Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End S1.E1 – “The Journey’s End”

Streaming on Crunchyroll!

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Frieren the Slayer. A name that, when you start the series, may just be words on paper (or in this case, a webpage) but will come to mean so much more once you start this fantastic series! I watched a good chunk of the first season as it was releasing in 2023, but as I tend to do so often in my personal life, I got distracted and let watching it fall to the wayside. Between that and the second season starting just around the corner on January 16, 2026 on Crunchyroll, I thought I’d go through season one and review episode by episode. Without further ado, let’s get the ball rollin’!

Episode 1

Episode one, titled “The Journey’s End”, starts exactly where the title implies. While rather unexpected, being a departure from the hero’s journey that we’re all used to, this series is set in the adventure after the adventure and the first episode captures that perfectly. We’re introduced to Frieren, Himmel, Eisen and Heiter as they arrive into a town celebrating their defeat of the Demon King Zoltraak after a decade long adventure. Throughout that time, they form an almost familial bond, something we as the audience only get a hint of so as to put us in the shoes of our titular main character. You see, unlike her human compatriots who live the life span we would expect, Frieren’s an elf that’s able to live for thousands of years, something she comes to realize and remember as she watches her friends slowly pass from old age.

The Passage of Time

You see, that right there is the entire theme of “Frieren” and is something the pilot captures perfectly; the passage of time, how quick it is and how much we can miss by not showing up for ourselves or those we love. When the episode first starts, we see Himmel, Eisen and Heiter in their young (or young-ish) ages. In the blink of an eye, we’re seeing Frieren arrive back in the aforementioned town after a journey of her own, meeting Himmel as an old man on his deathbed. Another blink, she’s visiting Heiter who’s also looking a bit worse for wear and having her take on his apprentice Fern.

Other things that are knocked out of the park right away are the anime’s music, voice work and art direction. The music by Evan Call is quite arguably some of the best I’ve heard from any anime in the last few years. It perfectly captures you into the world of a more mature fantasy, harkening back to Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in some aspects, while bringing in notes of your stereotypical “Dungeon’s & Dragons” type of fantasy music. I’d say it also compliments the story in every way this episode, almost being a character in it’s own right.

The Voice Work

As for the voice work, the one that stands out to me the most is Mallorie Rodak as Frieren herself. While some might expect the usual anime girl voice coming from an elf, Mallorie went the opposite direction. She gives the character a sense of wisdom and maturity, yet also highlights her apathy and emotionally detached nature. That’s not at all to discredit the work of the other voice actors who also all did a great job, especially Jason Douglass who had a lot to work with as Heiter.

The Art

Lastly, there’s the artwork and art direction. They say that first impressions are the most important thing to make people remember you, and boy has the art style of this series stuck out to me for the last few years in the best way possible. It feels really unique and almost sort of lifelike, giving life to the lands, characters, story and everything in between. There’s also this sense of a calm joy to it that seeps through even in just the posters. The mix of greens, whites, reds, golds, etc. all set the stage of a bright, beautiful landscape that I feel perfectly reflects how life can be when we let it.

Final Thoughts

Bringing everything together from our introduction to this world, I rate this pilot an easy 10/10. From the introduction of the story and it’s characters to the music and setting, there isn’t a single thing about this series that’s a miss thus far. I’d even go so far as to say it’s already well on it’s way to being a modern classic in both fantasy and anime.

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