Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

There are so many words I could use on how Sousou no Frieren was able to make me feel, and believe me, narrowing them all down feels like I'm doing a disservice to the series because they all feel equal in the range of emotions. It's bittersweet. It's a journey. It's an experience. It's, all intents and purposes, a modern day masterpiece of emotionally charged storytelling. Right off the bat, Sousou no Frieren does not shy away from tackling the most poignant questions of life. What is the point of our existence? What's our purpose in life? What does it all mean in the end ifwe're only going to cease to exist eventually? All of this and more as Frieren - the heroine in this story - tries to understand the matters that may seem trivial to a being that is immortal to the passage of time, but to us mere mortals they are all fleeting.

The show does an immaculate job of creating this beautiful world where, even though the threat of the demon lord has been absolved, the lives of those who inhabit it still go about their everyday lives full of uncertainty. The shows attention to detail is on point and it can be perfectly visible through a variety of ways. The scenic and landscape shots give the series a very serene and tranquil feel to it and you feel how lively and expressive the world is through these shots.
The action scenes, though not as prominently featured in such a series, are absolutely stunning when given the opportunity to display the capabilities of studio Madhouse. From Fern's Zoltraak to the second trial of the mages exam against the replicas in a dungeon, the visual presentation is outstanding and I could gush more about other visual delights present in the series, but you get the picture.

In case it wasn't made clear on the offset, the show is one huge, great and seemingly neverending journey. Not just physicalluy and literally, but I feel it is also a journey metaphorically, emotionally and spiritually. Frieren, herself, serves as a proxy of sorts for the viewers on this journey with her and her companions. Through her eyes we witness countless examples of the value of life and how precious it all is. The concept of death is something Frieren is rather unperturbed by and only by experiencing this kind of loss, herself, is she able to have an understanding of how important one's life is.

Frieren as a character is a tricky can of worms to unpack. There are many quirks to her character and she, for the most part, seems unwilling or incapable of expressing any kind of real emotion. This lack of emotion of character is not an inherently bad thing though as it provides a plethora of situations for Frieren to grow as a character.
Over the course of the show, we get to see Frieren develop more as a character, she matures more as the show goes on (which is strange since she's a being having lived for multiple centuries) and values those around her. One of my favourite quirks to her character is the way she expresses her interests towards magic. It's a hobby to her and she will take any request given to her if it involves a grimoire as a reward. On the surface, there really is nothing more to it than that, but then you learn that it's because of Frieren's master who exposed her to the world of magic by showing Frieren her favourite spell - one that creates a bed of flowers - that was what really opened her eyes and gave a driving force for Frieren to pursue her own purpose in life. Not only that, but it was this same spell that Frieren showed a young Himmel when they first met. It's interactions like these that perfectly exemplify that everything has a purpose, and not just in terms of talking about the shows going-ons.

Another thing that I do enjoy a lot about this series is the everexpanding cast of characters and all the things they bring to the series. It's actually refreshing to see so many side characters being utilized in ways that not only make sense from a story perspective, but are also to add a dimension of depth you'd typically not see with other series that would just have their side characters as window dressing and not utilize them to their proper potential.
Whether it's the demon troupe from early on in the series, the characters that come and go just as quickly, or the cast of mages for the exam portion of the series they all have a purpose and some are more multi-dimensional than first realized.

The series is one hell of a journey - which is quite apropos actually - that I found myself so enraptured in from start to finish. As someone who adores the manga so much, having an anime adaptation of something you adore - and be this faithful to - just leaves me so thankful to everyone involved in the production of this series. I cannot recommend this show enough to everyone to at least experience this modern day masterclass of anime. Even if you're not into fantasy setting, or slower paced series you still owe it to yourself to see why this anime (and series as a whole) has garnered such monumental amounts of universal acclaim.

It's no doubt anime of the year, but daresay anime of the decade as well. It's a must-watch for fantasy lovers, slice of life enjoyers, those who enjoy a lot of emotion in their shows, those who enjoy character driven stories and the adventurous.