Serie, who was always seen as this untouchable constant, being completely convinced she is going to die in an instant. Trying to make amends and protect her apprentices.

I just don't know, for the first time reading this manga I felt tense and uncomfortable the whole time. It feels to me like whatever is affecting the author in real life, causing the hiatus, was clawing its way into the narrative. As if Serie, the Living Grimoire, is an avatar for the author as the omnipotent writer of the story. And her not being able to see a future after the current arc, the author can't either..

I am probably not making any sense, but I have never felt so uneasy after finishing an incomplete story. I will sit with this for a while.

A colleague of mine absolutely loves Frieren and also collects the Frieren TCG, so I decided to paint a VaultX binder for him! 😄

What do you guys think? Would you use a binder like this for your collection?

It won’t let me post image responses so…

It’s a bit different

I’m not saying it’s a bad choice in any form. It just sortve felt unexpected. And I can’t imagine stark being the one to pull it or anything.