On most anime's you'll see, at least the most popular ones, regardless if they are great or just fine (or even other movies and TV shows for that matter) there is always an ultimate goal for the protagonists; a villain to defeat; something precious to be found; saving a loved one... that's kind of how most narratives go - what if a story starts after the main purpose has already been achieved, what's next? This is what Frieren's beautiful journey explores...
An elf, in a world populated mostly by humans, with a huge life span continues her peaceful journey that is her life, after having been a part of a group of 4 people that managed to defeat the source of most evil in their world, a Demon King.
It's a really original and unconventional storyline, we start where most anime's would end, what's next if you have already achieved your ultimate goal in life?
Not only that, we see the world through the eyes of a character that outlives almost everyone she meets, her concept of time is radically different from any average human she crosses paths with, for her there's no rush, she has all the time in the world... This is where we start to see some beautiful and philosophical lessons being laid out - are we not all guilty of assuming we and everyone around will live forever? We struggle to find meaning in ordinary things and we let our lives pass us by assuming there will always be a next time, unfortunately it doesn't work like that every time.
The original narrative gets even more epic with the astonishingly daunting soundtrack, amazing colors and animation and some light hearted comic moments.
The last part of this first season gets a bit more tedious, I feel some of the storylines get a bit stretched but other than that it's a really great story with some really good life lessons, some comedic and also emotional moments along their journey, I am glad they are coming up with another season as there are still some great moments ahead for sure!