Anime Expo made its own fan-fueled fireworks this weekend in Los Angeles with a bevy of explosive reveals for popular series and highly anticipated titles. Among these was a Crunchyroll panel celebrating the critically acclaimed series Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. The session presented an exclusive global reveal of its first Season 2 trailer and also confirmed Crunchyroll’s acquisition for worldwide streaming rights excluding Asia — but including India and the Indian Subcontinent — which will be simulcast from Japan in January 2026.
Held in the Peacock Theater in downtown L.A., the panel of guests included the Japanese voice actor for the character of Stark, Chiaki Kobayashi (Hell’s Paradise), producer Yuichiro Fukushi (One-Punch Man) and composer Evan Call (Violet Evergarden), each of whom spoke about their experiences working on the show and their excitement for Season 2.
In addition to the new trailer, Fukushi shared with fans that Tomoya Kitagawa will direct Season 2. Kitagawa worked on storyboards and directed multiple episodes in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Season 1. The trailer also confirmed Season 1 director Keiichiro Saito (BOCCHI THE ROCK!) will be overseeing Season 2 as its supervising director. Additional staff for Season 2 will include assistant director Daiki Harashina (takt op. Destiny); series composition written by Tomohiro Suzuki (One-Punch Man); character design by Takasemaru (Violet Evergarden), Keisuke Kojima (100 Meters) and Yuri Fujinaka (key animation on SPY x FAMILY CODE: White); concept art by Seiko Yoshioka (background art on Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo); and Evan Call will return to compose the music.
Based on the popular, ongoing manga of the same name written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End is produced by the animation studio Madhouse, who are best known for their work on Yu Yu Hakusho, Trigun, Cardcaptor Sakura, Paranoia Agent, Death Note, One-Punch Man Season 1, OVERLORD and Sonny Boy.
The Season 1 characters and voice cast (Japanese and English) include the following:
- Frieren voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki | Mallorie Rodak
- Fern voiced by Kana Ichinose | Jill Harris
- Stark voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi | Jordan Dash Cruz
- Himmel voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto | Clifford Chapin
- Heiter voiced by Hiroki Tochi | Jason Douglas
- Eisen voiced by Yoji Ueda | Chris Guerrero
- Flamme voiced by Atsuko Tanaka | Lydia Mackay
- Sein voiced by Yuichi Nakamura | Christopher Wehkamp
- Übel voiced by Ikumi Hasegawa | Morgan Berry
- Denken voiced by Jiro Saito | Ben Phillips
- Serie voiced by Mariya Ise | Anastasia Munoz
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End was nominated for Anime of the Year and the winner of Best Drama, Best Director (Keiichiro Saito), Best Background Art and Best Supporting Character at the 9th Annual Crunchyroll Anime Awards held earlier this year.
Season 1 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and available to own on Blu-ray in the Crunchyroll Store, among other franchise merch, as well as the manga.
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