Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

Absolute Cinema!

This is a special, special show, it affected me in ways I never have been affected before, it made me nostalgic for memories that aren't mine and experiences that aren't real, it drew me in 100%. I'm not as taken in by the Himmel stuff as others but everything else hit the mark, Frieren is a wonderful character that does immortality right, the fern and stark romance works well, and the side-characters are all memorable in their own way. And by God, it looks amazing and has great direction. It is also a very feminine show, addressing traditionally feminine emotional themes and not focusing on masculine coded behaviours like strength, violence and glory, it's pretty cool to see an anime approaching fantasy from that mature untypical angle. A modern classic that will deservedly be in the top 10 anime of the 2020s.