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Official Site: Viz Media

is the title character and protagonist of the Japanese manga series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, created by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe. Frieren is a former member of a party of adventurers led by the hero Himmel, who defeated the Demon King and restored harmony to the world after a ten-year quest. Reuniting with her former party fifty years later, Frieren discovers that her companions have distinctly aged, and Himmel dies of old age after one last adventure to see a meteor shower. During the funeral, Frieren expressed guilt for not attempting to learn more about him. Frieren then pays a visit to her other former comrades, and in the process takes on a human apprentice named Fern. She also receives an invitation to travel to the rumored resting place of souls in the far north, where she aims to see Himmel again, bid the hero a fitting farewell, and express her feelings. To fulfill those requests, Frieren embarks on a journey together with Fern while still pursuing her passion for learning magic.

While initially conceptualized as a comical fighter, Yamada scrapped multiple ideas she had for Frieren until deciding to make her an elf who grows in the story while remembering Himmel. In the anime adaptation, she is voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki in Japanese and Mallorie Rodak in English. Critical response to Frieren's character was mostly positive, due to how the series focuses on Frieren's view of life and how she aims to become a better person. The further exploration of her dark past was also praised for how it changed people's views of her.

Series creator Kanehito Yamada originally envisioned Frieren as the protagonist of a comedy manga where she was obsessed with killing demons. In planning the series, editor Katsuma Ogura was impressed with Tsukasa Abe's artwork and suggested him to work with Yamada. Yamada was impressed with the first illustration of Frieren, believing the title character had an aura of humanity. When he asked him to draw a character picture for Frieren, Yamada said, "If this is the person, please do it." Abe was put in charge of the animation. After several revisions involving comedy, the author came across with the idea of having an elf with a long lifespan as the main character. Although Himmel dies, his appearances in flashbacks were written to reflect Frieren's emotional growth. When Himmel appears, the author feels that the story tightens up. Even if it is sad, there is a catharsis.

The song "Yūsha" was sourced from the short story, titled , written by Jirō Kiso and supervised by Yamada, telling about protagonist Frieren visiting a small town called "Music City" five years after the death of the hero Himmel. She receives a difficult request from an old woman she meets in a place filled with music. It incorporates the main character Frieren's emotional changes and memories towards the hero Himmel, expressing lonely and melancholy atmosphere of the anime. Originally, the opening theme would focus on the worldview of Frieren's journey; however, the songwriter Ayase was not satisfied with the original version of the song, which he felt had "too much emphasis on the atmosphere". Thus, Ayase decided to rework the song even after submitting its first version to the anime's team.

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