Animation
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
Citizens of the legendary Kingdom of Teca tell of a prophecy. It says that one day, a mighty eagle and three courageous jaguars will vanquish the dark lords of the underworld.
It’s believed that King Teca and his three sons, Lance, Daggers and Shield, are meant to fulfill that prophecy. Unfortunately, that leaves his daughter, Maya, cooped up at home in the palace.
Maya wants to be a warrior, too. After all, her mom Queen Teca fought alongside her husband back in the day. But her parents want her to become the next queen of Teca.
Maya doesn’t want to become a diplomat. She prefers to settle arguments with her fists, not her words. But that all changes on her 15th birthday, because she’s about to embark upon the journey of a lifetime!
Maya’s coronation ceremony is interrupted when a warrior, Zatz (Prince of Bats), arrives from the underworld.
He informs the royals that he’s there to take Maya back with him to Lord Mictlan (god of war), where she’ll be sacrificed by Lady Micte (goddess of death), her true mother.
Maya’s family fights back, but at great cost.
Turns out they got the prophecy wrong. Now, it’s up to Maya to pick up the mantle of the mighty eagle and save the world.
Maya and the Three is surprisingly dark for a kid’s show.
For starters, it’s rooted in ancient Mayan and other Mesoamerican theology, which not only means we meet multiple gods but also hear of human sacrifice to those gods. These demonic beings pop up on Maya’s journey using their magical talents to try to trap her (but not kill her since that would screw up Mictlan’s plans). However, while they may not be trying to kill Maya, they have no problem killing everyone she cares about.
But they aren’t the only ones using magic and being violent. Wizards play a big part in this story, and there’s certainly a magical element to all these prophecies about Teca. It’s also quite clear that Maya’s entire family enjoys fighting. Her dad and brothers declare war on the underworld without so much as a pause. And we hear that Queen Teca stabbed her husband 15 years prior when she learned about his extramarital affair.
And about that little indiscretion: the show is pretty blunt about the fact that King Teca cheated on his wife with the goddess of death (and apparently, Micte was cheating on Mictlan as well). To her credit, Queen Teca forgave her husband and has always treated Maya as her own.
There are a few other romances that make an appearance along with a smooch or two. (Zatz has a crush on the 15-year-old princess even though he already has a girlfriend.)
Sadly, the story also has a “doofus dad” element. Maya’s father, while protective, is not the best role model, and he constantly has to be reined in by his level-headed wife, making her seem strict and unkind. And he’s not the only one. Several other royal fathers throughout the land are chastised by their own daughters for their foolhardy ways. This is somewhat balanced by Zatz’s father, who actually asks Mictlan to show mercy to the humans and teaches his son about sacrifice—the good kind of sacrifice.
The show is free of foul language—though we do hear a few uses of “oh my gods” and “dang it.” It has some positive messages about honor, forgiveness and making sacrifices for those you love. And there’s a plethora of female role models (and some male ones, too) to inspire a generation of young kiddos.
However, the show’s supernatural content (not to mention the violence and sexual implications of Maya’s parentage) undercut the positive ones. Not to mention that sometimes, it’s just sad to watch so many people giving up their lives to save their friends and families. Which is quite disappointing in a show that is otherwise fun, colorful and creative.
On the day of her 15th birthday and coronation, Princess Maya discovers that her birth mother is actually the goddess of death, who wants to sacrifice her.
Maya’s dad and brothers fight Zatz and a pair of stone giants. During the battle, her brothers are knocked unconscious and her dad’s hand is destroyed by the giants. Maya participates in the “fight pits” beating up (and getting beat up by) some of Teca’s best street fighters. When she dislocates her shoulder doing this, her mom pokes it to teach her daughter a lesson about getting into danger. Maya’s brothers fight against several mystical beasts. An eagle bites a snake. A bird smacks several people in the face. Skull carvings are used in décor and costume.
A wizard turns her subordinate into a frog (and later punts that frog across a courtyard). People talk about their beliefs in gods and prophecies. We see some of these gods in the underworld, many of whom are monstrous in appearance and all of whom have magical powers. Zatz rides a skeletal sabretooth tiger with flames for eyes. He causes a volcano to explode, summons stone giants and also has control over bats. Someone claims Princess Maya “will be the sun.”
We learn that King Teca cheated on his wife. Some outfits reveal women’s midriffs and men’s bare chests. Maya’s parents kiss. A man kisses a woman on the cheek.
Maya tells her mom she hates her after Queen Teca rips Maya’s fight mask. She is also rude to a servant out of anger at her mom. But she does try to apologize to both women. A man picks his nose. People lie. We hear several exclamations of “oh my gods” and one “dang it.”
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
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