Stark’s "Perfect Dogeza" Is a Work of Art... The Fate of a Warrior Who Accidentally Peeked While They Were Bathing in "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End"

In the anime "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End," the frustratingly slow-burning relationship between Fern (CV: Kana Ichinose) and Stark (CV: Chiaki Kobayashi) is undoubtedly one of the highlights. In the premiere of the second season, a scene where Stark accidentally sees Fern in her underwear and performs a "dogeza" (prostrate bowing) at god-like speed drew plenty of laughs from the audience.

"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End," currently available for binge-watching, is based on the manga written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe, serialized in "Weekly Shonen Sunday." Set in a world "after" the Demon King has been defeated, the story follows Frieren (CV: Atsumi Tanezaki), an elven mage who has lived for over 1,000 years, as she embarks on a "journey to learn about people."

The original manga has surpassed 35 million copies in circulation and has won numerous awards, including the "Manga Taisho 2021" Grand Prize, the "25th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize" New Creator Prize, the "69th (2023) Shogakukan Manga Award," and the "48th Kodansha Manga Award" in the Shonen category. The first season of the TV anime began airing in September 2023, followed by the second season in January 2026. It has also been announced that the third season, the "Golden Gould" arc (El Dorado arc), will begin airing in October 2027.

In Episode 29, the first episode of the second season, Stark returns from the forest after gathering wild herbs only to find Frieren and Fern missing. Deciding to fish at the riverbank until they return, Stark accidentally stumbles upon the two of them while they are bathing.