There are a handful of anime/manga that are great by consensus: Berserk, Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Monster, and Steins;Gate are some of the entries on the list that come to mind first. But, a few years ago, one show quietly released and surpassed all of them on ranking websites. While ranking websites are often not great, it has received unwavering universal praise.
It is worthy of comparisons with Lord of the Rings, Violet Evergarden, and Zelda. Indeed, there is something familiar about it, yet it never once feels like it steals from anything.
This show is of course Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
In Episode 1, we see Frieren’s past adventure and all of her party eventually aging, leaving her unaffected. While the legendary group is living out the remainder of their lives, Frieren does nothing but pursue another leisurely quest. These moments feel very emotional despite the audience not having spent much time with the world or its characters. And that is just a testament to the mastery of this show. Frieren is cold, but the voice work by Atsumi Tanezaki and the variety of expressions she has make her feel so much more nuanced than the archetype she embodies. We feel for her when she breaks down crying about her regrets of being unable to learn anything at all about Himmel. This is, of course, due to her lack of awareness regarding time and human behavior. Frieren is, despite her age, largely immature, but I think everyone can relate to her. Who doesn’t have regrets about not getting to know some of the people they spent a lot of time with better? And yet, even after this realization, it takes Frieren 20 years to check up on Heiter. This is an instant for her, but Heiter is at the point where he has fear of death.
This then launches into the early part of the show, where Frieren and her former party member’s adopted daughter, Fern, go on quests. These quests aren’t anything unique narratively: they visit towns in need of help, and especially those saved by Frieren’s party in the past. But, they’re told in a way that is really quite tender.
We see things like Frieren and Fern hunting for Himmel’s favorite flower to properly adorn his statue. We see Fern urging Frieren to not miss out on the sunset she once did with her party. Frieren participates in many of these quests because she likes collecting spells and grimoires. Along the way, we eventually learn that this passion was encouraged by Himmel. Himmel was the one who praised Frieren for it, and she thus keeps doing it but with a little bit more purpose.
And really, the pacing is quite incredible. The show knows when to reveal things and is very careful when it comes to progression. For instance, it is revealed that Flamme was actually Frieren’s master, then that Flamme is the one who taught Frieren the flower spell, and by the end that it is actually her favorite spell because she used it to help a young Himmel find his way back home, which brought the Hero Party together. All of these things are presented as somewhat random at first, but the show carefully reveals them piece by piece until they are now a meaningful symbol for the central motif. It’s the handling of quiet little moments that make the show so good.
From around Episode 7 to Episode 13, we see Frieren having mostly rebuilt her party through Stark and setting out for Aureole again. They encounter grieving fathers and fight demons, but the next big character point comes with the introduction of Sein, who temporarily serves in their new party. Sein is a priest who struggles with his lost friend, as they both wanted to become heroes when they were younger. He lives a mostly misdirected life, but Frieren ultimately convinces him to join. While the search for his friend is a big portion of why he joins, he also uses this experience to make up for some of his regrets. It is yet another example of just how painful regret is.
While Frieren is a quite mature anime in the themes it tackles, it is not without its humor and charm. There are some genuinely pretty funny moments in the show, but nothing feels forced. The entire show is gorgeous, with emphasis on a watercolor-esque depiction of a fantasy world. Cosmic blues, Earthy greens, and warm autumnal hues are used to create a world that feels so whimsical and cozy. The towns are pretty standard visually; it’s things like taverns and shops that make them feel alive. It’s the desserts and hamburger steaks that Frieren once had in the past with the hero Party and the warmth in experiencing it all over again with a new party. Pretty food in anime is very common, but in Frieren it contributes to the questing atmosphere and has genuine meaning.
The show is more minimalistic than something out of say Kyoto Animation, which would be photo-realistic with lifelike lighting. Frieren has simple character design, but the characters are memorable because of color and texture. Kyoto Animation, on the other hand, has characters with extremely detailed facial expressions. Both have created work that packs serious emotional punches, so something like Frieren starting to just smile a little bit more throughout the show is just as effective.
In Episode 14, another “fight” between Fern and Stark takes place in regards to birthday gifts. Fern is, of course, the child who was not allowed to be one, and is thus unable to properly express her desires for affection. She puts up a sort of facade in which she gets angry quickly, but it’s just because she’s so possessive and doesn’t know how to say how she truly feels. The most interesting part of this entire episode is by far the mirrored lotus motif, which is purchased by Stark for Fern’s birthday and similarly was bought by Himmel for Frieren. The mirrored lotus symbolizes “eternal love” and while it creates a bit of embarrassment for the teenaged Fern and Stark, it lets the audience know for sure that Himmel really did love Frieren. He got her the ring because it would remind her of him far after he was gone.
As the next four episodes eventually result in Sein leaving to find his friend, the trio arrive in the magical city Äußerst, where they need to gain first class mage certification in order to progress their journey to speak to their deceased loved ones in heaven. The last 11 episodes or so are dedicated to the first class mage certification test, which introduces a plethora of new characters (many of whom grow out of their selfishness and learn to deal with their regrets). As they go through trials and tribulations, they bond in the city between, adding more liveliness to the world. Äußerst is the most visually interesting location in the show, especially when it gets closer to where the actual headquarters are. The main difference is that the lamps are now blue, and the buildings (like the one Lawine and Kanne seem to live in) are almost excessively grand, really creating the feeling that this place is eternal. Some of it almost feels futuristic in regards to the time, like the place where Fern enters to get her privilege. The garden room in which Serie does the third test has this same ethereal feeling.
The show’s most thrilling moments are showcased here. If the rest of the show is quite precise in terms of sticking to one or two episodes, this portion is absolutely not. It really takes its time to tell the narrative. One thing that makes this part work so well is the combat. Frieren is largely character-based, so while action is not the focus, it does a phenomenal job. Magic is colorful, diverse, and it is overall a fairly elaborate system that is kind of like what you would find in a role-playing game. But it never once feels like you get overwhelmed by its details; it's the perfect blend of intricacy and simplicity. And the action sequences are exciting! They can actually get quite intense and violent at times, which is a nice contrast to the rest of the show. Frieren fighting her replica is one of the most visually stunning fights I’ve ever seen. The framing and editing in Frieren are just another example of how this show is truly flawless on every front—more deliberate and different from a lot of its contemporaries.
By the time the tests are over, Serie is clearly established as a foil to Frieren. She is who Frieren would have become if she never changed, never found passion for magic, and never grew emotionally. At this point in the show, Frieren is a different person. She reciprocates the same tokens of affection that Himmel showed her, even if she may not fully understand what they mean. She cares for the relationships between her party members. She now acknowledges the little things that humans care for in their short lives.
The final line, in which Himmel justifies his quick goodbyes to people they helped by saying that “it would be embarrassing when we met again,” is multifaceted. From Himmel’s perspective, it is his starry-eyed perspective: he will come back to these places to keep helping people because that is just what he does. Crying and making a mess of a goodbye would make it weird if he were to return in a few years, which presumably he did to many places. Frieren’s perspective, when she says it to Fern, boils down to a few things. For one, she believes she is going to meet Himmel again at Aureole. This could mean that she is embarrassed with herself for crying at his funeral. In my eyes, she has less shame now because she now understands and cherishes everything Himmel did for her, and carries these things around.
At its core, Frieren is really just the story of someone coming to realize just how much people love and care for her. And it is *that* good.