Sousou no Frieren

During their decade-long quest to defeat the Demon King, the members of the hero's party—Himmel himself, the priest Heiter, the dwarf warrior Eisen, and the elven mage Frieren—forge bonds through adventures and battles, creating unforgettable precious memories for most of them.

However, the time that Frieren spends with her comrades is equivalent to merely a fraction of her life, which has lasted over a thousand years. When the party disbands after their victory, Frieren casually returns to her "usual" routine of collecting spells across the continent. Due to her different sense of time, she seemingly holds no strong feelings toward the experiences she went through.

As the years pass, Frieren gradually realizes how her days in the hero's party truly impacted her. Witnessing the deaths of two of her former companions, Frieren begins to regret having taken their presence for granted; she vows to better understand humans and create real personal connections. Although the story of that once memorable journey has long ended, a new tale is about to begin.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Frieren Main

Tanezaki, Atsumi Japanese

Fern Main

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Stark Main

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Himmel Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Übel Supporting

Hasegawa, Ikumi Japanese

Eisen Supporting

Ueda, Youji Japanese

Flamme Supporting

Tanaka, Atsuko Japanese

Heiter Supporting

Touchi, Hiroki Japanese

Sein Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Denken Supporting

Saitou, Jirou Japanese

Fukushi, Yuuichirou Producer

Taguchi, Shouichirou Producer

Aoki, Haruka Producer

Itou, Yuukou Producer

Reviews

Jan 22, 2025

iSrijan

Recommended

Funny

Perfect mix of slice of life & action. There were a lot of fun moments, and the battles were exciting. Characters, world, and storylines are interesting and fun to follow. The characters are all unique and I found myself interested in every single one. Even the characters in the flashbacks and the side characters are easy to get attached to. Animation is beautiful. They did a good job of making Frieren strong without having her take over every battle. The idea of the story taking place after the big villain has already been defeated is pretty unique and executed well. The amount of flashback scenes ... are balanced and the flashbacks themselves fit into the main story nicely.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 15, 2025

Divineri

Mixed Feelings

Funny

The setting is after the completion of a hero's journey/adventure where the party is successful in their quest. The first 8 episodes or so are quite slow, and introduces most of the main cast. Episodes in this period are full of flashbacks, which I felt detracted from my viewing experience. However, it's a narrative choice that Frieren is experiencing them in the present.

The anime picks up pace as we're introduced to Fern and Stark, which made the anime more interesting. The action sequences in the later half of the anime are quite good and worth the watch, but you have to commit to getting through ... the slow, meandering backstory. I think people who enjoy slice-of-life style anime as well as action will like this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 22, 2025

Aldalome

Not Recommended

Funny

Frieren is a prime example of overhyped mediocrity masquerading as brilliance. Its sky-high ratings on MAL (9.3+ at the time of writing) suggest that its fanbase likely consists of viewers who are either new to storytelling or have not yet been exposed to genuinely well-crafted narratives. The anime attracts a crowd that mistakes repetition and surface-level sentimentality for depth and emotional resonance.

The central theme of the story revolves around Frieren, an immortal elf who spent 10 years adventuring with a group of humans but never fully grasped the significance of time or the bonds she formed along the way. For her, time passed in the ... blink of an eye, while her companions aged, lived full lives, and inevitably approached their end. The narrative’s core conflict lies in Frieren coming to terms with the fleeting nature of human lives and confronting the regret of not valuing the moments she shared with her companions while they were still alive. It’s a story about realizing, far too late, how much those relationships mattered, and how she should have appreciated them more deeply.

On paper, this concept has potential. However, the execution is so clumsy and repetitive that it often feels insulting. The writers seem to assume that their audience is incapable of understanding the theme without constant reinforcement. As a result, the show spells out the same message in every episode—sometimes multiple times. For instance, Frieren frequently remarks, “Oh, this will only take a mere 10 years” or “This six-month trip is nothing,” and the human characters always respond, “That may be short for you, but it’s a long time for us.” This exchange, meant to highlight the difference in perception between the immortal elf and the mortal humans, is repeated ad nauseam, as if the writers know that their viewers are dumb, and they might miss the point. It’s lazy, patronizing storytelling at its worst.

What’s worse, the pacing of the anime is painfully slow. While I understand that the series is attempting a reflective, slow-burn tone, there’s a distinct difference between being “slow” and being “boring.” The problem is not just Frieren herself, but the entire cast of characters. Every one of them feels emotionally flat and uninteresting. They’re hollow, without any depth or meaningful development. Frieren, as the central character, is emotionally detached to the point where it’s difficult to care about her journey, but the supporting characters are just as empty. Their interactions and supposed growth are so subtle and drawn out that they barely register as change at all. The narrative meanders through low-stakes scenarios, recycling the same thematic beats repeatedly without ever offering anything truly engaging or profound. It’s as if the writers are more focused on making the story “slow” than actually building characters with depth or providing compelling narrative tension.

Additionally, the anime’s fans tend to be overly enthusiastic, praising it simply because it looks polished and has a certain atmospheric quality. The animation and music, while serviceable, are used as a smokescreen to cover up what is, at its core, a shallow story disguised as something deep. This is a classic case of style over substance, and the MAL echo chamber amplifies these flaws by mistaking surface-level polish for groundbreaking content.

Ultimately, Frieren feels like a dumb person’s idea of a smart anime. It’s not thoughtful or profound; it’s repetitive, predictable, and self-indulgent. If this is what many people consider the best anime ever, it speaks volumes about the state of popular taste.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Sousou no Frieren Episode 20 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jan 26, 2024	283 replies	by haydnwright »» Today, 7:10 AM
	Frieren Animator Made Adult Animation Project of Fern x Stark ( 1 2 3 ) deg - Jan 18	132 replies	by HatewbsLoveAnime »» Yesterday, 9:10 PM
	Almost 1 year since it finished airing, will Sousou no Frieren's legacy hold up? Will we look back and remember it? ( 1 2 ) Pabloskii_ - Jan 16	63 replies	by AnimSr »» Yesterday, 6:52 PM
	Frieren's made-up political dilemma ImNotAnOtaku1 - Jan 19	49 replies	by AnimSr »» Yesterday, 6:15 PM
	Poll: Sousou no Frieren Episode 28 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) anime-prime - Mar 22, 2024	953 replies	by SriHarsha2005 »» Yesterday, 8:43 AM