When One Journey Ends, Another Will Begin - Themes of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

             

    Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End successfully orchestrates a new style of storytelling that is rarely found in the fantasy adventure anime genre. Direct from the mind of Kanehito Yamada and the hands of Tsukaba Abe, the story of Frieren is told through complex memory recall revealed in tandem with the current adventures of our protagonist and her newfound friends.

    From episode one, it is revealed that the hero of our story is a thousand-year-old elf who, fifty years prior, restored harmony in the world after defeating the Demon King. No decent adventure goes without a merry band of companions, however. Through Kanehito and Tsukaba’s brilliant planning, this story reveals the cast (old and new) at the same time. By doing so, they present the audience with the idea of rebirth; as one life ends, another begins.

    Most of the pilot episode feels like a nostalgic look back into the first party’s lives, prompting Frieren to seek them out, knowing that they have aged and the two human members (Himmel and Heiter) will likely pass from old age soon. They take on monsters together, remembering the good days they had, and stay for Himmel’s funeral. A moment of great sadness in Friefren during Himmel’s burial service makes her realize that the ten years they spent together were only a small period in her life, but a meaningful and life-changing decade in Himmel’s. With this realization, Frieren feels she didn’t know Himmel as deeply as she wished. This inspires Frieren to decide to continue journeying and learn more about humankind.

    Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End explores a commonly disregarded detail in many fantasy tales: What happens to those who outlive their best of friends? Elves, dwarves, and other fantastical races in these stories tend to live longer than their human counterparts. In the pilot (and continuing into episode two), Frieren is faced with the death of her party’s human members who lived out their old age peacefully. Frieren finds Heiter a while later, discovering that he has taken in a young girl, Fern, as a daughter. She stays with Heiter and Fern for a while, reminiscing about their adventures, knowing his final day is coming soon. Upon his deathbed, Heiter makes a final request for Frieren: Take Fern with her, allow her to experience the world and learn magic. After all, Frieren is the strongest mage in the world, proven by her strength against the Demon King. Heiter knew she would be in safe hands, but more importantly, learn something that only Frieren could teach her: Patience, listening, and enjoying the flowers along the way.

    Tsukaba and Kanehito had a hand in the animation of their story, aiding the actors in directing how Freiren’s personality and voice should sound versus that of Ferns or any of the other characters. Since this story is told through her perspective, the creators wanted to focus on Frieren’s desire to learn more about humanity. They use Himmel as a source of inspiration and representation for Frieren’s views on the world and the human race as a whole. Specifically, Himmel’s beliefs in wanting to live an honest and helpful life, believing that the good he does during his time in this world will keep his legacy alive, thus connecting him to the future. This encompasses the overall themes found in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End: Life continues after death, accepting impermanence, and the aspiration to leave the world better than it was found.