The Suitor: Beyond Journey's End is one of the best anime of the 2026 winter season, in part because it features such a lovable trio of heroes. The powerful mage Frieren was once part of a quartet of adventurers who saved the world, and now she is the mother figure of a new group. Fern is the Friar's apprentice and daughter figure, while Stark is the lovable son who doesn't understand the Friar as well as Fern does. This is a heartwarming trio to hold on to The Suitor anime together, but some anime have even better trios.
Not all notable anime trios do the same thing better than the Frieren/Fern/Stark trio does, with some trios being stronger for completely different reasons. Interestingly, some of these trios are more compelling because their members don't do it get along, with friction, drama and rivalry defining these groups rather than found-family dynamics. Some of these anime trios are legendary in the medium, and others are instant classics that no one will forget anytime soon.
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Those looking for their next anime binge need look no further, as the following series are sure to delight viewers from start to finish.
Loid, Yor, and Anya Forger perfected the Found Family Trope
Mother, father and daughter keep all secrets
The found family trope is always a heartwarming one, with strangers trusting each other with their happiness and even their lives. What the three forgers found in Spy x Family is simply a joy to watch, and it excels The Suitorown found family story. Both anime handle this trope well, with Frieren and Fern having plenty of precious moments together, but the found family trope is stronger and more thematically relevant with Spy x Familymain trio.
Loid is a spy from Westalis who once thought he only needed his intelligence and a mission to have a complete life, and Yor Briar felt a little lonely even with his associates and younger brother around. When they met and adopted Anya, everything changed, to the point where Yor and Loid were worried about their feelings for strong. It's a clash of duty vs. personal commitment, and it challenges the foster mom and dad to show anime fans what they're really made of and what they really stand for.
Deku, Shoto and Bakugo have come so far as heroes
They have also come a long way as people
Main trios and quartets are popular in the shonen action anime world, with the members of the shonen “big three” often using this concept. Newer anime like My Hero Academia love trios too, although maybe more loosely defined. It's just as well, so Deku, Shoto, and Bakugo can team up with other characters as well to enrich the story. Thematically, but there's no denying how Deku, Shoto, and Bakugo are quite the trio.
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These three UA students have each gone Plus Ultra in astonishing ways, each refusing to guard their powers or let vanity take over. Such a process challenged the trio's members to face their inner doubts, demons or guilt, from Deku's ongoing strains to Shoto's family woes and Bakugo coming to terms with his own toxic ways. At the end of My Hero Academiathese three heroes have become true stars, and they deserved it in addition to the amazing quirks they were given or born with.
Guts, Griffith and Casca are tragic figures in a blood-soaked fantasy realm
Romance and betrayal are at the heart of this Seinen Trio
Some anime trios are defined by comedic antics and fighting together as inspirational heroes, but it's not just shonen anime that can use this trope to good effect. For every Team 7 or Forger family, there is also a trio like Guts, Griffith and Casca from the iconic Berserk franchise. The various anime adaptations explored this trio in detail, but writer Kentaro Miura's original Berserk manga is the best way to appreciate the fantasy genre's finest trio.
These three characters have been through a lot – sometimes together, and sometimes because of each other. The personal nuances and twists in this trio are too numerous to mention, from Casca's unrequited love for Griffith to Casca and Guts finding love in each other's arms as fellow scarred warriors. And even after Griffith's nightmarish betrayal scarred Guts and Casca again, Griffith remains a big part of their lives, even if they can't stand it.
Eren, Mikasa and Armin have been through so much together
Each has shone and suffered in different ways
Attack on Titan is another dark fantasy series featuring a grim main trio. Not unlike Berserkthe story of Attack on Titan features a trio of heroes who sometimes fight together as a found family, while other times are each other's worst enemies. Eren Yeager is the Griffith of this trio, a mighty warrior who led Armin and Mikasa to glory in battle before betraying them as their worst enemy in Season 4.
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Attack on Titan fans long for the good old days before the colossal titan's arrival, when Armin, Eren and Mikasa were carefree kids whose worst problem was Eren's habit of getting into street fights. While those days were marked by petty violence, they feel quaint compared to what these shonen heroes have experienced since, and it makes the characters feel that much more real. Their innocence is lost, and violence is all that remains.
Luffy, Zoro and Sanji sailed from one end of the world to the other
These three pirates would give their lives for each other
Over time, the pirate captain Monkey D. Luffy has built up a whole crew in the story of One Pieceto the point where there's a decent chance Prince Loki of Elbaph might join the crew as well. Like the elf Frieren, Luffy is an adventurer ready to explore anywhere and everywhere to see what the world can throw at him, and he has friends to back him up. Luffy is not a parental figure like the Frier is, but his heart is just as big.
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The Suitor does so much to stand out from all the other anime.
Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Vinsmoke Sanji are the “monster trio” on board A thousand sunnyand they've been the Straw Hat crew's top three fighters for quite some time now, even before One Pieces time skips. These mighty pirates may annoy each other at times, but they are also brothers in arms who are ready to fight side by side and even risk their lives for each other if it comes to it. Beneath the banter and banter lies a great deal of mutual respect, which helps set the Straw Hat crew apart from the likes of Baroque Works and Navy.
Ai, Aqua and Ruby Hoshino formed a strange yet loving family
Ai's death threatened to destroy more lives than one
Not all trios in anime stick around for long, with the Hoshino family in it Oshi no Ko be a prominent example. This bizarre little family only spent about three years together, but it meant the world to Ai Hoshino and her twin son and daughter. Having her two children was what finally let some true love into Ai's life, just when she feared love was impossible for her. Ai's life was bleak and painful during the glamor of her idol career, so fans were overjoyed that Ai found the real deal before her untimely murder.
This trio is a fascinating one that goes far beyond a fantasy adventuring party The Suitor. The Suitor entertains fans with her maternal role in the small group, but Ai's own maternal arc is even stronger. The power of Ai's love in her dying moments had a mixed effect, inspiring Ruby to emulate her while turning the brother and sister into chronic liars with stars of their own. It's hard to say whether the Hoshino family is primarily built on love, truth, lies, or pain, as there is a bit of each in this tragic trio.
The Suitor: Beyond Journey's End
- Release date
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September 29, 2023
- Network
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Nippon TV, YTV, FBS, Chukyo TV, RNB, FCT, STV, KNB, HTV, YBS, RAB, TVI, YBC, UMK TV Miyazaki, TSB, MMT, TeNY, RNC, NIB, KKT, KTK, NKT, ABS, JRT, Daiichi-TV, KBCY, RKCRY,
- Directors
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Kento Matsui, Kota Mori, Takahiro Natori, Morio Asaka, Lim Ka-hee, Taku Kimura, Ken Ando, Hirotaka Mori, Ayaka Tsuji
- Author
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Tomohiro Suzuki
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Atsumi Tanezaki
The Suitor (voice)
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Kana Ichinose
Fern (voice)
