On Wednesday, the eighth issue of Shogakukan's Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine for this year made the announcement that the manga adaptation of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe will be put on hold for the foreseeable future. The publication does not provide any information regarding when the manga will pick up again.
The following plot summary is taken from the manga that Viz Media has licensed:
"The adventure is over but life goes on for an elf mage just beginning to learn what living is all about. Elf mage Frieren and her courageous fellow adventurers have defeated the Demon King and brought peace to the land. But Frieren will long outlive the rest of her former party. How will she come to understand what life means to the people around her? Decades after their victory, the funeral of one her friends confronts Frieren with her own near immortality. Frieren sets out to fulfill the last wishes of her comrades and finds herself beginning a new adventure…"
In April of 2020, the manga was first published by Yamada and Abe in the Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine, which was published by Shogakukan. In September of 2022, the ninth volume was distributed. On Tuesday, Viz Media released the seventh volume in the series.
The manga is serving as the source of inspiration for an anime television series that will make its debut this year.
The manga has been honored with multiple accolades, including the New Creator Prize at the 25th Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2021 and the 14th Manga Taisho Award in 2021. Both of these honors were bestowed on the manga in 2021. Additionally, the manga was considered for the honor of Best Shonen Manga at both the 45th annual Kodansha Manga Awards in 2021 and the 46th awards in May.
In the 2022 edition of Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! (This Manga Is Amazing!) guidebook, the manga was ranked at #6 for male readers. Additionally, the manga was ranked at #17 on the Da Vinci magazine's 21st annual "Book of the Year" list for manga in December 2021.
About Frieren: Beyond Journey's End:
The plot centers on the elven wizard Frieren, a former member of the group of explorers who, after a ten-year quest, vanquished the Demon King and brought peace to the earth. Frieren, the human hero Himmel, the dwarven warrior Eisen, and the human priest Heiter once made up the heroic group. Before they parted ways, they watched the once every fifty years Era Meteor Shower together. The next time the celestial event takes place, Frieren promises to meet with them and give them a better perspective. Frieren then leaves and sets out to explore the globe in search of magical knowledge.
Fifty years later, Frieren returns to the city, but humanity has changed and her old friends have clearly grown older. Himmel passes away from old age on one final journey to view the meteor shower. Frieren felt bad for not trying to find out more about him before the funeral. After that, Frieren visits her other old allies.
She accepts an offer to teach and look after Fern, an adopted orphan. In order to bid the hero a proper farewell and convey her thoughts, she is also given the opportunity to travel far north, to the realm where souls rest. Frieren sets out on a journey with Fern in order to satisfy those demands while continuing to follow her passion for learning magic.
Because of her exceptionally long lifespan and elven nature, Frieren perceives time as passing quickly (she views the ten-year adventure with Himmel's group as a short experience because of this concept of time). As a result, the plot spans a significant amount of time, with sporadic flashbacks showing the emotional and intellectual growth of individuals besides Frieren.