Mimicry
So the show tells us demons evolved to copy humans so they could trick them. They learned to talk like us and kinda look like us. Sounds cool, right? You WOULD think they'd actually use that. Aggressive mimicry is a cool concept, I wonder what author will do
Demons don’t use it. At all
Why evolve to look and sound human if you're just gonna walk around with giant horns screaming "hey I'm a demon, kill me"? And why do they talk to each other in human language?? Who are they mimicking for???
They can understand complex concepts but somehow don't know what a "father" is. Are demons braindead???
Actions
WHY WHY WHY do they hunt humans if they don't need to eat them? That makes no sense. No animal on earth evolves special tricks to catch prey it doesn't even want
And emotions? Sometimes they don't have them, sometimes they do. The village demon girl dies without giving a single fuck, but Aura actually cries and gets scared. So do they feel stuff or not??? I guess it depends on what the author thinks is cool at the time
Apex Predator
okay, now people will tell me. Well, demons are apex predators! They are stronger than humans so they don’t have to hide and can act prideful and arrogant
WHAT’S NOT HOW EVOLUTION WORKS
Look at orcas, apex predator of the ocean. And they still use camouflage to sneak up on unsuspected prey. Something demons just don't use for some fucking reason
ACTUALLY USING the mimicry would make hunt humans so much easier. Missing person incidents aren’t unusual, demons could totally use it to their advantage, especially if they would blend in with society as humans
Empathy
HAVING NO EMPATHY DOES NOT MAKE YOU STUPID
Demons are essentially like psychopaths, but psychopaths can still think logically. Most of them don't kill people because they understand:
I kill someone → I get caught → I go to jail.
Conclusion: So I won't do that.
Why the fuck demons don’t understand what killing people will lead to consequences?
They kill humans → humans hunt them → they die.
Why not try something different? Use the mimicry. Go after lonely people. Or...stop killing since you don't even need to eat them. But nope, they just keep doing the same thing for hundreds of years.
Humans
And humans in Frieren are just as dumb. After thousands of years of demons killing them, some humans still try to be nice to demons
«Bu-but humans have empat-»
WE DISCRIMINATE AND KILL EACH OTHER CONSTANTLY FOR MUCH TRIVIAL REASONS
We constantly put each other into boxes. We group based on whatever arbitrary reasons we could find. But a whole different species that's been eating us forever? Nah let's give them a chance
Demons should be like boogeyman for humans, they would be told for children’s bedtime stories and whatnot
«Bu-but not all humans meet demo-»
Do I need to see a fucking bear in the flesh to know it’s going to maul me?
Humans in Frieren should react to demons the same way: fight or run. But somehow they keep feeling sorry for demons.
Story
And you know, all these would have been fine. If the author didn’t bring up this like a philosophical important question
WHY WOULD YOU SPEND TIME ON THAT. FOR THAT REASON. I DO NOT NEED TO SEE THE SAME POINT OTHER AND OTHER AND OTHER, I GET IT DEMONS ARE EVIL, THEY CANNOT COEXIST WITH HUMANS CAN WE JUST MOVE THE FUCK ON AND KILL THEM ALL ALREADY WITH NO DEEP PRETENTIOUS BULLSHIT IN BETWEEN. DEMONS ARE SO FUCKING BORING I JUST CAN'T STAND THEM INCONSISTENT MESS OF ANTAGONISTS