Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End–a manga that came out on April 28, 2020–made an anime in September of 2023. This shows how quickly it took the anime community by storm, rising up the ranks and becoming one of the most highly enjoyed anime.
But, then the hype died. And, the popularity slowed… until it was eventually dethroned as one of the top anime by the show’s own Season 2. Zy’Qwez Platt, an EHS Junior, gives his input: “It’s extremely good, and I can see why it went No. 1, and it’s probably going to go No. 1 again.”
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End’s ever-growing popularity doesn’t mean that there isn’t a single person who doesn’t care for the show. Certainly, there are those who say that the show is overrated, the story is too slow, or that it just isn’t entertaining at all. But, all the same, the show had a multitude attributes that influenced its fame, including word of mouth, the rich storyline, connection through popular celebrities or voice actors (for example, Mallorie Rodak, the voice of the main character in the English dub, who has voiced hundreds of fan favorite characters and been in over 75 shows and movies), memes (such as the drawing of Frieren looking upwards), the fan service, and simply the large number of people posting all over social media about the show.
Rodak has sung and acted all throughout her early life, leading her to more opportunities such as this one to show off those skills as popular characters. She has played a multitude of beloved characters, such as Nebra Silva in Black Clover, Raphael in That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, and Yukino in Fairy Tail. Frieren is her biggest role as a voice actor, as she is a main character and is excessively popular with the fanbase. Those who follow her social media accounts and her general life likely found the show through those very things, and became interested.
The “memeage” made from the show is limitless, with many hilarious scenes and running gags for viewers to enjoy. Even Platt, explaining what got him into the show, brought up the memes, saying, “I’ve been curious about it. I’ve seen, like, little clips around there…saw a lot of memeage.”
One of the most memed running gags in the show is the Frieren stuck in mimic gag. This main character loves treasures and trinkets–anything that could become helpful in the future or just fun to have around. So Frieren, of course, feels the need to check in every treasure chest she sees, even if she knows for a fact it IS a monster called a mimic, well, mimicking a chest for the opportunity to devour her whole. It feels as if every two episodes, there’s a scene of her getting stuck during her search for a grimoire that just may happen to have a helpful spell to get stains off dishes or one to help catch animals. The viewers love this gag so much, they even draw over scenes of Frieren getting stuck with characters of their own!
Another, likely the most well-known meme, originated from outside the show. On a Reddit thread (/r/Frieren), a drawing was posted–titled simply, “Frieren.” This picture was exactly what it said, a drawing of Frieren. Yet, the look was not quite right, and the view from below looked off due to the under-chin appearing flat or concave. Slowly, the meme began to spread, with other Reddit users posting their own images of the growing trend, using their own favorite characters. OC’s (Original Characters made by individuals) and famous protagonists from other shows all over the world were transformed into this poorly drawn imagery. But, the community loved it. 
Fan Service, as people know it, is a lustrous way of drawing characters, with common examples being female characters having larger bosoms or posteriors than physically possible, or having more “jiggle physics” to those particular places to appeal to a broader audience. This is normalized by many people who watch anime, because–although many do not actually watch for such lewd reasons–they also cannot particularly change the fact that this does actually increase the fanbase and views for the show. So, many just let it happen. The funny part about this is that Fan Service doesn’t have to be anything sexual, although a majority of anime now prioritize the concept…but just a way to get more people to enjoy the show.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is a prime example of an anime that is stuffed chock-full of Fan Service, but not in any lewd way. In fact, rarely does one see a character with very lewd proportions in the slightest. Instead, they made the show even cuter than the original manga, with episodes containing extras, such as the popsicle scene. The scene is so simple: Frieren walks into camera with her head wrapped in a towel and her elf ears pointed downwards (something audiences very rarely see) and taking a lick as well as a chomp out of the popsicle in a cute way. Other scenes are like the crying scene, where Frieren explains that, after getting called old (50 years ago from a character who has lived well over a thousand years) cried.
Nonstop.
For days at a time.
Originally, in the initial manga, the fact that she cried so long was explained and featured a single panel of her crying. In the show, this scene lasted a full 16 seconds, all dedicated to Frieren bawling her eyes out, soaking pillows and in tons of different positions. A Reddit user on r/Frieren comments, “The scariest thing about this is that those 3 days of crying probably felt like 30 seconds from her POV,” due to the longevity of her thousand-year life. This became one of the cutest scenes and certainly a fan favorite. “Fan Service done right,” as some say.
But, other than Fan Service, what is it that people enjoy about the show so much? Platt explains that a big part of the reason is the slowness of the anime, saying, “It’s a break from all the faster paced animes that are out nowadays, like Jujitsu Kaisen. I love that anime, but watching Frieren often gives me that little break from all the constant action, and like…it’s peaceful and slow.”
Each episode is its own little adventure, and not until late in the first season did a plotline even carry past a single episode. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End has this slice of life feeling, where there doesn’t need to be action for it to be entertaining. It can simply just show the simplicity of what life is like in a way viewers can relate–and in ways that they cannot.
Overall, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is undeniably different from other anime made these days, but that’s what makes it so loved by the people. Although there will always be those who don’t value the show’s uniqueness, most can at least appreciate what it is attempting to accomplish. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End will be going on hiatus now that Season 2 is finished. But, keep an eye out for future seasons of this exciting show.
