Official Trailer
Rating: 8.8/10 | Genre: Animation, Action & Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy | Seasons: 1 | Episodes: 38 | Status: Returning Series
Starring: Atsumi Tanezaki, Kana Ichinose, Chiaki Kobayashi, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Hiroki Touchi
I just finished binging Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and honestly, I get why everyone won’t shut up about it. This show is legitimately great. It’s one of those anime that sneaks up on you because it doesn’t seem like it should work on paper. A story about an elf processing what it means to be mortal after defeating the Demon King? Sounds kind of niche and slow. But man, it just works.
The premise is simple but brilliant. Frieren and her party spent ten years traveling together to defeat the Demon King. For the humans on the team, that was most of their lives. For Frieren, an elf who lives for thousands of years, it was basically a field trip. After they win and go their separate ways, Frieren realizes she barely knows these people who meant everything to her. So she decides to retrace their steps and actually pay attention this time.
Season 1
Season 1 is all about Frieren recruiting a new apprentice named Fern and heading back out into the world. Fern is a young mage who actually has some serious talent, and watching these two develop a real relationship is the heart of the show. Frieren treats her kind of like a project at first, but you can feel them genuinely caring about each other as the episodes go on.
The pacing is weird in the best way. Nothing feels rushed, but it also never gets boring. There are action sequences, sure, but the show isn’t trying to be an action anime. It’s more interested in quiet moments where characters talk about what they value or remember people they’ve lost. Some episodes are basically just Frieren and Fern having conversations while they travel, and somehow that’s more interesting than a lot of shows’ climaxes.
What really gets you is how the show handles memory and time. There are moments where Frieren will mention something she remembers from her adventure with the Hero, and Fern will ask her about it. But Frieren can’t remember the details. She was so focused on the goal of defeating the Demon King that she never actually paid attention. That stuff hits different when you realize what the show is actually about. It’s not really about magic or defeating monsters. It’s about learning to appreciate the people in your life before they’re gone.
The episodes with Frieren fulfilling her dead friends’ wishes are legitimately emotional without being manipulative about it. The show earns those moments. And there’s a whole section in the second half of the season that deals with trials and tests that reminds you this is still a fantasy show with real stakes. But even during those parts, character development is the priority over spectacle.
Some episodes move slower than others, and I could see people bouncing off that. There’s one sequence that’s basically just Frieren and another character talking for almost an entire episode, and while I thought it was interesting, I can understand if that sounds like a slog to you. The show doesn’t do a ton of plot in some episodes, which is honestly refreshing, but it’s not for everyone.
The animation is solid throughout. It’s not flashy, but it’s clean and consistent. The character expressions are really good, which matters a lot when so much of the show is characters just talking to each other. The soundtrack does its job without being particularly memorable, which is fine. This show doesn’t need a banger opening theme to work.
By the end of the season, you’re genuinely invested in where this story goes. Frieren has a concrete goal now, and Fern has real growth. The final stretch of episodes ramps up the stakes and pays off a lot of what’s been building throughout. It’s the kind of ending that makes you want to immediately start season two, and luckily, that’s getting made.
If you’ve been sleeping on this one because it looked slow or boring, give it a shot. It’s worth the time. The show trusts its audience to care about characters without needing explosions every five minutes. Have you watched it yet, or is this finally pushing you to check it out?
Episode Guide
Season 1 (38 Episodes)
Episode 1: The Journey's End (8.7/10)
The world celebrates the Demon King's defeat at the hands of the Hero and his companions. Now that their great adventure is over, what will Frieren the mage do next?
Episode 2: It Didn't Have to Be Magic… (7.7/10)
Frieren instructs Fern in the use of magic while deciphering a grimoire for Heiter.
Episode 3: Killing Magic (8.3/10)
While retracing the path she took on her adventure with her former traveling companions, Frieren confronts an old enemy.
Episode 4: The Land Where Souls Rest (8.4/10)
Frieren and Fern pay a visit to Eisen, who requests their help in finding the notes of Flamme the Legendary Mage.
Episode 5: Phantoms of the Dead (8.2/10)
Frieren and Fern investigate ghost sightings at a village where people have started going missing.
Episode 6: The Hero of the Village (8.5/10)
Frieren and Fern enlist Stark's help to fight the solar dragon – but is he up to the task?
Episode 7: Like a Fairy Tale (8.3/10)
After reflecting on the transient nature of the past as it exists in people's collective memories, Frieren unexpectedly runs into a sworn enemy.
Episode 8: Frieren the Slayer (8.6/10)
As tensions in Graf Granat's domain reach a breaking point, Fern and Stark find their own resolve – and Frieren resumes an old duty.
Episode 9: Aura the Guillotine (8.5/10)
While Fern and Stark make a temporary retreat with Graf Granat, Frieren's true foe awaits her outside the city.
Episode 10: A Powerful Mage (8.6/10)
Frieren's many years of training under her teacher Flamme are tested in her confrontation with Aura the Guillotine. Will Aura's scales find her wanting?
Episode 11: Winter in the Northern Lands (7.8/10)
Frieren and her companions continue their journey through the northern lands, but obstacles both natural and manmade still stand in their way.
Episode 12: A Real Hero (8.2/10)
Deep in the mountains of the northern lands, Frieren and her party arrive at the Village of the Sword, where they have another job to do.
Episode 13: Aversion to One's Own Kind (7.5/10)
While passing by a village in the woods of the northern lands, Frieren and party meet Sein, a gifted priest who is nonetheless corrupt enough to give even Heiter a run for his money. But what happened in his past?
Episode 14: Privilege of the Young (8.6/10)
The party arrives in a large and lively town with a bustling shopping district that Frieren once visited with Himmel, but something seems to have come up between Fern and Stark.
Episode 15: Smells Like Trouble (8.3/10)
When the party happens upon a town whose inhabitants are all mysteriously asleep, it's time for their newest traveling companion to prove his mettle.
Episode 16: Long-Lived Friends (7.9/10)
Frieren pays a visit to Old Man Voll, a long-lived friend of hers, with traveling companions in tow.
Episode 17: Take Care (8.1/10)
Now that Sein finally has a lead on the whereabouts of his long-lost friend, is it time for him and Frieren's party to part ways?
Episode 18: First-Class Mage Exam (7.5/10)
Frieren and party finally arrive in Äußerst, ready to undergo the first-class mage exam, and meet a number of colorful characters who are there to do the same.
Episode 19: Well-Laid Plans (7.5/10)
Frieren and her new teammates hatch a plan to capture a Stille – but are the other teams just going to stand by and let it happen?
Episode 20: Necessary Killing (8.3/10)
The first-class mage exam intensifies as fighting breaks out between the participants – and what's at stake might even be worth killing for.
Episode 21: The World of Magic (8.1/10)
Frieren, Kanne, and Lawine struggle with the 13th party over possession of the Stille, but there'll be more surprises in store before their battle, and the first test, reach their conclusion.
Episode 22: Future Enemies (7.5/10)
After the conclusion of the first test, the exam participants have some time to kill in town. What do mages get up to on their days off?
Episode 23: Conquering the Labyrinth (8.2/10)
The aspiring first-class mages now face their second test: conquering the Ruins of the King's Tomb. A simple task, or so the proctor claims, but there's a reason this particular dungeon remains unexplored.
Episode 24: Perfect Replicas (8.3/10)
Due to the Spiegel, a legendary monster that can create perfect replicas of others, the test-takers who would conquer the Ruins of the King's Tomb must first face the ultimate enemy: themselves.
Episode 25: A Fatal Vulnerability (9.1/10)
A perfect imitation of Frieren stands between the test-takers and victory, but Fern believes she knows how to win. Is it time for the student to surpass the master?
Episode 26: The Height of Magic (9.2/10)
To defeat Spiegel, Frieren and Fern fight against Frieren's replica, but have a tough time. Meanwhile, Denken, Lavine, and the others fight against the replicas, but the magic of Sense, a first-class mage and the exam's proctor, rages.
Episode 27: An Era of Humans (8.6/10)
With the second test behind them, only one remains – but first, Frieren and Fern need to settle an important matter in town. What awaits them in the third test?
Episode 28: It Would Be Embarrassing When We Met Again (8.8/10)
As the first-class mage exam concludes and the test-takers go their separate ways, farewell leads to departure – but the next stage of Frieren's journey has only just begun.
Episode 29: Shall We Go, Then? (8.1/10)
Frieren, Fern, and Stark leave the magic city of Äußerst behind and travel along a road in the northern lands.
Episode 30: The Hero of the South (8.4/10)
In a village in the northern lands, Frieren’s party are hired to polish a statue of a hero.
Episode 31: Somewhere She'd Like (8.2/10)
Frieren’s party dream of hot springs as they reach Etwas, but the village is abandoned.
Episode 32: Other People's Homes (8.2/10)
Stark only asked Fern out as a joke, but the two end up going on a date.
Episode 33: Logistics in the Northern Plateau (8.3/10)
Frieren is reunited with Fass the dwarf, who has been searching for the Boshaft liquor for over 200 years.
Episode 34: A Demon-Slaying Request (8.2/10)
A village on the Northern Plateau is wiped out, and the victims' distinctive wounds point to a certain demon.
Episode 35: The Divine Revolte (8.7/10)
Frieren, Fern, and Methode enter the woods to look for the four-armed Divine Revolte.
Episode 36: A Magnificent End (9.5/10)
The Divine Revolte appears at the village, while Frieren, Fern, and Methode battle Solide and Hemmung.
Episode 37: Himmel's Memoirs (8.8/10)
When Frieren's party cannot afford the fare to cross Lake Korridor, the captain proposes a trade.
Episode 38: A Beautiful Sight (9/10)
Hidden within the massive bridge spanning the Great Canyon Tor is a secret story of Himmel and Gehen.
Where to Watch
Stream on: Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Netflix Standard with Ads, Amazon Prime Video, Sony Liv, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Animax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel
Buy on: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies