Shigurui: Season 1

In terms of suspense, this is one of the strongest pieces I've ever seen. The director and composer were able to use the tools available to them to convey the tension and persistent concentration of reason between the two samurai during the duel, as no one could. I've watched a lot of samurai movies and anime, but only in this series is this idea elevated to the absolute and implemented flawlessly. It's as if swinging a sword by itself doesn't solve anything, and the battle is happening just before it in the minds of the opponents, while nerves are stretched like daikyu titans. And all expressive means, like editing and music, convey this feeling as naturally as possible. That's why this series is so hard to watch, it's really stressful. I have PTSD now.

It's an unrealistically powerful suspense, the directing is extremely unconventional, but I got into it.

A vivid example of an anime that cannot be called great just because it was released long before the end of the manga. Another similar example is the Claymore. In general, I highly recommend reading manga, although it's not easy (personally, I almost left this case somewhere in the middle, when the difficult and disgusting moments went one after another), but it's worth doing if the anime was to your liking.

@Kuroko: in fact, she is quite well revealed in the anime. And, perhaps, she turns out to be the only thinking character who is able to answer for her actions.

I also briefly watched the manga. Well, honestly, it's not clear what conclusion to draw from all this. The creation is incredibly magnificent, but too historically accurate.

@asumodeusu: Yes, the ending of the manga was shocking. Although such an ending is not unusual for Japanese culture.