Review of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Frieren came at the right time, for most people. Isekai slop was strong and most mainstream Shounen series had that "cocaine pacing". Frieren was a fantasy series that broke away from the numerous isekai slop series. That isn't to say that every isekai is slop. There are some good isekai series. It's just that there's a large number of isekai series, and a lot of them are bad. I can see why fantasy fans were annoyed with the isekai craze. Frieren felt like a breath of fresh air. It was a fantasy series that wasn't an isekaiand had quality writing. Unlike a lot of other modern Shounen series, Frieren allowed itself to breathe. Even with the time skips, it never felt rushed or jarring.

Speaking of pacing, another thing is that the show never felt boring. A lot of people do criticize Frieren for being slow and boring, but I disagree. I think the character interactions were funny, introspective, and charming. Seeing familiar background characters or even just random people doing stuff in the background makes the world feel lived in. It makes Frieren feel alive. It reminds me of Dungeon Meshi in that respect. Personally, I like Dungeon Meshi more, but Frieren is great as well.

The weakness of Frieren is similar to the strength, which is the characters. People have a hard time believing that this is a Shounen, which I don't understand. Perverted character trope, hidden badass trope, poorly developed romance, etc. It's very obviously a Shounen. Though credit again for allowing itself to breathe.

I say all that to say, Frieren is a great series that I recommend. A few weaknesses here and there, but a great series overall.