Frieren

is a Japanese manga series written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' since April 2020, with its chapters collected in twelve volumes as of December 2023. The series is licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media. An anime television series adaptation produced by Madhouse premiered in September 2023. Crunchyroll has licensed and distributed the series in North America, Europe and Australia, with an English dub premiering the following month, and Muse Communication licensing the series in Southeast Asia.

Taking place in a fantasy world, the story follows Frieren, an elven mage, as she embarks on a journey to reach the resting place of souls in order to reunite with her former comrade Himmel, whose Hero Party once slew the Demon King.

By December 2023, the manga had over 17 million copies in circulation. ''Frieren: Beyond Journey's End'' won the 14th Manga Taishō and the New Creator Prize of the 25th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2021 and the 69th Shogakukan Manga Award in 2024.

Plot

The story follows elven mage Frieren, a former member of the party of adventurers who defeated the Demon King and restored harmony to the world after a ten-year quest. In the past, the heroic group included Frieren, human hero Himmel, dwarven warrior Eisen, and human priest Heiter. Before they part, they observe the Era Meteors together, a meteor shower that occurs once in fifty years. Frieren agrees to see them again and offers them a better view the next time the celestial event occurs. Frieren then departs and travels the world in pursuit of magical knowledge.

Frieren returns to the capital fifty years later; however, humanity has changed, and her former companions have distinctly aged. After one last adventure to see the meteor shower, Himmel dies of old age. During the funeral, Frieren expressed guilt for not attempting to learn more about him. Frieren then pays a visit to her other former comrades. She accepts an offer to teach and care for Fern, an orphaned child adopted by Heiter. She also receives an invitation to travel far north, to the resting place of souls, and see Himmel again to bid the hero a fitting farewell and express her feelings. To fulfill those requests, Frieren embarks on a journey together with Fern while still pursuing her passion for learning magic.

Frieren's elven nature grants her an extremely long lifespan, causing her to view periods of years or decades as ephemeral (this perception of time makes her consider the ten-year adventure with Himmel's party a fleeting experience). The story thus takes place across a long time, with periodic flashbacks accompanied by the physical and mental development of characters apart from Frieren herself.

Production

Katsuma Ogura, the editor-in-charge of ''Frieren'', noted that Yamada's previous work, ''Bocchi Hakase to Robot Shoujo no Zetsubou Teki Utopia'', did not sell well, despite considering it a masterpiece. This led to the suggestion of giving Yamada an illustrator for ''Frieren''. They had several thoughts that went from a gag manga which resulted in storyboards for a one-shot of ''Frieren''. Upon reading the one-shot of ''Frieren'', Ogura started laughing, claiming that it was not a comedy at all. When Yamada finished the first storyboard, before sending it to the editorial department, Ogura contacted Abe and asked them to draw a character chart. Yamada was impressed with it and Ogura asked him do it, submitting the project to the editorial. Ogura was impressed with Abe's artwork and suggested that he work with Yamada. Yamada was impressed with the first illustration of Frieren, believing the title character had an aura of humanity.

After Kanehito Yamada, who was in charge of the original work, finished serializing his previous work, "Since it was a comedy about demons, I suggested that they try writing a gag in that direction, and suddenly the name of the first chapter of ''Funeral Frieren''" came up. After that, he decided to hire someone to be in charge of drawing, and when he showed his name to Tsukasa Abe, who was also in charge, he responded, "I'd like to draw it." When I asked him to draw a character picture for Frieren, Yamada said, "If this is the person, please do it." Abe was put in charge of the animation.

The origin of the title of this work is that Yamada had a title idea, but the editorial department also considered it, and at the editorial department meeting, the editor in charge said, "If we decide on a good title, we will pay a prize of 10,000 yen out of our own pocket." One of the title ideas submitted by the deputy editor-in-chief was ''Funeral Frieren'', and Yamada and Abe finally decided on the title, which became the current title.

For the animated adaptation by Madhouse, Tomohiro Suzuki said Fern's character was too different depending on who she is interacting with; with Frieren there is a motherly bond while in front of Stark, she acts like a childish normal teenager. Director Keiichiro Saito added that Fern appears to have several changes in the narrative as her growth has a major impact on Frieren. When it comes to Stark, Suzuki says that despite being a coward, he is still written to be handsome and cool and has a major impact on Fern as he becomes the first young male friend she has ever met and socialized in her entire life.

Media

Manga

''Frieren: Beyond Journey's End'' is written by and illustrated by . The series began in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' on April 28, 2020. In January 2023, it was announced that manga would go on hiatus; it resumed in March of the same year. Shogakukan has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was published on August 18, 2020. As of December 18, 2023, twelve volumes have been released.

In February 2021, Viz Media announced that they licensed the series for English release in North America, and the first volume was published on November 9, 2021. On May 9, 2023, Viz Media launched their ''Viz Manga'' digital manga service, with the series' chapters receiving simultaneous English publication in North America as they are released in Japan.

Five one-shot spin-off chapters by different authors were published on ''Sunday Webry'' manga website from May 22–26, 2023; by Kassan (May 22); by Ren Miura (May 23); by Jona (May 24); by Kazumi Yamaguchi (May 25); and by Sōichi Igarashi (May 26).

Anime

In September 2022, it was announced on the cover of the ninth volume of the manga that the series would receive an anime adaptation. It was later revealed to be a television series that is produced by Madhouse and directed by Keiichirō Saitō, with scripts supervised by Tomohiro Suzuki, character designs handled by Reiko Nagasawa, and music composed by Evan Call. The series premiered with a two-hour special on September 29, 2023, on Nippon TV's programming block (which is usually reserved for feature films), which is the first ever anime series to do so, with later episodes airing on the network's new programming block. The series will run for two consecutive cours. Yoasobi performed the first opening theme song , while Milet performed the ending theme song " Anytime Anywhere". Milet also performed the first episode's ending theme song "Bliss". Yorushika performed the second opening theme song . The second cour features a different part of Milet's "Anytime Anywhere".

Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.

Other media

An official , featuring information about the series, illustrations, summaries and initial rough designs of the characters, was published by Shogakukan on January 12, 2024.

Reception

Manga

By March 2021, the manga had over 2 million copies in circulation; over 5.6 million copies in circulation by February 2022; over 6 million copies in circulation by June 2022; over 7.2 million copies in circulation by September 2022; over 8 million copies in circulation by March 2023; over 10 million copies in circulation by September 2023; and over 17 million copies in circulation by December 2023.

The manga ranked second on Takarajimasha's ''Kono Manga ga Sugoi!'' list of best manga of 2021 for male readers; and ranked sixth on the 2022 list. The series ranked second on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2021" by the Honya Club website. The series ranked seventeenth on the 2021 "Book of the Year" list by ''Da Vinci'' magazine; it ranked tenth on the 2022 list; and twelfth on the 2023 list.

It was ranked in the top ten graphic novels by the American Library Association's Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table's "Best Graphic Novels for Adults" list of 2022.

Critical reception

Rebecca Silverman of ''Anime News Network'' gave the first volume an A−. Silverman praised the concept of Frieren outliving her companions and being forced to live with an understanding of the human world and her own emotions, calling it an "interesting take on the fantasy genre". Silverman, however, commented that the art is not "quite up to the emotional tasks of the story". Richard Eisenbeis from the same website praised the second volume of the series, saying that it "delivers both emotional tales and deep thematic explorations of human nature". He also described the fourth and fifth volumes of the manga as "an action climax that delivers not only a grand battle but also character-development and world-building. Smaller one-off tales that hit you right in your emotional core". Ross Locksley of ''UK Anime Network'' considered it as an interesting take on the fantasy genre, comparing its themes to the manga ''To Your Eternity'' as it examines relationships as the protagonist tries to live up the legacy of her teammates.

Wolfen Moondaughter of ''Sequential Tart'' gave the first volume a 9 out of 10. Moondaughter highlighted the slice of life nature of the story, despite its premise which involves a " D&D-style adventuring party", also praising the interaction between the characters and the art work, concluding: "If you want a break from fight scenes, and want something more serene and contemplative, this book should serve you well! It's also a lovely story of honouring the memory of lost loved ones, and dealing with grief." Sheena McNeil of the same website gave the first volume a 7. McNeil called the concept of "what happens to the party when the quest is over?" interesting, praising as well Frieren's struggling with "becoming less detached" and seeing her experiencing the "lovely poignant moments, bittersweet ones, and happy ones". McNeil also compared the series' pace and feel to ''Haibane Renmei''. Antonio Mireles of ''The Fandom Post'' named it the sixth best manga of 2021. He wrote: "Time waits for no man and that line may be overused but that line strikes a chord in this manga. There is always more to discover and Frieren has to learn that lesson as time marches on. It's a sweet but harsh reminder to enjoy the moment for all its worth." Kara Dennison of ''Otaku USA'' liked the art and the touches of humanity which help to appeal the narrative, comparing it other famous works like ''Lord of the Rings'' among other fantasy series.

Awards and nominations

Anime

The anime adaptation was praised by ''Digital Spy''s Ali Griffiths as one of the best fantasy anime from 2023, citing its themes surrounding the passage of time as well as praising the show's "cozy, calm atmosphere" and sound design. Richard Eisenbeis of ''Anime News Network'' praised the dynamics between the main characters as Frieren quickly goes through an arc when meeting Fern and Stark as her perspective of time changes as she meets these two teenagers while also building up her backstory with each episode. Jenni Lada of ''Siliconera'' considered it as one of the best anime from fall 2023, praising the depths of Frieren as she wants to connect further with Himmel following her regrets when the hero dies in the first episode while also noting how there are other events in the manga that go from drama to slice-of-life. Dan Mansfield of ''The Fandom Post'' also praised the fights and narrative from the plot but felt some sex jokes to be out-of-place despite appreciating the humor in general. While commenting on Frieren's personality, Mansfield also appreciated how Fern gets scenes in early episodes where she comforts Stark who is worried about being scared.

Kambole Campbell of ''IGN'' praised the production values for how it mixes with a "simple, but moving" narrative. Cy Catwell of ''Anime Feminist'' enjoyed the soundtrack, comparing it to the music of '' The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'' or ''Tears of the Kingdom'', as well as praising Madhouse's animation.

Notes

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{Madhouse

Adventure anime and manga
Anime series based on manga
Crunchyroll anime
Drama anime and manga
Elves in popular culture
Fantasy anime and manga
Fiction about immortality
Madhouse (company)
Manga Taishō
Muse Communication
Nippon TV original programming
Shogakukan manga
Shōnen manga
Toho Animation
Viz Media manga
Winner of Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize (New Artist Prize)
Winners of the Shogakukan Manga Award