Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 Review
Forging Connections in a Dangerous World
Season 1 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End released in fall of 2023, boasting a massive 28 episodes with a release cadence that lasted until spring 2024. While it may not be the most popular anime yet, Frieren quickly became most highly rated anime season of all time, beating out the likes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and Steins;Gate by a pretty large margin. This is feat that has not been achieved in the anime industry for over two decades. Season 2 was released in January 2026 and only supports a meager 10 episodes. Despite this, it is currently the second most highly rated anime of all time - right under its first season.
The greatness of Frieren in general, but season 2 especially, does not come from something unique to the series. In fact, from an outside perspective Frieren is a generic fantasy anime with nothing unique about it. It does not flaunt incredible graphics or tell a story like no other. Yes, it does have a few epic fight scenes, but that is not where the greatness lies. Frieren’s greatness comes from connections between all the characters and how these bonds evolve over time, even across the history of a millennia. Character connections happen in every story across all entertainment mediums, but Frieren is one of the best to ever do it.
I have been a fan of Frieren since the first episodes released back in 2023, and I fully intend to break down why it is so great. Before that, it is important to break down the scenes changes between season 1 and season 2. The season 1 showrunner, Keiichiro Saito, was replaced by Tomoya Kitagawa for season 2, both very accomplished people in the Japanese anime industry. However, showrunners are the most senior leaders of the production so making a change between seasons can drastically change the direction and quality of subsequent seasons. Most of the time these changes affect the show negatively. Luckily, this is not the case for Frieren season 2 because Keiichiro decided to make this change himself. The showrunner change was done to bring new perspective into Frieren without affecting the overall direction of the show. It worked well, placing season 2 of Frieren on the same level of greatness as season 1.
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN DISCUSSIONS involving SPOILERS FROM Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 and 2. CONSIDER WHEN AND WHERE IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO READ THIS PIECE.
Platforms
We reviewed Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 on Crunchyroll. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 and 2 are also available on Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video.The History of Frieren
Frieren enjoying her lunch
Frieren’s story takes place in a dangerous world of magic and monsters. The preeminent species in this world are elves, demons, dwarves, and humans. Frieren is an elf mage with a lifespan of a few millennia. Therefore, she perceives and values time differently than that of other species, but this is also a weakness. At the start of the show, Frieren is one of the last elves alive at a young 1000 years old. She has seen her species be culled at the hands of demons due to their affinity for magic, and her few human and dwarven friends have withered away as the centuries passed. Through these experiences, Frieren developed a jaded view of the world in which she believes connections with others are not worth her time.
The Party of Heroes
Inevitably, Frieren does run into others every so often, and eventually a group of two humans and a dwarf ask her to join their quest to defeat the demon king and bring peace to the continent. Begrudgingly, she accepts their offer as it offers a chance for revenge for the culling of the elves. Little does she know that this group will turn her jaded views upside down. Within the story, this group is known as the “Party of Heroes” led by Himmel the Hero, who is supported by Eisen the Warrior, Heiter the Priest, and Frieren the Mage. After a decade long journey, the Party of Heroes defeats the demon king and brings peace to the land. Returning from this journey is the beginning of season 1 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
Even after this journey, Frieren had not yet realized the importance of the bonds she forged with all the party of heroes. Only 50 years later upon Himmel’s death does she realizes how deeply important these connections were to her. The memories of the adventure they shared, the things she did or did not do/say, and the meaning behind every interaction begin to haunt her. Consumed with regret, Frieren recalls a place her human mentor from 800 years earlier told her about – Aureole. Located in the northernmost end of the continent, Aureole is land where souls rest, and where she can speak with souls of friends who have long since passed. Conveniently enough, Aureola is just past the demon king’s castle, where the Party of Heroes defeated the demon king. With her newfound goal, Frieren retraces her steps northward, which is the entire story of season 1.
Season 2 Story
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End season 2 takes place over a one-year period, 80 years after the end of the Party of Heroes’ journey and 30 years after the death of Himmel the Hero. This is also immediately after ending of season 1. Frieren has put together a new party with Fern the Mage and Stark the Warrior. As both a friend and mentor to Fern and Stark, Frieren continues her new journey with them northward. She has learned from her mistakes and values her time with Fern and Stark more, enjoying experiences together and getting to know each of them better. Despite the short 10-episode season, it is clear throughout season 2 that the bonds Frieren has created with her young allies are unbreakable.
In season 2, the journey to Aureole is not getting any easier. The number of monsters/demons and the effort required to defeat them have increased. Thus, the time it takes to move further north also increased. Often, the party would also have to rely on help from characters they met in season 1, whether by chance meeting or a shared quest. Ultimate, the journey’s progress in season 2 slows down as it sets the scene of the ever-increasing dangers in the northlands. Instead of progressing the journey, season 2 focuses on building out the world and character stories.
Frieren has regular flashbacks to memories of the Party of Heroes, further cementing her convictions to reach Aureole to reminisce with them. Encounters with side characters from season 1 reinforce the value of social connections and building friendships. The quests the party takes are cumbersome, and the rewards are less than ideal. Despite this, Frieren, Fern, and Stark still find small ways to enjoy their time together, elaborating on the fact that they value the journey more than the end goal. Finally, the clear increase in difficulty as they slowly move north shows that the peace the Party of Heroes brought about is coming to an end.
Netflix’s One Piece Season 2 Review
Live action One Piece returns to Netflix grander than ever!Subbed vs. Dubbed
Usually, I watch a show once and move on. However, Frieren is good enough that it deserves more of my time, so I watched in both subbed and dubbed form. If you are unfamiliar with Anime, subbed means Japanese voice acting with English subtitles, and dubbed means English voice acting with no subtitles. I generally prefer dubbed because it is easier to comprehend as someone that does not understand Japanese, so I preferred season 2 of Frieren in its dubbed form. That being said, the subbed version did not take away from my understanding or enjoyment of this season. The conversations and connections are still special and clear even while reading subtitles.
If it was not clear from me watching season 2 twice already, I cannot wait for season 3 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and I would encourage you to consider watching season 1 and season 2 as well, subbed or dubbed. Even with only 10 episodes, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End season 2 is great and on par with season 1 as the most highly rated anime of all time. Not only does it build up the characters and world in all the right ways, but it masterfully sets fans up for an extremely exciting season 3.
I will end on this note – Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End season 1 and 2 are great for people of all ages and interests. Whether you are a first-time Anime viewer, a veteran Anime enthusiast, or anything in between, this show is something everyone can enjoy and find meaning in. If you are thinking about watching Frieren based on this review of season 2, definitely start by season 1 otherwise you will not enjoy season 2 as much.
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Matt
New video game, movie, or TV show? Matt probably has it on his radar, and he might even be in the middle of reviewing it. This digital entertainment enjoying dude is a Content Writer during work hours, then plays games, watches movies, binges shows, and writes about all of it in his free time.