In the 2020s, Frieren has proven to be one of the most impactful and popular new anime series. Initially debuting in 2023, Frieren has taken the world by storm and grown to be one of the biggest new hits, both in terms of the anime and the manga. In 2026, Frieren made a huge comeback on the back of a wildly successful Season 1, so naturally, fans had incredibly high expectations for it.
Needless to say, Frieren continued to dominate this year as well when it comes to ratings. While Season 1 took up the top spot on MyAnimeList, a position it has now held for the last couple of years, Season 2 has also been extremely well received by the fans. However, ahead of Frieren’s Season 3’s return in 2027, the series faces an unfortunate defeat at the hands of another major Shonen series. Frieren Season 1 remains the Number 1 best-rated anime, but the second season is failing compared to newer 2026 hits, which include returning legendary Shonen series as well.
Frieren Season 2 Falls In Fan Rating Across The World
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is an incredibly popular shonen series. Its manga is handled by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe, and it first debuted in Shogakukan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday, back on April 28, 2020, in Double Issue #22-23. The series is still ongoing, although over the last year, it has faced some issues with hiatuses due to the health of its creators. While the manga isn’t in its best spot, the anime is enough to hold the franchise together for the time being.
Frieren received a sensational anime adaptation by Studio Madhouse in 2023. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 put the franchise on thousands of anime viewers’ radars, and that is why we were all stoked to see the series return earlier this year, in January 2026, with a brand-new Season 2. Frieren Season 2 was short-lived, with just 10 episodes worth of content, and it aired from January 16, 2026, to March 27, 2026.
In general, the quality was comparable to its first installment. However, rating-wise, it hasn’t lived up to its predecessor. For a short while, Frieren Season 2 was actually the highest-rated anime of all time on platforms like MyAnimeList. However, it wasn’t able to hold this title, and now, the ratings of this second season are in freefall. Currently, Frieren Season 2 is set at an 8.83 out of 10 rating, which, although impressive, has seen it get beaten by many new shonen anime by the fans.
On the platform now, the series sits as the 34th highest-rated series of all time. In terms of 2026 releases, it has been beaten by quite a few other series, which include the legendary returning series, Black Clover Season 2, debuting with an 8.88 out of 10 in October 2026, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Steel Ball Run Part 7 with a 9.03, as well as Re:Zero Season 4 with a 9.06 out of 10.
Why Frieren Season 2 Pales In Comparison To The First Season
There is clearly a huge gap in quality when it comes to fan perception of Frieren’s very first anime season, which released between September 29, 2023, and March 22, 2024, and its latest one, which saw its broadcast in January 2026. According to fans on platforms like MyAnimeList, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 has done enough to cement itself over the last couple of years as the highest-rated anime series of all time. Even today, it sits at 9.24 out of 10. Frieren Season 1, in that sense, did the impossible. It was able to dethrone the previous holder of the title, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, from a spot it had previously held for a decade.
The reason why Frieren Season 2 isn’t rated as highly as Frieren Season 1 isn’t exactly clear. For one, it could simply be mass downvoting that brought Frieren Season 2 down, as the series was in tough competition with JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 7 when the latter first premiered. It could also be that Season 2’s lower rating is due to the low episode count. With just 10 episodes, fans didn’t get as hooked or invested as with the first installment, which was extremely long, featuring 28 episodes in total.
Another possibility is that, in the plot, fewer fans were moved by the Continued Northern Travels Arc and Divine Revolte Arc, both featured in the second season, compared to the setup and the First Class Mage Exam arc of the first installment. Otherwise, the quality of production from Studio Madhouse between Season 1 and Season 2 is rather consistent. Both feature incredibly high-quality animation with sensational battles and action.
How Frieren Season 3 Could Put Frieren Back On The Map As A Best Anime
It’s definitely disappointing for many fans of the melancholic magical series to see their favorite drop in ranking. However, Frieren is far from being done just yet. Immediately after the conclusion of Frieren Season 2, the return with Season 3 of the story was confirmed by Madhouse. This is a new installment, titled Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 3, is set to air next year, which, unfortunately, is still a long way ahead, about a year from now. Based on Madhouse Studio’s previous report, the series is releasing sometime in October 2027.
It’s clear that Studio Madhouse has been going all out for Frieren, and they’re taking as much time as needed to deliver an up-to-standard final product. This next season is set to cover one of the best and most acclaimed arcs of the Frieren manga, the Golden Land arc, with a new, exciting villain named Macht.
With consistent quality from Madhouse and the new high-stakes arc, Frieren Season 3 will switch things up and undoubtedly score some incredibly high ratings. While it’s unclear if it could surpass its first installment, at the very least, it is definitely going to surpass the second season by a margin.
For now, we don’t know exactly how many episodes Season 3 is set to include, but it’ll be an amazing ride regardless. Following Frieren Season 3, we have no information on future project plans for the series. The constant hiatuses of the manga especially complicate its continuous anime broadcasting, as Studio Madhouse would quickly catch up to the manga. Hopefully, the manga can return to serialization soon and move on to the next arc.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End has two seasons out, with a total of 38 episodes. All these episodes are available to stream on the anime platform Crunchyroll while we await the return of Frieren Season 3 in October 2027.