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I've been an avid watcher of iyashikei genre for years, and i fully understand how polarizing this genre is. The iyashikei aspect is what create this huge animosity toward the show. It's boring, slow, and doesn't have that much of depth and complexity as people hyped it to be.

In that regard, you are completely right. I've never seen anime fans who watched Mushishi or Natsume and call those anime deep and thought provoking. Those same rules apply to Frieren as well. Iyashikei were not meant to be complex and require critical thinking. They are essentially a subset of slice-of-life anime that mainly focus on worldbuilding ... and immersive visual storytelling.

Most iyashikei tend to suffer from repeating theme with no continuity (Natsume and Mushishi) or its just slice of life with nothing going on (Yuru Camp, Non Non Biyori, Aria, etc). But this is where Frieren shine the most, because the anime manage to incorporate iyashikei into adventure fantasy anime and balance out each elements nicely.

Its a brilliantly crafted show that make you reflect the passage of time, with subtle nuances of Frieren emotion and how she deal with grief. The journey to the north and demon aspect are the shounen element that drive the story forward. It give the sense of progression, but not too overbearing with sinister silhouettes or tournament trope. This is a slowburn anime that has no business to be no.1 spot on MAL. Frieren has "shounen" plaster on its demographic section yet it's certainly not for everybody, as your milage vary greatly depend on what you seeking for.

This anime will always be polarizing and your rating are greatly depend on what you are looking for:
1) If you are looking for iyashikei blend with fantasy adventure, this anime is easily 10/10
2) If you read couple of reviews, saw people use fancy term that might lead you to think the anime is fill with emotional rollercoaster, a poignant reminder of the passing of time, regret and resolution. Nah, it's not that deep bro... however, it's still worth watching because high quality production, lovable character, and very interesting take of demon as a race 8/10
3) If you are looking for the next AoT, Mob Psycho, JJK, MHA, FMAB etc. Just move on, there is really nothing to be see here when it comes to shounen genre. Its way too slow, boring and not enough adrenaline pumping scene: 5/10