So They Say Friendship is Magic
Love has a way of smoothing our edges.
That's one takeaway from both Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren 葬送のフリーレン) and the sequel to Zootopia. These shows don't have much else in common. The former is a quiet exploration of grief, longing, and the mundane but central tenets of what it means to be human, dressed in the usual trappings of high fantasy anime, while the latter is yet another 3D Disney outing featuring anthropomorphic animals, which digs into the complications of intimacy and the need to belong with a surprising amount of sincerity.
Frieren, an elf whose lifespan extends beyond multiple human generations embarks on another journey to honor her former companion, Himmel's memory - the hero everyone adored and whose death becomes the impetus of the entire series - and to learn what she had missed the first time they traveled together. Even from beyond the grave Himmel's love for Frieren persists through objects he'd left and people he inspired all over the world, and slowly she's shaped by this love. As she navigates relationships as he would, she becomes less cold, and begins to care for her new friends and the fleeting time they have, in spite of the knowledge that she would outlive them eventually.
Nick Wilde, a fox who had built an entire personality being avoidant due to childhood trauma, struggles to accept that he'd finally found somewhere to belong, right beside his partner Judy Hopps - a wide-eyed idealist and over-eager bunny c*p. The fear of finding and almost immediately losing that special someone, and through one's own lack of self-respect and the sense that we're undeserving, is a fear we can all relate to. Near the end of the movie, after a life and death situation, Nick manages to both open up about his true feelings and receive affirmation that Judy, in fact, was also dealing with the same love and fear, and we, the audience, rejoices in their reconciliation.
On the first episode of Frieren, Himmel dies of old age. He never explicitly told Frieren he loved her, but he was grateful in their last moments together, to be able to travel with his friends again and watch the meteor shower from the spot Frieren had promised to bring them when they were young, 50 years ago. This was a peaceful death. He had spent all his years making the world a better place.
The post-credits scene of Zootopia 2 shows Judy replaying a recording of Nick saying, "Love you, partner". She smiles to herself before getting ready to make the world a better place.
The other common takeaway is that, as Ethan Hawke once put it, the lover always wins.
Not counting Witch Hat Atelier, Sousou no Frieren is probably one of my favorite manga of all time. I read it some years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, on the recommendation of o., a friend I'd gotten fairly close with during my discord book club phase. (She was also the one who recommended me to read Akatsuki no Yona - one of the best fantasy shojo manga.) I tried really hard to make my other friends get into it, with varying degrees of success. I was so insufferable.
Thankfully when the anime aired and as more and more people built up the hype, sharing my love for it got easier. Almost everyone I know now have seen it. I was vindicated as a fan: the story was really that good and the adaptation to screen was near flawless.
So continued my shameless peddling of things I enjoy.
I'm always so elated when friends take the time to notify me when they've started consuming any media I've mentioned in passing. To be loved is to be known, etc. etc., to be considered is divine. There's K.V. with Frieren (her excitement about it is contagious and reminded me of how much I love the show), and C. with Babel (they sent me a picture of the copy they bought). Of course there's k. with everything else, who now lives in the other end of the country so we're unfortunately just stuck throwing nothingburgers at each other online.
I try to return the favor when I can. Though that often results to hellishly long TBRs and TBWs.
I was talking to k. last Sunday about being afflicted by Big Emotions and following what I can only imagine is a wildly wibbly wobbly train of thought, they started yapping about Zootopia 2 and how
it was like meeting an ex who still very much has your number
As it happened, I was also bothering K.V. with the same topic, and when I shared what k. had gushed about the movie, she said it was
one of the greatest pieces of media ever made
To which k. remarked,
either they're lying or a freak. sorry to out your co-worker like that
K.V. responded with,
can't I be a simple enjoyer of things?
Yes, K.V., you can and I wouldn't be surprised if that's the secret to longevity.
These people don't know each other (and likely never will) but it was a really funny interaction I had to immortalize it in here.
Also given the glowing reviews of course I had to watch Zootopia 2. Now I'm a WildeHopps truther.
The washing machine spun on and on and on that night. It was raining hard too, and I started missing certain people terribly. None of them were awake, so after a few minutes I deleted the many variations of "thinking of you" I've sent on Telegram.
If friendship is magic, will they know anyway?
This is J.J.'s last week in the house. She's been staying with us for a month now, I think, ever since her apartment building caught fire. I'll miss going downstairs to the living area in the middle of my shift so I can talk with her about well, almost anything. (J.J. is even more of a yapper than I am.)
I'm building a Commander deck for A., with Duskana, the Rage Mother at the helm.
I hope K.V. doesn't mind me sending her more Frieren edits.
I hope I get to hang with C. at the silent reading club, or some other book club event.
I'm looking forward to talking to g.b. and k.m. about Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey.
I feel bad for having to be the one to tell E. that Andy Weir (author of Project Hail Mary) is a gen-AI apologist and centrist loser.
K.M. and I finished the first 2 episodes of Shogun. Riveting! You know that feeling you're only 10 minutes in, and you already know you've stumbled upon something great?
We were supposed to watch One Million Yen Girl, G.'s recommendation but that would have to wait. (Sorry, G.!) I'm staying over at her place next, next weekend.
I learned from s. that Shark Tale was a queer tale all along, and that Hugh Laurie voiced the cockroach in Monsters vs Aliens.
If I can get a new long table or fix our old one, I'll host a D&D one-shot this weekend, hopefully with P., and T., and W.
These are about the only things (and people) occupying my mind, and the Eloqua emails I've neglected. I have about 5 minutes until my shift ends today. The rest I'll keep for when the weather is fair.
Today's Stat Block
STR: 0
DEX: +1 Those mobility exercises do work, huh
CON: 0
INT: -1 Feeling stupid over Cold Leads emails
WIS: -1 I want to be a simple enjoyer of things, but here I am hurrying, hurtling towards ruin by overthinking things (OA mo teh)
CHA: 0