Frieren (TV series)

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (葬送のフリーレン) is a Japanese anime television series produced by Madhouse based on the manga series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe. The first season is directed by Keiichirō Saitō while Tomoya Kitagawa directed the second, with scripts by Tomohiro Suzuki and character designs by Reiko Nagasawa. The music is composed by Evan Call.

The series premiered on Nippon TV's Friday Anime Night programming block on September 29, 2023, with a special two-hour cut of the first four episodes, and concluded its first season on March 22, 2024. A second season aired from January 16 to March 27, 2026. A third season is set to premiere in October 2027. Crunchyroll licensed the series for worldwide streaming outside of Asia, while Netflix and Muse Communication handled distribution in various Asian territories.

The series has received widespread acclaim, with critics lauding the story, animation, voice acting, action sequences, emotional depth, soundtrack and the title character, and has won several awards.

Synopsis

Following the conclusion of a ten-year quest by the hero party, comprising the elven mage Frieren, the human hero Himmel, the dwarven warrior Eisen, and the human priest Heiter, who have successfully defeated the Demon King and restored peace to the land. As an elf with a lifespan of over a thousand years, Frieren views their decade-long journey as a mere fraction of her life. Upon the party's return, they witness the Era Meteors, a celestial event occurring once every fifty years. Frieren promises to meet them again when the meteors return before departing to continue her solitary pursuit of magical knowledge.

Fifty years later, Frieren returns to find her former companions aged and at the end of their lives. After attending Himmel's funeral, she is struck by a profound sense of guilt and regret for not having made an effort to truly know him or understand the brevity of human existence. Following the subsequent passing of Heiter, Frieren begins a new journey northward to the land of Aureole, the place where souls are said to rest, hoping to speak with Himmel one last time.

Accompanying her is Fern, an orphan apprentice mage taken in by Heiter, and later Stark, a young warrior trained by Eisen. Unlike her previous adventure, this journey focuses on Frieren's internal growth as she retraces her old steps, discovering how the small actions of her former comrades shaped the world and its people. The narrative explores themes of legacy, memory, and the importance of the fleeting moments shared between friends.

Series overview

Cast and characters

Production and release

In September 2022, it was announced that the manga series would receive an anime adaptation.[2][3] It was later announced that it would be a television series produced by Madhouse and directed by Keiichirō Saitō, with script supervision by Tomohiro Suzuki and character designs by Reiko Nagasawa.[4][5] The two consecutive-cours first season premiered with a two-hour special consisting of the first four episodes on September 29, 2023, on Nippon TV's programming block Kin'yō Road Show, which is normally reserved for feature films, becoming the first anime series to do so.[6][7][8] Later episodes debuted on the new block Friday Anime Night on the same network and its affiliates,[9] and ended on March 22, 2024.[10] Toho Animation compiled the episodes into seven Blu-ray and DVD sets, which were released from January 24 to July 17, 2024.[11]

In September 2024, it was announced the series was renewed for a second season.[12][13][14] It aired from January 16 to March 27, 2026.[15] The staff and cast from the first season are reprising their roles, with Tomoya Kitagawa replacing Keiichirō Saitō as the season's director. Daiki Harashina serves as the assistant director, while Takasemaru, Keisuke Kojima, and Yuri Fujinaka replacing Nagasawa as character designers.[16]

A third season, covering the "Golden Land" arc, was announced after the airing of the final episode of the second season. It is set to premiere in October 2027.[17]

Eleven short episodes, titled Frieren: Beyond Journey's End – Spell That Does OOO (葬送のフリーレン ～の魔法～), were released on Toho Animation's YouTube channel and on Frieren's official anime X and TikTok accounts from October 11, 2023, to March 24, 2024.[18][19] A second six-episode season was released from April 2 to September 3, 2025.[20][21] A third five-episode season was released from January 19 to March 26, 2026.[22][23]

Music

The music for the series is composed by Evan Call.[5] An original soundtrack album was released on April 17, 2024.[30] For the four-episode premiere broadcast only, the special ending theme song is "Bliss", performed by Milet.[6] The first opening theme song is "Yūsha" (勇者), performed by Yoasobi, while the ending theme song is "Anytime Anywhere", performed by Milet.[31] The second opening theme song is "Sunny" (晴る), performed by Yorushika,[32] while the second ending theme song includes a different section of "Anytime Anywhere".[33] For the second season, the opening theme song is "Lulu.", performed by Mrs. Green Apple,[34] while the ending theme song is "The Story of Us", performed by Milet.[35]

Reception

External links