Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Is Overrated

When I first started Frieren, I was bored out of my mind. I’m not even kidding. I had to force myself to continue watching. I dropped it and genuinely didn’t think I’d return to it.

Everyone kept boasting about how amazing the anime is, so I picked it back up when I ran out of series on my “anime to watch” list. In my opinion, the first half is really slow-paced with no drama, comedy or action to keep me hooked.

However, the First-Class Mage Exams started about halfway through which really picked up the pace with some impressive fights and trials to face. There were also a bunch of new characters introduced who, in my opinion, are more interesting than the main cast.

While I can understand how people think it’s a “life-changing anime” because it talks about how fleeting life is, the moments just didn’t resonate that deeply with me.

I think a big mistake was made by starting the series with the demon king already defeated. I mean, who wants to watch an anime where the threat is already gone?Usually, the goal of the story is to take down the main antagonist, but the strongest enemy was already killed. Also, I’m not a fan of overpowered protagonists. Throughout the series, Frieren was able to defeat foes with ease, especially in the beginning.

One of the biggest contributing factors to an anime masterpiece is the character development. Frieren is lacking in this department. The characters remain stagnant despite their many adventures and the First-Class Mage Exams. While it can be argued that Frieren learned a lot from Himmel, Fern and Stark don’t seem any different by the end of the season.

Another thing that makes a dynamic character is their heart-breaking past. None of the characters seem to have moving backstories that make the viewer feel for them. Across the line, the cast is very one-dimensional.

The stakes were low, the main character could defeat anyone, it was not interesting. While the First-Class Mage Exams added some great action to the series, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End was bland for the most part. It still makes no sense to me how the anime skyrocketed to the number one spot on MAL (MyAnimeList), even surpassing the masterclass, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

What are your thoughts about the anime series? Do you think it lives up to the hype?