Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is structurally one of the very best manga I have ever read.

The story is simple. More than two decades after the death of Himmel the Hero, Frieren, an Elven mage, takes to the road once again, this time accompanied by Fern and Stark, students of her dear friends. Along the way, Frieren begins to understand a little bit about Himmel, humanity, and herself.

In Volume 5, we pick up in the middle of the first-class examination for mages. Those of you who have seen the anime know how this plays out, with the complicated politics of the various mages and their abilities. The results of the examination are not surprising, but we can really see that Fern has grown and is very much like her mentors. Then we are off to new adventures.

I say this manga is nearly perfect structurally, and it is here, after the examination arc, where that becomes apparent. Many of the adventures our party is involved with are short one- or two-chapter arcs. Frequently, the adventure portion takes a back seat to the character development. In one chapter, for instance, a mere two panels are given to the defeat of a very powerful monster. Two panels. Phew, they say, that was hard. This was an utterly brilliant use of space because the point of that chapter was not the fight at all.

Adventure is tempered with a specific wry humor. We are all Fern when Frieren accepts a ridiculous spell as payment for their efforts. We are all Stark when Fern is pouting at some slight by either of her companions. But mostly, we are all Frieren, a walking mid-life crisis, although that is never said aloud.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is persistently, specifically, poignantly about the perspective we can only gain by having lived more than half of our lives, then looking back and recognizing all the stuff we missed, that we misinterpreted, the things about ourselves and other than we misunderstood. Finally, as Frieren is using Himmel's own words, she understands what he meant all along. And finally, she is starting to get a small glimpse of his feelings.

Despite this, Frieren avoids the schlocky schmaltziness that usually fills emotionally impactful manga. There is regret, but relatively little nostalgia, as our perspectives on the past almost always come from middle-aged or older people, who have seen where their folly has brought them. As an older reader, I find all of this so much more powerful than rose-colored sentimentality about the past.

For all that this story is set in a fantasy feudal setting with monsters, magic, warriors, and the like, this is not ever really a story about the fantasy. I mean this in the best possible way. This is a story about beings with vastly different perspectives, many of which are mutually exclusive, trying to understand each other. On a micro scale, we have Frieren, Stark and Fern, all driving each other crazy with their foibles, but also caring deeply about one another in the way of the best found families, On the macro level, we have Denken, Imperial mage, whose life has piled up behind him, blocking the way backwards into his past, and a demon general Macht, whose alien thinking is blocking the way forward.

It was absolutely emblematic of this series that the encounter we see between Frieren's party and Macht is them sitting down to tea, talking about how very different they are and whether they can ever come to an understanding. This theme is echoed constantly in battle throughout these volumes, as mages recognize the inherent difficulties they face instantly. As I think about this last line, I suddenly realize that this is Dungeons & Dragons, in a very real way; battles are probability-based on skills, with a soupçon of luck (or plot contrivance in this case)

At the heart of Frieren is that profound question that fills so much science fiction manga, but is rarely seen in fantasy: What does it mean to be human? Here we are answered not by androids and cyborgs, but by demons, elves, dwarves…and humans who have lived long, complicated lives. In some ways, it's like talking to our elders when we are young and trying to appreciate their perspectives.

One last note about the humor. Frieren caught by a mimic is a great visual gag, but it's the utter banality of the spells they collect that really tickles me. Fern asking the greatest mage in the world for a spell that does a chore, or the spell that allows one to crack eggs perfectly…they are perfection.

All of this, the humanity—and the non-humanity— that humor of the commonplace, the depth of the characters, the prickly affection, and the happy-go-lucky adventures combine to make Frieren: Beyond Journey's End just about one of the best manga I have ever read. Certainly in my top ten. I can't wait to finish it up.