Part of the fun of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is how it allows Frieren the elf to explore her fantasy homeland at her leisure. The lack of urgency is the main selling point, making Frieren: Beyond Journey's End a strong counterpoint to the likes of The Lord of the Rings. This anime is more about the pain of grief and the opportunity to fill the void with new friends, all while fighting a few monsters along the way. It's a creative blend that works, and some episodes prove it beyond all doubt.
Each episode of the Frieren anime is worth watching as this slow-burn anime builds up its world and main cast, but if fans want the core Frieren experience, a few particular episodes stand out. Each of these six outstanding episodes showcases everything that makes Frieren the instant classic it is, usually with savage combat, creative spellcasting feats, and powerful character moments between Frieren and all her new friends.
Season 1, Episode 1: "The Journey's End"
Himmel's Loss Hit Frieren Much Harder Than She Expected
If there is just one episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End that all fans must be familiar with, it's the debut episode, "The Journey's End." Whether or not an anime's debut episode feels like a 10/10 viewing experience, a debut episode is the most important, since it introduces the main cast and kicks off the story while also setting the tone. "The Journey's End" accomplishes all of this with grace and quiet power, which makes it a must-watch for all anime fans.
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This episode does it all, from summarizing the end of Frieren's original mission to slay the demon king to the unexpected heartbreak of Himmel's passing. Frieren learns a hard lesson about taking others' short lives for granted, making it clear this anime is about not just magical action, but companionship and loss. It helps how the episode ends on a more hopeful note as Frieren is introduced to her next good friend, the young mage student Fern.
Season 1, Episode 9: "Aura the Guillotine"
The Demons Bare Their Fangs in the Moonlight
None of the villains whom Frieren fights in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End last that long, but their time on screen still leaves a lasting impression on viewers. That's what helped make "Aura the Guillotine" such a standout episode in the anime, a 10/10 experience that drove home how nasty and strange demons can be in this world. In a sharp contrast with Demon Slayer's episodes, "Aura the Guillotine" vividly depicted Aura and her allies as crafty, bloodthirsty creatures who feel smugly superior to their human prey.
The point isn't the suspense about whether Frieren can slay such a foe, but the emotional power of seeing the friendly, empathic Frieren face down a creature that's so antithetical to her. Frieren is learning to value and respect the human lives around her, while Aura, a fellow long-lived creature, sees humans as weak fools to deceive and butcher at will. Aura is Frieren's dark mirror, which manages to be even more in interesting than her actual fighting style.
Season 1, Episode 10: "A Powerful Mage"
Frieren Brutally Humiliated the Proud Aura For All Time
The very next episode in Season 1, "A Powerful Mage," is a 10/10 must-see installment for a few reasons. To begin with, viewers are treated to a cool flashback sequence where a younger Frieren is the apprentice of Flamme the human wizard, which humbles Frieren's character somewhat. For once, Frieren must learn something new from someone else, and it's a cool lesson that made magic more than a contest of who's got the fanciest spells. Flamme's lesson about magic auras is rooted in delicate self-control and deceit while also making a seemingly pointless exercise far more relevant.
Find all 10 pairs
Find all 10 pairs
Against most foes, suppressing one's own aura isn't worth the effort, but in the present, it pays off massively as Frieren continues battling Aura the Guillotine. Frieren utterly fooled Aura with her magical aura, beating that demon at her own game while also teaching her a painful lesson about complacent superiority. Everyone has a weakness or blind spot, and an arrogant creature like Aura will have huge holes in her armor if someone like Frieren knows how to spot them. The reward was the grim satisfaction Frieren felt when she compelled Aura to behead herself at swordpoint.
Season 1, Episode 21: "The World of Magic"
Frieren Broke All the Rules in Sense's Mage Exam
Much later in Season 1, Frieren's next challenge arrived not in the form of demons or dragons, but a magical test. Despite her centuries of experience, Frieren had her hands full with the test, and that went double for Fern, Lawine, and Kanne. It was amusing enough to see Frieren team up with those two feuding girls, but more importantly, Frieren showed everyone what a team player she can be. Not even Frieren could complete this test on her own, so she lent a hand to her allies.
Frieren stunned everyone, from Sense to the viewer, when she bent the rules and shattered the dome over the exam area to let the rain in. That influx of water changed everything as Kanne used her water-based magic to defeat Richter in their mage battle. However, Frieren's aid wasn't just a practical one, because it also spoke of her sefless nature. Frieren, as the flashback noted, is the unambitious type to save the world as a matter of course and create peace for all. That's similar to how Frieren aided Kanne in the present, doing her part to make sure the fighting ends with the heroes' victory.
Season 1, Episode 26: "The Height of Magic"
Frieren's Replica Was the Dreaded Boss Battle
What makes "The Height of Magic" such a powerful, 10/10 episode is how it focuses on the other characters rather than Frieren herself. The other examinees faced the ultimate test as they battled clay golems of themselves, and the results spoke volumes about the abilities and weaknesses of those examinees. It's true the Frieren anime often entertains viewers with Frieren the OP elf wizard, the anime still needs time for Frieren to step aside and let other characters take center stage.
Fern is the real protagonist of "The Height of Magic," suggesting that slowly yet surely, Fern may eclipse Frieren as the heart of this anime. Fern can't top Frieren's vast experience and knowledge, but she has the heart of a great shonen lead, and her progress is simply astonishing. Even if Fern needed help in this episode, it felt like an opportunity for more growth, not a reason to compare Fern unfavorably to her elf teacher. As a bonus, this episode brings some relief and closure as the examinees clear the test's second stage deep in that dungeon, complete with Frieren ending up waist-deep in a D&D-inspired mimic.
Season 2, Episode 2: "The Hero of the South"
Before Himmel, There Was Southern Hero
One of the most recent episodes of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End quietly became one of the anime's best. Curiously, even if it seems the hero of the South is stepping on Himmel's toes, his inclusion in the anime isn't unwelcome. Rather, the South's hero is a fine mirror to Himmel, a reflection of what heroes really mean to the people in this fantasy world. Heroes like these two men aren't just fighters who save the day, because they are also symbols of hope who leave a lasting imprint on society. It's about the image of what they did and who they were, not merely their deeds in the history books.
Heroes like Himmel and the South's hero are icons who inspire the common people to believe in themselves and have faith that every time evil shows up, goodness will rise to meet it. That's why the world needs statues like these, to keep that image and idea alive for all to see every day. Even more remarkable was the hero of the South's humble, self-sacrificing nature as someone who was ready to meet his end while supporting Himmel with words alone. Finally, "The Hero of the South" treated fans to another battle where once again, demons think they can fool humans, but they can't fool Frieren the wizard.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
- Release Date
- September 29, 2023
- Network
- Nippon TV, YTV, FBS, Chukyo TV, RNB, FCT, STV, KNB, HTV, YBS, RAB, TVI, YBC, UMK TV Miyazaki, TSB, MMT, TeNY, RNC, NIB, KKT, KTK, NKT, ABS, JRT, Daiichi-TV, FBC, RKC, KYT, KRY
Cast
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Atsumi TanezakiFrieren (voice) -
Kana IchinoseFern (voice)
