Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Frieren is a series that can be exhilarating at times but also downright boring. The series is about an elf in a fantasy setting that has completed her journey with her companions to defeat the demon king. Since she is an elf, the concept of time is different for her than to her companions that have a much smaller lifespan. When her human friend dies she starts to realize that she barely knew him and regrets that she didn't spend more time with him. At the recommendations of one of her other companions she will travel once more towards the demon king's castle to speak tothe soul of her deceased friend. Meanwhile she takes on the mantle of mentor and trains a human girl in her way of wielding magic and mana and eventually she also adds a beta male warrior in the mix.

There are some points in the anime that are really exciting. Good action combined with good animation but often the anime is quite slow and nothing of note really happens. They even have a priest among them for a episode or 3 but he does nothing of value. Some arcs also take up a lot of time and considering a second season is underway it's no spoiler to say that there is no resolution to this whole thing.

I do have to say I enjoy Frieren's character. She never understood that her human companion was completely smitten with her. Her perception of time is also different as she already lived over a thousand years by now, making her sometimes cold towards other races which lifespans don't even come close to hers. Fortunately she does open up more and more as the show goes on and it's clear the has a playful and cute side to her. It's clear she is the star of her own series as there are tons of flashbacks of her journey to fight against the Demon King. Her current companions are less notable though. Her apprentice barely has any personality aside from pouting and the warrior is a beta male with the strength of an armada for some reason. That joke gets old very quick.

I know this anime is very loved and is still one of the highest rated anime on MAL. Unfortunately I think the series is quite flawed and commits the worst sin of all: being boring more often than not. Still there is a good foundation to build upon with a second season so I hope it has more impactful action like the demon arc in the first season.