Frieren Has Officially Been Dethroned By A New 2026 Anime Release

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2026 is shaping up to be an amazing year for anime! While fans anticipated a lot of great releases, the winter season has exceeded expectations. January alone brought new episodes of popular shows like Fire Force and Jujutsu Kaisen, plus the highly anticipated Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. With so many exciting series debuting, one show has quickly climbed to the top of MyAnimeList’s rankings.

For nearly three years, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 was the most popular anime on the platform. However, its reign has ended in a surprising twist: the new season, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2, has taken its place at number one. This makes Frieren the only series to defeat itself, and solidifies its status as a major anime success of recent years.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 Dethroned Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood As the Number 1 Anime In 2023

Image via Madhouse.

The anime Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End first aired in 2023. Before the anime, the original manga wasn’t very well-known, and although it had a dedicated fanbase, it wasn’t hugely popular. However, the anime adaptation quickly changed that, bringing the series much wider recognition.

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I was really surprised by how quickly Frieren took the anime world by storm. It actually became the highest-rated anime series ever on MyAnimeList, which is a huge deal! For over ten years, that title belonged to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – a show almost everyone knows. But Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 managed to surpass it. As of right now, it holds a score of 9.28 out of 10, making it the highest-rated series the platform has ever seen.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 Has Just Been Dethroned By Season 2

  • Frieren Season 2 rises to the top
  • Frieren Season 1 could reclaim its Throne if later episodes are rated lower

Season one of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End was truly exceptional, offering a wealth of content across its 28 episodes. Viewers quickly praised the show’s stunning animation, high production quality, strong direction, and compelling story. However, all good things must come to an end, and now the series has been surpassed as the top-rated anime on MyAnimeList.

The first season of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End was incredibly popular, but the show has already outdone itself. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 2 has launched to massive acclaim, earning a score of 9.34 out of 10 on MyAnimeList – the highest score the platform has ever given to any series. It surpassed even the impressive performance of its predecessor.

I’m incredibly excited about Frieren, and everyone’s talking about it potentially becoming the highest-rated anime season ever! But honestly, it’s still a little too soon to say for sure. We’ve still got nine episodes left, and while I fully expect it to stay amazing, there’s always a chance things could slow down a bit and affect the final score. I’m hoping it keeps up the quality, though!

If the current season maintains its popularity, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1 might become the top-rated anime on MyAnimeList again. We should find out the final score for Frieren Season 2 in the coming months, as the anime is relatively short.

Fans Believe Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 And Chainsaw Man Can Surpass Frieren

Frieren has quickly become incredibly popular, currently holding the top two spots on My Anime List. It feels like nothing could dethrone it, but several anime have the potential to challenge its reign. One promising contender is Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3, set to release in 2026.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 3 is already proving to be fantastic! Even after just three episodes, viewers are loving the thrilling story and dynamic action of the Culling Game arc.

The anime series ‘The Culling Game’ is quickly becoming more gripping as the story unfolds. While the most exciting moments are still ahead, many viewers think it has the potential to be even better than ‘Frieren.’ It’s too early to say for sure, but the show is definitely a strong contender.

In 2025, only one series nearly rivaled Frieren in popularity: Chainsaw Man. The Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc film was incredibly well-received, almost surpassing Frieren’s first season in ratings. It achieved a score of 9.11/10 on MyAnimeList, making it the second highest-rated series, but it didn’t quite reach the top spot. However, if Chainsaw Man releases another major project, like Season 2, it has the potential to become the most popular series on the platform.

Frieren Could Hit New Heights With Season 2

  • It features only 10 episodes, but fans have a lot to look forward to

Season one of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End was hugely popular, and the upcoming second season is expected to be just as well-received. It looks like the new season will cover the ‘Northern Travels’ and ‘Divine Revolte’ story arcs, and fans are eagerly anticipating what Studio Madhouse will create.

Unfortunately, the second season of Frieren will only have 10 episodes, which is significantly shorter than the first season’s 28 episodes. While this means the adaptation won’t cover as much of the source material, many viewers anticipated a shorter run. A benefit of fewer episodes, however, is that it might allow the production team to focus on quality and deliver a polished season.

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It’s important to remember that the people making Frieren are currently facing health challenges. Because the manga is already on a long break, the animation studio needs to carefully manage the existing content if they want to have enough material for a third season. We don’t know when the manga will start being published again, but fans are hoping for a return soon.

The Frieren manga is back on an indefinite hiatus. Fans can read the Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Manga online on Viz Media. Meanwhile, when it comes to the anime, fans can find season 1 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End with all its episodes, available to watch on Crunchyroll. Season 2 of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is also available on Crunchyroll with new weekly episodes.

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2026-01-20 14:35