Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2

Episode 2

The Hero of the South is my favorite character in all of Frieren—despite his appearance being limited to a single half of an episode. This is a case of using a little to tell a lot.

We've been told before that Himmel was the last in a long line of heroes. All that was needed was to form a party, announce that you were off on your mission to defeat the Demon King, and you were technically a hero. By the time Himmel set out, no one believed in him, and he was given a mere pittance by the King and walked out with no fanfare whatsoever. And while Himmel was the one to ultimately defeat the Demon King, becoming the most famous of them in the process, this episode shows us that it was far more of a team effort—that every hero who fought and died before Himmel contributed to his victory. This is no more true than when it comes to The Hero of the South.

Himmel and crew were only able to defeat two of the Demon King's generals in their 10-year journey. Two more, including Aura, managed to live on into the modern era. However, the remaining three were taken down by a single man, the Hero of the South. More than that, he did it in an eight-on-one battle between him and the Seven Sages of Destruction, aided by Schlacht the Omniscient, the Demon King's right-hand man. In doing so, he not only drastically weakened the demonic forces by leaving the Demon King blind to the impending advance of Himmel and Frieren with Schlacht's death.

The Hero of the South is a tragic hero. His power to see the future allowed him to do great things—so much so that he was able to push the demons back to the edge of the Northern Plateau. He was even able to see humanity's path to survival, starting with his own counterattack and ending with Himmel and Frieren's defeat of the Demon King. But if he knew the future—knew that his death would bring about ultimate victory—that raises another question: Why did The Hero of the South visit Frieren?

The answer is two-fold. First is as obvious as it is human: he didn't want to die. Knowing that Frieren could (and would) kill the Demon King, he hoped that in recruiting her, he could find another path where he didn't need to die. Of course, he also knew that he would be unable to persuade her—that nothing he said would ever work—but he still had to try.

The second reason for visiting her is to let someone—anyone—see him for who he truly was. He not only told her of his powers but let her know he was going to die and that he was walking into the jaws of death willingly. On one hand, this is to grant himself a form of Beowulfian immortality—to be remembered by Frieren long after the world itself had forgotten him. On the other hand, it was important to The Hero of the South that Himmel know what he had done—that someone believed in him so much that they literally died for him back when he was still a nameless brat. And it wasn't some friend or family member, it was a total stranger—and the strongest hero to ever pick up a blade.

And as thanks for all this, he rewards Frieren, the simple clarity of Himmel's importance in her own story: “He'll change your life.” And the truth of those words is something she only truly understands decades later as she travels with Stark and Fern—and stands in the shadow of his newly cleaned statue.

The back half of the episode (largely overshadowed by the first half) is an action set piece—letting Stark, Frieren, and Fern battle against a demon for the first time in a while. But more than that, it reminds us of the true nature of demons. They see all other races as food. To demons, there is no difference between killing a cow and killing a human. Moreover, language and culture are simply tools to catch their prey. In this case, the demon in question uses religion as a trap. After all, since people close their eyes to pray, no matter how strong her opponent, they'll be defenseless in that instant.

This episode also calls back to the fact that posturing means everything in demon society. If you have great magic power, you show it. If you have a famous sword, you kill with it. It's not simply that the Sword Demon was hungry; it's that she was showing off to others of her kind.

All in all, this is a great episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. I hope that one day, either in the main story or a spin-off, we revisit the Hero of the South and learn more about his life and story. But if nothing else, even among the memorable cast of characters in this anime, he will be remembered.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• The scene of Frieren telling Himmel The Hero of the South's message does not appear in the original manga. This addition, told through visuals alone, shows that Himmel truly understood the weight of what The Hero of the South did and that it added to his conviction to bring down the Demon King.

• I love that Frieren will do everything she can to avoid being asked to help—because she knows she will.

• I wonder, why does Frieren even bother talking with demons, considering her view of them? Just to mock their efforts at deceiving her?

• Considering that Serie supposedly knows every magic spell ever created, it makes me wonder if, some millennia before this story, she was once much more like Frieren—traveling and collecting spells for the fun of it.

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Frieren: Beyond Journey's End Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.