It’s always a relief to have an animated show that’s allowed to take its time in 2026. An even bigger relief for it also has such a loving fanbase and adaptation.
Now past the action-packed First-Class Mage Exam Arc, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End returns to the short-story anthology format with Frieren and co’s journey to the Northern Plateau.
Magic Nullifying Crystals
A fantastic return to form, with a fun premise that allows the whole party to shine.
Coming right from the action-packed First Class Mage arc, it was a bit difficult to imagine much of anything threatening Frieren and Fern. Having magic-dampening crystals limited the two and gave Stark more focus, really allowing season two‘s opener to familiarize us with everyone’s characters again.
The chase with the crystal monster gives some really fascinating insight as to how both Frieren and Fern differ in a situation where they are completely powerless. To Frieren, it’s nostalgic and comforting, reminding her why she can’t handle everything on her own and how valuable it is to have someone you can reliably trust with your life. But to Fern, the scenario is frightening. Fern is much more responsible and concerned about their lives in this matter.
As always, I love that this can be gathered just from the facial expressions of the characters in a small moment. Though the “lesson” of each episode is always made clear, there’s a lot to gather from small details in this show and it makes everything feel worth paying attention to.
Why I Set Out on This Journey
Stark’s always been a punching bag to an often mean-spirited degree, especially from Fern. (Wait until Fern sees how REAL anime peeping toms are like in other shows) So, I’m really happy the story is finally addressing this through Wirbel’s deal.
The party definitely likes Stark, but there’s only so many cold-shoulders and insults a friend can take before it stops being cute and leaving the group becomes a real possibility. I personally wish that Fern showed a little more self-reflection here, but there’s still a lot of time to see if “so be nicer to me” really sticks with her.
After being essentially written out of most of season one’s last quarter, I’m glad Stark is finally getting more material to work with.
The Hero of the South
One of my favorite aspects of Frieren is how bluntly it handles the passage of time while still being intoxicatingly optimistic about it.
The themes in Hero of the South aren’t exactly new. We open practically every episode with Himmel’s date of death and the undying legacy that he’s left behind. I’ve always wondered if, at some point, the clock’s purpose would later show Himmel’s memory dissipating a bit as time passes, but Hero of the South reminds us that true virtue and an accomplished life have a far longer expiration date for the people.
Demon With a Sword
Demons have a very fun role as antagonists, in which the coziness of the show takes a hard turn into legitimate tension. It’s always fascinating to me that despite the soft colors and calming music, Frieren’s world is actually a discomfortingly hostile one full of death, war and monster attacks that seems to have no end.
I really value how Frieren chooses not to dwell on it too much other than passing mention, while emphasizing the peace and endurance of the people simply living their lives despite this.
…But they should really just destroy that damn sword.
Stray Observations
- Animation is good. It’s really impressive how consistent Frieren’s animation looks between seasons. Everyone and their accessories are constantly on model with even unnecessary details, such as Frieren’s jangling earrings and Fern or Stark needing to help each other over a cliff in a montage. I love how much you’re rewarded for paying attention to every frame.
- Also, the puppet animation in the Hero of the South is insanely on point.
- I didn’t have much to say on Wirbel, but it is nice to see him again (why is that lady still hanging out with him though?)
- I really wonder if the magic dampening crystals and the Hero of the South’s future vision are concepts that’ll be way more important in the future. I personally hope not for the latter case, even if I’m ok with it being used for a short story.
- The show makes me sleepy (in a good way) with how relaxing it is… so whenever Stark yells, or a monster shows up, I keep getting jumpscared.
- Frieren’s comment on demons just being demons and humans just being humans at the end of the Sword Demon is… a bit troubling. I really hope this is something that is given more attention in the future.
As season two continues, keep up with the episodes on Crunchyroll!
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