Frieren: A Much Needed Slap in the Face!
How this anime exposed one of humanities greatest weaknesses: empathy
One of the top animes I have watched in 2024 definitely was Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End.
This show stars Frieren, a powerful elven mage who helped defeat the Demon King, and her human apprentice, Fern, as they explore the world to reach the land where souls rest. The world has attained a modest level of peace following the defeat of the Demon King 80 years ago. The elven woman, with her elongated lifespan, struggled maintaining relationships all her life, yet never had any concern until after the passing of her old human companion Himmel, who died of old age.
She was introduced to Fern by her other old companion, Heiter, who took her as an apprentice after his passing. Because of the regret Frieren feels when failing to form a deeper bond with Himmel, she wants to venture to the Aureole, the land where souls rest, so she could make peace with him and speak to him one final time.
One of the key highlights of the is its wonderous soundtrack that brings similar emotions that the soundtrack of Minecraft. When you add in the sentimental writing, the clever use of magic, and the often difficult portrayal of time, the makers of this anime/manga have done a masterful job of story telling. While there is a great deal of adventure, the show makes perfect use of the down-time and the peaceful moments for character building.
However, one of the more controversial elements is how Frieren addresses the subject of evil.
“The more you desire coexistence, the more people die by your hands.”
The manga panel below, as Frieren’s speaks to a demon, perfectly and concisely reveals what kind of race the demons truly are in this series. Instead of trying to humanize or generate empathy, which a lot of more recent shows tend to do, the writer chose a different approach.
The reader is taught a harsh lesson regarding the “nature vs nurture” debate. No matter how you may try to reform someone, or even an animal, you may be forced to contend with the fact that you may not be able to defeat their instincts or habits. The demons are a predator species that threaten mankind. There’s no way to negotiate with them or reason with them, as it is in their nature to exploit your humanity for their benefit.
A Harsh Lesson in Empathy
In Frieren, we see a flashback to when Himmel and his party saved a demon girl from being executed by an angry village after she killed and devoured someone’s daughter. The hero, along with the village chief, wanted to extend an olive branch and try to reform the girl to work with humans, as opposed to being a predator against them. Frieren tried to warn them, as she was taught about demons throughout her long elven age, but Himmel’s good nature decided to give the demon girl a chance.
While things went smoothly for a time, the demon girl eventually lapsed and brutally murdered the village chief and burned down his home. While she communicated a flawed excuse, and cried “Mom!”, Frieren knew how deceptive the demons were. She spoke about their solitary nature, and how they never even raise offspring. When Himmel cut down the demon, she asked, “why do you use the word, ‘mom’?”
The demon responded, “to stop you from killing us.”
Racism and Pattern Recognition
Now, the controversy that arises from the show is when critics make parallels to reality. They substitute the aforementioned demons for “x” or “y” race and (ironically) project their racists thoughts against fans of the show. Similarly, these same critics often equate orcs from Dungeons and Dragons to black people. Frieren highlights this subject matter astutely by maintaining an authentic and consistent level of evil in this race of demons. While there is much to debate in the realm of politics, this anime presents this side of the argument tastefully, regardless of what someone who disagrees may feel.
In the context of the show, humanity was gravely threatened by these demons and their magic. Survival was essential for the mortal races to defeat the power and deception of the clever demons.
One of the key elements of humanity that allowed us to conquer the animal kingdom lies within our ability to recognize patterns. If we see a group of horses that act errantly, and all have a similar marking on their thigh, then it stands to reason that we should separate those horses from the others who do not have that marking. While exceptions may occur, it is important to practice precaution and maintain a heightened level of awareness of this phenomena. A better example would be frogs. The bright and colored ones are often indicative of being poisonous.
Let’s use this to better illustrate this subject. Let’s say a group of kids are known to be troublesome. This group has built a notorious history within the community for violence and vandalism. Would you have any prejudice about them if you encountered any one of these kids?
Expand that more and let us involve their families. What if their families behave in a similar fashion, as the fathers and mothers are neglectful? Would you maintain any prejudice then? How about an entire city? A nation?
Whether it would be these horses, or breeds of dogs, or even people, pattern recognition has allowed us to analyze behaviors and traits as a means to bring caution into our lives so we may better survive. The protagonist, Frieren, learned over the hundreds of years of her life to recognize such patterns from these demons. Though her experience and knowledge was previously disregarded, she was vindicated when her warnings were actualized. If more people took caution and adopted the wisdom of those who have had such experience, we could avoid repeating disastrous history.
This show highlights a weakness in empathy that us humans have for others. We want to live peacefully. It is in our nature to want everyone to succeed and to be treated fairly. We want to see others become prosperous as much as we want ourselves to. It’s sad that our good will is often exploited by those who seek us harm.
There is no coexistence with people who want you dead. There is no unity when their best interest is to see you and your children suffer. While sometimes such behaviors can be reformed, we have to accept the fact that not everyone can be saved.
And that, I believe, is the true cause of the heated anger of those who sharply condemn those who enjoy the anime, Frieren.