English Dub Review: Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End “The Journey’s End”;”It Didn’t Have to Be Magic…”;”Killing Magic”;”The Land Where Souls Rest”

 

Overview:

The world celebrates the Demon King’s defeat at the hands of the Hero and his companions. Now that their great adventure is over, what will Frieren the mage do next?

Frieren instructs Fern in the use of magic while deciphering a grimoire for Heiter.

While retracing the path she took on her adventure with her former traveling companions, Frieren confronts an old enemy.

Frieren and Fern pay a visit to Eisen, who requests their help in finding the notes of Flamme the Legendary Mage.

Our Take:

Every once in a while an anime comes along that you just know is going to be a classic. To use some Western words I would say that Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is what you would call “Oscar bait” in the sense that it’s beautiful and tells a touching story. I don’t know what premiering with four episodes means for the remaining release schedule but I hope we don’t have to wait too long to get more episodes.

Madhouse is the studio that is animating this series and they did a phenomenal job, with the first four episodes at least. This is one of the most beautifully animated shows I’ve seen in a while. It doesn’t have that “realistic” beauty that you see in a show like Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song but it’s still a sight to see regardless.

Unlike a lot of other stories, this one begins where most would end. The Demon King has been defeated and now it’s time for the heroic party to go their separate ways. For an elf like Frieren, the ten years spent traveling with her party was nothing at all. So for us when she next shows up to check in on her friend Himmel the Hero it comes as a shock to see him as an old man.

This creates an interesting story thread because to see an elf cry at a funeral for her friend is a strange sight to see. She decides to go on a journey to learn more about her former party since she didn’t have the desire to in their lifetimes.

I have a feeling this will become one of the best anime of the season, if not the year. It has a fantastically human story to tell despite the characters involved. It’s beautiful and on top of that, its voice acted well with a great cast.

Clifford Chapin voices Himmel and I have to say his range is impressive. The first role I heard him as was Bakugo and that character is loud and angry, nothing like Himmel. Even though the character of Himmel has passed away we do get plenty of flashbacks so I’m optimistic that we will get to hear plenty of him.

Mallorie Rodak voices the titular Frieren in one of her first leading roles that I’ve witnessed. I was glad to see it as well because I love her work and she has a really unique voice. Jill Harris voices her apprentice Fern. I believe these two characters will teach each other a lot and hearing these two actresses share screen time will be a treat I can tell. I hope to see you all soon with a new episode next week but with this big a premiere we might be waiting a bit.