deerstalker

I don’t know what your get down is. I don’t know what streaming services you pay for, who’s password you sharing, or how new your phone is to run shit at 1440p while you’re waiting for your flight. But I know that Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a monster of an anime series. Like, Nicki’s verse on “Monster,” not them other dudes. But let me line up the shot on my language a bit, I don’t mean that the series is bombastic with enemies and abilities that destroy cities, or power systems that NASA can’t track. But a contemplative, often emotionally reserved story that deepens gradually with each episode, each town visited, each companion added.

But let’s back up, I went in heavy and its possible you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is about the hero’s journey. The hero, Himmel, joined by the healer and degenerate priest Heiter, the axe-wielding tanky dwarf warrior Eisen and the elven mage Frieren, who set off on a journey to kill the Demon King. I know, this shit is basically a 1 for 1 of your D&D Saturday night, right? Except, you saw the name of the show right? This ain’t about Himmel (I mean, it is, but it isn’t). And it ain’t even about this hero’s quest (I mean, it is, but it isn’t). The story is actually about what happened AFTER this quest.

That Demon King shit, they done took care of that. His ass been dead. They came home, got parades and statues and probably a whole lot of romantic accompaniment, know what I’m sayin? You spellcasting, what I’m preparing, right? And then Frieren said, well, that was fun, I guess, later for y’all slayers. Again, Frieren is an elf and in like most fantasy settings, elves are both rare and damn near immortal. She was a thousand years old before the quest to kill the Demon King. Which only took 10 years. So the quest to kill the Demon King for Frieren was about as long as it takes customer service to connect you to a real person when you trying to figure out why your gas bill was so damn high last month. While the journey was transformational and easily the most impactful thing that everyone else in the party has done and will ever do, to Frieren, it was really something to do on her way to the store. Killing the Demon King was an errand, my dude. And her detachment is what moves this story forward.

Many years later, Himmel, a human is finally laid to rest, and it has all the gravity that the world’s most renown hero would have. Frieren returns to see her old friends and pay her respects, with the assumption that everyone did what she did. Peaced the eff out and went around exploring the world. But no, Heiter, also a human is in the twilight of his life and Eisen the dwarf, who also will live for a very long time, retired from adventuring but still keeps connections with the friends he has made. And it’s here that it strikes Frieren that her party stayed in community with each other while she was studying abroad for fifty years or some shit. She comes to the realization that because of her life span and her predisposition to outliving everyone, that she doesn’t really invest or take interest in their lives. A sudden sadness hits her that these people who were so pivotal in shaping the world along side her, well, she doesn’t know anything about them. She remembers them intensely and worked well with them, obviously, but she doesn’t really know them and rarely thought about them when she left. But now, they are leaving the world and she is regretful of the time she’s lost. And we’ve all been there, many of us, just straight up live there.

I lost my father recently, too damn recently. And I had enough of a relationship with my father that I’m not regretful of what I missed out in the past, but what stings is what can now never happen. The possibilities we take for granted that are no longer possible. Plans to catch up, spend holidays, take trips…They now seem silly? Wasteful? A fantasy even when they originally included someone who is no longer here. I also think about how pivotal moments mark time. When my daughter was born, dates and times became less important as it became more useful to say, well, “Amira will be 10 by then, so that’s not too long from now,” or “Bruh, Amira had just started kindergarten then, it was a different world back then.” And already, I find myself saying, “that wasn’t too long ago, dad wasn’t even in the hospital yet.” It is cliché, but true that time is relative; the passage of years only really matters for the most important parts of our lives that fill those years. So, yeah, Jesus, let’s talk about anime again…

…this was Frieren’s misgiving that she’s trying to correct. She had put so much stock into the passage of years and cared little for the events and relationships that could have made those years meaningful. But the past is the past and Frieren knows she can’t do anything about what she didn’t do. Thankfully, the “curse” of her long life, gives her the blessing of trying again. Throughout her present journey, Frieren takes on a companion, a former mage apprentice of Heiter when he passes. Eventually, they’ll stumble upon Stark, who studied under her comrade Eisen. Frieren gets another chance to live out her RPG fantasy. Her overarching mission is to acquire as many grimoire and spells as she can, which eventually leads to a quest to find the resting place of her old mentor. But this time, she has companion quests with a real focus on knowing, caring for, and loving (in her own way) the people on the journey with her. Basically, she got that New Game Plus except now she’s doing all the side missions she skipped on her first playthrough.

Ok, Will, you’ve talked a lot of shit, but why is this supposed to be one of the best anime in recent memory? Two reasons it works: Frieren is a full three-dimensional character and Himmel might the best use of Ghost of Hero Christmas Past ever. Touching up Frieren first, I had a hard time putting into words what makes her such a good protagonist, and I eventually settled on the uniqueness of her set up. She’s lived for over a thousand years. So far in the anime, we’ve met maybe one other person (non-demon) as old as she is. So, it makes sense for her to be incredibly knowledgeable and wise. She has been in the world, and to her credit, as a rolling stone and traveler, she knows the wider world. She is cultured and aware of towns, villages, races, factions, languages, etc. the way you would expect from someone as older than the communities or landmarks she interacts with. She doesn’t panic in a fight. She knows her party’s abilities and trusts them in a heated moment, even if they don’t fully believe in themselves yet. But let me tell you a little somethin’ about Frieren aka Old Hag aka Frieren the Slayer if you nasty.

She’s also very immature? And aloof, and emotionally stunted? And at first, you’re like, how the hell is someone putting up 1K on her passport, immature? And well, that’s because she’s never had to care about being in community with people in this way before. In the flashbacks (and Lawd, we gonna get to the flashbacks), Frieren is often cold and pragmatic. What’s the job? Bet. Job’s done? Word, back to reading this spellbook again, tell me when you need me. Now, taking this new approach to understanding the humans around her, she’s often out of sorts. She’s lazy about chores. She falls asleep quickly and will sleep all day if you let her. She doesn’t clean up her living space even though it drives her apprentice Fern crazy. She’s messy like she was raised by magical wolves. But also, now, birthdays are important to her, and there’s anxiety and lack of confidence of what to best get for her companions. Its incredibly sweet and human, ya know, for an elf. But it makes every new situation Frieren journeys into surprising and hard to predict how she will react to it. Will she lean on her otherworldly wisdom to resolve a situation? Or will it fall into a category of personal relationships, one that she is a lot less assured about and may fumble completely.

The second reason why this show is so damn good is because of Himmel. The show begins with Himmel anointed as a young man and the Hero who defeated the Demon King. But by the 10-minute mark of the anime, Himmel is dead, and the only physical part of him that remains are the vain posed statues of him in numerous villages all over the land. But Himmel is large in the series, as through flashbacks we see Himmel was ultimately the one that taught Frieren how to care for those around her, even if she often ignored his musings and advice at the time he gave it. Remember how I talked about how momentous occasions reframe how we mark time back when I was crying into my keyboard about my pops? Well, this anime does that too, marking new locations with “X years after the death of the Hero Himmel.” He is inescapable, not only for his impact on the modern world, but his impact on our protagonist. Almost every episode, when Frieren faces a situation unfamiliar to her or one with complication, we get a flashback of her interacting with Himmel that helps inform her current situation.

What is heart-warming, even a bit heartbreaking, about the flashbacks is that it’s obvious that Himmel had a giant heart for those around him, but specifically, he loved Frieren. He cared for her, looked out for her, defended her, and sometimes, not so subtly, pursued her. But Frieren was never in a place to receive that kind of affection. Seeing her realize now, in the present, how much Himmel cared for her and that she was largely numb to him at the time is tough. It’s emotionally intelligent storytelling, but still tough. What makes it worth it though, is her valiant attempts to pay forward his kindness. Often trying to live up to the example he set. Not necessarily in the action-packed heroic tales that survive him. But in the caring and kindness he showed to those around him, even if there wasn’t a gathering crowd to witness it.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is not only a surprisingly fresh take on the hero’s journey. It’s a hero’s journey, within another hero’s journey that takes place after the first hero’s journey. But the much less complicated summary is, to Frieren herself, it is all one journey, even if it looks like multiple iterations for those of us with normal lifespans. The Wire taught us that the game stays the game, the people change, but the roles don’t. You see this in Frieren. Halfway through the season, all the roles have been repopulated from the original hero party. But what’s different is Frieren and how she treats her new party members. The unique premise allows for one of the most contemplative and genuinely reflective stories I’ve seen in anime, period.

This season of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End began airing on Crunchyroll in September of 2023 and is scheduled to conclude in March 2024.

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Financial experts warn people who have been laid off from their jobs to avoid cashing out on their 401(k)—unless they want to suffer big money consequences come tax time.

Retirement expert Anne Lester told CNBC Make It that the “long-term consequences” of pulling from a 401(k) plan early, or before 59 years and six months old, can be “very painful.”

The author of the upcoming book, Your Best Financial Life: Save Smart Now for the Future You Want, said withdrawing from a 401(k) before the retirement age could come with heavy tax consequences and starting over with retirement goals.

Lester explained the amount a person has in a 401(k) could be different from the actual amount they can withdraw.

“You may look at the number in your 401(k) and think, ‘Oh my gosh, I have $100,000,’ but you don’t actually have $100,000. Depending on your tax bracket, you may only get half of that.”

Owing income tax on the withdrawn amount is one thing. But CNBC Make It reported a person could also face an extra 10% tax penalty, according to the IRS. All in all, taxes and penalties could reduce the amount of money a person can actually get from a 401(k) plan.

Sacrificing the growth of savings already acquired through compound interest is another consequence of withdrawing from a 401(k) too soon.

Ed Slott, publisher of IRAHelp.com, said, “The greatest money-making asset anyone can possess is time,” CNBC Make It noted. And taking out funds is basically the same as restarting a retirement savings journey. Rebuilding funds to their previous level could be tough.

All hope is not lost. Lester shared alternative options like emergency savings, another source of income, 0% interest credit cards, or unemployment benefits to help cover living expenses.

Although, Lester noted that a credit card should be a last resort because debt can become an issue due to high interest rates.

Applying for unemployment benefits should be done “as soon as possible,” Lester said, according to the outlet.

“This is not the time to feel like, ‘Oh, I can’t do that,” Lester said. “That’s embarrassing.’ There’s no shame in getting laid off or getting unemployment benefits.” Eligibility varies by state. Generally, a person might qualify if they were let go from a job through no fault of their own, CNBC Make It noted. The amount a person gets will be based on a percentage of their earnings over the past 52-week period and capped at their state’s maximum amount.

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By Grace White ·

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Headline: “Veni Vidi Vici” A Vicious Satire that Takes Aim at the Ultrarich

Billionaire Amon Maynard (Laurence Rupp) is living an idyllic life. He has a loving wife, three adoring daughters, and political clout to rival a president’s. He loves animals. He also loves hunting.

The problem with the hunting? He loves animals too much to harm them. So he chooses a different target—people. And everyone—his family, the police, even the politicians he pals around with—knows it. 

As the Ayn Rand quotation at the start of the sharp Austrian satire “Veni Vidi Vici” notes: “The point is, who will stop me?”

“Veni Vidi Vici” is narrated by Amon’s teen daughter, Paula (Olivia Goschler), and at first, her disaffected tone hints at the kinds of “the rich are different” scandals oft dramatized in fiction. But Amon isn’t a philanderer. He loves his family and protects them. Two of his daughters are adopted, and he and his wife are regularly intimate. Paula, his one natural child, loves her step-family and doesn’t hate Amon, but looks up to him and wants to learn from him—including how and what to hunt.

Amon may have a bizarre hobby, but it doesn’t cause him to be distant or unkind. His eccentricities are even seen as charming by some—or at least, tolerated. Money buys a lot of things, including complete, amoral freedom.

To be sure, some see through Amon’s veneer, including Volker Carlotta (Dominick Warta), a journalist, and Alois Sepperer (Haymon Maria Buttinger), a gamekeeper who witnesses one of Amon’s kills. But both can only despair at how everyone they tell refuses to hear them. And both can be sacrificed without consequence if need be.

Amon’s own brazenness makes their despair all the worse. More than once, Amon confesses—even to the police, who completely ignore him—and he continues his hunting spree—in broad daylight, no less—with impunity. His excessive wealth allows him to consume everything he comes into contact with, whether it’s via a hostile takeover or from his predilection for sniping.

Co-director Daniel Hoesl (fellow director Julia Niemann was not present) mentioned in the Q&A after the Sundance screening that he was inspired by Donald Trump’s declaration that he could shoot someone on 5^th Avenue in New York and no one would blink. He and Niemann also interviewed some billionaires, including a fund manager in Vienna who provided further inspiration. While it may seem that Hoesl and Niemann’s ideas for the film are taken to a ludicrous extreme, are they really? In one scene, Amon is introduced as the man without limits. Why? Because no one will hold him accountable, just as in the real world.

“Veni Vidi Vici” is entertaining, thought-provoking, and occasionally, incisively funny. When Paula tells us she doesn’t want to go to ethics class because ethics are “a waste of time,” it produces a laugh, but also a twinge of pain. She’s learning to be just as amoral as her dad, and presumably will pass that family trait on to her own family when she grows up. The cycle of naked capitalism goes on.

The film works because of three things: Hoesl and Niemann’s sure direction, Hoesl’s entertaining screenplay, and the commitment of all the actors. Rupp is particularly magnetic, and Goschler is good at switching between Paula’s higher ambitions and just being a regular teen. The soundtrack is also compelling, particularly the drum patterns and abstract vocals layered over the harsher parts of the movie.

In the end, “Veni Vidi Vici” implicates us in the Maynard’s misdeeds. Billionaires, the film posits, are the ultimate parasites, taking more than they give in return, destroying lives, absorbing and corrupting those who would oppose them into their warped view of humanity simply because there are rich. What’s worse is we let them get away with it.

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