i live in japan and when this came out, its even more popular than frieren which was more popular in the western side, much much muuuuchhh more popular
- When you are in rear palace, it's not easy to trust people. Yes, Gyokuyou did warn her but in that situation, it won't be easy to trust Gyokuyou esp knowing it's from your own rival who competes for emperor's love, emperor only visits these two concubines currently. Lihua did not get Mao Mao's warning in ep 1 because her lady-in-waiting threw it out of window. Her child got sick, she was sick....it is easier to be not in the right mind to listen to a warning from someone like Gyokuyou, adding with the symptoms of the lead powder can be like headache, weight loss, insomnia, depression, etc [thus, Lihua's aggressive reactions for Gyokuyou in ep 1]. Adding with all superstition things people believe in that era, she can even believe in curses, etc. Once she's in the right mind, she did feel guilty for ignoring the warnings. - More than rival for emperor's love, concubines can also represent their families for political reasons. With rivalry and politics involved, it is not easy to trust outsiders esp like Mao Mao who serves Gyokuyou, Lihua's direct rival. If we don't know Mao Mao at all, we may assume like "what if Mao Mao attempts to poison or do something bad to Lihua with order from Gyokuyou?", Mao Mao may have emperor's order but she can use that chance to do something bad to Lihua - if we don't know Mao Mao. - Instead of Lihua, I have no sympathy for her incompetent ladies-in-waiting. The ladies-in-waiting are ignorant and fool indeed. They already banned the powder for being poisonous but the ladies-in-waiting still kept it hidden and used it on their master. [Assumption, maybe they think it's political thing from someone in the rear palace so that they won't have access to the powder or something, ignorant for their part]. - The powder was not on the child. Lihua used it, maybe her ladies-in-waiting used it as well. Gyokuyou's child's symptoms were mild because Gyokuyou herself did not use the powder because she already have fair-skinned, her baby's nurse used the powder but not on her baby. Indirect contact with the nurse got Gyokuyou and her baby the symptoms but it's worse for Lihua who used it herself. - Life in the inner palace is hard indeed esp for lower status ones. If something happened and Mao Mao couldn't cure Lihua, like it or not, it will be Mao Mao's fault. Even the eunuch who failed to find the powder got punished. How little higher rank ones think of the lower rank ones. Even smallest mistake can make one got punished, sometimes even when one has no mistake, they could put the blame on her/him. That's why Mao Mao has been extra careful not to get involved much and stay low as much as possible but sometimes her curiosity beats her😂
Another commentor gave an explaination on another reactor channel. I copy it here for you. (Credit to @jakeDgirl) The Emperor ordered Maomao to cure Lady Lihua in front of Lady Gyokuyou as a political move. It's been mentioned a couple of times now that Lady Gyokuyou is the emperor's current favored concubine. Especially since Gyokuyou's child is the only baby alive. Lady Lihua is also very sick and unable to serve the emperor with nightly duties. So obviously the entire rear palace and all political factions can feel that Lady Gyokuyou has monopoly of the emperor's affections right now. By appearing that he cares for Lady Lihua right in front of Lady Gyokuyou, the emperor is subtly giving Lady Gyokuyou a message that she is still a mere concubine, and the emperor has not decided to make her empress yet. "So stay in line, don't let the current situation rush to your head." Using Maomao, Lady Gyokuyou's servant, is also another political move. For sure, the emperor has other imperial doctors, and yet he chose someone from Lady Gyokuyou's faction to save her political rival. If Maomao succeeds, Lady Gyokuyou might be rewarded, but not much. And the harem power will be balanced again. But if Maomao fails & Lady Lihua dies, the emperor won't allow Lady Gyokuyou to have all the power in the harem. It could be spun that Lady Gyokuyou ordered Maomao to let Lady Lihua die. Thus, Lady Gyokuyou will lose power in the harem, and her family and her homeland/vassal state's power would suffer consequences. The rivalry between Lady Gyokuyou and Lady Lihua makes it difficult for Maomao to tattle. Her direct superior is Lady Gyokuyou. If Maomao tattles to Lady Gyokuyou, then if Lady Gyokuyou takes Maomao's side and tattles to the emperor, Lady Gyokuyou will be viewed as meddling with her rival concubine's people. Maomao doesn't ask help from Jinshi because: 1) she's already distrustful towards him & she questions his motives for roping her inside the rear palace 2) Jinshi's power in the rear palace is weird. As a mere eunuch, he should be lower than a high rank concubine. But because he is directed by the emperor, the concubines can't just dismiss him. So there is also a weird power balance between Jinshi & the concubines. Jinshi isn't allowed to give benefits to 1 concubine over the other. So Maomao can't ask him to meddle in-between Lady Gyokuyou vs Lady Lihua factions. But if Jinshi offers help himself, that's another story. 3) In the previous episode, Maomao already deduced that Jinshi's official status is a eunuch tasked to be the harem manager, but is actually hiding his real status which might be close to the emperor. Asking help from Jinshi might open a can of worms & attention she can't anticipate. The Emperor may have ordered Maomao, but it's Maomao's responsibility in the end. That's what royalty means. The emperor will absolutely stand by and watch Maomao fail just to balance out the power in the harem.
Remember most courtisan are noble ladies of status. Their ladies in waiting are usualy a mix of friends, family friends, family servant and, often, daughter of nobles of lower stature vassal to them. Other than being thought by family servant (sometime), those daughter can realy lack 'common people common sense' and 'practical knowledge' about thing servant would do for them before they became Ladies-in-waiting.
You guys seems to forget we live in an age of information. For a very long time knowledge was limited to those whom pratice such field, and even then, it depwnded on your master and your opportunities. Take the s*x thing. It is something most today know (pazuri/b**bj*b), but without access to this type of knowledge, this is a "secret technique".
ye Lihua is not getting any simpathy from me, Gyokuyo warned her, and she treated her like crap, and as a result of her arrogance and foolishness her child died, if anything i feel bad for the child, she should not bear another one, killing one is enough already. Maomao was awesome in this one tho, love her.
the powder prob wasn't on the child, but it was still everywhere else. the mother used it and most likely some of the ladies in waiting as well. infants are very subceptible to illness and other outside threats so the poison didn't take long to affect the baby. they ignored the warning maomao left, so the baby died. a bit later, the powder was banned but one of the ladies hid the powder so her mistress would have an advantage in beauty and it was only used for her. this worsened her condition even more
This anime reminds me of series for our moms from 90s, about poor girl some kind of cinderella. cliche after cliche, uninteresting predictable story, boring riddles that Maomao solves every episode like in Scooby Doo, and stupid cliffhangers at the end of every episode. I'm on episode 15, is it worth watching further? (question for subscribers) Apart from some comical scenes, I haven't seen anything good so far.
I think this series is great from start to finish, among the top 3 of 2023 for me. So since you're at episode 15 and still find it boring, then just cut your losses and drop it, because it doesn't "get good" - it's good throughout.
Just drop it. If the story hasn´t caught you so far, it´s obviously not your cup of tea. And that won´t change even when the larger arc comes forth later on. Don´t waste your time on something you can´t enjoy.
From manga and stuff All the English names in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End are… a bit dumb. They’re all German but, but not German names, rather, they’re just random German words? Frieren: comes across as cold-hearted even though she isn’t… and her name means ‘being cold’, not cold-hearted, cold as in being outside in the winter. Himmel: The oh so brave and kind-hearted, blue haired hero’s name means “Sky” or “heaven” Heiter: the cheery priest… his name also means cheery Eisen: the strong dwarf whose name means… iron. Fern: the girl whose always a bit distant… her name means far away. All the names just feel a bit on the nose when you speak German. Here are some of my favorite examples: Übel: she’s ruthless and brutal… and her name literally means “bad”, “vile” or just straight up “evil” Laufen: can move really fast… her name means “Running” Denken: is really smart, which is why he’s named “thinking” And my personal favorite: Lügner is an evil demon who deceives humans… his name literally translates to “liar”
Eunuchs cannot have “sex” with semen, thereby never impregnating a Consort. However, they can have some sexual pleasure but also grant that to others men and women. Jinshi is so beautiful men and women lust after him.
A consort is a woman who is selected usually by her family to give birth to the Emperor’s children. They are not wives, but are high status in the society albeit they are isolated and within the Rear Palace there is a pecking order. If a Consort bears a male child she maybe promoted to Emperor’s wife or Empress.
A consort is a woman who is selected usually by her family to give birth to the Emperor’s children. They are not wives, but are high status in the society albeit they are isolated and within the Rear Palace there is a pecking order. If a Consort bears a male child she maybe promoted to Emperor’s wife or Empress.
I mean, yeah, Serie was all, "Hey, Frieren. Before you go let me gush about Flamme's many accomplishments as I smile remembering how she used to hold my hand and walk beside me as a little girl. What do you mean why? Because you loved Flamme, not me. No, not me at all. Now go away because I need to take a millennium to carefully think how to come up with a way to honor Flamme's last wish I already told you I refuse to grant so that I can take over teaching humanity magic llike she wants me to, but do it without compromising my values about how I will only teach those who are talented. Now, shoo! Also, don't forget to train a lot because I don't want my apprentice's apprentice to die even though I claim to not like either of you." Serie is just like a stuffy old lady who doesn't know how to deal with her hippie daughter's even less conservative daughter. Frieren has every single trait Serie disapproved of in Flamme multiplied by ten and has a bunch of extra things she doesn't like that Flamme didn't have, but the way she speaks to Frieren shows she doesn't actually dislike her, just like she never disliked Flamme. Serie's words always seem cold and kind of mean, but the message itself usually is not. Plus, for a nearly-omnipotent all-knowing immortal being with thousands of years of experience she is very open to considering other people's arguments, just like she did here when Frieren told her Flamme knew she'd get mad and tear up her will or back in the episode where Flamme introduced Frieren to her and Flamme told her how Frieren would defeat the Demon King while the both of them couldn't. The way adult Flamme behaves around Serie and the things she told Frieren before tasking her to take her will to Serie show that Flamme loved and understood Serie. When Serie said Frieren had no ambition Flamme didn't react negatively, and she just smiled and respectfully explained her point about why she disagreed with a vibe of "Oh, mom. What am I gonna do with you?" and Serie accepted Flamme's point and reflected upon it, just like she accepted what Frieren told her this episode. Later she exhibits the same behavior with some of her other students, like when she apologizes to Sense for criticizing her for passing so many test-takers. She's proud, but not prideful.
01:13 The origin of the word "Kuwabara Kuwabara" is the place name Kuwabara in Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto City. This is said to be where Sugawara no Michizane's mansion was located, and since lightning never struck there, it has been used as a spell to ward off lightning when thunder is rumbling. Originally it was a charm to ward off lightning and lightning strikes, but it seems that it gradually became a word to avoid all kinds of disasters, such as scary and unpleasant things. 😌 Sugawara no Michizane was a real person who lived in the 9th century during the Heian period. He excelled in academics, and even today he is enshrined in shrines around the country as "Tenjin-sama," the god of academics. However, he is also feared as one of the "Three Great Vengeful Spirits of Japan." Why is that? 🤔 Due to his excellence, he was highly valued by the emperor at the time, and rose to a position comparable to that of today's prime minister. However, because his family was a lineage of scholars and of low status, he was resented by genuine aristocrats who did not approve of this, and because the emperor who had favored him had been replaced, the young new emperor believed a false accusation that "he was plotting to threaten the position of the emperor," and he was demoted to a place far away from the central government, where he ended his life in solitude. 🥺 Shortly after, black clouds gathered over the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, and lightning struck the ladies-in-waiting who looked after the emperor, as well as the high-ranking official who had framed Sugawara no Michizane and become the emperor's brains, burning them to death. Lightning struck other parts of Kyoto, but not the residence of Sugawara no Michizane, who had lost his lord. It was believed that the lightning was a curse from Sugawara no Michizane, who had become the god of thunder out of resentment for being demoted, and Sugawara no Michizane was restored to power. Following ancient Japanese custom, he was enshrined as a god in a shrine to appease anger. In "Jujutsu Kaisen," Okkotsu Yuta and Gojo Satoru are said to be descendants of Sugawara no Michizane 🤞😆
Serie is in a lot of ways a foil to Frieren, but one big sign of that is the relationship with apprentices. Frieren until very recently, didn't really understand the value of traveling with others or in having students. When she did learn this, thanks to the time spent with Himmel's party and taking Fern with her, she had also learned from Himmel and co. the importance of clearly understanding and expressing her feelings. Serie has been taking on companions for over a thousand years. She's known subconsciously for a long time the value of companionship, but even how has not really understood how to outwardly express that need, even to herself.
This is doubly bittersweet for those of us who looked forward to watching your reactions each week as well. When the next season of Frieren comes out, I will definitely be back here on your channel and eagerly anticipating new videos!
As far as comparing very solid combat mages, i like that Fern is very heavily taught to only need and use Zoltraak to fight, while Wirbel was motivated by finding a wider array of spells to use for battle. That with earlier comments by himself, Ehre, and Fern definitely cast him as the sort of "nothing special talent-wise at raw mana, but special due to combat instinct and experience."
I think Fern didn't thank Frieren for fixing her staff because in that moment she realized Frieren had already moved on from that disagreement and didn't think it was a big deal at all, so Fern took her cues from that and understood that bringing it up again was pointless because Frieren had shown she understood that the staff was important for Fern and as a result also understood Fern appreciated that she got it fixed. At that point both know how the other feels about their fight, so it wasn't necessary to say anything.
Your reaction-videos have a lovely dinamyc because of his estoicism an of course because of her sensibility. This was a wonderful anime. Let's hope the second season reach this level of excellence. Keep the good work, guys. Best wishes from Mexico City and thank you so much (because reaction-videos like yours, make us know that someone in other part of the world, loves, enjoy and feels the same way about the things we like).....have a great week!
Across the exam arc, the development of Denken’s character is another masterpiece in storytelling. When you first meet him, he's the villain, a peak threat to Frieren's group. By the end of this episode, he's everybody's grandpa. All this and he *never* changes who he is, no reverse heel turn, no apologies, no break in his motives. The only thing that happens is that we learn more about him in the most gradual way possible. Of all the brilliant storytelling in this series so far, if I had to point to one proof of this, it is Denken.
While waiting for season 2 (yay!), I recommend you guys also watch Bocchi the Rock! same director as Frieren (Keiichiro Saito), and a fun slice-of-life anime.
