I watched “Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End” a few weeks ago which is probably my first proper anime (not counting the odd episode of Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon or OnePiece I caught on TV as a child) and I really enjoyed it.

Especially the slow but deep character build up and general world building and exploration themes were really captivating. So I’m looking for something similar with focus on these aspects.

So far I found “Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina”, which was ok but didn’t quite live up to Frieren and wasn’t nearly as captivating.

So does anyone know similar shows or at least shows that focus on the aspects of story telling I mentioned avove?

  • @wjs018@ani.socialMEnglish
    15•3 months ago

    Well, you picked a hell of a show to start. A couple that I think are similar in feel to Frieren would be:

    • Kino’s Journey - there are two versions of this show as it had a remake done in 2013(?) I think. In any case, for somebody just starting their anime journey, you can stick to the more recent, less VHS-grainy looking version.
    • Mushishi
    • Violet Evergarden - I haven’t personally watched this one yet, but it is brought up a lot in comparison to Frieren.
    • @tobogganablazeOPEnglish
      5•3 months ago

      Kino’s Journey

      Already looked into that one and have both versions prepared.

      Thanks!

      • 佐藤カズマEnglish
        3•3 months ago

        OP, I just want to STRONGLY second Violet Evergarden. The individual episodes don’t really connect to one another except through Violet, which is definitely a change from Frieren. But one wrinkle. There’s a movie that sits in between episodes 4 and 5, chronologically, and then there’s a movie that sits at the end of all of it. Go in blind, though. Trust me, you’ll really appreciate having done so.

    • @tobogganablazeOPEnglish
      2•2 months ago

      Mushishi

      So I’m almost through Season 1 now and this is a really strange one. It wasn’t really what I was looking for but it’s so strangly calming and while very episodical it still feels like you want to see what comes next.

      It’s definitly not as gripping so I didn’t really binge it, just watching a couple of episodes here and there. But now that I’m finishing the first season I have to say I quite enjoyed it overall. Even if it was for different reasons then I looked for.

      Thanks for the suggestion.

      • @wjs018@ani.socialMEnglish
        2•2 months ago

        Watching an episode or two at a time is just right for Mushishi. It definitely is one that benefits from some time to reflect on each episode. Glad you have enjoyed it! Plenty of other suggestions already in this thread on where you could go next (if not season 2 of Mushishi). Good luck on your anime journey!