Frieren: Beyond journey's end vol 4 by Kanehito Yamada

Illustrated by Tsukasa Abe
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Frieren, Fern, and Stark convince a depraved priest to join their adventuring party, and Frieren finally feels like her group is complete. However, Sein the Priest only agrees to go so that he can go looking for his best friend, an adventurer by the name of "Gorilla Warrior" who left the village and went missing ten years ago. Frieren also convinced Fern to test for the certification they need to continue adventuring north since these types of certifications become obsolete for Frieren so comparatively fast with her longer life span.

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This is a pretty comfy read with some really methodical plot points and a much slower narrative structure than a lot of shōnen. This might deter some readers, but it’s exactly what I’ve continually asked for. So many adventure stories skip over training plot points, but this story includes even the most mundane passage of time. I also continue to enjoy the sprinkled flashbacks that tell us more about Frieren’s first adventure and her companions. Some of the ones in this volume really get at the heart of Himmel's feelings for Frieren as she's finally learning what some of his gestures meant in the present. Learning about her past adventure is becoming a little more heartbreaking with every flashback since we know Frieren has outlived them all.

​Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3

Publisher: VIZ Media
Publication Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 9781974727254 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Fantasy, Iyashikei, VIZ Media