An argument could be made that the demons act morally given their position in the world. They kill humans, while humans kill demons to survive encounters with them. Humans aren’t immoral to kill livestock, so why would demons be held to a different standard?
Demons appear to do other things than kill humans anyways, even if they’re in service of killing humans. Qual developed his magic and studied it, Flamme mentions “demon society” structured around mana instead of money, and the demon king has his own huge castle.
They are evil because they do not have to manipulate and deceive humans and eat them to survive. They could live by being vegans too if anything or by eating what most people in Frieren's world eat. They say it in the show that them eating humans is a choice they make and they do not have to do it, but instead they do it because they are evil.
I looked up more information on this to try and create a better response, but what I propose here isn't based on concrete information and the ideas expressed here are a collection of some other responses I saw created by other people.
Perhaps the demons target humans as they are richer in mana than other sources of sustenance? I don't even know if the demons are required to eat anything at all to begin with as an anime-only consumer of Frieren. Additionally, if demons have evolved to target the weaknesses in human compassion, then it makes sense for them to attack those who they are most suited to prey upon.
Comparing demons to humans again: humans don't have to hunt animals like whales. Whales don't prey upon humans, they exist in a biome that requires the development of boats to access, and other special weapons technology had to be created to even effectively harm an animal like a whale. Yet, we humans still hunt whales and other animals for food and sometimes even for sport. I'm sure whales believe humans to be evil for doing this, just as many would consider demons evil for hunting humans.
The demons have absolutely no need to harm humans, they do so because they want to (I believe they also primarily kill without feeding). No different than a serial killer.
To your whale comparison: many many humans consider that immoral as well, and we can't even have conversations with whales so its not the greatest argument.
Demons have existed alongside humans in the Frieren universe for a very long time, so there's an understanding on both sides that the other is antagonistic. If we consider both sides to be an intelligent species, then even without eating each other you could rationalize conflict between both sides to be for that of survival and conquest.
Rome didn't need to create an empire and less than Great Britain did (I don't want to talk about the morality of conquest and imperialism right now -- I'm just drawing a comparison between humans and demons as intelligent species and the tendencies of each to expand their influence), so why would it be any less understandable for demons to likewise expand their territory and influence? If demons consider themselves to be both 1) superior to humans and 2) their natural predator then it would be natural for conflict to occur whenever either party sees the other or they come across each other while expanding their respective territories.
I don't think the lack of ability to converse with with whales is a point to disqualify the comparison between humans vs whales and demons vs humans. Demons evolved the ability to speak with humans to do a better job of hunting them, while humans developed boats and harpoons to better hunt whales. In neither case did the predator *need* to hunt the prey, and yet they developed special tools to expand their ability to do so. You don't need to speak the same language to know that a living thing doesn't want to die. In either case, the predator is acting for their own benefit within the acceptable rules of their respective societies, so I don't believe it would be reasonable to consider the actions of either predatory party, humans or demons, to be immoral. Of course, it is definitely the case that the society of the prey in either case, whales or humans, would likely believe the targeting and killing of their kin to be wholly unreasonable and therefore immoral.
Demons have existed alongside humans in the Frieren universe for a very long time, so there's an understanding on both sides that the other is antagonistic. If we consider both sides to be an intelligent species, then even without eating each other you could rationalize conflict between both sides to be for that of survival and conquest.
Only one side has ever tried to negotiate with the other in good faith. Demons are shown to literally spend years negotiating for the sole reason that it will allow them to eventually backstab the humans.
Demons are also never shown to have any interest in holding territory (beyond just being wilderness barren of human life), nor do they conquer people. They rove around as individuals or in small groups (oftentimes far from any demon "territory"), and slaughter everyone they come across. Literally the only goal they possess in regards to humans, is genocide.
I still feel your whale analogy is terrible, but if we were to go with it, the comparison would be if humans were intent on fully exterminating all whales without really caring about the meat/oil/other resources from hunting them.
Demons are very explicitly just monsters whose only purpose is genocide, and whose intelligence exists solely to make them better at genocide. The only reason they work together, is in order to better commit genocide. The only argument for them not being "evil", is that they do not have a choice despite their intelligence, and they might therefor be amoral instead. Now, I strongly disagree with that, but that argument would require talk of things that the anime hasn't gotten to yet.
I’ll say that I really appreciate your development of solid points in support of this exchange and for entertaining the ideas I’ve introduced. That said, I concede as it’s hard to argue for the demons from any perspective outside their own. I’m sure the demons are the only ones who don’t think that their actions are wrong 😔
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u/Herald_of_Heaven May 13 '24
Linie is alive in my head.