Frieren: Beyond Journey's End: The Journey's End Show Only

March 12, 2024 4:30 PM - Season 1, Episode 1

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?

We meet the hero Himmel and his companions the elf mage Frieren and her companions: charismatic, arrogant Himmel, Heiter the alcoholic but well-meaning "corrupt priest," and Eisen the taciturn dwarven warrior. 50 years after their defeat of the Demon King, stoic, impassive Frieren has an unexpected reaction to her ten-year traveling companion Himmel's death and it spurs her to reconsider how she's spending her very, very long life.

posted by valrus (11 comments total)

I started watching this a few nights ago after having it recommended by my brother and then very strongly by a Mastodon follow, and was surprised it wasn't on here already. Be the change, I guess.

I was intrigued but not exactly sold on it after this first episode — so far it's a slow, contemplative, pretty emotionally muted show, understated in a way that I can see shaking out really well as it develops Frieren's character.
posted by valrus at 4:36 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]

I have to agree: I was not excited by the first episode. But as I've watched the story unfold (I'm only a few episodes in, so no spoilers from me), I think I've gotten a better handle on Frieren and her relationship with Fern, her apprentice. It's led me to wonder if when the Elves left Middle Earth, they were sad for what they left behind, or relieved.
posted by SPrintF at 4:42 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]

I'll not include any specific examples to save on spoilers, but I've been watching this as each episode has come out and what I find so refreshing is the willingness to leave space. It's an example of the theme and the format jelling so well to create an impact. That the characters feel like they have a solid reality to their foibles is what makes me want to spend time in this space, and experience the world with them slowly.
posted by past unusual at 5:54 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]

This has been the best anime I've watched since… Mushishi? But it is definitely leisurely paced. I feel like in this world, elves take their time.
posted by ob1quixote at 8:01 PM on March 12

I'm very glad to see this here! I started watching this based on some strong recommendations when it came out, but I'm not entirely caught up. And yes, it does proceed at a leisurely -- or stately -- pace, but IMO that doesn't lessen its emotional impact. This first episode had me on the verge of tears with its musings on the passage of time.

I feel this series has one thing in common with Andor: "Sure, it starts slow, but if you stick with it it's so worth it!"
posted by The Nutmeg of Consolation at 5:15 AM on March 13

Mushishi is my favourite anime, so I'm going to give this a watch, ob1quixote.
posted by Pendragon at 12:10 PM on March 13 [1 favorite]

I don't watch much anime these days and mainly stick to the popular ones (Kimetsu, Spy Family) with a couple others thrown in here and there (Ya Boy Kongming and currently Snack Basue) but this is one show that I've made time for every weekend to watch the new episode when it hits Netflix. The pace is, well, Frieren-like.

It also has one of my favorite ending songs, Anytime Anywhere by milet. The second version of the ending is probably my favorite ending ever. I don't think there are any spoilers in the second version but it does have more references to later episodes.
posted by LostInUbe at 3:04 PM on March 13

I'm watching one episode a day and am a few episodes ahead of what I've posted, but planning to post one episode a day unless I forget to. The episode 2 post is up now!!!
posted by valrus at 9:02 PM on March 13

Oh wow, I'm slightly surprised that someone else on MeFi liked this show enough to want to do an episode-by-episode Fanfare on it. Only slightly surprised though, because I think the quality of this show really speaks for itself.

As someone who's been watching anime for a long time, this is really the most total package of a show that I've seen in recent memory. Beautiful yet understated writing, gorgeous storyboarding and animation, plus the OST is not only great listening outside of the show on but also great at elevating the key moments. Even moreso than being one of the best anime of the past few years, this is one of the best fantasy stories I've watched in a while.

Highly recommended for anyone that is a fan of fantasy in general. I think it's an exceptional work. I won't be chiming in on all of the episodes, but I'll be back at least for episodes 9, 10, 14, and 26.
posted by C^3 at 6:59 AM on March 16 [3 favorites]

I don't watch much TV, but for the shows I've watched recently I've really enjoyed reading the FanFare threads after each episode. So I thought it would be fun to make one thread per episode rather than the whole first season (and plus I didn't want to wait until I'd watched them all). The more I'm watching, the more I think this was the right call — this show keeps getting better.
posted by valrus at 3:15 PM on March 16

This really is a remarkable show, especially the first four episodes that were broadcast as a sort of feature film. C^3 put it well in that it really brings everything together very confidently, the story boarding, the soundtrack apparently being composed to the action, that pov cut looking up at the hand animated arch!
posted by lucidium at 8:00 AM on March 23