Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

=====TL;DR===== STORY (Review adjusted based on show length) Complexity: 3 World-Building: 6 Pace: 2 Direction: 4 CHARACTERS (Review adjusted based on show length)Quantity vs Quality Ratio: 6
Development: 5
Depth: 4

Art, Animation & Music (Review adjusted based on air date)

Art Style: 9
Art Quality: 8
Animation Quality: 8
Soundtrack & SFX Quality: 8

ENJOYMENT LEVEL 6/10

=====Introduction=====
I'm aware that sometimes MAL scores can be overrated, but man that was underwhelming. I don't get what makes it so popular or rated that high. We're talking about No.1 of all time! Surely there should be some redeeming qualities, right? RIGHT? NO! There are so many issues with this series that I had to force myself to finish it and not drop it, in case I missed some incredible story arc. And there was NONE! I thought that many recent mediocre anime releases were subject to unnecessary hype, and it's nice to see that I'm vindicated in my belief. Sousou no Frieren is the culmination of everything wrong with modern anime.

=====Story===== 4/10
The story is easily this anime's weakest point. Though, the core idea is not bad at all. Having a plot revolving around the aftermath of a hero's journey, looking back at those moments in a new light as Frieren travels with her new companions. It's not a style done too often. But it's not because no one's thought of that or because it's incredibly complex, but because it makes the core story boring. And it shows its weakness here. There are no noteworthy intense high-stakes action scenes. Especially scenes that generate a sense of thrill since it's established that Frieren is unbelievably OP. There is no drama present, which would've been nice since it's a slower slice-of-life-ish-styled show. But the worst of all is, there are no mind games or any form of 'clever outplay'. Every encounter in the show is as straightforward as it gets. There are no 'big brain' moments or anything that makes you go, 'Woah....that's so smart!'. There is nothing noteworthy at stake since the era is peaceful, and at most, it's a random town. Why would the viewer give two fucks about a random town anyway? So tell me, what on earth does it have? Nothing! Just pure sentimentality as they go from one place to another. Everywhere they go it's always, 'Oh, we visited this place when I came with Himmel.' Nice, did you guys fight some big monster? Did you guys have a hard time? 'No, we did some chores and ate some food.' There are barely any fighting scenes of the previous journey, which makes it more like they went on a long vacation together instead. And every single episode is filled with backstories and events of the past, way too much of it. It doesn't even have world-building significance, and events are built up as they go on the journey without any foreboding. For example, a town referenced in ep 15 won't be referenced again or referenced earlier. The foundation for the whole journey is weak as well, I forgot their purpose for it midway through the series. One of the most criminal things is the fact that this show has 28 episodes. All the runtime is ABSOLUTELY WASTED on some random chores and meaningless sentimental drivel. The pacing is the worst I've seen in a long time.

=====Characters===== 5/10
A lot of people had issues with Frieren herself, for being bland and calling her a waifu bait. I don't mind having a plain & straightforward protagonist so long as the story compensates for it. A good example would be Mushishi. But having plain characters and a weak story is just a horrible combination. Another issue is how sort of similar Fern & Frieren are. Both are characters that don't talk much & while Fern is more meticulous, the difference is only seen in times of 'comedic relief' (which is a literal joke on its own, since I guess acting like children constitutes that). Stark is decent, but many times he's put to the side, especially near the end of the season where he barely has anything to contribute and any screentime. I found Himmel & the previous members the most annoying, particularly because they don't seem to want to let go of their dumb archetypes. Himmel acting like Jesus wherever he goes, gets old and annoying really quickly. And they don't have any qualms about shoving his gracefulness down your throat either. Why not make it realistic and make it seem like he had a dark secret or a weakness, no he is Jesus and you have to accept it. The characters are not only shallow, but they don't change over time either. They work hard to keep up with the archetypes they are given.

=====Art, animation & sound===== 8/10
The art style, art quality, and animation are genuinely good. The little action scenes that it had were brilliantly animated. The colors are very vivid. The soundtrack matched the fantasy vibe that the show was going for. But guess what? Putting fresh paint over a Kia and a change of wheels doesn't make it a Rolls Royce. All this is garnish for what is, a weak Entree. But credit goes where it's due, this section was really good. Especially the spells, the sound, and the colors were so good, I wish it had more action sequences solely due to that. Sometimes I wish older shows were this good, combined with their amazing stories. Man, they'd be unforgettable. But sadly, that isn't the case.

=====Reasons NOT to watch=====
Anybody who watches this and genuinely likes it is just weak in my opinion. As I said previously, this show has no drama, not many action scenes, definitely no high stakes or thrill, and no mind games. Hence, I can only conclude that anybody who likes this just wants to watch some OP protagonist oneshot everything and everyone and dominate everything while occasionally being quirky for the camera. Oh, I don't want a complex plot since I don't have the brains to understand it. Oh, I don't want drama, since I don't have the heart to bear it. Oh, I don't want mind games, since I can't think too much. Great! Soon I can't wait to witness car driving tutorials & airplane instructions anime to be the top anime in the next four years.

=====Overall===== 6/10
BOREDOM. Exemplified. I hope we don't see more of these generic af mindless anime. Seems like both the creators & the audience don't want to use their brains these days. Sad to see the disrespect to all the cult classics by rating this mediocre garbage above them all.