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Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Anime Streams Original Mini-Anime

The official website for the television anime of Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe's Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sōsō no Frieren) manga began streaming the first episode of the anime's latest project titled "Frieren's Mini Anime 'Magic of ??'" (Sōsō no Frieren ~?? no Mahō~) on Wednesday. The first episode titled "The magic of saying what you're thinking" is now streaming on TOHO animation's YouTube channel, and is also posted on the anime's official X (formerly Twitter) account and TikTok channel.

The mini-anime project features original daily-life stories of the characters trying different magic spells during their journey. It also features the official deformed characters designs by illustrator Mebachi (DEEMO Memorial Keys). The mini-anime will stream irregularly.

The Frieren: Beyond Journey's End anime premiered with a two-hour special on September 29. It is the first ever television anime series to premiere in NTV's "Kinyō Roadshow," a Friday evening programming block usually reserved for feature films. The anime then started airing later episodes on October 6 at 11 p.m. JST in NTV's new anime timeslot, "FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT." The anime will run for two consecutive cours until March 2024.

Viz Media has licensed the manga, and it describes the story:

The adventure is over but life goes on for an elf mage just beginning to learn what living is all about. Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her? Decades after their victory, the funeral of one her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure…

Atsumi Tanezaki plays the protagonist and titular character Frieren.

The other cast members include:

• Nobuhiko Okamoto as Himmel
• Hiroki Touchi as Heiter
• Yōji Ueda as Eisen
• Kana Ichinose as Fern
• Chiaki Kobayashi as Stark
• Atsuko Tanaka as Flamme
• Hiroki Yasumoto as Qual

Keiichirō Saitō (Bocchi the Rock!) is directing the anime at Madhouse. Tomohiro Suzuki (ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept., One-Punch Man, Boogiepop and Others) is in charge of series scripts. Reiko Nagasawa (takt op. Destiny) is designing the characters. Evan Call (Violet Evergarden, Josee, The Tiger and the Fish, Muv-Luv Alternative) is composing the music.

YOASOBI performs the opening theme song "Yūsha" (Hero), and milet performs the ending theme song "Anytime Anywhere."

Yamada and Abe launched the manga in Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine in April 2020. The 11th compiled book volume shipped on September 15. Viz Media published the eighth volume on June 20, and it will publish its ninth volume on October 17. The manga went on hiatus from January 18 and resumed serialization on March 22.

The manga has won several awards, including the New Creator Prize for the 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2021 and the 14th Manga Taisho Award in 2021. In addition, the manga was nominated for Best Shōnen Manga for Kodansha's 45th annual Manga Awards in 2021 and the 46th awards in May 2022. The American Library Association's Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT) included the manga in its top 10 list of 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List.

Sources: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End anime's website, Comic Natalie