Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

A heartwarming tale of true comrades, past and present. The first half or so was consistently great. Purposeful dialogue, well-placed and well-paced flashbacks, well-developed character moments that allow everyone to shine bright, one episode after another. Every battle had a distinct place in the narrative, and they were infrequent enough to feel special each time, especially with how short-lived each battle was (in the "short and sweet" kind of way). The second half stumbled a bit with inferior pacing, somewhat sloppily-executed expository dialogue and monologues, and battles that I didn't feel very invested in emotionally. These things were mostly in service to elaborate on the magic systemof the universe, which is commendable, but it certainly could have been done with more elegance, like how the first half executed it's simple but emotionally resonant themes and character work.

That being said, the last quarter of the season picked back up in the realm of more stunning visuals and the newly introduced characters getting some particularly good scenes in several cases. Looking forward to the rest of the 10 year journey...