ANIME: Frieren Beyond Journey’s End

SCORE: 8.8/10

“Perfection is the Enemy of Progress.”

I’m sure for most people, Frieren Beyond Journey’s End was easily their #1 anime of 2023. And honestly, it might be mine as well. But there’s this lurking feeling that I get from watching Frieren that leads me to believe that the journey we are being led on may leave us feeling underwhelmed. I know I know, look at the annoying depressed guy telling us we can’t enjoy things because of his own personal critiques. Sorry sorry sorry! It’s what I do!

To me, Frieren’s biggest flaw as a show is trying to be Perfect. Perfect at doing the little fantasy slice of life episode that it forgets why it’s telling a story in the first place. But before we get to that, I do wanna say I still like the show. I just don’t love it like everyone else seems to.

So, let me talk about the plethora of positives before I start talking about the conditional cons I have with the show.

Pacing Part 1:

I’ve been screaming for shows with slower pacing for a while now. After watching Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 which felt like getting run over by a freight train, I really needed a show that would just take its time with me. That’s what Frieren Beyond Journey’s End is all about. Frieren’s main character trait is that she takes her time, probably too much so. And god is it refreshing. Having a show uninterested in the fast paced, overplayed dramas that plague modern storytelling is just so nice. I don’t want to go too deep into why many pieces of media choose to do this since I’ll just end up yapping. Honestly, if you’ve read any of my stuff you all know it boils down to capitalism having control over art.

As someone who has been working on their own screenplay recently, one of the main critiques I’ve received in writing groups is that my main character lacks a motive. Now for the story I’m working on personally that’s a lot of the point. The main character of my story is a passive character and pretty depressed. However, I’ve learned there are still ways to implement moments of small motivation in scenes. That is what Frieren is so good at. Frieren’s overarching motivation is a curiosity in magic and discovering spells. But, that rarely manifests itself as some gungho “I WANT TO BE THE GREATEST MAGE” kinda vibe or anything like that. Frieren is just interested in whatever comes next. Whether that’s researching some plants for a decade or two. Maybe looking for grimoires. Or getting stuck in some mimics. And I mean a lot of mimics.

Oh she just like me fr.

Frieren as a show is more or less trying to reject the model of the hero’s journey even if only a little. Himmel is quite literally the hero of said journey and has long past. So what does life have to offer after that? As someone who adamantly hates the hero’s journey box that entraps most writers, I applaud Frieren. But, it does have some of its downsides that I will get into later. But, the main benefits of this approach is allowing for a lot of episodic moments to be able to breathe a lot more. Rather it might be better to say that these moments can stand on their own better. 

It’s not to say that these moments couldn’t stand on their own in the hero’s journey framework, Avatar the Last Airbender does that but I also don’t want to compare most things to ATLA. But, it does allow for these moments to be the center of attention all the time because there isn’t something greater looming over them.

And yet what is absolutely even more insane about Frieren is that it gives these moments the spotlight and allows them to walk off stage by their own accord. Again, I respect the restraint from the author Kanehito Yamada, but it is honestly a deranged decision to choose to not hold on to something as an overarching part of the show. While yes, the whole point of Frieren is about how life passes us by if we don’t do anything, but Seins, the Hero’s sword, or any of the villages they visit…

The fact that none of them make a return in 28 episodes is baffling.

Each episode does a really good job at standing on it’s own yet I don’t think they need to be purely episodic. To go back to ATLA once again, a lot of the episodes with unique identities such as the Kyoshi warriors or Jet get brought back later into the show. This helps a lot with world building and showing the clear impact of people on the characters’ development. These episodes are able to be both distinct and episodic yet also contributing to the overarching narrative. Frieren’s episode tend to feel more isolated, like distant memories. Which I think is part of the show’s identity but misses it misses the mark a little on it.

From a surface level perspective and looking at the show episode by episode, Frieren seems like the perfect show. But, looking at Frieren as a holistic story in the grand scheme of the artistic world, there are two things holding it back, its character writing and commitment to themes.

Characters:

Now before I get burned at the stake for criticizing Frieren’s characters let me make it very clear, Frieren has VERY good characters. This is gonna require some nuance and time so bear with me but the thing that’s holding Frieren back is not it’s characters but specifically it’s character WRITING. Let me talk about the characters first.

It’s hard not to love the main cast of Frieren. What Kanehito Yamada does better than a majority of other writers is giving their character unique quirks and relationships with each other. I don’t care how much you hate shipping, romance, or overused adolescent archetypes, Stark and Fern are absolutely adorable together.

Have we seen it a billion times? Yes. But there’s a deftness in Frieren’s writing that makes you fall in love with the tropes all over again. A lot of it comes down to the show having amazing little moments for the characters. Whether that’s Sein being the marriage counselor for Fern and Stark, Frieren remembering something about another character, or just a silly little joke.

It’s so easy for the audience to become quickly attached to these characters that exhibit such human qualities that are consumed by a lot of the more mundane things in life. Getting a birthday gift, finding a place to eat, or retracing one’s steps. Because I love the individual characters of Frieren so much I’m gonna give each of the main cast some love.

Frieren

What an idiosyncratic protagonist. As someone who is devoutly opposed to conventional storytelling means, Frieren is such a breath of fresh air. In a world consumed by male power fantasy, white guilt, and revenge stories Frieren begs the question of “what if your protagonist was just a little eepy gal.”

I’m a huge advocate for telling smaller stories if that’s what you are more suited for. Not everything has to be about becoming the strongest or a trial for redemption. Frieren’s goals are made to be starkly quite small to the typical anime protagonist. Her goals are to collect spells, make good on promises, and do what she wants. While I won’t argue that Frieren is insanely compelling she is much easier to be invested in than your average self insert protagonist.

But again, what makes Frieren stand out so much from other protagonists goes beyond just her unique placement as a main character, but a lot of it stems from her demeanor and personality. When it comes to describing characters for most anime, I can usually do it in one or two lines. Even extremely well-written characters I can often describe very quickly. Like I’ve been rewatching “Your Lie in April” and it’s very to describe Kousei as a “Traumatized genius who is maybe a bit too polite and a bit too scared.” When talking about Frieren, it’s very difficult to encapsulate who she is in a sentence or two. There are so many small details you want to mention about her that are more important than anything else about her. There’s not exactly any big logline that you can use to sell her beyond the fact that “she’s an incredible mage who lived a long time with a few regrets.” But Frieren is so much more than that.

Frieren is someone who deeply cares about the promises she makes to others even if they seem ridiculous to others. She also fails to understand the emotions behind said promises but can tell they are important. But all of her little goals and feelings are in perfect balance with her personality and cute quirks. She loves the small things. A new grimoire, a silly potion, and every single mimic under the sun. While she may be strong, talented, and experienced, she’s just as much goofy, irresponsible, and fun.

All of this is to say that the things the audience loves about Frieren is not something easy to write down, which is often how many friends can be. Frieren feels like a friend who isn’t perfect, but can put you at ease. They can be stubborn, inconsiderate, and occasionally forgetful. But Frieren is also oh so kind and thoughtful even if it doesn’t always come across through her words. I’ll come back to Frieren later but as a character, she is truly wonderful.

Fern

Like a lot of people, when analyzing characters I often try to find the character that is most similar to me. And a genius character who has lost any sense of place in this world and has to cling onto their skills in order to navigate the world sounds like me. It helps even moreso that she’s the nagging, motherly type character that I’ve become in my later years lol.

Fern is the closest thing to an audience insert in the show. Her perspective and goals are what probably align most with the audience. Frieren is too irresponsible and Stark is too naive. So Fern ends up being who the audience resonates with especially because she has such straightforward goals. While sometimes she can be somewhat of a buzzkill, having her as a character is necessary to progress the show at least a bit. I have further criticisms about the other characters in the show but it’s clear that Fern has the most to say from her character arc even if it hasn’t fully bloomed yet.

Fern is what balances the cast in Frieren. With Stark/Frieren leading the charge with a rotating cast member, without having a grounded character the show becomes a bit too silly. It’s like that murder hobo DnD campaign that people think is REALLY fun but is kinda boring because it has no stakes and characters just do what they want. Deviance and silliness are only as interesting as they are in the context of what they are mocking. Most of why Frieren and Stark are funny is because Fern stares at them in anger afterwards. Or because Fern has to cover for their mistakes from prying eyes. 

And yet one of the few things the show does delve into is why Fern is so overprotective and strict. Fern had to learn to be mature from a very young age, thanks to being raised by a certain priest. The world is cold and unforgiving to Fern, and she learns that lesson very quickly. Her early child arc shows how serious she is about reaching her goals. Ignorance is not something she has been gifted with, but talent is. I have my hopes for where Fern’s arc is going to go but I just know I am going to be disappointed because I always am when it comes to arcs about talent. Fern’s talent can most certainly be seen as a burden, I want that to be shown more. If Fern wasn’t as talented, she may have been able to live a more normal life. Been able to try and find time to smile more, but with her life situation and her need to train and fend for herself, she wasn’t able to do that. I think Fern’s been smiling more, but I do wonder how guilty she feels about being able to smile now. These are my own personal biases but I just feel unsettled to believe that everything is just alright with Fern now. But if there’s one person that can help Fern be alright well it’s

Stark

Very and I mean VERY few characters have grabbed me like Stark did. While I know more people probably like Frieren since she’s given more attention and is sillier/easier to meme, Stark is why I love the show. Stark while ignorant, insensitive, and inexperienced, brings a life to the team that no one else does. He’s truly curious, kind, and determined to be the best person he can be. Sure he may be a bit cliched with the whole master thing but his initial character writing is done so elegantly. An unconfident coward and mistaken hero. Someone who’s being celebrated for all the wrong reasons, or at least so he thinks. Stark’s introduction is the first moment of true catharsis in the show. Seeing him realize his hard work through Frieren’s instigation is incredibly rewarding. 

However, Stark does often find himself to be a passenger throughout most of the series. You can kinda tell when a character is a passenger when you more often than not have to say “oh this is a Stark episode” when there’s only 3 main characters. Like c’mon he’s like the best of the show please stop making him only comic relief. Except when he’s with Fern. KEEP DOING ALL THAT. BOY do I LOVE when he’s with Fern. Yes, I am one of those annoying people just like Seins yelling “JUST DATE ALREADY!”

It’s hard not to. I adore the chemistry in the writing and just how cute it all is. That being said, after being introduced in Episode 6, Stark finds himself to be left by the wayside except in occasional moments. This is not to dismiss his moment in the fight with the demons or the part where he replaces a noble’s son. Those are good moments, some of the best of the show in fact! The problem is they feel somewhat inconsequential to the story when he’s been given the backseat more or less. Am I happy for him and is his writing still good? Yes! It’s just that it feels underwhelming when his moments don’t really change the story and feel unimpactful.

My feelings on this can all change if Stark does feel some level of true isolation. It is hard to judge a show that is this early into a story despite being 28 episodes in. Which leads me to my next topic.

Pacing Part 2: Commitment

Frieren Beyond Journey’s End is 28 episodes. 28 different, fun, and memorable episodes that individually I cannot critique too much. Yet, in the larger story and emotional arc of Frieren Beyond Journey’s End I feel… somewhat empty. That’s not to dismiss the small victories each episode has, things that I think more writers need to do. Nor is it to say that there aren’t bigger emotional arcs present in the show because there are. My biggest critique, as I would make of any show, is that Frieren Beyond Journey’s End is not COMMITTING to the goal it chose for itself.

Look, Frieren Beyond Journey’s End first episode is incredible. It captures feelings of nostalgia, regret, and acceptance very beautifully. It establishes who Frieren is and how the burden of Himmel’s death weighs on her.

That being said, this weight is only present in small moments. Which TO MAKE IT CLEAR, the burden of Himmel’s death being PRIMARILY shown through small moments is VERY GOOD. BUT, when it is ONLY shown through small moments that is when I struggle to connect with a show. Look, my favorite shows are ones that are wildly expressive, angsty, and artsy. Frieren’s style is one that clashes somewhat with my own personal biases, I GET THAT.

HOWEVER, Frieren’s story of nostalgia very clearly is one that is going to run to a head with some moment of catharsis. The show is choosing for her to have to face Himmel in the afterlife. And yet it somehow wastes so much time not building up foundational character writing AGAIN EACH EPISODES INDIVIDUALLY I AM NOT CRITIQUING! My issue is that in THE WHOLE SHOW there isn’t an episode where it’s like DAMN that’s the stakes of the show. Like I know part of what I love about Frieren is that there isn’t some looming overbearing plot overtaking each episode. But having only Himmel’s afterlife be the goal feels very empty. Again comparing it to ATLA, you never feel overwhelmed by the presence of the war, but ATLA constantly reminds you of it in the important moments. Often the important character moments.

We haven’t felt a GREAT character moment in 28 episodes, I can say that with confidence. I think that might be a bit harsh since there are GOOD character moments but I have insanely high standards.

It feels like the foundational work for larger characters is being neglected, especially for Frieren. We don’t get to see her struggles, what’s pushing her further towards her goal, or what defines her. I’m aware that part of her journey is that she is emotionally stunted. I personally feel like we haven’t seen the effects of her journey with Fern and Stark on who she is as a character thus far. For all of the character it feels like there is a really good character concept and motive but it fails to make progress towards that. They just kinda sit there playing off a lot of the same character beats. And while yes I said part of what I liked about Frieren was her idiosyncratic nature and lack of care for the cliché protagonist motivations, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have motivation. This is why I said I liked Frieren as a CHARACTER not as a PROTAGONIST. She’s been struggling to drive the plot for a while now.

Frieren is dealing with loss and the burden of living long past the age of your comrades. She feels it even if she doesn’t know it yet. If you want to see a show do that better in a fraction of the time, watch the 2nd half of March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2. Don’t get it twisted, Frieren DOES want to say something bigger than just about the small moments of nostalgia and regret. It might be focused on those right now but it needs to show me that it’s actually heading towards the goal it set out. Because if not, why are we going to meet Himmel? What’s the point other than to give the team a reason to travel? Why did she cry at his funeral?

For Fuck’s sake we spend 10 EPISODES on the mage exam arc. And while yes, a lot of the characters are cool and fun it’s not like any of these characters are gonna come back in any meaningful way as we’ve already seen in the show with Seins and Kraft. And again THAT WOULD BE FINE if the show ACTUALLY SAID SOMETHING ABOUT THEM AS A CHARACTER OR SOMETHING while they were on screen. Idk why I’m yelling sorry.

But the mage arc, while entertaining and exciting, was probably the biggest red flag for Frieren as a show. Because what’s the easiest way to take up on-screen time while being still enjoyable to watch? Meaningless action with unimportant characters. And not all the action is meaningless and we might see some of those characters again. But what is all this screen time really for? Why are we COMMITING time to this? When you really think about what scenes you are going to take away from Frieren, it’s a lot of the small moments and not something overly in your face like putting Himmel proposing to Frieren.

Oh. Small tangent but what a garbage fucking scene. 

I’M SORRY. But like in a show that has actively used restraint for so long just randomly doing this felt so disrespectful LOL. Like we get it Himmel loved Frieren you don’t need to do all that. The episode of the ring as a nice memento with solid foundational writing was great and that scene was like getting slapped in the face with a fish to remind you that you’re eating fuckin sushi tonight. Like WHY.

Anyways while I could go on and on about my issues with pacing and commitment in Frieren but let me talk about my other issue in Frieren that is 100% personal preference. 

Setting: Fantasy

Listen, I just don’t really like fantasy as a genre. It’s just never been my thing. I lean towards modern and steampunks WAY more. Have I liked fantasy stories in the past? Duh. I’m just saying I don’t actively seek out the genre. It’s been weird living with a roommate who does actively seek out the genre and how that does differentiate our tastes. Fantasy just feels like a genre that really likes to jerk itself off (pardon my french). But seriously, even discounting isekai, a lot of what fantasy stories feel like they are about is just the world with a lot of the same repetitive beats. There’s racism, power abuse, magic escapism, etc. Idk it just feels uninspiring more often than not. Maybe that’s just cause I’m not an escapism kinda person. I could also probably find a way to talk about how fantasy stories feel like a kinda gross white fantasy thing where things were better back when this shit was the norm but I don’t even think that theory fully hits the mark even if it probably has some basis.

I’ve played and enjoyed games like Dragon Quest and Chrono Trigger. I really enjoyed Dungeon Meshi. But more often than not it’s in spite of the fantasy or it feels like they are using fantasy to experience joy in a very pure way. Not that Frieren DOESN’T do that, but I definitely don’t care about the world of Frieren like a fantasy novel reader does. I don’t care about the history of the kingdom, all the details of how magic works, or the name of each town. 

And mind you, I am saying this as a Trails fan who’s spent hundreds of hours just talking about the series and someone who obsessed over Naruto jutsus growing up.

Now that Naruto stuff I can’t defend, that’s me being a minor that’s an L I’ll hold. But the reason I like Trails is because the worldbuilding actually SAYS something about the characters and the themes of the larger story. I will make a video about Trails EVENTUALLY (hopefully next few months). But the point is that I can’t be arsed to care about details these days unless they are making me feel something overall. And honestly, the world of Frieren is cool and provides good moments for the characters. But it’s not the intricate details of the world and lore that do that. I would argue that you can blindly write about Frieren’s world as you go and it won’t matter. While with Trails the character arcs are so deeply tied to the worldbuilding that you actually have to PLAN IT OUT. Which just makes it feel more special to me. Which is why the world of Frieren to me is fun but ultimately uninteresting to me, because it feels replaceable.

Okay let me just make it clear again.

I still like Frieren.

I am very critical and often told to be a negative person. I am aware of that. Like, how am I gonna give a show this score and seemingly talk about it so negatively. And that’s mainly because a show this popular with such a high rating, a lot of the positives do speak for themselves and plenty of people are talking about them. Frieren is the type of show you want to be excited about because of how it makes you feel. The mood is cozy, the fights are fun, and the characters are actually really well written. The problem is, that excitement can easily cloud your judgment and the flaws of such a great show. When people start having this show in their top 10’s or giving it above a 9 and having it as the highest rated show on MAL I feel like I’m losing my mind. Like this show is GOOD don’t get me wrong, but anything above a 9 for me needs to start affecting me on a personal level.

And if Frieren is affecting you on a personal level than good for you. It’s my review for a reason, feel free to have your own feelings on the show. It’s just that Frieren has felt so surface level for too long that I’m starting to get flashbacks of shows like My Hero, early Attack on Titan, and hell even Wonder Egg Priority (my arch nemesis). I’m seeing the red flags despite there being very good parts. I doubt I’m gonna be fully right about this but I’m seeing Frieren get lost in the sauce of its own world and story that it’s forgetting why it’s telling a story in the first place. 

It’s about regret, nostalgia, loss, and hopefully moving on. You can argue with my review on many things, but I think that part is indisputable. 

I just don’t think Frieren has been keeping its promise to us. It’s delivered a fun and great series of episodes, but not a complete story that should be blowing us away. 

Perfection

The reason why I titled this review “Frieren: The Enemy of Progress” is because I think Frieren is trying to be Perfection. Trying to dot every I and cross every T. But what I think Frieren doesn’t get is that art needs to say something sooner rather than later. You need to make PROGRESS. Often saying something is messy, weird, but authentic. I had this conversation with a friend recently that few shows are actual perfection but some are my personal perfection. Like Evangelion is that for me. Most criticisms levied towards Evangelion I don’t even try to defend. I often agree. However, what Eva does is so important and so unique that all of those complaints are inconsequential with what it does. Because at the end of the day that number at the top of the review means fucking nothing if they art doesn’t make me feel something. If I can’t use it to understand or communicate my feelings, what’s the point. I really struggle to use Frieren to communicate with people despite the things I do like about it. Art is a form of communication and self exploration first and foremost for me.

Frieren is just “Fun” to me.

So it’s hard for me to really care as much as everyone else.

I think Frieren’s spent too damn long try to master the perfect side tangent episode it’s lost the plot on trying to find the emotional beats it promised. And now if it strays from that side episode formula, people are gonna be upset. I hope I’m wrong about where the show is going but it just feels like it’s going to be quite forgettable ironically. Frieren could absolutely make me change my mind and become a memorable show. But it’s been 28 episodes so I don’t see a reason why it would especially after the mage exam arc.

Conclusion:

Again I cannot stress enough, the character writing is fun and personable and The moments of companionship and nostalgia Frieren has are truly priceless. It’s just that I don’t think that Frieren is fulfilling the purpose it wants to serve. Frieren is a wonderful show that I’m worried will devolve into moments of high action or simply giving fans too much of what they want much later on. I really hope I’m wrong but I’m unfortunately usually right about these things. Oddly enough, despite being a really well written show about nostalgia and memories, Frieren may soon be forgotten unless it chooses to leave an impact on us.

The journey of life is one we must choose to take.

Zeph’s Note:

I kid you not while writing this review I almost wanted to write about 86 again just because I rewatched it recently and I just think about it so fucking much. Like comparing the depth of emotion in 86 to Frieren is unfair. Go check out the 86 Review because honestly it’s the kind of show I want to write about more. I really struggled to write this review because of the expectation of writing about a show like Frieren despite how uninspiring the overall arc can be. Especially with how little content we have.

(And yet 86 still has less episodes than Frieren so yeah ratio)

I’m writing about Frieren because it’s popular and felt good, not because it’s my lifeblood. I want to write more about the 86’s, not the popular trends.

So yeah… maybe Trails video at some point.

– Zeph/Jared