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So what's up with Frieren: Beyond Journey's End? It's the number one show on MAL with an average rating of 9.24 after almost a million reviews. However, it doesn't really fall into traditional categories of top anime. For example, the rest of the top 10 is:
While some of the list is made up of actually good shows, a lot of it is the final season/bonus content for a popular anime. Basically the only people who watch this stuff have already seen everything in the show up to this point, so they are rather predisposed to like the ultimate content. Longer anime (like FMA:B and HxH) also have some of this effect because if you watched (e.g.) 150 episodes of something you'd better like it (not to say that they're bad anime, just that this helps push them into the top 10). But Frieren is the first season of a new show and only has 24 episodes so it doesn't really fall into this category.
It's also not exactly a groundbreaking anime. It's heavily trope-y and mostly uninterested in examining the assumptions of its world, except of course for the ramifications of having effectively-immortal beings. This latter aspect is explored in depth (especially through Frieren's interpersonal relationships) and this is done reasonably well. Narratively, the show is incomplete, and doesn't even end on a particularly dramatic note (with the last 8 episodes or so spent on a mostly-self-contained subplot). None of the ongoing hooks were resolved at the end of the season. The art/music/VA are neither exceptionally good nor bad. Overall, I would say it's a fine anime. I talked with someone else I know IRL who likes anime, and he agreed that it's good, but not greatest of all time.
So why is it rated so highly? Perhaps it's the second season, but (as discussed above) in that case the second season should be rated higher than the first, but it currently sits at 8.84. Maybe because it's widely available on streaming platforms? Paging @Lewyn @vorpa-glavo who have recommended this in the past.
I'll say I'm a bit surprised to see Frieren on top right now; I wonder how long the FMA:B mafia will allow that to stand. I don't have a problem with it being there though, it is a great show. I think anyone without terminal shonen brain (what is the anime equivalent term for Ball and Gun Gamer?) can appreciate it.
Frieren is a show that's more about the journey than the destination. I don't think anyone minds that the longstanding plot wasn't wrapped up in the first season when the ending feels emotionally complete and the entire journey up until that point has been so beautiful and refreshing. I'll have to dispute the claim that the art and music are not exceptional; the show is beautifully animated and every shot is gorgeous, and Evan Call's score elevates the show to another level. It's wonderful to just take in the beauty and atmosphere of the show and its idyllic world.
The second season was also good, but it is held back by its disappointing length of only 10 episodes, which doesn't give you as much time to get immersed in the world.
Is it tropey? Maybe. The show affords a lot of emotional exploration and understanding of its characters, even the bit parts, and it is hard to reduce anyone to being a simple villain (except the demons, ha). I'll ask when was the last time you saw such an earnest, heartfelt, sincere sendup of European fantasy at this level of production quality. I can't think of anything else recently — cynical and subversive is in, the monsters are misunderstood and humans are the real bad guys. The church is corrupt and evil, the knights and nobility are twisted and cowardly bullies, the heroes are morally compromised and humiliated. Seeing a show where the 'tropes' are played straight is a genuine breath of fresh air.
I don't really think the show really went anywhere emotionally. So it's sort of vacuously true that it's emotionally complete because we never took a journey in the first place. There are seeds of things which could develop into interesting bits later on, but they have not shed their cotyledons. The characters have developed somewhat, but in fairly milquetoast ways.
I did not think the music was particularly noteworthy. Functionally, it works well, but it's not something I would specifically call out.
These are not actually the tropes I meant:
Now, this are a fairly-standard set of tropes for a D&D-ish anime, but the only aspect Frieren is interested in is the personal experience of Frieren's longevity. I don't really think tropes like having a mostly-good church or black-and-white morality are any more unusual than any of the other things I listed above.
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