Albus
Is THE Frieren copy we have been waiting for all this time.
Just like the ascendance of a bookworm. Frieren is one of those stories that barely have any comrade in the space. A well liked, highly regarded, and popular as hell yet somehow anyone barely copied them.
Come one man! Frieren is so good. WHY don’t you try to copy it?
Why so many authors just keeps churning BANISHED FROM HERO PARTY, dumb I HAVE TRASH SKILL BUT ACTUALLY THE STRONGEST or some variation of I’M REINCARNATED IN THE WORLD OF (SOMETHING-SOMETHING) GAME.
Of course, some authors have picked some elements from it. But as far as I know, no one committed to making a similar story.
Years gone by, villainess and otome-game now take the world by the storm. While seinen manga is still going strong, josei category has filled my reading list more and more. While I'm fine with it, my wish feels farther and farther.
At long last, I’m finally giving up hoping to get any more Frieren-y stories.
But then, a few months ago, something began to spread in my timeline like wildfire. Which excited even my friends. Curious what it's all about. I finally read it.
And my god.
My mind is blown away by it.
In quite a literal sense.
ALBUS CHANGES THE WORLD.
The Frieren’s vibe in it is very strong. From the silly antics, the flashback, the solemn but fun journey. And the changes that are brought by the loss of an important person.
As I said before, this is a Frieren’s copy that I have been waiting for so long. So the fact that reading this manga brings so much deja-vu is a plus, not a minus. But despite my words, don’t mistake it for some cheap copy of Frieren.
It does have a lot of similarities. In fact, it felt so much like the continuation of Fiala Toll arc. But it’s obviously not about some immortal elf losing her friends. While it’s clearly very heavily influenced by Frieren, it was its own thing.
To show you how similar they are, I need to give some spoilers from both series. SO, here it is.
Spoiler warning.
Open page one and two, and we already presented with the goddamns same vibes. Just look at that. . . I’m speechless.
Anyway the story started when Albus, our main character, came back from his journey of taking down the demon lord and bringing peace to the world. Sounds similar? But then. We flipped to the 3rd page and found.
He just started his journey? Wait? Whaaaat?
After skipping the departure ceremony for being a waste of time. He comes out of the gate in a dinky carriage then proceeds to yoink a cleric to accompany his journey.
Straight to a dangerous area for a shortcut. And straight into fighting a goddamn dragon. This hero, unlike Himmel. Doesn't want to waste time.
But why?
His heroic tale started when he was 5. One day someone came to his village and said. . .
“Albus-kun, You are radiating main character energy, for real for real, co nap! You are gonna defeat the demon king”
I’m not even joking or parahrasing.
Following his destiny as the… destined hero? He studies, trains, gathers allies, grinds and then fights the demon lord. Only to lose to him at the very end.
The demon king is pretty much Dark soul boss who keeps throwing area instant death attacks. Killing Albus.
And so he died. Again, again, again, and again. And with his death. He came back to his departure day ala Re-zero. Or countless other stories that have used such a plotline before.
Though unlike others, this is not about a tale of countless sadness and suffering. It is a tale about getting better and overcoming challenges.
About making the perfect timeline.
A PERFECT RUN.
Yes! A perfect run.
He defeated the demon king in his 5th run. But the journey took 13 years and when he got back, his family was already gone.
His dog to be exact.
So he unalive himself and does a rerun.
Then he realized that if he can go even faster, he can save the king, or the world tree, or some city. So he kept going on a loop until speedrunning started to feel exciting.
Right now, it's our 36th journey. And our aim is to set a new record.
I didn't expect that. Like, at all.
I didn't laugh so much as when i watched bocchi. But all his tales are enough to make me smile. It brings me the kind of war fuzziness from a funny tale from an old friend.
Just like. . . Frieren does.
Of course to make me liken it to Frieren, being funny isn't what this manga is all about.
One Frieren’s signature is, sending simple messages through its chapter.
The first chapter is pretty much just about Fiona who is unsure about herself, is. In fact. Very capable.
The second chapter is about Fiona doubting Albus' heroism. And realizing that he is indeed, worth following.
In some chapters, it's about understanding people's weaknesses.
And a chapter later, it was about stop being afraid to move forward.
I can't give more examples because we simply have too few chapters available. But you should kinda get how the story is being told so far.
Other's Frieren's signature bits are the silly side quests.
One day an old wizard was guarding a hidden teleporter. But this old man would give them a quest that would take them a year to complete if you let him yaps.
So he tried to talk him out to forget it by dressing Fiona to make him remember his past loves. Yes, loves. Turns out this dude is quite a player so we dressed our girl to match their silhouette.
Once again, the jokes are quite understated. But it warms my heart.
There's more but I won't spoil too much.
Talking about Frieren without talking about montage is not complete. So of course, we have a lot of those too.
Here are some.
And lastly, flashback. The use of flashbacks in Albus mirrored Frieren's so much I keep thinking. This author fukken nailed the vibe so much.
Just look at this. After being told that everyone has weakness, we are shown that even the epitome of strength cries too.
And this. After telling that her hot-pot isn't as delicious as she remembers. It was shown that what makes it truly more delicious are the good memories she has.
And then this. After being we are told that what Fiona lacks is just resolve. Then in the end, her resolve is on full display.
Let’s continue.
Years passed, for the 36th time.
We got new equipment, we craft weapons, we grind level, and now we are strong. Very strong, we pretty much can steamroll everyone. Even the demon lord. We can push him easily.
Our hard work paid off. Though sometimes, it still demands even more. Even with all the preparation. We were barely able to defeat the demon king.
BUT.
We failed to achieve the number one goal that keeps pushing us to loop.
WE FAILED TO SAVE FIONA.
Once again, the demon lord has taken over her.
So we need to. Once again.
Killed her.
And so, ALBUS CHANGES THE WORLD.
And so, we all went back to the beginning.
And so, I kinda teared up. Our journey has amounted to NOTHING!
And so, our perspective as a reader. Changed. No longer we see his past journey as a mere tale, we ARE part of that tale. We are part of his past journey, and at the same time. We are all, also part of his current journey.
We are now in the 37th loop.
I'm honestly devastated.
But he smiled.
He moved forward.
Trying to reach that perfect run where everyone would be able to smile.
That’s why! We too must continue until we reach the perfect end. Just like him.
He may appears tired
But hero Albus never lose hopes or gives up
He may appears to uncaring some times
But hero Albus cares
He may appears emotionless sometimes
But hero Albus feels everything
He may appears cold sometimes
But hero Albus is kind
And he would always be kind.
Thanks for coming.
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