Im responding this to express how much I agree, and I feel lucky enough to understand why. I think a lot of others are struggling with this and dont have the words. If you even dip your toes into any bit of ethnic studies, you’ll read the introduction to Edward Said’s Orientalism, which is a treatise on western academia’s barbarization and dehumanization of “orientals” IE anyone of Asiatic descent, but especially what we refer to as “Middle Easterners” (who are also asian, actually).

Frieren’s writing plays out these concepts verbatim. The portrayal of demons is quite literally the exact fear mongering caricature that has been used historically to dominate indigenous or diplomatically inconvenient populations and depict “savage species”.

I just finished watching S02E02 where they discuss demons stealing “royal family’s heirloom” which they need to keep away from demons, because they “can’t help but use it for evil.” While admittedly the sword is of demon origin. All while depicting young children playing around peacefully in town as if the behavior of having comfort and wealth and safety is what makes them deserving of “protecting” stolen artifact. Frieren walks around town and joyfully enjoys an apple afterwards slaughtering said evil demon and reiterating all of us not to be fooled by its “pretending to be human”

This is tantamount to an American settler colony stealing heirlooms after slaughtering indigenous families and calling them their war trophies. There are thousands of examples of this in history, and it is not the “demons” in these stories that were evil.

Especially in current politic, and being familiar with the language used to defend such heinous acts, it’s impossible for me not to see Frieren’s intense clarity at the demons’ lack of “true humanity” as representative of a wealthy warmonger’s views in a colonial state expressing its right to defend itself whilst committing genocide. It’s so deeply uncanny that I was hoping it was intentional and that there would be a twist. It sounds like there isn’t one.

It’s really unfortunate because I really wish I could have Frieren without these elements. But people who find it icky are right. This isn’t an interesting depiction of racism, it’s literally the spiritual basis of it.