Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 12 Review

A Real Hero

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 12 gave us some wild information about the Hero’s party. It turns out that Himmel wasn’t actually the Hero. He was a hero and the leader of the Hero’s party that defeated the demon lord. But, he wasn’t the official Hero.

Okay, so does that mean Frieren is the Hero instead? No. There is no Hero. At least, not yet. Maybe at some point in the future, there will be. But, for now, there’s no Hero. And that means Himmel was a fake hero. Though, as Frieren points out, he may not have been the Hero, but he was a real hero nonetheless.

So, why wasn’t Himmel the Hero? And what makes someone the official Hero?

There’s a town in the northern lands where the legendary Hero’s sword can be found. It’s stuck in a rock within a cave. And, whoever pulls the sword from the stone becomes the Hero.

As far as we know, nobody has ever pulled the sword from the stone, including Himmel. We can assume there was an original Hero to whom this sword belonged. But, nobody since that Hero has wielded the sword.

Himmel’s sword is a replica of the Hero’s sword. And despite failing to pull the real thing from the stone, he decided to become a hero anyway. So, when he and his party defeated the demon lord, he was celebrated as the Hero. It’s more convenient for everyone if he’s the Hero, after all.

But, that also may explain something about the series. I was wondering why all these generals of the demon lord were still around. It looks like we now have our answer. If Himmel was the true hero, he would have been able to slay them all when he was alive.

Happy Birthday, Stark

In Episode 12, Stark turns 18. And, as far as I know, that makes him older than Fern. The last time we heard anything about Fern was when she turned 16 and Frieren gave her the hairpiece.

From what I remember, that was 28 years after Himmel’s death. It’s now 29 years after Himmel’s death. So, Fern should now be 17. Am I the only one who assumed Fern was older than Stark? I knew they were about the same age. But, Fern seems so much more mature.

Anyway, Frieren forgot to mention Stark’s birthday to Fern until the day of. So, Fern didn’t have any time to look for a present. But, the same can’t be said for Frieren. She has the perfect gift picked out for Stark: A magic potion.

Specifically, the potion that dissolves clothing.

I have to wonder what Frieren was thinking when she decided that would be a good gift for Stark. She says her master (Flamme) told her that men like gifts like that. But, did Frieren actually consider how the potion would be used? It would either be on her or on Fern.

So, Fern took herself out of the running by pouring the potion on Frieren herself.

The potion aside, I think this was the first time we got to see inside of Frieren’s luggage. Does she carry clothes in it? Money? Tools? No. Her luggage is full of magic junk, which is the most Frieren thing possible.

Also, at the end of the episode, Fern buys Stark a silver bracelet for his birthday. And, it seems like birthdays are pretty important in this series. So, do you think Fern and Stark will try to figure out Frieren’s birthday next?

Warriors Who Have Worked Hard

At the end of Episode 12, Frieren celebrates Stark’s birthday by making hamburg steaks. But, they’re not just any hamburg steaks; they’re giant. And, there’s a good reason for this. It’s not that Frieren doesn’t understand portion sizes.

In warrior culture, it’s customary to celebrate those who’ve worked hard with large hamburg steaks. At first, I thought this came from dwarven culture when Eisen mentioned it came from his culture. But, we also see Stark’s older brother, Stoltz, telling him the same thing. So, it’s warrior culture, not dwarven culture.

The thing is, Eisen never explained this to Stark. And Stark was too young to understand when his brother did this for him. So, Stark didn’t understand that this was Eisen’s way of acknowledging how hard he had been working. He assumed Eisen never saw all the hard work he was putting in.

Will we ever see Stark’s older brother again? We don’t have proof that he died. Though, that was definitely the implication. When Stark fled his village, it was being attacked by demons. And, if I had to guess, one of those demons was one of the demon king’s generals.

It’s unlikely that Stoltz survived since Stark hasn’t ever seen his brother again. Though, if this were any other series, I’d say it’s likely that Stoltz will show up in the future. The thing is, Frieren is very much about remembering the past, not bringing it back.

So, I doubt Stoltz is still alive. But, I’m going to predict that Frieren’s party will run into the demon that attacked Stark’s village. And, when they do, Stark will get to be the one to slay it. That would be a good way for him to honor Stoltz’s memory and show how he’s grown.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Episode 12? Were you surprised when Stark didn’t try to pull the Hero’s sword out of the stone? How do you think Stark would have used the potion from Frieren? And, are you expecting Stoltz to still be alive somewhere? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 13 is available now.