Once in the Klar region, Frieren is excited to be reunited with one of the oldest people she knows: a dwarf named Old Man Voll, who is at least 400 years old. When he claims not to remember her,...
Once in the Klar region, Frieren is excited to be reunited with one of the oldest people she knows: a dwarf named Old Man Voll, who is at least 400 years old. When he claims not to remember her, she accuses him of feigning senility, but then one fierce quick move and Stark is on the ground. He may be old, but he’s still tough as nails.
Frieren would clearly love to spend a decade spending time and talking with Voll near the end of his life, but Fern only allows her a week. In that week, Stark trains with Voll, Fern and Sein help out at the farm, and Frieren is clearly enjoying every day she’s with Voll. His resemblance to old Himmel can’t be coincidental.
Frieren credits Voll with helping her get to know Himmel, Heiter, and Eisen. When they first met before she defeated the Demon King, Voll said then that he was simply protecting the village his human wife loved. Even if he doesn’t remember her face, voice, or eyes, but still remembers the love.
When Voll offered to carry the memory of Himmel into the future, Himmel says he already has Eisen and Frieren for that. When Eisen says he won’t live as long as an elf, Himmel entrusts Frieren alone with the task. Freiren bothered to get to know people thanks to Himmel.
After telling Voll she’s going to Ende, he responds as if she were headed there to defeat the Demon King; as if he was unaware that she already did. Is Voll senile? Does he go in and out? Is he just messing with her? Regardless, Frieren will carry his memory into the future too.
The friend (really more of a brother by another mother) Sein is searching for sought to be an unforgettable hero. To do that, he knew he not only needed to leave their sleepy hometown, but give himself an impactful name: Gorilla Warrior. Sein, in turn, was known as Goatee Priest, well before he grew one.
While in the next village on the way to Ausserst, Sein is hot on the trail of Gorilla, as a random villager knows him by name, and a stubborn old lady spent a lot of time with him and may know where he went when he left the village.
In order to get anything out of the stubborn old lady, Sein and the others have to complete an extensive list of chores and errands for her, for which we have a cute montage. When even doing most of those chores gets nothing out of them, Fern blames their status as a party full of socially awkward people.
Then the old lady shows them to their last task: cleaning a statue of two forgotten heroes. Fern notes that they look like “Mr. Sein and Mr. Gorilla” (I love her liberal use of honorifics), and we learn she wasn’t the first to think that. But Frieren does remember the warrior: it’s Kraft, from their little mountain vacation.
Back when he and Gorilla were kids, they saw this statue with Heiter, and it inspired Gorilla further to become a hero that no one would ever forget. Heiter broke it to him that in time, all heroes end up forgotten, for no one remains who knew them, nor passed their memory of them to future generations.
He only turned out to be half-correct, for as long as Frieren lives, she’ll remember Kraft, Voll, and above all Himmel and his cool poses.
Sein ends up learning from the old lady that Gorilla headed in the direction opposite of Ausserst, so he has a decision to make: stick with Frieren & Co. at the risk of delaying or even preventing his reunion, or part ways and seek out Gorilla on his own.
