Watching Frieren Beyond Journey's End is more than a breath of fresh air. In a landscape filled with generic fantasy shows these days, this anime represents one that breathes new life into the genre. These well-paced 28 episodes calmly adapts the manga as we look into the life of a curious elf mage. We follow the story of Frieren as it begins with the observation of the Era Meteor shower, an event that takes place once every 50 years. She made a promise with her companions that after five decades, she'd meet them again but to her regret, her companion Himmel dies. Father time caught up to him and this also makes Frieren feels guilty as she regrets not knowing him better. It's not soon after that she meets with her other companions but also more importantly takes a girl named Fern under her wings.
A journey taking place in this fantasy world contains its compelling perks. The show adapts a fantasy adventure that doesn't involve them trying to defeat a Demon Lord or save the world; as they've done that once before. Instead, the author writes this story as one about Frieren's self-discovery. As an elf, she wants to learn more about humanity and what it truly means to be a human. This doesn't come easy with her peculicar social skills. As evidenced in early episodes, Frieren doesn't always express herself well although she never acts in her own selfish interests either. For her, it's about discovery and learning. Her aloofness sometimes catches other people off guard and draws attention to herself. However, Frieren always means well and tries to be a suitable mentor for Fern. Their relationship mirrors those of a parent guardian and child. Frieren serves as her protector while trying to understand humans more. Ironically, as Fern growns up, she sometimes plays the role of a parent guardian due to Frieren's aloofness and lack of self awareness. Their on-screen chemistry is very natural that balances between comedic, realistic, and heartwarming.
Joining them on their journey is also Stark, a man who balances out between Fern and Frieren. Being a human, he understands others well although at times, he can inadvertently make a fool of himself or say the wrong words. Nonetheless, he and Frieren share a sibling-like relationship and their bond is strong throughout the show. He and Fern also shares an unique relationship that started off rocky but gradually improved as time went on. Stark proves himself to be a capable fighter and not a coward as Fern originally thought he'd be. In respect, Stark also sees Fern with a lot of potential and often seeks to make her happy. Indeed, one of the main selling point of this show is being able to have these important character connections.
Among their journey, it's not hard to see that time itself has an important role. Frieren is an elf with a much longer lifespan than her companions. Thus, this is a journey beyond her end but a short one for the humans. "What's the point of their journey"? is probably a question you may have asked yourself a few times. While the show doesn't seem to have an endgame goal, we should understand that Frieren's personal journey is far more important than its destination. She doesn't have a place she needs to reach for her goal or pursue some special power in life. What she has is with her the whole time, companions that she now has a chance to understand and learn from. Frieren indeed isn't arrogant and knows her own faults. She knows that she isn't perfect and even falls for common traps such as mimics and own her sleeping habits. As the show loves to run these recurring gags, we should know that these come naturally for her character.
From Frieren's journey, there are various conflicts and challenges she and her party tackle along the way. This isn't a slice of life show, but protrays itself as a fantasy adventure. There are elves, dwarves, humans, and even demons. We learn about these races throughout the journey and in the latter half of the season, Frieren's party come across other mages that tests their own skills. Watching the show develop more and more into their journey make the characters examine themselves and who they actually are. This is particuarly true when Frieren's party fights mirror images of themselves. The show is wise to develop and establish its character cast from the start. Often times, key characters loses relevancy due to pacing issues and lack of characterization. Here, we come to a deep understanding of our core characters and what they mean to each other.
Ultimately, Frieren's story and journey gave her the opportunity of self-discovery and encountering characters along the way gives her a sense of humanity. Before her journey stared, there was Flamme who served as her mentor just like the way Frieren took Fern under her wings. Their mutual love for magic and connection allowed the the two to form a deeper bond. Although Frieren didn't come to a true understanding about humans then, she did come to learn more magic, and what it means to share a common bond with someone she trusts. Another special companion she had a bond with was Himmel including their first encounter and time spent in the Hero party. As time is restricted to Himmel, they didn't have all the time in the world to understand each other. This became the root of Frieren's motivation to understand humans better in the current timeline. Fortunately for Frieren, she also got the opportunity to spend time with a party member from the Hero Party as they too have a long lifespan. That character would be none other than the dwarf Eisen. Their unique relationship is shared through their long life spans and social awkardness.
As an elf mage, it should also come no surprise that she would encounter individuals that tests her abilities or idealogies. Chief among them is Serie, who shares a different perspective on the role of being a mage. Watching their relationship in the show contrasts with the ones she shares with her former and current party members. There's also many other characters she encounters later during the Mage Exam Arc. Characters like Lawine, Ubel, Laufen, among others brings out the best from herself and her party. As a fantasy adventure, I think we fans should truly appreciate how much the show dedicated to its compelling cast and story.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and its art style is nothing short of spectcular from its lush landscapes, backgrounds, world building, and beauty of its fictional world. Character designs are made with care through their delicate yet credible featues. This is true for the elven race, dwarves, demons, and humans. Combat segments are also a captivating feast to the eyes with the show's elements of magic. Sure, we didn't get a shounen-level type of action combat with strategy. However, the anime understood how it employed its usage of magic. And finally, character emotions are expressively shown throughout each episode. These can be the melancholic moments between certain party members or goofy reactions such as Frieren's "morning face". Similarly, the voice acting in the show is phenomenal that matches with their character personalities. Even the music and soundtrack has a serene and natural feel adding to this incredibly journey. Madhouse studios truly understood what it means to sell this as an adaptation and not for a cash grab.
With a span of 28-episodes, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End sets the golden standard of what a fantasy adventure can really be. It pushed the boundaries of character development and self discovery as we follow the journey of Frieren. The manga is also highly recommendable if you want to keep tabs on her journey ahead beyond the adaptation. And truly, this is about as great as a fantasy adventure we can get these days.
