Which anime is the best in the world? The program that everyone believes to be the greatest? We could all debate this kind of subject for two hundred forum pages. However, at some point during that debate—probably early on—someone would provide a link to the Top 10 Anime list on the ANN Encyclopedia or the Top Anime Series page on MyAnimeList in order to support their position. While no single source is infallible, millions of fan rankings are used to determine the order of greatness on each of these well-known lists.
And as it happens, there has been a recent reckoning for both of these resources. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End has now surpassed Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as the most popular anime on both websites, having held that position for almost ten years.
Fall 2023 saw the explosive debut of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, which featured four back-to-back full-length episodes. Its charming fantasy plot, timeless lead figure, and surprisingly profound underlying message about mortality captivated viewers. The well-known manga by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe provided Frieren with solid source material, but Studio Madhouse’s adaptation enhanced its attractions with vibrant color.
In the meantime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood debuted in April 2009, fifteen years ago. The popular (and, at the time, unfinished) manga of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa was partly adapted into the plot of Fullmetal Alchemist, a 2003 anime, which aired before the 64-episode Studio Bones series. Brotherhood was the anime that was revived and, because it followed the whole manga this time, is the one that has arguably stood the test of time the best.
In May 2016, Brotherhood became the top-ranked series on Anime News Network, surpassing Steins;Gate, the previous champion, with a score of 9.10. Compared to the ANN database, MyAnimeList displayed this update somewhat faster. It had already surpassed Gintama to take the #1 spot by July 2010. Though MyAnimeList has experienced more volatility, Brotherhood has stayed at the top of the ANN database throughout the eight years that it has held the top spot. Over the previous fourteen years, games such as Fruits Basket: The Final, the last season of Attack on Titan, and Oshi no Ko have all momentarily dethroned Brotherhood from the top spot. However, the juggernaut always finds its way back to the top of MyAnimeList.
MyAnimeList’s chief moderator, Kineta, said to Anime News Network that Brotherhood’s rating has decreased over time, similar to other anime on MAL, since more viewers have seen it and formed different impressions or thoughts. However, the quantity of fresh viewer scores is much outnumbered by the existing when a title has already amassed 2.1 million scores.
Frieren currently has an overall score of 9.14 in the Anime News Network database, marginally better than Brotherhood’s current score of 9.07. As of the time of publication, Brotherhood has a weighted ranking of 9.09 on MyAnimeList (based on 2,104,150 user ratings). On November 22, 2023, Frieren, which presently has a higher weighted ranking of 9.181 (rated by 205,336 users), passed it more swiftly on MAL.
The way MyAnimeList measures rankings for broadcast versus completed anime would push Frieren back down to #2, Kineta said Anime News Network, given the impending finale.
“For the member’s list score of an anime to be included in the weighted average, one-fifth of the anime’s total episodes must have been viewed after it has finished broadcasting. This means that any ratings submitted to an anime entry by users who have seen less than one-fifth of the total episodes abruptly stop counting when the entry’s status changes from “Currently Airing” to “Finished Airing.” This will frequently also result in a brief increase or fall in the weighted score,” the email writer stated.
While Frieren benefits from state-of-the-art animation and a lot of weekly social media conversation as each new episode is released, Brotherhood has the advantage of time and the extensive word-of-mouth endorsement that goes along with it. Thankfully, the latter lacks the benefit of being accessible via streaming. Even though Brotherhood isn’t ranked #1 anymore, it won’t go away as long as it’s still accessible on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and (for another week) Funimation.
When comparing these two anime, they have a lot in common in terms of themes and viewer appeal. Brotherhood starts off with powerful action sequences and fantastical aspects before overwhelming audiences with intense emotional beats that compel them to consider death; Frieren, on the other hand, employs the same pattern in reverse. The friendly chemistry between the two leads as they embark on a journey that will change their lives—as well as the enthusiasm and humor of the ensemble casts they meet along the way—benefits both series well. Additionally, both programs had excellent worldbuilding, memorable opening and closing tunes, and remarkable animation that sets them apart from other programs of the same era.
Brotherhood is deserving of praise, but Frieren has earned the throne in the event that something forces it from it. Presently, the program is concluding the First-Class Mage Exam Arc and has evolved significantly from its initial form. This departure from the show’s previous emphasis on Frieren’s life experiences, however, shows the breadth and durability of the work.
It’s appropriate that Frieren, a program with such potent messages about passing away and time, is the one to overthrow Brotherhood’s long-standing establishment. One of the main themes of Frieren is the way the title character perceives time; to her, what would seem like ages are nothing. Frieren would see Brotherhood’s reign as little more than a blip on the time-space continuum.
