Anime director Keiichiro Saito has finally explained why he won't be directing the series. Freeze: Beyond Journey's End, Season 2 – and his reason is actually quite heartbreaking.
A fantasy series based on the ongoing manga by Kanehito Yamada and currently holding an impressive 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. is set to return with another batch of episodes on January 16th. Behind the scenes, Tomoya Kitagawa is about to replace Yamada, having watched episodes 2, 8 and 25 in the previous chapter.
“When we worked together on the first season, I felt that Kitagawa-san had good ideas and methods,” Saito recalled in an interview with the magazine Former Web. “Even during the first season, I couldn't handle the things I had to take care of, so I asked Kitagawa-san to help me. I couldn’t think of anyone else to ask, so I asked Kitagawa-san.” According to Comicbook.comIt was confirmed that Saito remains as assistant director.
Elsewhere, Kitagawa shared, “We have a lot of core staff like the art director, color artist, cinematographer and editor, as well as directors and animators who continue to be involved, so they're very reliable, and we also have some new hires.”
After a six-month run, the first season of Freren: Beyond the Journey concluded with the elf Friren and her purple-haired sidekick Fern continuing their journey north to Aurol, with the latter gaining first-class mage status in the exams and Friren… well, being expelled from the Magic Association for the next 1000 years.
In the second season, “Friren will travel to new lands with his new group. We explore new dynamics, new combat situations, and changing character mindsets. It will be interesting to see how their roles develop and how Friren grows through this experience,” said director Yuichiro Fukushi. ScreenRant and AnimeExpo 2025.
Freeze: Beyond Journey's The End is currently available to stream on Hulu and Netflix in the US. The second season, which will consist of only 10 episodes, will be released on Crunchyroll on January 16. In the meantime, check out our selection best anime shows to add to your watchlist.
