The story follows elven mage Frieren, a former member of the party of adventurers who defeated the Demon King and restored harmony to the world after a ten-year quest. As years pass, Frieren stays the same due to her longer lifespan while the others age. Many years after the hero Himmel's death, Frieren regrets keeping her former companions at arm's length and not getting to know them better during their adventure. After learning of the resting place of souls in the northernmost part of the continent, Frieren embarks on a long journey to give Himmel's soul a proper farewell. In the process, Frieren and a new group of traveling companions retrace the path to the Demon King's castle taken by Frieren's original party, bringing back old memories.
The two consecutive-cours series premiered with a two-hour special on September 29, 2023, on Nippon TV's programming block Kin'yō Road Show [ja], which is normally reserved for feature films, becoming the first anime series to do so.[3][4][5] Later episodes debuted on the new block Friday Anime Night on the same network and its affiliates,[6] and ended on March 22, 2024.[7] For the four-episode premiere broadcast, the special ending theme is "Bliss", which was performed by Milet.[3] The first opening theme is "Yūsha" (勇者, lit.'Hero') by Yoasobi, while the ending theme is "Anytime Anywhere" by Milet.[8] The second opening theme is "Sunny" (晴る, Haru) by Yorushika,[9] and the second ending theme includes a different part of "Anytime Anywhere".[10]Toho Animation compiled the episodes into seven Blu-ray and DVD sets, which were released from January 24 to July 17, 2024.[11] Eleven short episodes, titled Sōsō no Frieren: Marumaru no Mahō (葬送のフリーレン ~●●の魔法~), was released on Toho Animation's YouTube channel and on Frieren's official anime X and TikTok accounts from October 11, 2023, to March 24, 2024.[12][13]
Crunchyroll licensed the series for streaming outside East Asia,[14] and an English dub directed by Jad Saxton premiered on its streaming platform on October 13, 2023.[15] The company is releasing the series on Blu-ray and DVD sets; the first part, which includes the first 16 episodes, was released on December 17, 2024.[16][17]Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.[18]
In September 2024, it was announced the series was renewed for a second season.[19][20][21] It is set to premiere in January 2026.[22]