'Frieren: Beyond Journey's End' Season 2 Review

Benjamin Wiebe
5 hours ago
4 min read

Season Two.

Aired On: Crunchyroll.

Release Date: 01/18/26.

Genre: Adventure. Fantasy.

The Verdict: A Must-See

Every couple of years, there is an anime that ends up changing my life. Back in 2020, that anime was Cowboy Bebop - thanks in large part to its cast of wandering characters all learning to carry that weight. I watched Cowboy Bebop in my third year of university, after changing schools - and it hit like a ton of bricks. The animation style, the ever-changing cast, and the alien homage about leaving food in the fridge too long are but a few reasons for that show becoming a main personality trait of mine for a year.

You’d think that I would be a deep anime watcher. It clearly has a profound effect on me. So many of my favourite stories are anime: Cowboy Bebop, The Boy and the Heron, Weathering with You, & Belle are but a few. And yet almost all of my favourite Japanese Animation falls into the film category. Rarely have I really felt the call to dive into the world of Japanese Animated Television - primarily due to the baggage of the format. When I think real anime, I think of shows that span hundreds of episodes, with years of a backlog to consume. When I think of real anime, I think of shows full of tonal shifts that go from deep world-building to immature comedy. And in general, I have a hard time allowing myself to commit hours on end to an experience that might let me down.

In 2025, I began to watch a new anime - partially at the request of my friends that I play Dungeons and Dragons. During an evening hangout, they put on the first episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End - and I was immediately hooked. There are a lot of fundamental elements that Frieren did well - which shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with the key artists involved in the creative process. Animation studio Madhouse (known for such works as Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Hunter x Hunter) are one of the titans of animation, and Frieren lives up to that standard. Composer Evan Call (known for Violet Evergarden) paints a vivid picture of this magical, fantasy world that treads the line between epic motif and quiet remembrance. The high quality of the show may not be shocking - and yet, it's not the component of Frieren that made me obsessed with this story.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, is a show that could have been generic and still be successful. It's a fantasy show with phenomenal fighting sequences, near super-sayan power-leveled adventurers, with a black and white morality / monster system. It’s a story that features an All Powerful Demon King that our party has to defeat… and it begins as our party returns from this journey, successful. Frieren is anything but generic, because it’s a story about what it means to be human - told from the perspective of the thousand year old elf.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, is a story about change, growth, and wrestling with your past self. The titular protagonist, Frieren, is an elf who has lived for centuries, watching the people around her grow old and die, continually. Frieren is defined by both her childish naivety and her apathy towards others - and only through the passing of Himmel the Hero does Frieren begin to seek to change. The show is unique in its depiction of time, as episodes take place over a few days, months, years or decades. The passing of time is a key theme to Frieren - and part of what makes this show stand out in 2026. The writer and illustrator of the Manga (Kanehito Yamada & Tsukasa Abe) have created a story that is reflective and purposeful in its slowest moments - and it’s their story that has me engrossed in this anime.

Season 2 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End has slowed down from the highs of Season 1’s Mage Exam finale, receding into its rhythm of slice of life, character defined storytelling. Our main trio of characters (Frieren, her apprentice Fern and Stark, the party's warrior) have once again taken center stage. Season one's back half was largely centered on Fern and Frieren, and Stark has finally been taken off the bench to be showcased in these first three episodes of season 2. The show has begun to focus on small critical moments again - such as the habits of our adventuring trio - and it's a breath of fresh air in the constantly moving, attention grabbing, dopamine driven world of social media. As the episodes slow down, the big moments begin to stand out far more - whether it's a 20 second battle with a hydra, or the sunset view of a mountaintop adventure that took our characters weeks. The show is released weekly on Crunchyroll, and promises to both expand the world and grow these characters in fascinating ways.

Part of my desire to write about Frieren: Beyond Journeys End is to help others avoid the major pitfall I always seem to fall into. As the show progresses, with more episodes available to watch, the show's early seasons begin to take on new meaning: homework. Frieren: Beyond Journeys End sits at 31 episodes currently - and though each episode runs for 20 minutes, that backlog does continually grow week to week. If you are someone who enjoys fantasy media, slower stories, and is seeking rest, I highly recommend Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.

Where to Watch: