Sousou no Frieren

During their decade-long quest to defeat the Demon King, the members of the hero's party—Himmel himself, the priest Heiter, the dwarf warrior Eisen, and the elven mage Frieren—forge bonds through adventures and battles, creating unforgettable precious memories for most of them.

However, the time that Frieren spends with her comrades is equivalent to merely a fraction of her life, which has lasted over a thousand years. When the party disbands after their victory, Frieren casually returns to her "usual" routine of collecting spells across the continent. Due to her different sense of time, she seemingly holds no strong feelings toward the experiences she went through.

As the years pass, Frieren gradually realizes how her days in the hero's party truly impacted her. Witnessing the deaths of two of her former companions, Frieren begins to regret having taken their presence for granted; she vows to better understand humans and create real personal connections. Although the story of that once memorable journey has long ended, a new tale is about to begin.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Frieren Main

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Fern Main

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Stark Main

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Himmel Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Übel Supporting

Hasegawa, Ikumi Japanese

Eisen Supporting

Ueda, Youji Japanese

Flamme Supporting

Tanaka, Atsuko Japanese

Heiter Supporting

Touchi, Hiroki Japanese

Sein Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Denken Supporting

Saitou, Jirou Japanese

Fukushi, Yuuichirou Producer

Taguchi, Shouichirou Producer

Aoki, Haruka Producer

Itou, Yuukou Producer

Reviews

Jan 26, 2026

EdySama

Recommended

Frieren is not slow. It is quiet by design.
It does not rush to impress, nor does it rely on constant action or spectacle. This anime values patience, observation, and emotional awareness — qualities often mistaken for emptiness.

This is not a story about defeating the Demon King. That story is already over. Frieren is about what remains afterward: memory, time, loss, and the weight of living longer than everyone you care about. If approached as a traditional fantasy, its purpose will be missed entirely.

Anime tells a story while also building a world. Sometimes strong animation hides weak writing, and sometimes a powerful story carries average visuals ... without effort. Every anime should be judged by what it is trying to achieve, not by expectations borrowed from entirely different genres.

If an anime focuses on cooking competitions, it should not be criticized for lacking epic battles. If it centers on medicine and deduction, it should not be judged for not fighting demon kings. Expecting Frieren to behave like a standard action fantasy is the same misunderstanding.

Frieren’s world is clearly defined. Its magic system follows consistent logic, without hidden rules or convenient power-ups created only to push the plot forward. Imagination plays a central role, and magic feels like a result of experience rather than raw force.

The characters are distinct, grounded, and memorable. Their personalities and abilities are shaped by time, history, and personal choices, not exaggerated traits meant to impress quickly. Nothing feels accidental or out of place.

The story is carefully structured. Details appear exactly where they belong, never rushed and never excessive. Instead of constant escalation, Frieren prioritizes atmosphere, silence, and reflection. A quiet moment in a forest can feel just as meaningful as a battle against a dragon.

One of Frieren’s greatest strengths is the feeling it creates. This is not an anime that demands attention through noise. It invites the viewer to slow down, to observe, and to appreciate subtle moments. The animation is fluid and restrained, always supporting the mood rather than overpowering it.

Frieren has exceptional rewatch value. Knowing what happens next does not weaken the experience — it deepens it. Dialogue, expressions, and pauses gain new meaning with every revisit. The story has a clear purpose and strong ideals that remain consistent throughout.

Many criticisms focus on unexplained spells or Frieren being too powerful. Frieren is not an anime for beginners. Its pacing, framing, and narrative structure assume the viewer can connect dots independently.

Frieren experiences time differently. As an elf with an extremely long lifespan, she does not perceive years the way humans do. Her desire for a calm life, her vast collection of spells, and her immense mana are logical results of centuries of experience — not narrative shortcuts. Yet the anime clearly shows that she is not invincible, and it does so through consistent, logical storytelling.

Frieren explains what must be explained and trusts the viewer to understand the rest. This balance is intentional.

This is not a conventional anime. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End presents a different form of storytelling. Instead of ending when the action concludes, it begins there. It explores what remains after the hero’s journey is complete — memory, growth, regret, and quiet acceptance.

Frieren does not ask to be understood immediately.
It asks to be lived slowly.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 19, 2026

Zomoko11222

Mixed Feelings

Funny

Another anime inspired by Overlord. Frieren is if Overlord was a power fantasy and had a woman as MC. It just took all the interesting elements of Overlord and made them mainstream. In other words, trash. A
Animation and a cute girl main character is enough to have high ratings on this website so not surprised by the score.

On another note, Overlord's influence is insane. Japan's Game of Thrones for a reason. I know it has a museum and other legendary tributes. But, Maruyama deserves a statue for all these new animes copying his homework and becoming hits. He is truly one the fathers of modern ... animes.

Frieren is if Ainz was boring. She is a Mary Sue with no flaws unlike him. She is always right. Frieren is surface level. There is no controversial topic. The lessons are something everybody already agrees with. The world is not original whatsoever. Tired of Overlord copies who never get the core concept of this masterpiece.

Frieren is inoffensive which is worse than being trash. I already forgot about it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jan 21, 2026

lotusriot21

Not Recommended

Funny

All that hype for a mediocre fantasy show. Please note that Frieren Beyond Journey’s End is NOT an action-fantasy Shonen. It’s a slow-paced slice-of-life (SoL) anime in a fantasy setting. Certain episodes you do get actual battles, but most of the time you’re just following along Frieren’s own melancholy and nostalgia. The show takes place eighty-years after Frieren’s journey has ended, and it re-tells that story through constant flashbacks and character references. Because this is “beyond journeys end,” a majority of the episodes have very low stakes, very little action, and not a lot of story progression. Each episode mostly reminisces on that adventure Frieren ... had eighty years ago. It feels like hearing your grandmother daydream about the “good old days“ while she constantly references quotes by her dead friends. Do not believe all the hype you see on social media. This show is mainly carried by its production quality and visuals, not because it has "profound writing."

Every location Frieren visits are so unmemorable they all look the same. Each episode would display something like, “In the town of X, West of…” or “The city of Y, North of…” briefly shown on the screen. However, they never flesh these locations out. The towns and cities in this anime are mainly used as placeholders so that the party has somewhere to go. The first six episodes is just Frieren and Fern travelling between town A, B, and C doing mundane tasks like helping villagers, grocery shopping, and discovering gimmicky non-combat spells. I think the main reason why I struggled with this anime is because of the protagonist herself. At times, Frieren can be adorable when she actually shows emotion and geeks over useless grimoires. However, her apathetic nature, her constant flashbacks to her ex-boyfriend, and her placid poker-faced expression makes her an overall bland and boring character. “I’m an immortal elf that lived for a thousand years. I don’t care. I remember when Himmel the Hero said…” That’s pretty much the whole premise of this show. Because she’s basically immortal, because she already defeated the final boss, and because we already know she’s OP, there’s not much to look forward to in terms of power-scaling or character development. She lived for over a thousand years but only began her personal growth at the beginning of the anime? Give me a break. It’s like watching Season 1 of Naruto but Naruto’s already a Hokage.

The same could be said for Fern. I swear, the girl is just as timid and stone-faced as Frieren. If Fern had a bubblier and energetic personality, it would have complemented Frieren’s apathetic nature. Unfortunately, both of them are apathetic, so their whole dynamic can be very dull to sit through across twenty-eight episodes. In fact, Fern didn’t do much character growth either. Between the four years she travelled with Frieren, she wore the same outfit, wore the same haircut, wore the same placid face, and spoke the same voice. Fern at 18 years old is the exact same person as she was at 14. I genuinely do not understand what Frieren saw in her that made her go “Okay, maybe I’ll change.” Even Anya from Spy x Family would be a better substitute for Fern. I swear, everyone in this show talks in a very soft-spoken voice with a face that always looks like this 😐. It’s almost robotic and devoid of any charisma.

Overall, the entire season is just a nostalgia train that constantly talks about Frieren's past. It also regurgitates cliché RPG tropes and power systems that other anime did better. Flashbacks, gift-shopping, and cheesy life-quotes all make up this very slow-paced SoL title where each episode feels like a filler. The fights themselves are well animated but the power system is poorly explained. A lot of the "fights" boil down to an eighteen-minute backstory and a five-second battle. A full episode would be a philosophical flashback explaining WHY Frieren can beat the enemy, then the remaining fifteen seconds is the actual fight. There is no actual plot, there is no story progression, and there is no character development. The “plot” is Frieren adopting Fern as an apprentice because it was her friend’s dying wish. The “plot” is Frieren recruiting Stark because it was a request from another friend. All three of them have some sort of objective to head North. But throughout all nineteen episodes, they just wandered around no-name towns doing absolutely nothing. NOTHING. Look, I get that the whole premise is about "the passage of time" and outliving your friends. But if you stretch that same premise across 28 episodes, it just becomes very boring. This anime did not need 28 episodes. This entire season could have just been an email. The only positive aspects about this show are its OST and visuals. Everything else is just boring dialogue, flashbacks, and slice-of-life elements. It’s a very mid 5/10 slow-burner SoL title. It’s also overhyped and overrated across every inch of the internet.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Sousou no Frieren Episode 21 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Feb 2, 2024	312 replies	by AnaKaichou »» Yesterday, 4:39 PM
	Poll: Sousou no Frieren Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Nov 17, 2023	310 replies	by mny12138 »» Jan 24, 6:01 AM
	What is frieren actually about? Rajdeep1212 - Jan 11	30 replies	by Scyon »» Jan 23, 5:45 PM
	Stark and Zenitsu Megawak76 - Jan 14	25 replies	by Scyon »» Jan 23, 5:38 PM
	Poll: Sousou no Frieren Episode 28 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) anime-prime - Mar 22, 2024	1,104 replies	by rakeshchow202 »» Jan 23, 1:16 PM