Studio Madhouse’s anime adaptation of Kanehito Yamada's manga series, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, poignantly underlines the fleeting nature of life and the significance of moments spent with those who are special to us. Here’s why this love letter to life, memories and new beginnings with a fantasy adventure premise streaming on Crunchyroll is a must-watch.
An immortal mage looking for lost connections
Frieren is a 1,000-year-old immortal elven mage whose present is overshadowed by the time she spent with her three companions — Himmel the Hero, the priest Heiter and the dwarf Eisen — some 80 years back. Filled with regret, Frieren begins to cherish them in a way she never did and the show captures her striving to come to terms with the relentless passing of time.
In this regard, Frieren is similar to Violet Evergarden from the 2018 anime series of the same name — both emotionally detached characters finding meaning in love post-war.
It’s more about the journey than the destination
Like the 2019 anime series Vinland Saga, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End begins at what might have been the climax of the series — with Frieren and her party of heroes comprising Himmel, Heiter and Eisen returning to the Royal Capital from a 10-year-long adventure after defeating the Demon King.
Fifty years later, Frieren, unchanged by time, revisits the Capital to retrieve an item from Himmel, who is a much older man now. When Himmel passes away, a stoic Frieren bursts into tears, lamenting the connection that she never formed with him during their adventures.
She bids farewell to him, resolving to look at life in a fresh way. And when she finds two new companions, it is her journey with them through the snowy mountains, villages, ghostly forests and the Land Where Souls Rest that matters to Frieren more than the destination.
Fren and Stark are crucial to Frieren’s self-discovery
Frieren’s journey of self-discovery is aided by two supporting characters — Fern, Heiter’s adopted daughter whom she reluctantly takes on as her apprentice at his request, and Stark, a warrior student of Eisen who is not as brave as the people of his village think him to be.
With memories of Himmel reminding her to not take relationships for granted, Frieren aims to strike up a bond with her two young, unlikely companions who enthusiastically join on her new adventure of collecting Grimoires.
Fern and Stark hit it off too. In a scene where Fern and Stark do a ballroom dance to finish one of their quests is particularly striking for the way they express their love through their eyes.
Flashbacks bind the past and the present
Memory plays a driving force in the storyline in shaping the protagonist’s present, for which the screenplay relies heavily on flashback. Moments that Frieren spent with Himmel, whom she never acknowledged as someone special, specially come alive, sometimes making her regret all the missed opportunities and sometimes nudging her to come out of her shell in her interactions with Fren and Stark.
It is her reminiscences of Himmel that keeps his legacy as a hero alive, giving her a sense of purpose in her eternal existence. “To live is to be known and remembered by others,” says Himmel in one of Frieren’s flashbacks.
Though in line with the Kuudere trope in anime, where stoicism is a hallmark of the central character, Frieren’s detachment stems from the weight of eternity rather than coldness. Nonetheless, she demonstrates warmth and kindness in small gestures, such as waking early to watch the sunrise and going to great lengths to repair Fern's broken staff.
Understanding time from Frieren’s perspective
Time in the anime is marked by Himmel’s death. In the first episode, 50 years pass by in the blink of an eye for Frieren. The pace starts to slow down after Himmel’s death as she begins to value time. In the past, time for Frieren was cruel as she had to undergo the same experiences over and over again. Now, when she returns to the places with Fern and Stark where she had previously been with her Hero Party, time becomes a precious entity which enables her to remember, rejoice and recharge her spirit, despite knowing that she might have to live on forever.
Stellar action scenes
Despite being an anime focused on self-introspection, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End has spectacular action pieces between the protagonist and the demons. The face-off between Frieren and Aura the Guillotine, a powerful mage who served the Demon King, is the highlight. The sequence where Frieren races against time during the First-Class Mage Exam Arc to gain the title of an elite mage stands out too.
