Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Is this anime overrated? Yes. Was it still enjoyable? Yes. Would I watch it again? No. Sousou no Frieren is an anime that tells the story most other anime don't - what happens after the villain has been defeated. The focus of the anime is almost entirely on the character (or, in most cases, lack thereof) development of Frieren. I think there's a good portion of the plot dedicated to exploring the emotional responses a long-lived species, such as the elves, have compared to the shorter-lived species and the complications that can arise from the conflict this can create. Yet, this doesn't make for anentirely entertaining anime.

As an emotional exploratory series, it's still relatively boring for me (I prefer action over contemplation in most cases). However, with that in mind having an apathetic Frieren as the main character really kills this anime for me. There is often not a whole lot to explore emotionally with our MC considering she's so apathetic and while in many cases little views into the past show that maybe she might have a heart somewhere in there, it's not appealing enough to make it stand out or gain empathy from me. I like apathetic characters, they're funny and enjoyable, however, I think Frieren is perhaps too apathetic for this series to work well for me.
There is some action here and there, but I'll be honest many of these episodes started putting me to sleep.

It's got pretty art, a decent ost, and a fairly new type of plot (at least for me). However, I'd never give this series a second watch and I have no idea why it's rated as high as it is. It's good, slightly above average in art, at best.