Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

So first off, I want to say that I did like this show for the most part, but I don't think this Anime is for everyone and neither is it the greatest thing ever made. Frieren's storytelling is interesting as it is a story that takes place after a story that has already happened and parts of which are uncovered as the story progresses. These flashbacks serve to understand the characters of the MC's old party and how they had an impact on her and how she slowly comes to understand humans and their emotions beacuse of it. Due to her being an elf with alife span which exceeds that of humans by thousands of years she has a different view on the world and on time in particular, since she has
much more time to get things done than humans or other species with thier much shorter lives. But as she travels with others she has
to change her ways and gain new perspectives on life that are much different from her own. Unlike most other fantasy Anime this show puts a strong focus on character connections, developement and sometimes gives off more relaxing, slice-of-life vibes despite having a fantasy setting with a good world building and a very good magic system.

What i liked about this show:

It is very interesting to see how Frieren gains new persepctives and learns to live alongside humans in spite of her life being conceptually structured so differently due to being an elf. There are two major story arcs where conflict is present and things are at stake, making up about half of the show. The other half is spent traveling with the main cast on their way to their final destination, coming across lots of settlements, most of which have their own circumstances or traditions and named characters with whom the main cast spends some time in different ways, making them feel unique. This time is used to explore the charcters more as well as connect to Frieren's first journey.

In the two story arcs with conflict and stakes the magic system is elaborated further and this is honestly very well thought out. There are different types of magic that is used by different characters in different ways. It is also explained how magic has evolved over the centuries and how humans are using it to advance on their way of becoming the dominant species of the next era.

What I did not like abut this show:

The first 4-5 episodes, are somewhat boring and had me thinking about dropping this show. After the setting is established, two of Frieren's old party members die of old age and her mage student and second main character Fern is introduced, there is just not a lot going on. Their journey of the two is kicked off by pretty much just wandering around and doing chores for people in exchange for magical books and artifacts which Frieren likes to collect. IIRC she even said that their journey really had no destination initially.
So despite seeing the good aspects of the show like the world building, the power system and the way the MC is trying to get to know humans better the show did not feel very engaging until the point where they actually found a goal to reach.

There is also not really a lot to be excited about when it comes to characters origin stories. While they all originate from different backgrounds, almost every character had their families killed in conflict when they were young, in most cases by demons. This makes sense for older characters who were born either during or before the war aginst the demon king, but not so much for the younger ones who were born during the so called "age of peace". This part of the story feels quite uninspired.

(MINOR WORLDBUILDING SPOILERS IN THIS PARAGRAPH)
Speaking of bad guys, the remnants of the demon kings army are also one of the more disappointing elements of the show. While they might seems interesting when they are first introduced, demons turn out to be pretty much just evil monters that eat humans and are evil for the sake of being evil. There is not really a lot behind their actions despite the fact that they prey on humans, being able to fool them using their language, but remaining violent animals at heart. Also it is established that they do not use language to communicate among each other but are frequently seen doing so regardless during the show which doesn't make this claim very believable.

Lastly, the third character of the main cast, Stark, feels a bit lacking. His character arc is relatively short lasting for only a few episodes. After that, he does not really play a major role for the remainder of the show, especially when compared to Frieren and Fern. Some episodes spend a bit of time with him exploring the chemistry between him and the latter of the two, but apart from that he does not have a major impact on the story anymore. He is pretty much uninvolved in the last arc which lasts for about 11 episodes, only doing some goofy side-quest type stuff, pretty much only using him for comic relief. Despite being established as a character who supports the comedic element of the show he is also portraited as one of the 3 core characters, but is rather irrelevant to the plot when compared to the other two, at least in this season of the show.

Concluding thoughts:

Now it might seem like I actually disliked the show, considering I criticized it way more than I praised it. But I'd like to assure you that my perception of this Anime is still positive for the most part and I just found it very hard to wirte about the good parts without going into spoilers.

If you are a fan of the fantasy genre, there will be lots of stuff in this show that you will enjoy. However, note that this is not your typical epic adventure type story, with high stakes on an epic quest to slay the great evil that is theratening to destroy the world. That has already happened here. It is a rather calm story with fantastic elements and the occasional hurdle to overcome. And while there are action and epic magic battles large stretches of the show are completely without that, following the cast on a mostly peaceful journey through the world.

So if you are looking for an exciting plot with lots of tension, mystery and action scenes, this show is probably not for you. But if a more character focused shounen with a fantasy setting sound appealing to you, consider checking in out. I recommend watching the first 6-7 episodes and seeing wheter you're hooked or not, if so you will probably enjoy this show and if not, you might wanna try something else.