How Was the Frieren Anime Made?
Madhouse, a Bocchi the Rock! director, and a film slot for a premiere.
The Frieren anime is a Madhouse production. Season one was directed by Keiichirō Saitō, fresh from Bocchi the Rock!, with series scripts by Tomohiro Suzuki, character designs by Reiko Nagasawa and music by Evan Call. It ran two consecutive cours, 28 episodes, from September 29, 2023 to March 22, 2024.
Season two changed the chair but not the house: Tomoya Kitagawa directed, and the run was shorter, January 16 to March 27, 2026. A third season, covering the Golden Land arc, is announced for October 2027.
THE STAFF
The credited coreKeiichirō Saitō
Season one director. His Bocchi the Rock! had already shown a gift for quiet character comedy inside precise layouts, the exact register Frieren needed.
Tomohiro Suzuki
Series composition across the anime: the writer responsible for braiding the manga's two timelines into weekly episodes.
Reiko Nagasawa
Character designer, translating Tsukasa Abe's soft line into animation. Her drawn art carries the soundtrack album's three-sided case.
THE SEASONS
What exists, as airedSeason one · 2023–24
28 episodes, two consecutive cours, Nippon TV. Premiered as a two-hour special; the rest aired in the new Friday Anime Night block.
Season two · 2026
10 episodes, January 16 to March 27, 2026, directed by Tomoya Kitagawa. It stops short of the Golden Land arc on purpose.
Season three · 2027
Announced for October 2027, built around the Golden Land arc, the manga's volumes 9 to 11, with Macht of El Dorado at its centre.