This season's cosiest anime is perfect for Final Fantasy 14 fans

When I first saw stills from Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, I do have to admit I quickly wrote it off. I'm not always a big fan of anime that heavily draws from European fantasy, to be a bit mean it can sometimes come across as a bit a dime a dozen. But the distinctive thing about animation is the emphasis on movement, taking individual pages of drawings and turning them into a motion picture. And on the recommendation of various voices I trust, I decided to give Frieren a go, in the process finding a surprisingly thoughtful anime that I think fans of Final Fantasy 14 should consider setting aside some time from their daily duties to watch. In many fantasy series, you'll often find your typical group of heroes - a warrior, a mage, a cleric or healer, and a barbarian - off on some adventure to defeat a demon king hellbent on killing everyone, or taking over the world, or whatever. The usual. Frieren, on the other hand, is the story of what comes after you save the world from assured destruction, and in particular, coming to understand what loss is when you yourself are practically immortal. Frieren, the titular protagonist, is an elven mage, and similarly to elves in something like Lord of the Rings, she ages at a glacial pace, having already lived for hundreds of years before she even met the group of heroes she defeated the demon king with. She also doesn't always quite understand why you do certain things, and her respect for others' time is minimal as she has so much of it to waste. Read more