To celebrate the second season of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Toho Animation brought the team behind the anime series to Anime Expo 2026. Director Tomoya Kitagawa, supporting director Keiichiro Saito, animation producer Yuichiro Fukushi, and character designer Keisuke Kojima sat down for a candid conversation about how they made a few key moments in season two.
While the production team knew the series had garnered international love and attention, being on the ground at one of the largest anime events was a true “I made it” moment. “This is my first time in both the United States and at Anime Expo,” Kitagawa revealed. “I’ve seen a lot of reactions from overseas fans online, but being here in person and feeling everyone’s energy is completely different. It really made me realize how much Frieren is loved worldwide, and it makes me feel very grateful.”
Getting self-introductions out of the way, each of the special guests shared more about their roles, and what they contributed to the series’ second season in particular. “I worked as Chief Animation Director for episodes six to eight of season two, and I supported the animation staff by reviewing and correcting key animation drawings,” Kojima shared. “There were many main characters, and also recurring characters like Methode, Genau, and Revolte that required detailed attention. Because of the large workload, I often stepped in early to make corrections so we could maintain quality while staying on schedule.” Of these recurring characters, Kojima worked the most on Revolte. “The animators did excellent work on Revolte’s subordinates, so I focused mainly on Revolte himself,” he began. “The fight between Methode and Revolte was especially memorable. Koki Fujimoto’s key animation was already very strong, so I largely trusted his work. Revolte is a complex character, with four arms, a muscular build, ornate design elements, and long hair. I aimed to balance both his power and elegance, and I really felt that the animators captured his beast-like motion very well. My corrections focused on enhancing his sense of scale and visual beauty.”
The opening sequence for season two was among the top fan favorite moments from season two, thanks to the floral motifs and the scenes alternating between Frieren and Himmel, Heiter and Eisen, and Frieren with Fern and Stark. “The core idea was to depict Frieren’s past journey and her continuing path forward,” Kitagawa shared. “We used flowers as a motif to connect her past relationships with her present companions. The entire opening is structured from Frieren’s perspective.” On creating the initial theme, he said, “One early idea was inspired by the line, ‘a mere 10-year journey.’ For Frieren, 10 years passes in the blink of an eye, and we wanted to express that sense of time through rapidly shifting imagery. We also used storyboard-driven transitions and layered emotional symbolism, including subtle comedic and visual motifs tied to the characters.”
Before creating scenes with Revolte or even the opening scene, however, the directors had to develop the color script, or the color scheme, for the season. “After the storyboard stage, color artist Yoshioka-san created the color scripts,” Kitagawa explained. “These defined the emotional tone and lighting of the sequence before animation could begin. We intentionally used paint-like textures and soft lighting often to create a more illustrative feel for the introduction.” As for the flowers, they’ve easily become a recurring motif within the series as well. “In the opening, they represent Frieren’s memories of the people she has met,” he continued on. “We started with white flowers symbolizing Flamme, then transitioned into colorful petals representing her evolving journey. Those colorful petals appeared after she picked up a single petal of a blue moon weed.” Sharing a staggering statistic, he revealed that the team animated over 1,000 flower petals just for the opening sequence. “The animation team faced significant challenges due to the sheer number of flower effects, but the results became a beautiful centerpiece of the opening.”
Although there are plenty of action scenes and battles within season two, the creators shared that their main focus was on the characters themselves. “One of our main goals was to emphasize the charm of the characters,” Fukushi began. “Even simple script directions like Frieren returning from a hot spring holding ice cream became opportunities to add personality through animation. Small gestures, expressions, and timing helped bring those moments to life. We also paid attention to fan reactions and cosplayers, which reinforced how much people love these characters.” Another beloved scene from the second season was Frieren’s three-day-long tantrum. The team shared that everyone had so much fun storyboarding, then animating that moment, especially when it came to the rhythm of the time jumps. It was one of their favorite scenes to create.
Aside from taking influence from the original manga, season two also expanded on certain moments and details. “The source material had limited dialogue for some episodes, so we needed to ensure the finale felt complete and satisfying as a season conclusion,” Saito shared. “My role involved supporting director Kitagawa and the writing team by analyzing what each scene needed to achieve narratively by identifying gaps in the storytelling and discussing how additional dialogue could improve pacing and emotional impact.” In particular, the team recalled adding more to the story of the magic-nullifying crystals to show a more human-like side of the characters.
Although fan anticipation for season three is at an all-time high, the crew shared bittersweet news that it’s not slated for release until October 2027. “Many key staff members are returning for the show’s third season, including Director Kitagawa, Saito-san, and other core team members. Production is currently underway, including concept art, design work, and storyboards. However, our goal is to create something that surpasses the first two seasons, so we are working hard to meet fans’ expectations in a manner that prioritizes quality over speed, so we sincerely ask for your understanding.”
While season three is over a year away, season one and two of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is available globally on Crunchyroll.
