Frieren‘s second season feels a bit more relaxed than the first and its soundtrack follows in that atmosphere with tracks that aren’t nearly so intense. But don’t take that to mean that Evan Call’s music dropped in quality because the music still retains its grandeur, even if it’s a bit more restrained than before.
The opening track “The Journey Continues” is as majestic as ever, just a bit more quiet in the way it allows listeners to wallow in its warmth and coziness. “Ripples in a River of Time” keeps that motif that we’ve heard so much from the first season, but like the previous track, restraint is the order of the day as the woodwinds, fiddle, and dulcimer play a mellower air. “Villages and Vagabonds” serves as wonderful RPG town music where the woodwinds and fiddle give it a rustic aura.
But the anime does serve up some action-y moments and Evan Call once again unleashes some magnificent battle music in tracks like “Ready Your Weapon” where the Irish reel gives it a sense of hurried movement. The same can be said for “Divine Revolte” where a discordant melody ratchets up the tension in the dulcimer and the tin whistle. The tension becomes unleashed in “First-Class Mage” which features Alina Lesnick backed by a chorus to provide this soundtrack with its dose of the epic battle.
The character themes are also noteworthy; I found “Happiness for Fern” very charming with its strings opening and the piece proceeding in a way that’s rings with euphoria, even if Fern herself isn’t one to explicitly express herself. “Kind-Hearted Warrior” is much more subdued and introspective. And one mustn’t forget the theme in the “Hero of the South” which has a grim, but determined demeanor that breaks into a glorious chorus that lends the soundtrack much gravitas.