Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
"Even if you're not there, I know I'll be able to find it." Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is healing. It's acceptance. It's progress. While simple in concept it carries with it a universal message about life, time, and action. Every episode packed with subtle meaning, Frieren set out to tell a story and in doing so, told a million others with it. This story takes place in your basic fantasy world. With magic, dwarves, demons, elves, and all the things you come to expect when you hear the word "fantasy". The Demon King reigns over the world, and a party of heroes comes together to go ona journey to defeat the Demon King a bring peace to the land. Himmel the Hero, Eisen the Dwarf Warrior, Heiter the Priest, and the Elven Mage Frieren. But this story isn't about that. This story opens up right after the party of heroes defeat the Demon King.
Their adventure spanned ten years. A time that would be the defining decade in the lives of these heroes. Most of them, anyway. 10 years is a substantial amount of time for Himmel or Heiter, the humans. And even Dwarf Eisen, although he lives longer than humans. But to the elven mage, 10 years is but a fraction of her life. While the rest of the party sentimentally reminisces about the decade spanning journey they went on, Frieren listens on, indifferently.
"I mean, it was a mere ten-year journey". A sentiment shared many times by Frieren. Always met with opposite feelings from the party. After their journey is concluded, they go their separate ways. Going down as legends for years to come.
That mindset of Frieren doesn't change, for 50 years she feels the same sense of indifference toward her journey, until she meets her hero companions once again. Himmel and Heiter now old men. Seeing how time changed them so drastically in such a "short" time affects her deeply. It finally hits her how much that short journey meant to her. Only after that does she truly attempt to understand and forge relationships with humans. Vowing to fulfill the dying wishes of her past companions, she sets out a new journey, hoping that one day, she may be able to see them again.
This anime has a beautiful, universally understood plot that just about anyone can connect with. We've all regretted not spending enough time with those you love. Or only realized how much something means to you when it's gone. What this anime means is that no matter how much time you have, to cherish it. To do all you can with it. To come to terms with humanity's morality and still choosing to develop meaningful relationships.
On her quest, she meets Fern and Stark. Fern is a little girl with tremendous magical potential. Who Frieren apprentices. Stark is a young man training in the ways of the warrior, with a familiar master. Together these three set out on a journey to the far land of Ende.
One of my favorite aspects of this show is how very frequently Frieren finds herself in any sort of situation and she continuously goes back to her time with the party of heroes. Only very rarely does she think about any other part of her millennia spanning life. It goes to show how important those ten years were even more so which I absolutely love. Maybe my favorite episode of this anime was episode eleven. The conversation Frieren and Kraft had was deeply moving.
Every new episode felt like it had a new little thing to explore about Frieren and of this world while also always keeping close to home in terms of the central plot. I seriously think this might be the most beautifully executed anime I've ever seen. I know that the future seasons of this show have much, much more to give. But this first season threw so much at you, through 28 episodes of new ideas every week, it all feels interconnected to that core plot while also exploring new things constantly. It feels like 28 episodes of everything the author has. It's a masterwork in the purest sense.
In terms of action, it's not the focal point of this anime by a longshot. But they're really well done. If you're looking purely for an action anime, this might not satisfy you in the way that other shows will, however if you're invested in the show and characters, they are very satisfying. The mid-fight monologues are aplenty here, which is great.
In terms of music, this anime has a wonderful, curious soundtrack. It all has a very fantasy, orchestral feel to it which is a personal favorite. The openings are incredible. The first one by YOASOBI is great, but the second one is unforgettable. I had a stupid smile every single time it played. Big credits to Yorushika, it's one I won't forget anytime soon. The ending is very curious. I've never seen an anime have two different endings that both use the same song. I really like it though. Milet is a classic artist. (P.S., I prefer the first version more. Not that it matters because it's the same song.)
In terms of animation, it looks good. It has a somewhat simple style. It's definitely not the most stunning anime I've ever seen, but it's appealing to look at. On the better half of anime coming out nowadays for sure. Character designs too. Frieren, Himmel, and Denken were personal favorites in this regard. Suppose it's also worth noting that there's a low amount of "fan-service" compared to most other anime.
In conclusion, Frieren: Beyond Journey's end is a perfect anime. It's not for everyone, nothing is. But it's for people like me. It's emotional, it has a purpose, it hits close to home, there's so much subtlety and nuance. The more you think about it the better it gets. it's exactly the kind of show I love perfected. For six months I woke up every Friday morning, watched the new episode, and thought about it for hours. This anime changed how I think about things like time, past experiences, and procrastination. On a quality level, this is a fantastic fantasy anime. On a personal level, this story touched me in a way that maybe no other anime ever has.
"Go on and fly over that cloud, further and further away." 10/10