Sousou No Freiren is the surprising hit of the Fall 2023 anime season, and it’s not hard to see why. With characters such as Heiter and Himmel discussing their lives and eventual death, growing old while one of their group mates has to watch them fade away as she ages slower? Like, that is poignant stuff. Despite its fantastical setting, Sousou No Freiren is about dealing with loss and carrying memories that last forever.
Speaking of, there is much debate about the deaths of the two main reasons why our protagonist even embarked on her new journey. And that is the ages of Heiter and Himmel at the times of their death. Obviously, the Hero Party had disbanded long before any of their deaths, but from what we can discern? Himmel was 76 years old at the time of his death, and Heiter was easily 100 years old, maybe even more. We aren’t too sure about Heiter’s age but it feels accurate.
Despite how much anime involves death and loss, we don’t really get to see characters die after living a full, long life. Like, maybe I’m projecting but after the mass character deaths in Shounen, Sosou No Freiren feels like an outlier in regards to how it portrays aging and death in general, and how it impacts those around us. So today, let’s take a look at Himmel and Heiter and how their passing affected the plot in another round of Lore Analysis!
Table of Contents
Himmel And Heiter: Looking Out For Friends
The Hero Party was known the whole world over for being the ones to defeat the fearsome Demon King. But after their mission was done, they quietly disbanded and went their separate way, each remembering what it was like to have bonded the way they did. Composed of Himmel the Hero, Heiter the Priest, Eisen the Warrior and Frieren the Mage, each of them knew they had their own journeys to map. Except Frieren’s outlasted her companions.
The thing is, while others got to age and live their lives like normal humans, Frieren was left to collect the pieces of the people she had gotten so close to. She had to see her closest bonds pass away, with no one left to be by her side. But that is exactly where Himmel and Heiter came in. Despite their opposing personalities, the drunk Priest and slightly narcissistic Hero could see how lonely Frieren must be now. After all, they were aging, developing and growing the relationships they’ve had. Meanwhile, Frieren simply remained stuck in time, with only herself as company.
It’s clear that Himmel thought of Frieren as more than just a friend, that he had romantic feelings for her. This coupled with a general camaraderie is what led to the story of Sousou No Frieren in the first place, with the band getting together and helping Frieren move on using Heiter’s own prodigy, a human named Fern. For they might not live long enough to see Frieren comfortable with life, but they’ll make sure she always has someone to accompany her.
Sousou No Freiren: Asking All The Hard Hitting Questions
Of all the series that came out this year, I think Sousou No Frieren has had the most unexpected impact. What felt like a cozy trip down memory lane for anyone who enjoys Fantasy, quickly became a genuine journey of finding love and keeping it, even after it’s gone by.
And there is pain there. You can’t talk about immortality without also discussing how that immortality might impact those around you. Seeing everyone grow and move on, while you remain the same is a hard thing to reconcile with. There is so much life experience there, making it hard to relate to anyone else around you. So of course, someone like Frieren would be leading a very isolated life.
And yet, how do you tackle something like this? Frieren is an Elf, so her race prenaturally lives longer than most. And ultimately, that isn’t something she can change. And to expose her to the pain of constantly losing the people she loves, those lives that are but a blink of an eye when compared to her lengthy life? It feels cruel, right?
But it isn’t. Everyone deserves love and companionship, even if they are meant to lose it later on. We don’t connect with others around us, thinking to outlast them. We make friends, find lovers and keep up with family solely because we want them in our lives. And that need for community is what makes us human.
And Himmel and Heiter, who were both 70+ by this point, understood that. That’s why they conspired to have their proteges meet up with Frieren in the first place. Because they cared about their friend, and they wanted her happy after they passed away.
What do you think?
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