Frieren Beyond Journey’s End Anime Review

Frieren Beyond Journey’s End is a tale as old as time, set in a world that will feel immediately at home to anyone whose seen a fantasy story before. You have visited this place before, seen this struggle of pure black and white morality a thousand times, it’s heroes immediately understandable by their very nature, even before the first expository words are said. Fantasy simply don’t get more basic than this yet Frieren doesn’t act like it is, instead welcoming you as if this genre hasn’t been here, done that. Seeing familiar simplistic fantasy presented with an inherent freshness to its exploration is just magical in a time where dark fantasy is king. Coming from someone who got into fantasy through the grounded and grittier stories of Joe Abercrombie and GRRM, with Tolkien himself being the only author I’ve ever found unreadable(The Hobbit aside) I wasn’t expecting to be this intrigued by a categorically basic fantasy like this, yet Frieren is as good as everyone says it is and than some. Maybe, no probably the only reason this works is because it’s an anime, a medium where fantasy of this style isn’t the common denominator, at least from what I’ve personally experienced. Frieren takes itself seriously and because of that I did too and I believe that angle is what breathes new life into this setting. That’s a long ass preamble but I think it’s worth saying because at its core there’s nothing special about what this series’s take on this genre is, yet paradoxically I found myself hanging off every morsel of new information, every bit of honestly very inefficient exposition being gripping despite me learning nothing new and instead having my intrinsic knowledge of fantasy fiction confirmed instead of subverted. The thing is that the fantasy setting that I’ve just laboriously talked about isn’t even the point of the story and I spent that time talking about it to illustrate a point. That being Frieren is so confident in its storytelling that it transforms what is otherwise an extremely ordinary and overplayed tale of swords and sorcerers going on an adventure into one of the best anime of this decade.

In all my admittedly few years as an actual manga fan Frieren Beyond Journey‘s End has stood as the most acclaimed new manga on the market. It’s been the series that everyone whose read it treasures and hypes up the most so when I finally got into it through the anime I was left mildly confused. Not by the quality because that was immediately apparent but by the style, for a leisurely paced slice of life story with no dramatic stakes or much action to get such universal acclaim felt almost weird. Battle shonen dominate our collective consciousness, grabbing the most viewers and much of the discussion so Frieren being slow and relatively tame content wise feels like the polar opposite of what gets big these days like JJK, CSM and AOT. I was also left very confused by a expectation that the fans endless praise had set up, that being that Frieren would open with an emotional gutpunch. It’s probably not controversial for me to say that it doesn’t remotely land there and while I hadn’t realised it at the time it never was aiming for that, it’s premiere episode instead being a perfect way of presenting the world through our titular protagonists eye’s.

This isn’t really a multiple timeline narrative because the present is very much the focus but the flashbacks of her journey with Himmels party form the heart and soul of this story, strengthening Frieren’s personal development in the present with context and contrast, giving us a rock solid core to get emotionally invested in. Every landmark moment of Frieren’s growth as an empathetic person is immediately followed up by a scene from her past that her aloof younger self couldn’t appreciate, it’s very direct with its theming but as someone who never grasps subtext on a first go it works very well for my dopey brain. This is an show with roots firmly in the style of slice of life, slow paced and calm, focusing on the characters’ moment to moment interactions to create a wonderfully serene atmosphere. Honestly the dialogue is bloated and methodical, overly expository and lacking any sharpness but that fits the pace of the story and every scene is visually enrapturing to make up for this. It never feels too slow because there’s always dashes of action sprinkled in and even that action keeps up the signature measured tempo. The combat that peppers this series’s has a distinct feeling of restraint, not really in the explosive visuals but specifically in how the fights play out, every victory is built up too and generally takes a whole episode to resolve which is interesting for 1 main reason, the main cast is outrageously overpowered. This is not a criticism(yet) but because action is built around this fact there’s a unique sense of weight and anticipation to every encounter, the purposeful restraint making the inevitable triumph feel exhilarating every time and almost always dulling the nonexistent stakes that exist in battle shonen stories.

Frieren’s main twist on the fantasy adventure story is that instead of having heroes we have a cast of awkward people who don’t really understand why they’re together, which leads to hilarity and heart in equal measure. Frieren is an absolute legend, slaying the demon king and being an object of awe for mages the world over… except she is practically useless on her own. When confronted with life and death stakes she’s as cold and calculating as a demon but in normal life she could charitably be described as a slacker, sleeping in, chasing useless goals with complete apathy, and simply exhibiting zero drive to do anything remotely productive. She wasn’t a cold emotionless being like I was expecting and that’s a good thing, I love this stupid goofy elf and the calm vibe she always has. Her apprentice Fern learned alot from her and it shows, she is extremely independent for her age and has a complete lack of social skills due to always being by Frieren’s side. Fern is kinda what I was expecting of Frieren, she’s aloof, calculating, overwhelmingly powerful with her magic, and has a hard time connecting with people. Her motherly attitude towards Frieren is the only kind side of her in the early show and some of the best moments of the 4 episode premiere are when Frieren pays her back, slowly but steadily growing closer.

I personally wasn’t very happy with Frieren in this stage of the story because her lackadaisical lifestyle effectively wasted Fern’s childhood but both characters grew alot during that time so my take didn’t age too well. It’s the male leads of the series that bring the humanity and help push their opposites out of their shells, the subtle touch of romance seeping into their actions. First up is the dead dude, Himmel the Hero whose flashbacks are always the best moments in any episode because dammit if he isn’t the most loveable man ever written. He harbours a one sided love for Frieren that he never gave up on, not because he was a creep but because his love for her was so deep that it transcends his own mortal lifespan. He spent every moment he had creating special memories with a girl who wouldn’t be able to understand their significance for half a century but when she finally does those memories become cherished too and she’s able to use her past failings for her current benefit. Him being an archetypal perfect hero character is made special through this perspective too because we see him as a fabled legend and a living breathing human simultaneously, it’s this series’s most effective way at conveying the current history of the world. He’s a bit of a goof, kinda vain, but always well meaning and shockingly forward thinking, it’s impossible not to love him.

In the present though it’s Stark who takes the role of male lead and he most certainly isn’t an archetypal hero figure, yet. Stark is the most animated character in the whole series, he’s always being a drama queen, bickering endlessly with Fern and Chiaki Kobayashi’s performance is just pure gold all the time. Stark is also uber powerful like his peers but unlike them he has absolutely zero confidence at the start and overcoming it was his first arc and given how he one shotted a dragon it’s fair to say he passed. His underlying arc is his relationship with Fern which is definitely the best dynamic of this show, both characters don’t remotely understand the other and fight endlessly, only to make up because they’re kinda stuck together. It’s still early days for these youngsters but there’s no denying that they definitely have an affection for each other that will hopefully bloom into a proper romance, currently it’s all small but incredibly endearing steps. Stark is my favourite character and I am definitely a shipper when it comes to him and Fern.

These 3 make up the main party and the first cour of this series is all about building their relationship in a very natural way, it’s a slow burn but it’s engaging every second because I just love these guys. Cour 1 overall is a perfect little adventure that builds on the world and characters in thorough fashion, spending alot of time telling the former and showing the latter so that you’ll have a complete understanding of everything and can get fully immersed. It contains a tight little action arc that displays a rhythmic approach to how it unfolds, our overpowered characters slowly but surely break down their foes utterly, the payoff to Frieren’s encounter in particular being a glorious anticlimax. The character side reaches a lovely climax too when they reach a nobleman’s castle and get roped into performing as nobles, leading to the absolute cutest scene ever where Stark and Fern dance in the ball together. Cour 1 is exactly what I could’ve wanted, it completely succeeded in immersing me in this world and its characters, this is what I want from this series.

Cour 2 is exactly what I don’t want and I honestly don’t think it effectively leans into what makes this series work so damn well. To be clear it’s still good and I never stopped enjoying what I was watching buuuut it wouldn’t be inappropriate for me to say the production carried what is otherwise a generic and poorly paced tournament arc. Crap, that comment looks terrible, lemme explain. I mentioned that the action of this series effectively handled the overpowered nature of our main trio by being restrained in its approach and generally just not focusing on it. I honestly don’t think action itself should be a core storytelling device in this specific work because it’s usage must be very specific otherwise it falls apart due to a complete lack of stakes. So Cour 2 puts Frieren the Slayer of the actual Demon King and her borderline equal and apprentice Fern in a magical tournament arc which sounds like a exhilarating episode or two of high level mage fights that will undoubtedly result in our leads winning and than quickly continuing on their adventure… until in execution it’s 8 episodes long and my god you can feel it, the pacing took a noticeable nosedive and the whole thing is padded out and uninteresting.

Because our main leads are so outrageously overpowered we don’t focus on them and instead this arc mostly exists to massively boost the amount of characters in this show. Bam crisis averted, if our leads aren’t the focus than we can have actual stakes still and do a proper tournament arc but whoopsie almost every new character is completely boring and I want them to die. I am a straight male and as such Ubël is an instant favourite, she’s got the best design of the series and her murderous intensity is chefs kiss. I also liked Denken because he’s just a lad, what can I say. Everyone else is a different variety of white bread whose screentime is wholly uninteresting and I wouldn’t even care if we never saw them again, but they better show up in the future because otherwise this arc is actually pointless. There’s a critical lack of meaningful character moments for Frieren and Fern and because they can’t even be together half the time both awkwardly exist in their new parties, bringing the heat when needed but otherwise just chilling. The second test had a really exciting idea for its final boss that had me at the edge of my seat… but maybe taking a whole 3 episodes to resolve was a bit much, the edge was thoroughly worn down. This action focused arc does really let the production go buck wild and they delivered, no matter how disappointing the story itself was I would be lying out my ass if I said I wasn’t having fun. The resolution was interesting though because Frieren’s apathetic approach to magic actually gets rebuffed strongly so there was a fun twist in the end. Despite how harsh I am towards Cour 2 it’s honestly not bad if you compare it to anything else really, but as a follow-up to one of the best starts to any anime the drop in quality is undeniable and while I have faith the series will recover I pray action doesn’t become a central focus again because this series just isn’t about all that, slice of life beats out shonen battle shenanigans this time.

Frieren just gets it as an anime, every single component of this production falls seamlessly into a whole that elevates a good work to heights unfathomable and while I definitely like the core story and concept, I think I love how it’s presented most of all. The moment the director was announced we all knew something special was coming because his name is Keichero Sato and he had recently made his series director debut on a little ole show called Bocchi the Rock. I don’t need to explain why that’s significant, we’ve all seen that series and I personally think it’s the greatest comedy productions ever but I did wonder how he’d approach this story. What made Bocchi so standout was its eclectic mix of wildly creative traditional animation and mixed media like pixel art and claymation to really sell the unhinged antics, giving it a visual identity like nothing else I’ve ever seen and that most certainly wouldn’t work in a more serious work like Frieren. Sato’s approach ended up being one of controlled restraint, because this is one of the most visually cohesive anime I have ever seen. Over an impressive 28 episode run Frieren maintains the quality it had at the start, so maybe I should get into specifics.

The first thing I noticed is that aesthetically this show looks absolutely gorgeous, this may be a normal fantasy world but the backgrounds look anything but with art director Sawako Takagi(working off of concept art by Seiko Yoshioka) and their team painted picturesque landscapes and lived in cities that make Frieren’s initially aimless wanderings a feast for the eye’s. This aspect is really important because it immediately immersed me in the world and for a slower paced series having that extra kick of visual engagement does wonders, when every frame is a painting how could I possibly tire of it. The photography adds its own depth too, I love what I can only guess is a film grain effect that adds a lovely layer of texture to some of the otherwise flatter visuals, it’s clearly seen on the characters and the sky. The colour design is natural which is essential to keep the grit of the fantasy realm intact. All these elements combine to immediately make this stand out in the current anime landscape which due to the isekai trend is chock full of similar fantasy worlds, yet none have the sumptuous beauty of Frieren.

The characters that inhabit this world have appropriately understated designs and this is one place I think the anime side really starts to pull its weight. Like I’ve already said our core cast of Frieren, Fern, and Stark are awkward as all hell and while each one has a signature goofy face(Fern’s pout being the most iconic) they generally emote as much as my toaster which admittedly is jumpier than average but still just a toaster.  There’s a distinct feeling of flatness to everyone’s facial expressions that the always perfect models almost exacerbate and while I haven’t read it I’m very interested in how the manga deals with this. The anime solves the issue through the addition of voice acting and animation, standard operating procedures except that there’s a very specific animation focus that I rarely get to see to this extent. Body language in anime is generally brought to life through exaggerated deformations and while subtler work still exists it’s not as common because naturalistic moments are hard as hell to get right, so of course Frieren had to make this its shining feature. Even without the voice acting I’m confident the nuances inherent to each interaction are still visible because that’s how comprehensive the animation is, the best examples are anytime Stark and Fern are together because their body language is much better at conveying their growing comfort with each other than their speech is. The magnum opus is definitely their dance sequence which is one of the most beautiful moments in the whole series, the culmination of their relationship this far… and somehow an anime original addition because the manga only lingered on it for a single panel like whaaat! The ever present fluidity in the character animation also pertains to fabrics because wowza some of those cuts look insane. All this combined with the terrific voice acting adds layers the manga can only dream of and flipping through my copies as I watched the anime left me totally uninterested in that version because the extremely flat presentation pales in comparison to its adaption, I own every volume but I want to be anime only because it seems like the definitive version.

When the staff was first announced there was only one other member that caught my eye, and just like Sato I had a very good impression of this person, in fact I think they are the best possible pick in the industry for this specific project. Prior to Frieren my only experience with composer Evan Call was with his work on Violet Evergarden and he absolutely wowed me. I don’t know how to talk about music at all(or anything technical, like this whole review!) but the only way I can describe his work is that he gives me a feeling of pitch perfect whimsy of the fantasy specific kind so putting him in a lighthearted fantasy story is as obvious as it is perfect. He absolutely nailed it with his work, even the repeated tracks remain warm and welcoming throughout. Zoltraak is the clear opus though, an action hype piece by way of a folksy dance routine, the clear instruments, constant melody, and steadily rising pitch making it wholly unique from anything I’ve ever heard in anime, and to top it all of its used during the best action sequence of the show.

Frieren as a story isn’t made to accommodate high stakes action so the animated representation of that is to have our characters always move precisely, their confidence seeping into every fight. Action sequences are always choreographed very cleanly, the animators individual styles held at bay by the choice to keep everything on model all the time which makes every effort precise and weighty. There’s a good mix of swords and sorcery, with magic that’s as flashy as they come, the main rule being to overwhelm opponents quickly before mana loss becomes critical which to Frieren and Fern isn’t a worry so they’re kinda just stalwart brutes who thrash everyone. The magic on display is the wildest the imagery of this show gets and is always a treat to see, especially the rare times Frieren gets serious and throws out more unique spells. The swordplay is much more grounded (waitaminute does anyone use swords?) in comparison and it always feels like a slow dance, Ubëls fight against her clone in particular is a fantastic cut with clear as glass choreography and a brilliant POV perspective. The action always goes way harder than necessary and the weak storytelling of Cour 2 is significantly blunted by how entertaining every fight is from a production standpoint.

One of my favourite things about this production is that the clear MVP animator shows the best of every important aspect I mentioned above, from characters to action nobody does it like Kouki Fujimoto. It feels redundant to explain why he’s my favourite animator for this series because I basically already have, his skills match up completely with the overall vision so when he stepped up to the directors plate for episode 9 we were treated to THE action episode of any year where JJK S2 wasn’t airing. Fern and Stark’s first fight as confident warriors is pure awesomeness, with his own cut of Fern calming marching into a barrage of blood magic being my favourite of the show. I only recently started learning about animators individually but even without that change I’m sure I would’ve picked up on his name because every appearance by Fujimoto is a new bar that the series clears, I really look forward to his future material. Frieren Beyond Journey’s End is the perfect marriage of a robust story and the perfect set of staff to adapt it to the small screen, this show could not have been done better and I’m in absolute awe of its everything, thank you so much Keichero Sato and crew for this glorious anime, please return when your ready for more!