Summary
The most compelling plot in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End drags on too long, replacing unique strengths with clichés. Madhouse’s gorgeous animation style and new supporting cast help ease the narrative’s deadlock. It looks like Frieren’s second season will build on the finale of season one.
Freezing: Beyond Journey’s End is to embark on new tasks, even when it seems like the journey has come to its logical end. Madhouse’s animated adaptation executed this concept well for 17 episodes, but the second half of the second season began to shake up the formula with the first-class mage exam. While this is a suitable narrative climax, the lengthy plot is detrimental to the story, as it replaces its unique strengths with anime cliches that are purely by design. put.
Madhouse’s animation style and exciting new supporting cast work admirably to soothe the pain, but the multi-phase test only proves that Frieren’s true power exists as the series continues continues to develop and the film’s main cast has the opportunity to explore new sights.
With the plot still only in the middle of the second trial, it will continue as long as Frieren and her friends remain trapped in Äußerst.
Frieren’s latest is uninspired and too long
Original story written by Kanehito Yamada, Animation by Madhouse
In theory, the first-class mage exam is a boundary marking a new stage in Frieren’s journey as they continue north. In reality, however, it leaves them stuck in one place for too long when the strength of the story lies in seeing new vistas and new people. The exam started in episode 18, has lasted for seven episodes and will probably continue until the end of the season. There’s almost too much time spent on a relatively small issue like certification, while higher-stakes events like Aura’s attack on a city only take four hours.
The exam’s tests also contrast Frieren’s unique identity within the fantasy genre. The first part, which involves an open-air battle for a limited set of cards, feels a lot like Naruto’s famous Chunin Exams arc, while the second part involves exploring a large dungeon large, clashing with the context that has been established so far. After all, anime is known more for its characterization and world-building than its Shounen-style battles. This abrupt change in pace is only made worse by the aforementioned decision to devote an entire quarter of the film to these experiments.
To Madhouse’s credit, their excellent art design and animation averted the worst of the problem. Likewise, the new supporting cast of other aspiring magicians should attract viewers. But Denken, Ubel and the others could easily be introduced in non-exam storylines. Worse yet, the focus on them sidelined Stark, reducing the original cast to two. As such, this section can be shortened to a quiz, allowing the audience to return to the anime’s strengths more quickly. Instead of, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End may be gradually reaching its end of the season.
Freezing: Beyond Journey’s End available on Crunchyroll.