Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
AgentBishop
Loooool, is this where we are now? Where a 10/10 masterpiece, the number one, the best of the best, is an anime where nothing fucking happens for 28 episodes?
And it is not an exaggeration to say this. Nothing fucking happens.
The character arcs are unfinished. Why do we even have Stark in the anime? What's his role here?! He's not even funny, just the typical douchebag who yells at himself.
We even have a moment where a certain dude tries (or is forced) to become a member of the team, only to go his own way later! The only thing we'll ever remember about him is that he was into older women. Awful. Fucking awful.
The comedy is soooo out of place. For example, we keep seeing Frieren making goofy faces every now and then, but she doesn't give off that vibe to me. She's not goofy. I guess…
Read at the sourceAgentBishop
loooool is this where we are? where a 10/10 Masterpiece, Number 1, the Best of the Best is when for 28 episode nothing fucking happens?
and it is not an exaggeration to say this, nothing fucking happens.
the character arcs are unfinished, why do we have Stark in the anime? what's his role here?! he is not even funny, the typical yell at yourself douchebag
we even have a moment where a certain dude just tries (forced into) being a member of the team, but later he just goes his way!, the only thing we will ever remember from him is that he was into older women, awful, fucking awful
the comedy is soooo out of place, for example we keep seeing Frieren having goofy face every now and then but she doesn't give that vibe to me, she is not goofy, i guess this is forced because her personality…
Read at the sourceCecylb
A decent anime I can't recommend anyone to watch.
While I pretty much knew exactly what to expect even before watching it, I got too curious about what could possibly make it the highest rated anime on MAL. Maybe there is something...
There is nothing.
I couldn't find a single reason to recommend it, let alone to elevate it above the rest. Not a single aspect of the show deserves particular attention, it felt pretty generic, uninspiring and forgettable.
Animation
I want to share my opinion here on both static and moving parts of the show. Static backgrounds, once again, were inconsistent, varying from generic flat rooms that lack any details to hand drawn beautiful paintings. And as much as I want to praise the latter, it's because of how good they are you can clearly see the contrast wh…
Read at the sourceimindMan
I finished Sousou no Frieren (this SS1 series) roughly about 2 or 3 years ago, and since then I have continued to follow the series up until now. For me personally, it has become one of my favorite animanga series I've ever watched, and although the hype for Sousou no Frieren has ended for quite a while now, I think it would be missing for me to not leave a good review on this series, since it's one of my top recommendations for anyone who wants to start watching anime and get into the culture.
This series is for everyone. It's not a coincidence that Sousou no Frieren got its current #1 rank on MAL (2026 and likely further in the future). For starters, it's a great option for anyone who wants to try out anime for the first time. Whether you are fond of combat series with flashy animation…
Read at the sourceAlice-Anja
The concept is very interesting. Instead of the main character's mission on getting stronger, defeating someone, etc Frieren's focus is on her emotions towards her human companions and tyring to enjoy and appreciate them despite their fleeting existance to her long life as an elf - something she has never done before and starts to regret with regard to the companions of her past.
The opening theme artwork is just amazing. It blows my mind how someone could come up with somthing like that.
The dialogue is nice, and the dubbing voices are pleasant.
So where lies my difficulty? The underlying theme of melancholy is really not my cup of tea. The series is like a long journey (like the title says), its like a melancholic slice of life without climax - life continues.
It is interesting and…
Read at the sourceuchu_no_otaku
Honestly, this anime had been sitting on my planned watch list for a long time because I thought it was going to be boring. I saw the whole slow burn thing and assumed it would just be a lot of talking and traveling. But damn, I was completely wrong. 😂
It really is a slow burn, but it's the kind of slow burn that actually has an impact. Even the quiet scenes feel meaningful. Sometimes nothing crazy is happening, but somehow I'm still completely invested in what the characters are saying or feeling.
What surprised me the most is that I never actually found it boring. I kept telling myself I'll watch just one more episode, and then suddenly I'm already several episodes in. The way it handles memories, time and the relationships between the characters really got me.
I went into this expec…
Read at the sourcealisyus
Sometimes, no matter how much we love a TV show, a book, or any long-form work, we eventually reach a point where we find ourselves wondering when it is going to end. Whether this happens because the work loses its initial quality and excitement as it drags on, or simply due to an internal desire to finish things, everyone has undoubtedly experienced this feeling at some point. However, Frieren was a series where, upon seeing how many episodes I still had left to watch, instead of feeling bored, I felt even happier. Watching 5 to 6 episodes every night before bed to unwind became one of my favorite daily activities. I say "unwind" because, as you likely know, Frieren is a series that focuses not on the adventure itself, but on life after the adventure. That is, instead of harboring expecta…
Read at the sourceASTR0ANIM3
The beauty of Frieren is not in its story, its slice of life elements, or merely its characters, it is in its ability to strike a harmonious chord to the human experience itself.
Most anime consists of two main types of story tropes: realism and idealism. Aka, slice of life and isekai.
Now, one may initially think: "Frieren is a slice of life anime!"
I would label it as such in the broad category that is slice of life, if it weren't for the fact slice of life is inspired by daily happenings in modern societies, whose grand purpose is to use ulterior layers that mask the interior human condition, like layers of an onion. Slice of life focuses on OUR modern life more than it does, a rather primal existence like those of our ancestors. Not much different, on a fundamental level, but frier…
Read at the sourcelunthra
I love Frieren because of how it makes me feel. There’s something so calm and mesmerizing about it that, when I’m watching, I can forget about the world for a while. It feels like escaping reality without needing anything loud or exciting. It just pleases me and calms me down.
Frieren herself is such a unique character. She has lived for over a thousand years, so she doesn’t understand time or emotions the way humans do. She meets people, grows attached to them, and eventually loses them, almost without realizing what they meant to her until much later.
That’s what makes her relationship with Himmel so beautiful and sad. She loved him, but she didn’t understand that feeling when he was still there. She had spent so much of her life alone that she had learned to simply let people come and…
Read at the sourceYamiNoOkami
Another highly overrated Anime. While it is not bad anime it is very far from being good, let alone something more. It's biggest strength is that it doesn't have any of the usual mayor faults many anime have, and.... Well for most part that is it. Ok, the art during first ED deserves a lot of credit for mixing some kind of classical art, psychedelic art and anime art to create something genially new and unique yet still quote pretty, and an OP song is nice and sounds kinda like made by vocaloids, has that robotic note witch makes it unique and nice, And there are a few scenes that give off nice melancholy feelings, and I guess piecing isn't bad at all, but now that is really all positive I can say about this anime. For negative, where to even start. Characters, they are very blend, have pr…
Read at the sourceBestFish
Frieren gives the same vibe as playing Skyrim does. They are walking through beautiful landscapes, traveling from town to town, with an amazing soundtrack. There is a relaxed atmosphere, some dungeons, some monsters. Some side quests, some bigger monsters.
The story is kind of unique in a sense that it takes place after the 'main adventure'. Pacing is kind of slow, but this fits the style of the anime. Characters develop properly: they have their own strengths and flaws that you come to know throughout the story. Art is good, not amazing, but also not bad.
If you like a lot of action this may be tough to watch. There is some action but in between it's very chill (slow you might say).
Read at the sourceO1991
Premise: I watched the first season of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End in May 2025, having previously read its synopsis and found the premise interesting. I went into it with genuine curiosity, without any hype or outside influence.
What I liked most about Frieren were the characters and how it takes its time to tell its story and show things. But for me, it wasn't a fantastic anime or something that left a strong impression on me. It didn't have anything truly engaging, it didn't move me, and I'm someone who gets emotional easily.
The part I liked most was the tournament arc, but not because of the fights. It was because of the various characters talking to each other, the character interactions, etc.
I quite liked the design of the settings, but I didn't like how the contrast between th…
Read at the sourceAlmeja
The idea that this is the number 1 anime is ridiculous. It has great messages and good characters bur there are so many better series out there. This review wants me to make even more words so what I will say id that the anthropoloical and general life advice in this is solid but I could get the same value out of a 7/10 romance its nothing extremely impressive. Again good show but not the best ir greatest of all time whatsoever. I will say it is st least better than that slop mushoku tensei, very strange show, very terrible message, but i digress.
Read at the sourceTrajanNym
I have to tell a story with this one.
Cards on the table, Fullmetal Alchemist is my favorite anime, and maybe my favorite fictional story ever. I watched it at a time when it resonated with me, deep to my core, and there have been precious few stories that have even come close to the way it affected me.
What does that have to do with my experience with Frieren? Everything.
When I first began watching Frieren some months ago, my viewing was colored with the love that I had for FMA and the resentment that I had with the several hundreds of thousands of people that rated it more highly than Brotherhood. I came into Frieren wanting to tear into it, wanting to find reasons not to like it, wanting to find something to latch onto that could be used as proof that the decade-long reign of Brothe…
Read at the sourcebutahime
This was and may still be the number one ranked anime on MAL and I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to why. It’s supposedly about the transience of life, the sadness of a very long lived being whose old friends have all died, her regrets about what she could have done before they were gone, these kinds of classic Japanese themes. That would all be fair enough if it amounted to more than the MC talking with a flat affect all the time, but it doesn’t. Really it doesn’t even amount to that since other characters like the teenaged spellcaster in her party talk like that too. That is really all this is, just another RPG inspired so-called fantasy with little to recommend it even within that overexposed genre.
Characters are nothing much – like I said, a ton of them just have a consistent flat a…
Read at the sourcejacks1017
Shit... It does deserve to be at the top. I can't argue against it topping FMA, which is my favorite Anime and Manga. It's a modern classic.
I'm pretty late on this one. Nonetheless, the story is really well written and very emotional, and it's one of those rare shows that had you back-to-back crying every episode because it's very heavy on character writing and their personal stories. Don't come into this anime looking for awesome fights, i mean... it has amazing fight scenes, but that's not the focus, so they end pretty much quickly.
I couldn't really put my finger on it, but in terms of exploring the world, it was a little fast-paced for me, or maybe it's just because the first half was kinda episodic. They go to a town, then next episode another town, then in the second half they rea…
Read at the sourceBLU3B1RD
Not the kind of anime that everyone will enjoy.
Good and enjoyable but definitely not a masterpiece that will change the fantasy genre.
Even though it's a good anime, this season is like a mashup of great ideas that weren't properly organized and didn't flow in the right pace. It had the potential to be great, but it only was good.
While beautiful, the first half of the season is extremely slow and full of emotional moments, so full that it's one step away from being overwhelming.
Watchers need to be in the right mood to enjoy those moments, otherwise it may start feeling tedious to wait ten minutes only for a ten second touching moment mostly built from memories of characters that were already gone when the story started.
This first half also makes it clear that it won't focus on act…
Read at the sourceEnshourT_
What if the greatest fantasy story wasn't the journey of defeating the demon king.. But instead what comes after it.
Most fantasy adventures build towards a single triumphant moment: evil is defeated, peace is restored, and everyone lives happily ever after. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, begins after that celebration has already faded. The heroes won, the kingdom has already been saved and the story everyone else wanted to tell is over.
So what happens next?
-STORY: A STORY THAT UNDERSTANDS THE WEIGHT OF TIME
Frieren is an elf mage who was part of the legendary hero party that defeated the Demon King. But unlike her companions, her lifespans spans for centuries or possibly millennium due to her being an Elf. For Frieren ten years can feel like a brief journey. While Himmel and the othe…
Read at the sourceJack_Tiger
soo...top anime on my anime list is a Laundry detergent commercial??!!!
for the few old people that still watch anime i would not recommend it, dealing with old memories and youth choices is not something we want to see in any tv show, specially not anime.
other than that it is good anime with "fine" pace for almost all anime genre.
little fights are ok and the animation is fine.
i think 28 episode is too much if there is season 2, no significant character development to mention.
if you think you can't commit to 28 episodes then watch the second season to know the end of the story, then don't
Read at the sourcederkham
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End does an incredible job at being more than just a subversion of the adventures of a Hero's Party. It knows how to utilize stretches of slower pacing and lower stakes to instead give a glimpse into simple yet meaningful truths. The themes and messages of episodes are rarely intended to be deep, but instead a gentle and warm reminder of things you probably already know but could use a fresh perspective on.
The season as a whole does not focus on the action but, when it is present, it is memorable and very impactful. The magic system used is a touch simplistic in its explanations as it serves the style and tone. The magic, like other elements of the story, is moreso a vehicle for the emotional symbolism.
Every episode, every frame, is visually and audibly gorgeo…
Read at the source
