Frieren: Beyond Journey's End / Funny

Per wiki policy, Spoilers Off applies here and all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_10_21_200141.png

"Mistress Frieren, this guy is hopeless.
Let's find someone else."

In appreciating the scale of time, you can find hilarity in even the darkest or saddest of moments.

open/close all folders

Series-wide

Every time Frieren comes across a mimic, she will always fall for it, even when using a spell that can detect them (since the detection spell has a 1% chance of getting a false positive). And no matter who tries to stop her, she always ends up getting hilariously chomped on by it.

Volume 1

Chapter 1

While talking about the length of their journey, Himmel remarks that Heiter looks like an old man now. Frieren replies he always looked like that. Heiter finds both remarks rude.
We get our first montage, this one showcasing Frieren's fifty year journey around the central lands. This of course includes her getting caught by a mimic.

Chapter 3

Himmel taking 18 hours to decide on a pose for his statue (which ended up being a quite mundane pose), driving everyone around him half mad with boredom or frustration.
Fern trying to hide seed rats in her clothes to take them with her.
The understated yet clear terror in Fern's eyes when Frieren tries reassuring her she will stop searching for blue moon weed "soon," nervously asking just how many years qualify as "soon" to the elf.

Chapter 4

Frieren's "hiding something" face, and Fern recounting the various odd things she buys (including the infamous clothes dissolving potion).
The uncharacteristically strong expressions Frieren makes as she tries to decide on a gift for Fern. Also Fern pushing a box around to hide herself while following Frieren, and it actually working.
Frieren noticing how buxom Fern has become at 16, and how confused she is by it given she has pretty much the same diet as her.

Chapter 5

Himmel in a Not So Above It All moment revealing he has always wanted to see under Frieren's skirt.

Chapter 6

Everything involving sleepy Frieren and Fern having to take care of her each morning to keep her from sleeping till noon. Culminating in Frieren calling Fern "mother" in her sleep.
Fern: Who are you calling "mother"!?

Chapter 7

Frieren arrives at Eisen's home (after having not seen him for almost thirty years) and proudly declares she has come to "hang out."
Fern wondering with Eisen if Frieren lived in prehistoric times, and Frieren getting offended that they could think she is anywhere near that old.
Frieren has learned to value other people's time, if only because of how scary Fern gets when she's angry.

Volume 2

Chapter 8

Frieren cutely mumbling in her sleep that she doesn't want to go back to Ende because it is so cold there.
In a flashback, Frieren's expression of goofy bliss at the magic tome she has found, while being dragged away from an enraged monster by Fern.

Chapter 10

Frieren's response to the attack magic not working on the solar dragon? Run and don't look back (or wait for Fern).
Frieren's strategy to combat the dragon? Keep repeating what they already did and they'll eventually win. She only relents on this due to Fern's nonverbal pleading.
Frieren seriously explaining the utility of the "see through clothes" spell she wants from the grimoire.
Frieren recounts again the "idiots" who praised her magic, while flashing back to making a small golem for them. In the anime she makes the golem dance.
Stark's standoff with the dragon gets a Once More, with Clarity treatment as we see how he was actually feeling during it, i.e. freaked out and too scared to move. This leads to the look of absolute cold condescension from Fern shown in the page image.
Frieren remarking on how "innocent and adorable" Fern used to be compared to her moody teenaged self.

Chapter 11

Frieren tells Fern they'll need to kill the solar dragon without Stark's help. The scene cuts to Fern firmly hugging a tree while Frieren tries to pull her away.
Frieren's sheer joy at acquiring the dragon's treasures, and Fern demanding she take no more than three items with them.
After successfully defeating the solar dragon, Fern learns and uses a spell that lets her see through clothes.
Frieren: So? Can you see through my clothes?
Fern: I can, but I don't find this spell particularly interesting.
Frieren: Well, sorry I don't have an interesting body.
Fern: [stares at Stark]
Stark: What?
Fern: So small.
Stark: It ain't small!

Chapter 12

The bartender claiming Stark has simply gotten bigger rather than the jumbo-berry special getting smaller, when the flashback indicates it was indeed bigger in the past.
Fern's relief that Stark is "normal" about not wanting to wait two years to get through the checkpoint.
Frieren's adorable attempts at stealth due to being "followed," using a book to hide her face. Turns out it's simply that the guards have figured out who she is, and are trying to treat her as a hero. Frieren turns out to be very uncomfortable with this, particularly because it means she is getting favored treatment and allowed through the checkpoint right away (when she had wanted the excuse to laze around in the city for months or years studying magic). She outright drops her book in shock.

Chapter 13

The sheer amount Fern emotes at the shocking sight of Frieren waking up early on her own. She asserts to Stark that they "must praise her," said "praise" involving Fern hand feeding her breakfast while Stark massages the elf's shoulders.
Frieren seems to have suddenly gotten more generous, explaining that helping just the merchant over the rock slide wouldn't help any travelers who come after him. Only for her to casually mention it was Fern who told her that.
Frieren: You're pretty selfish, aren't you Stark?
Stark: I don't want to be told that by you of all people.
Stark gets a bit tired of Fern using "-sama" on him all the time, and requests that she address him less formally. She immediately switches to a rather blunt and rude style of speech, making him regret even asking, then goes back to addressing him as usual. In the manga, she goes so far as to bluntly tell him "Stark, get your ass over here," to help with cleaning rubble, then shortly after says that he's "a pain in the ass."

Chapter 14

The cover of this chapter shows Frieren getting carried away by a guard with a bored expression on her face.
After Frieren is arrested for trying to attack Aura's peace envoys, she is thrown in the dungeon and supposed to reflect on her actions for two or three years. As an elf, that is not really a long time and Frieren merely asks Stark and Fern to bring her some grimoires to read.

Chapter 15

Draht's entire assassination attempt on Frieren is rather laughable. Frieren looks bored despite Draht announcing that he's here to kill her. When he tries to behead her with his wire, she still looks completely bored and then cuts Draht's arm off when he turns his back to her to pull harder on the wire. She doesn't even let him finish his pleading and kills him mid-sentence.

Volume 3

Chapter 22

Aura's demise. Make no mistake, the way she dies is still somewhat unsettling, but there's something very funny when one of the Seven Sages with a body count at the estimated hundreds dies because her strongest spell's volatile nature bit her in the back and allowed Frieren to control her into killing herself instead. Even funnier, Aura boasts about being 500 years old, but she's actually younger than Frieren, who is more than twice as old.
- Even funnier, when Himmel recruited Frieren 80 years ago, she tells him (paraphrased) "Why do you want me? I haven't killed a demon in 500 years, I am not even certain I still remember how." and then proceeded to become famous as Frieren the Slayer. Irony is, she hasn't been killing demons for longer than Aura was alive and spent all that time in the woods with nothing to do but gather herbs, read grimoires and train her mana.

Chapter 23

Fern remarking that Himmel "trained" Frieren well regarding showing respect to human corpses. Frieren doesn't appreciate it being called "training."
Stark passes out from fear while kneeling and has to be carried around via levitation for a while.
Fern happily devouring a burger as big as her head (in the anime Frieren also gets such a burger).
From Frieren's perspective the rules and regulations classifying and governing mages change "frequently," so she sees no point in getting a new certification every time. In fact she doesn't have anything that certifies her as a mage aside from a ancient, rusty "holy emblem" that almost nobody in the modern age has any knowledge of.

Chapter 24

Stark is physically the toughest of the party, yet he is the one to pass out in the blizzard. Fern has to carry him via an over the shoulder drag, she is both amazed at how heavy he is, and annoyed when he remarks sleepily that she smells good.
Frieren's party is stuck in the mountains in the middle of a blizzard, with Stark suffering from severe hypothermia. Seeing no other choice, Frieren has Fern carry him to an old cabin she remembers from 80 years prior, once they find the cabin, they're surprised to find it occupied by a shirtless Kraft doing squats and pumping himself up like a gym bro. Fern immediately closes the door and, in a matter of fact manner, states that the cabin wont do because "there's a pervert in there".

Chapter 26

Stark's birthday chapter has a few good moments:
- The scene where Fern asks Frieren for ideas about what to give Stark for his birthday, only for Frieren to suggest a clothes-dissolving potion that Flamme taught her makes a great gift for men. The anime makes it even funnier by giving Frieren an incredibly smug face◊ as she holds the potion up. Fern's response is to take the potion and dump it on Frieren's head.
  - Jill Harris as Fern in English delivers the line like she's Frieren's mother discovering an especially nasty porn stash.
- She then goes to find Stark, claiming he's not that much of a pervert... only to find him staring at a cloud and marveling at how much it looks like a pair of boobs, causing Fern to think that maybe he is a pervert. Then he looks at another cloud and decides that it looks like poop, at which point Fern decides that he's not a pervert, just immature.
- After some convincing, Fern gets Stark to pick out a birthday present at the market... and she immediately shoots it down for being too expensive.
- At the very end of the chapter, Frieren tries to give him some of the clothes-dissolving potion that she managed to save.

Chapter 27

We are introduced to Sein, monologuing about his past as Frieren listens intently. At the end she asks why he is telling her this, and the scene zooms out to show he is currently sinking into a bottomless swamp. We then get Frieren refusing to pull him out by the hand because he is dirty, then innocently claiming she is trying to remember the spell to get someone out of a swamp (when we all know all she has to do is the usual levitation). She conveniently "remembers" as soon as Fern shows up, not that that stops Fern from knowing she needs to be scolded over this teasing.
Sein's brother is not exactly tactful when diagnosing Stark's envenomation, namely that it is too late for normal treatment and he's going to die after his brain liquefies and flows out of his nose.
Sein's brother has an odd definition of what it means to live in "honorable poverty," namely that their new bathtub is small enough to fit in a hand, and a new scythe is so small it would struggle to cut grass.
When the party decides to try to recruit Sein, Stark's approach is to challenge him to a card game, with Sein joining the party if he loses. Cut to Stark outside the tavern, in his underwear. Fern and Frieren chide him for losing everything, only to realize that Sein also lost everything but his underwear in the card game, to the village chief.

Volume 4

Chapter 28

Volume 4 begins with Fern having to buy back all of Stark and Sein's clothing.
When Frieren tries and fails to talk Sein into joining their party for the first time, he's rather confused by her attitude.
Frieren: That confirms it. I do hate you after all.
Sein: Is that right?
Frieren: That's why I've decided to make you join us by any means necessary.
Sein: ...Huh? I'm terrified of how little sense that makes.
Fern asserting that alcohol is the best medicine, having been taught by Heiter some strange things about what makes a proper priest.
When talking with Sein's brother about how to convince him to join their adventuring party, he lets slip that Sein "likes older ladies." Frieren promptly informs him that she's a lady, and she's older, and is surprised when it fails to interest him. She then attempts to "seduce" him, by blowing a kiss, calling it a seduction technique taught to her by Flamme herself. He's incredibly confused by both her attempt at seduction, as well as the fact that both Fern and Stark both treat it as legitimately seductive and assume he must be a powerful opponent to remain unaffected. In reality, he's just not interested because while Frieren is technically much older than him, she looks (and often acts) like a teenager. We also get a flashback to when Frieren used this technique on Himmel, and see that it actually knocked him out cold.

Chapter 29

Fern's pouting goes into overdrive when Stark doesn't get her a present for her birthday. Sein summarizes it as the "lovebirds" quarreling
Frieren praises Sein by giving him headpats for being a good role model for Fern and Stark.
Sein: This would have been perfect if it was coming from an older lady though.
Frieren: Then you must be glad, there aren't many women out there as old as I.

Chapter 30

When the wagon the party is riding in gets picked up and carried away by a giant bird, they have a hilariously deadpan conversation about how to get back down to the ground without dying, with Frieren suggesting that Stark can just jump and survive the fall. Apparently Eisen used to do that, which really freaked Heiter out.

Chapter 31

Sein remarks that the party is missing a key member, much more important than a thief to detect mimics. Namely, parties are supposed to have at least one sexy older woman!
Frieren's initial response to the village of people in a cursed sleep is to say they should leave, only to claim she is joking when Fern threatens to get angry.
Frieren and Fern's deadpan acknowledgment that they can sense they are being cursed right at this very moment.
When Frieren succumbs to the curse, she plops on the ground face down.
Frieren's deadpan "got it," after killing the chaos flower.

Chapter 32

Frieren's complete 180 on having Stark pretend to be Orden's son.
As Frieren tries to decide on her reward grimoire, Fern implores her to hurry. She's been looking for half a day already and the family servant is quite troubled watching her.
Fern: Look, all the life has left him.

Chapter 33

Frieren twice proposing they stay to visit Old Man Voll for ten years, only for Fern to shoot the idea down.

Chapter 34

The whole discussion about Gorilla Warrior, from Sein being confused when Stark asks what his real name is, to Frieren joining in to ask just when Sein got the nickname "Goatee Priest" to Fern's unamused response to it all.
Fern: Are we still talking about this?
The Stubborn Old Woman (yes that is what she calls herself) sending the party off on a bunch of side quests in exchange for information on Sein's friend. Frieren notes that Himmel or Heiter would have been able to get her to open up in half a day, but unfortunately their current party consists of only socially awkward people.
Back in her old party, fleeing from monsters often involved Frieren being thrown over Himmel's shoulder as they ran (since back then she couldn't fly).

Chapter 35

Frieren recounts "legendary" spells she has found in shops ran by shady old men, such as mold-eliminating magic and oil stain removal magic.
Fern and Stark have another argument, though to Frieren they are simply "acting strange" and she can only reason they "probably" had an argument. Completely out of her depth she asks Sein to mediate as that is the job of a priest.
After the teenagers reconcile Sein can only slam his mug on a table in frustration and yell "just start dating already!" as he reflects on how they obviously like each other.

Chapter 36

As Stark tries to wake her, Frieren asks for twelve more hours of sleep. He resorts to using his chilly hands on her face to get her up.
Frieren reveals she can use some basic goddess magic (namely diagnosing simple illnesses), though she is not exactly reverent as the scriptures she possesses are currently being used as a pot stand.
Frieren appreciates Himmel holding her hand, not so much his self-praising speech.
Frieren: Just stop talking.

Chapter 37

Frieren decides to lay down with her head on Fern's lap. She immediately decides against it because Fern's boobs are blocking her view of the sky.
From their introduction onward, Kanne and Lawine provide plenty of Funny Background Event fuel as they repeatedly get into childish fights that typically involve Lawine pulling on Kanne's hair or grappling with her.

Volume 5

Chapter 44

Despite his repeated warnings to not do so, Laufen uses her Super-Speed to try to rescue Denken from Frieren. Frieren casually grabs her the instant she makes contact with Denken.
Frieren: Found you.

Chapter 45

Serie's amused reaction to Frieren destroying the barrier she created is to remark that it is quite a way to say hello after a thousand years.
In the aftermath of Kanne's massive water attack, Denken has to grab onto Richter with his legs to keep him from being washed away.
Übel asks Fern what kind of magic she knows. Fern replies magic that lets her see through clothes, causing Übel to cover herself.
Fern: I'm not gonna use it.
Stark enjoying what amounts to a vacation from Fern, who scolds him if he stays up late.

Chapter 46

Continuing from the previous chapter's ending gag, we have Fern reuniting with Stark and turning into a adorable, angry pouting gremlin after she makes Stark admit he slept into the afternoon and drank juice in the middle of the night.
Richter remarking on how tired he is since he was "forced into a fist fight with a crazy old man," said to said crazy old man (Denken).
Laufen being rather possessive over the basket of donuts Denken got her.
Laufen: You're not getting any.

Chapter 47

We are introduced to a strange old man who approaches Stark while he's training, says some vaguely wise-sounding things, concludes with "I have nothing more to teach you" and... leaves. He does this on a regular basis, and Stark has no idea who he even is.
Frieren pleading for Stark to help her with Fern, who is even angrier than she was in chapter 46. What happens when Fern's accumulated anger boils over? She gives the silent treatment while pouting.

Volume 6

Chapter 48

Himmel going full gamer as he declares it is common sense for any adventurer to fully explore a given level of a dungeon before they go any further down. Frieren is skeptical, until Himmel offhandedly mentions there could be a rare grimoire at the end of a unexplored path, at which Frieren completely changes her tune and becomes adamant they keep exploring.
Richter remarks how their group at least doesn't contain anyone foolish enough to fall for a mimic and hold the group back. Denken is skeptical such a fool would even take this exam. Cue Frieren sitting in front of a treasure chest, musing how she believes it holds a rare grimoire.
- Fern, calmly and firmly, reminds her master that they used a spell to determine what the chest is and that it is certainly a mimic. Frieren, with a confident smile, remarks that the spell is only right 99% of the time, and truly great mages must reach for that 1%. Smash Cut to Frieren stuck in the jaws of a mimic once again.
- As Frieren freaks out over how it is "dark and scary" inside, and Fern tries to pull her out, Sense can only watch with a face of subdued shock as she wonders if she followed the wrong people.

Chapter 49

Frieren explains she can escape from mimics by herself easily enough by blowing them up from the inside, but she dislikes doing this because it messes up her hair. Fern realizes this is why Frieren sometimes came back from exploring with a different hairstyle than the one she left with.
Frieren soon accumulates a small hoard of trinkets from the dungeon. They make her so happy she rubs her cheek against them like a cat.

Chapter 51

The whole scene with Methode testing restraint magic on Frieren by embracing her, from the elf casually remarking she smells nice (and hugging her back in the anime), to a pouting Fern jealously (and silently) grabbing and pulling away her mother/daughter figure and hugging her herself.

Chapter 55

Frieren taking advantage of Fern being magically restrained by Methode to playfully poke at her.
The treasure room is reached, and we next see Frieren being eaten by yet another mimic. The anime even includes two others in the room that Frieren has already been rescued from.

Chapter 56

Fern's "angry eating", especially the anime version where she has multiple kebabs instead of one.

Chapter 57

Serie's dismissal of most of the test takers she fails is comically blunt, i.e. a simple "failed," repeated for each one.

Volume 7

Chapter 58

Serie's reaction to Methode not being afraid of her but rather finding her "small and cute."
Serie: What is wrong with this year's test takers?

Chapter 60

Serie, in a petty act of revenge, bars Frieren from entry into any Continental Magic Association facilities for the next thousand years. The reason is implied to be she got angry for her conversation with Frieren leading to Serie inadvertently admitting how much she cares about her students. Frieren gives the same expression she made when having to deal with Kanne and Lawine's childish fighting, leaving as she remarks she didn't want to be there anyway.
Serie has a similar expression to Frieren when Fern asks her for laundry magic.

Chapter 66

After some not-so-subtle coaxing from Fern to get Stark to spend time with her, he decides to outright ask her on a date. Fern's response is seemingly stoic, except that she drops her book and leaves it behind when she leaves the room.
While it is apparent she is flustered rather than angry, Fern's reaction makes Stark so worried that he got on her bad side that he goes to Frieren for advice. Her initial reaction is... not helpful.
Frieren: Stark. Do you know who you are asking for advice? Are you crazy?
- Frieren then talks herself into helping him, deciding she is "a young lady" and should be able to talk about this stuff. It goes downhill from there:
Stark: Frieren, how would you feel if I asked you to go on a date with me?
Frieren: You've grown up so much... You make me so happy, I might even treat you to dinner.
Stark: This is not helpful at all. This totally feels like a grandma when she gets to spend time with her grandchild.
Frieren: Did you just call me a grandma? Including the "hag" incident, this is the second time you've called me "old." There won't be a third.
Stark: What, you're counting!? You're scaring me. What happens if there's a third?
Frieren (smugly): I will cry and scream. And I'm scary when I'm throwing a tantrum. Even Himmel the Hero trembled with fear (flashback to Frieren bawling her eyes out and her party aghast at how she has been crying nonstop for three days).
- Frieren ends up showing Stark around to places Fern would like, and she enjoys her time with him enough to declare that she will subtract one instance from the count of "calling me old" tally she is keeping on him.
- A volume addition reveals that Fern came to her for advice as well, much to Frieren's exhaustion.
Fern: Mistress Frieren, I was asked out on a date. What should I do?"
Frieren (thinking): So this one needs help too huh...?

Volume 8

In chapter 70, Frieren gets hauled in by the head of the Norm Company when they try to pass through one of their fortified towns. Apparently when she passed through with the Himmel's party, they received supplies from the Company in exchange for a promise of future payment, which the current company head wants to cash in on, but Frieren doesn't have nearly enough money to pay it. It quickly goes from serious to amusing when Frieren gets sentenced to 300 years of labor in the mines... and she shrugs it off like a minor inconvenience as two enormous guards haul her away. It does turn out that the company Head's real goal was simply to have her pay off the debt by locating a silver vein for the miners, but when she emerges she learns that Fern and Stark (last seen trying to think of a way to pay off her debt) had more or less given up on attempting to pay legally and were planning to raid the mine and rescue Frieren, despite the fact that Frieren is stronger than both of them combined. Even better, the end-of-chapter doodle shows that it was Fern pushing for the "storm the mine" idea, while Stark was actually the voice of reason.

Volume 9

Volume 10

Volume 11

Anthology

In an effort to understand humans, Frieren decides to learn how to play with a kendama. Her initial efforts are so powerfully inept that the toy was little more than a Killer Yoyo.

Funny / Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Edit Locked