The Ingenious Villains of Frieren: A Game-Changer for Anime's Troubling Problem

Warning: Spoilers ahead for episode #7 of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. In its latest episode, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End presents a refreshing solution to anime's commonly seen issue with complex villains. It's become quite prevalent for villains in anime to be given sympathetic portrayals, despite their continuous and remorseless commission of atrocious acts. While there are a few exceptions, this trend has become frustratingly cliché.

Both anime and fiction in general often struggle with the portrayal of morally ambiguous characters, but Frieren: Beyond Journey's End brilliantly addresses this problem through its handling of villains.

In Episode #7, the anime takes the opportunity to properly introduce the demon race as its villains. They are depicted as bloodthirsty monsters who lack the ability to feel empathy or understand human emotions. Consequently, the story does not attempt to create sympathy for them, allowing them to continuously commit heinous acts. These characteristics make them the ideal antagonists for the anime. Overall, this portrayal effectively addresses a recurring issue in various forms of fiction.

Frieren Isn't Trying To Make Its Villains Sympathetic, And It Works

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End excels in its portrayal of villains due to their deliberate lack of sympathy. The episode explicitly reveals that demons are deceitful creatures who mimic human language to manipulate and prey upon others. This cleverly subverts the common anime trope of portraying villains as sympathetic, regardless of their heinous acts. Many anime often depict villains who commit horrific deeds without remorse, only to later atone for their actions and assist the heroes when convenient. This overused formula diminishes the credibility of redemption arcs, resulting in a failure to create truly sympathetic villains. Furthermore, the constant attempt to redeem every villain has become cliché, stripping away its novelty across various mediums. Naruto, in particular, gained notoriety for its excessive use of this trope. Consequently, deviating from this pattern and embracing the villains' inherent inhumanity would bring a refreshing twist to storytelling. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End adopts this approach, adding an extra layer of charm to its narrative.

Frieren’s Demons Are The Perfect Villains, Despite Their Lack Of Depth

The lack of human emotion in Frieren's demons makes them ideal antagonists for the series as it highlights the significance of embracing emotions and forming connections with others. Frieren's character development revolves around her quest to understand both her own emotions and those of others. The biological incapability of demons to experience human emotion directly contradicts the central themes of the story, making them the perfect adversaries for Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Additionally, this serves as a poignant critique of the anime industry's tendency to incorporate ambiguous moralities into their narratives. Catch new episodes of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End every Friday on Crunchyroll.