One of my favourite quotes in Frieren:

“Isn’t it funny?”

“That one-hundredth changed you.”

It is hard writing a decent review for Frieren as it is not your typical Shounen anime. Or anime in general. After catching a handful of episodes in season 1, I fell in love with it. I think it is written for both the young and the older audience as it speaks to both life perspectives.

Once in a while, an extremely good anime swings by, and you can’t get enough of it. Frieren is one of those rare shooting stars that come by your alley every once in a few years. Or decades. Time doesn’t really matter, I suppose? (Pun intended).

Written by Kanehito Yamada, Frieren tells a tale of regrets, adventure and introspective moments. The plot revolves around the timeline that the evil Demon King has been vanquished by the party of four heroes.

Frieren, the party’s elven mage, who lives for a very, very long time, starts to realise that she didn’t know much about her companions in ten years of adventuring – but is it too late to get a deeper understanding of the people around you even when they are not there anymore? Frieren, with all its melancholic art, portrays the attempt to make up for lost time moments.

There are no prime villains, no epic battle scenes, and no major overarching save-the-world doom and gloom typical of many anime plots but lots of retrospection and flashbacks.

Ending thoughts:  This is a melancholic, sensitive even, slice-of-life anime exploring themes like the self, others, the passage of time, self-awareness, death, grief, and memories. If there is such a genre as “Healing anime”, then Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is it. You will cry, chuckle and pump your fists in the air. Compared to other fantasy anime out there, Frieren is refreshing, deep and soulful.

If you want a fantasy anime with light action scenes, endearing characters and thought-provoking dialogues, then Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is definitely for you. You just have to take it slow and watch it without any expectations.

It is one rare gem of an anime, and trust me, Frieren’s journey will stand the test of time.