The premiere screening event for the second season of the TV anime "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, " based on the manga currently being serialized in "Weekly Shonen Sunday" (Shogakukan), was held on January 11th at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills (Minato Ward, Tokyo), where it was announced that Inoue Kazuhiko, who plays the "Hero of the South," will be appearing. Inoue made a surprise appearance at the event, and Atsumi Tanezaki , who plays Frieren , Kana Ichinose , who plays Fern , and Chiaki Kobayashi , who plays Stark , seemed surprised, saying, "No way!"
Inoue will play the "Hero of the South," who was once hailed as "the strongest man in humanity" and fought against the Demon King's army. Inoue said, "I had the impression that it was an amazing production, and wondered who would play it. I was so happy to find out I could be in it! During the recording, Tanezaki-san and everyone else were so natural, I thought they were so good... I couldn't have acted like that when I was younger," revealing his inspiration from the recording.
Kobayashi said, "After Kazuhiko left (from the recording), Tanezaki and I were talking and saying, 'He's so wonderful, isn't it amazing?' It felt like we were enveloped in him." Tanezaki said, "It was amazing at the time, and I cried when I saw the second episode." Ichinose praised Inoue's acting, saying, "He was amazing even from the test stage, and I was glued to the screen so as not to miss a single word."
Inoue said, "I didn't have many scenes, but I was given a lot of responsibility. I hope you enjoy watching it."
The event featured the world's first screening of episodes 1 and 2 of the second season. It was also announced that the popular band Mrs. Green Apple will be performing the opening theme song for the second season, "lulu."
"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End" is a manga written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe, which began serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday in April 2020. Freiren is a magician in the hero's party who defeated the Demon King. Being an elf, Frieren lives a long life. After experiencing the death of a companion, she embarks on a journey to "discover people." The manga has been selected for the Manga Taisho 2021, the 25th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize Newcomer Award, the 69th (2023) Shogakukan Manga Award, and the 48th Kodansha Manga Award in the Boys' category. The manga has sold over 32 million copies.
The first season of the TV anime aired on Nippon Television's anime slot "FRIDAY ANIME NIGHT (Furaani)" from September 2023 to March 2024. The second season will air in the same slot every Friday at 11:00 PM starting January 16th.
