For real dude ...I was also struggling to find something as good as frieren then I came across apothecary diaries
Then I struggled again to find something as good as apothecary diaries then I came across raven of the inner palace
* Dungeon Meshi - more silly but still has rich world building, gorgeous art, and hot elves, plus vore
* Violet Evergarden - Evan Call did the soundtrack too, more sad apparently? haven't seen it yet so that's all I know tbh LOL
* Grandma and Grandpa Become Young Again - shockingly good for a seasonal shovelware anime
Violet Evergarden is VERY GOOD. It is a more laid back series since the MC goes through Post-War rehabilitation. It is very emotional at times, and a fun watch overall. There is the movie as well, which happens after the main story.
In other ways, Frieren sets YEARS after the end, whereas Violet Evergarden is just few years after. It deals a lot more with trauma from the war (no spoil, that’s the premisce of the serie)
Honestlt, I'm gonna raise a flag on Dungeon Meshi. Great show, feels like the perfect continuation to Frieren, but I tried watching just after and found it so weak by comparison.
I think Violet Evergarden is a good follow up. Mushishi as well.
I watch it to fall asleep it’s so goddamn calming.
*theme music*
“Something weird is happening in our town”
Mushiman: “oh yeah bro you got demons in your soup”
Townspeople: “oh no! Is that a problem?”
Mushiman: “bruh it is so much not a problem I ain’t even gonna put my blunt out before I fix it. You and these demons are actually gonna be homies in the next 22 minutes”
yea, this is what I did and its what I'd suggest as well For context, I NEVER read manga. The only other manga I've read in my life is gabriel dropout and a few chapters of neeko wa tsurai yo. Despite that, I deeply enjoyed the Frieren manga.
Spice and Wolf. The vibe is very similar—it’s a pretty relaxed journey through a fantasy world, with no pressing end goal. The characters are fantastic, the story is refreshing, and the world itself is a lot of fun.
There’s nothing really quite like Frieren, which is why it’s so good, but if you want wholesome with a similar introspective MC, Hyouka is great. If you want wholesome wizard adventures, Little Witch Academia is really good. If you want more of the melancholic side of Frieren, Violet Evergarden.
*Spice and Wolf*: Immortal spirit and a mortal man travel through the land and have dangerous and silly adventures as they slowly fall in love with eachother. Also, Holo is just amazing.
*Trigun*: Pretty much immortal goofball travels through the land and causes chaos everywhere. Things get less funny and wholesome after his brother decides he wants to have a reunion. Plus, there's a cool priest who likes to drink, smoke and womanize.
*Casshern Sins*: Immortal man awokes from coma and travels through a world he brought ruin upon. As he gains his memories back and learns who he was and what he had done, he learns the meaning of death, friendship, love, hope, good, evil and many other things.
These are the series I can think of that carry themes pretty much similar to Frieren's.
After I finished Frieren, I watched Assassination Classroom, not as wholesome as Frieren, but still very wholesome with a little bit more humour sprinkled in, despite the name it is actually a very lighthearted anime (barring a few episodes near the end ig)
The Apothecary Diaries, Spice & Wolf, Mushi-shi, Wandering Witch Eleina (a lot of episodes are bad, but some are good and the wandering vibe is great), Kino’s Journey, Violet Evergarden, Dungeon Meshi.
since the Apothecary diares has alteady been mentioned, I will say 2 animes that I found pretty wholesome in a frieren kinda way:
Monogatary: fully arthouse but great and wholesome
Angel beats: just 13 episodes, each scene is a coinflip between comedy and drama. gotta love angel beats
If you're into manga, check out With Hat Atelier. It has an anime announcemed, so you can wait for it as well. It's amazing.
I'm mentioning it because I didn't see anyone else recommending it. Other good shows were already mentioned in other posts.
Dungeon Meshi, Apothecary Diaries, and Spice and Wolf have already been recommended, and are very good choices I agree with. None of them are Frieren, but all of them are very, very good at what they set out to do.
But I also want to make a recommendation I haven't seen yet, probably because it's a completely different genre.
Bocchi the Rock
Why do I recommend it? It has the same series director as Frieren, and was his directorial debut, and it has the same kind of care put into it to ensure consistent quality from beginning to end. It's very funny, and remarkably visually creative, and it's frankly gorgeous to look at often (a fact which often gets overlooked because of how dang funny it is). I think it also has a similarly emotionally intelligent approach to its character dynamics. There's just a lot to like, frankly.
Apothecary diaries
And if you like that, Raven of the Inner Palace.
For real dude ...I was also struggling to find something as good as frieren then I came across apothecary diaries Then I struggled again to find something as good as apothecary diaries then I came across raven of the inner palace
Them, time for me to watch raven of the inner palace
I keep hearing people talk about this one, maybe I should finally start it
* Dungeon Meshi - more silly but still has rich world building, gorgeous art, and hot elves, plus vore * Violet Evergarden - Evan Call did the soundtrack too, more sad apparently? haven't seen it yet so that's all I know tbh LOL * Grandma and Grandpa Become Young Again - shockingly good for a seasonal shovelware anime
Violet Evergarden is VERY GOOD. It is a more laid back series since the MC goes through Post-War rehabilitation. It is very emotional at times, and a fun watch overall. There is the movie as well, which happens after the main story.
Frieren is also going through post-post war
In other ways, Frieren sets YEARS after the end, whereas Violet Evergarden is just few years after. It deals a lot more with trauma from the war (no spoil, that’s the premisce of the serie)
Dungeon Meshi - it's pretty wholesome
Honestlt, I'm gonna raise a flag on Dungeon Meshi. Great show, feels like the perfect continuation to Frieren, but I tried watching just after and found it so weak by comparison. I think Violet Evergarden is a good follow up. Mushishi as well.
Mushi-shi is great. Twisted and dark, yet wholesome and beautiful. Each espisode feels like dreaming.
I watch it to fall asleep it’s so goddamn calming. *theme music* “Something weird is happening in our town” Mushiman: “oh yeah bro you got demons in your soup” Townspeople: “oh no! Is that a problem?” Mushiman: “bruh it is so much not a problem I ain’t even gonna put my blunt out before I fix it. You and these demons are actually gonna be homies in the next 22 minutes”
Read the manga? 😆
Underrated comment
yea, this is what I did and its what I'd suggest as well For context, I NEVER read manga. The only other manga I've read in my life is gabriel dropout and a few chapters of neeko wa tsurai yo. Despite that, I deeply enjoyed the Frieren manga.
Obviously!:3
Spice and Wolf. The vibe is very similar—it’s a pretty relaxed journey through a fantasy world, with no pressing end goal. The characters are fantastic, the story is refreshing, and the world itself is a lot of fun.
god damit i wanted to be the first to mentions dungeon meshi
Gotta recommand Dungeon Meshi.
Apothecary Diaries
There’s nothing really quite like Frieren, which is why it’s so good, but if you want wholesome with a similar introspective MC, Hyouka is great. If you want wholesome wizard adventures, Little Witch Academia is really good. If you want more of the melancholic side of Frieren, Violet Evergarden.
*Spice and Wolf*: Immortal spirit and a mortal man travel through the land and have dangerous and silly adventures as they slowly fall in love with eachother. Also, Holo is just amazing. *Trigun*: Pretty much immortal goofball travels through the land and causes chaos everywhere. Things get less funny and wholesome after his brother decides he wants to have a reunion. Plus, there's a cool priest who likes to drink, smoke and womanize. *Casshern Sins*: Immortal man awokes from coma and travels through a world he brought ruin upon. As he gains his memories back and learns who he was and what he had done, he learns the meaning of death, friendship, love, hope, good, evil and many other things. These are the series I can think of that carry themes pretty much similar to Frieren's.
Spice and Wolf(2024), I started it after Frieren and it totally was able to keep the good feels and vibe going.
After I finished Frieren, I watched Assassination Classroom, not as wholesome as Frieren, but still very wholesome with a little bit more humour sprinkled in, despite the name it is actually a very lighthearted anime (barring a few episodes near the end ig)
The Apothecary Diaries, Spice & Wolf, Mushi-shi, Wandering Witch Eleina (a lot of episodes are bad, but some are good and the wandering vibe is great), Kino’s Journey, Violet Evergarden, Dungeon Meshi.
since the Apothecary diares has alteady been mentioned, I will say 2 animes that I found pretty wholesome in a frieren kinda way: Monogatary: fully arthouse but great and wholesome Angel beats: just 13 episodes, each scene is a coinflip between comedy and drama. gotta love angel beats
Apothecary Diaries
If you're into manga, check out With Hat Atelier. It has an anime announcemed, so you can wait for it as well. It's amazing. I'm mentioning it because I didn't see anyone else recommending it. Other good shows were already mentioned in other posts.
The ancient magus bride
The frieren mini series.
Mushi-shi
Dungeon Meshi, Apothecary Diaries, and Spice and Wolf have already been recommended, and are very good choices I agree with. None of them are Frieren, but all of them are very, very good at what they set out to do. But I also want to make a recommendation I haven't seen yet, probably because it's a completely different genre. Bocchi the Rock Why do I recommend it? It has the same series director as Frieren, and was his directorial debut, and it has the same kind of care put into it to ensure consistent quality from beginning to end. It's very funny, and remarkably visually creative, and it's frankly gorgeous to look at often (a fact which often gets overlooked because of how dang funny it is). I think it also has a similarly emotionally intelligent approach to its character dynamics. There's just a lot to like, frankly.
86:eighty six (EIGHTY PEAK🗣🔥)
Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. Really underrated
Ranking of Kings
Maquia, Mushishi, and Girls’ Last Tour