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SayoAsa to me was like a study: What happens if a (nearly) immortal being that has been kept away from all suffering endured by mortals is suddenly faced with the grimness of this world? This question was well thought through and executed even better.

Story: (I gave a 10/10)
The story about the unlikely mother and son was followed through to the end. Even if that meant some logical inconsistencies along the way, and a big case of "convenience" right before the climax. But to me that were sacrifices I was ready to endure. For the story started to make me wonder, fantasize and but-what-if... right along ... watching it and even more so after I had finished it. It posed some riddles, some questionmarks, into my brain which the latter will work on during the next days (though hopefully not at the cost of me slipping from reality...). And if a story achieves that within me, I consider it a good one. SayoAsa did so in an intensity very few stories have done before. Hence, I consider it a "masterpiece".

Art (I gave a 10/10)
The movie didn't look like one from 2018, it looked older for the most part. Not much, but older. More handdrawn and less CGI (though I'm not sure e.g. Leilia's flight was done that way). To me that's great. Because It did what it was supposed to: it evoked in me the feeling that this is another world far from my own. Yet, one that is inviting and worth exploring.

Sound (I gave a 8/10)
This is not to say I didn't like the sound. To the contrary - I loved the basedrum sound during the battle scenes, and the soft music in the emotional scenes sure worked well to underline the mood. But it is not a soundtrack I would buy and listen to. There are Anime movie soundtrack pieces I regularly listen to while relaxing, but I doubt any one from SayoAsa will get part of my playlist.

Charakter (I gave 10/10)
Here is where the movie shines. Some voices I heard/read complained about the missing development of the main characters, partly due to the large jumps in story time during the movie. But to me that didn't seem the case: Maquia truly developed while Ariel went through the well known crises of young adulthood. The side figures mostly where functions rather than full-fletched characters (apart from Leilia maybe). But that doesn't hurt since the characterization of the two MCs was done so well.

Enjoyment... Overall... and my judgement
Here I should state that, yes, I started writing this like 15 min or so after finishing SayoAsa. And yes, one may say that tomorrow I might give it a 9 or 8 only. Except that I won't. I have written some texts already into this review form, deleted them again and changed my mind latter, being glad I didn't take the opportunity to release my first review. But this time it is different. I seldom was so sure about how I felt towards any Anime before (considering positive feelings only, of course). I won't say this is THE Anime of 2018 or "a" masterpiece in general. To me it simply feels like one. It made me utterly happy And I hope it will do so to many others.