Otalku Cafe - Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

The next winter anime I have for review is one of the absolute best animes I’ve seen in such a long time, and that is Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. The show actually started during fall 2023 and carried over into winter, and quite frankly it is easily on a shortlist for anime of the year for the 24 cycle. The show follows an all powerful elven mage named Frieren, who defeats the demon lord alongside her party. However, elves age supremely slower than humans do, so, as she sees all her party members die and the world change around her, she decides to set on a journey to discover more of life in her free time. And thus begins a journey filled with adventure and self enlightenment. 

Sure the animation is crisp and the musical composition is among the best sorted for an anime in recent times, but what makes this show an anime of the year contender is the story. It is a very slow burn and one I wouldn’t not recommend to rookie viewers, but it is one that is absolutely rich in build up, world building, some drama, even more comedy, several iterations of incredible action, and incredible flashbacks that lend credence to the life lessons frieren and her parties, both old and new, learn along the way. Those lessons easily translate into ones that transcend the show and can even apply to real life. Also to boot, each of our characters are given much depth that is rarely given to a large cast of characters, especially in a relatively short timespan of 28 episodes! 

At its crux, it is an OP elf who doesn’t appreciate life for what it is and seeks to appreciate it more now that those who touched her closest are no longer around. And the principle of appreciating the many aspects of life before death, as well as the way the universe has shifted in your life, is a wonderful story to tell. I gave this show, available on Crunchyroll, one of the easiest 5/5s ever, and absolutely implore anyone with the highest of decree to watch this show!!!