The Ongoing Funeral in Frieren
The original title of Frieren, Sōsō no Furīren (Frieren at the Funeral) extends an important invitation to readers to perceive the role that ritual plays in the story that’s unfolding and the extent to which Frieren’s journey (the subject of the series) is a ritualistic act of memorialization. #frieren 1/9
Frieren is still at Himmel’s funeral long after she leaves it in the very first chapter – the voyage that she embarks on then becomes effectively a eulogy, rendered in the form of adventure-campaigning rather than speech; a necessary action through which to find resolution in her relationship to him. 2/9
This approach of ritualistic journeying aligns with the views of memorialization expert Kenneth J Doka who notes that “Grief does not cease with the last funeral or the centering public ritual. Just as grief continues, effective rituals should continue as well, marking cycles and events.” 3/9
As mentioned previously, Frieren’s journey is innately cyclical, restaging the original journey that she undertook with the now-deceased Himmel the Hero and friends 50 years prior. 4/9
At the same time, the specificity of Frieren’s mourning ritual can be classified as what Anna Osterholtz terms “vernacular memorials” which she defines as “informal, personalized forms of remembrance that exist outside traditional, sanctioned practices like tombstones and monuments.” 5/9
For Osterholtz, vernacular memorials (which might be the driver of the plot structure of Frieren) offer the potential to create public spaces for grieving, to advocate for social change, to provide embodied tribute, or to carry the memory of the deceased, all “marking grief in a deeply personal way.” 6/9
Thus, what we’re perceiving here is a high-fantasy journey that is also a mourning ritual at the same time. Through this, Frieren articulates a personal philosophy of grief and mourning that holds the potential to be instructive in the lives of any and all readers. 7/9
The idea is that honoring those we lost is a) a long and difficult journey, b) an action that sparks our memories and brings us into dialogue with the past, and c) a commitment to integrate lessons from that relationship into our ongoing lives in order to keep memories of the deceased truly alive. 8/9
In the depth and scope of the series’ engagement with grief, it thus offers some truly poignant perspective through an idealized high fantasy portrayal that takes mourning to a supernatural level. Himmel’s funeral isn’t over yet and and it won’t be until the final page of the series is written. 9/9