Finished watching the Frieren anime today, and I have to at least partially apologize for my Frieren slander during the Best Anime Girl Tourney - while I'll maintain that there are many girls prettier than Frieren even in her own story, the racist granny elf IS a very compelling and memorable character, so her popularity is not undeserved, and I'd certainly have voted for her over a nonentity like Cow Girl if the tournament had taken place now. I appreciate how her seeming disinterested and almost bored demeanor reflects just how old and experienced she is, yet at the same time Frieren is still comes across as being capable of developing and changing.
I've seen people say that the Frieren anime is slow and boring, which I don't really agree with - it keeps a decent enough pace and each episode usually deals with not 1, but 2 notable storylines, so the real issue is more that there's not much urgency to the conflicts and that the threat-level is generally low (by the time Stark joins, Frieren's party has already become extremely potent). Of course, the Demon arc and the First-Class Mage Exam arc are the exceptions that prove the rule
The anime is above all very Cozy - the human and humanoid (dwarves, elves etc) characters are generally good, good deeds end up being rewarded, and even when facing tragedies the characters are able to overcome them. I was a bit surprised by just how *idyllic* the world of Frieren was depicted as, but then it hit me - this is a world where the major villain (the Demon Lord) has already been defeated many years ago - things SHOULD by and large have turned out well, this era of peace being the well-deserved fruits of Himmel and his team's labors. Looking at the story from this perspective definitely makes it more interesting and rewarding in my view - giving you an idea of what a true post-game story in your favorite JRPGs (at least the ones with happy endings) would look like.
...of course, this generally optimistic and positive outlook makes Frieren's shockingly Redpilled take on demons all the more remarkable - the only good demon is a dead demon, and any and all attempts to empathize with demons, teaching them right from wrong etc will only be exploited by the demons to kill more people - even cute demon Lolis need to be mercilessly eradicated! There's no kiked subversive messaging here - humans are in no sense depicted as having wronged or oppressed demons in any way, and indeed, their main mistake when dealing with demons is being too soft and kindhearted. EXTREMELY Based!