Yes, you heard that right.
Summary:
- Some fans argue that the first arc was the best in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
- Its melancholic vibes initially got many people into the series.
- The focus shifts onto action later, but this doesn’t make the anime bad.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) has been unquestionably great throughout its entire run. Fans absolutely love it, and the anime is a rare example where the animation hasn’t gotten worse at any point.
In fact, some argue it got better — although that’s only because we got more action in the last arc.
However, to some, the best part of Frieren was the first arc of the anime. That’s somewhat of a hot take — after all, it featured little to no action. It was great in its own way, and it could certainly be considered one of the best parts of the series.
The first half had a unique vibe that couldn’t be replicated
The first part of the series follows Frieren, retracing the path of the Hero Party in order to figure out her own feelings about adventuring with them. While she couldn’t appreciate them during their time together — after all, 7 years isn’t much for an elf — the time spent with them influenced her a lot.
She was filled with regrets, and although she didn’t understand her own feelings, she definitely knew she felt something — and wanted to understand what exactly.
Frieren learning how to experience emotions and interacting with different people on her travels was what initially made the anime so great. It was a selling point of the series for many, and later arcs emphasize it less.
Yes, Frieren’s time with the Hero Party — and with Himmel specifically — continues to be brought up as a major point in the series.
The latter arcs of the anime don’t have the somber melancholic vibes of the first one, though — and if you were enjoying that part the most about Frieren, it’s understandable why you might be disappointed with the later arcs — they bring more action and comedy elements that were notably lacking earlier in the anime.
Is the rest bad then?
Does this make the rest of the anime bad, or the latter arcs disappointing? No, not at all. In fact, this might be a result of wrong expectations for the series — it was always closer to an epic fantasy than a melancholic work that only deals with one topic.
That said, it’s understandable if the vibes of the first arc were what you loved most about the anime. They have never really returned, outside of some episodes dealing with Frieren reminiscing about Himmel specifically — and fans hope the anime goes into that territory as well, as most of the second half of the anime was action-heavy