Note: The following article contains spoilers for WorldEnd (SukaSuka).
In this Building Character we’ll be taking a look at WorldEnd: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? with the characters of Willem and Chtholly. The setting of the series is a place that’s appropriately described as a “fragile, dying world with no redeeming qualities whatsoever”. At the start of the story humans have gone extinct, the only exception being Willem. In addition to that, the surface of the world is inhabited by monsters which forced the remaining beings of the world to live on islands which float in the sky. Even with that measure, the remaining settlements are still at risk of being attacked.
Before humanity’s end, Willem had trained much of his life to be a warrior. Outside of that, he also spent time helping to take care of the children of the orphanage he stayed at. Eventually as a threat to humanity rose, Willem was chosen to be among a number of people called Braves. They were individuals who were chosen to wield special swords called Carillons. With being a chosen warrior and having people to protect, Willem was more or less poised to fill the role of hero. The battle which occurred lead to the loss of a number of his comrades. For Willem it resulted in him defeating his enemy, but paying a price for the victory. An unfortunate but, seemingly worthwhile sacrifice.
However, Willem was not fated to fall fighting to save the world. Instead he had suffered a curse which petrified him for centuries. The world which he awakened to was far from what he could have imagined. Though the threat that he and friends fought against was defeated, a new danger to humanity rose not long after. A group of creatures called the Seventeen Beasts appeared and in just a year after Willem’s battle, humanity was wiped out. The remaining races of the world could only flee to the skies to escape extinction. The legacy which mankind left behind was one of abhorrence by the survivors.
Few know Willem is human. To all others he is considered a disfeatured, members of races which lack the animal features that the majority possess, and they face discrimination because of it. In addition to the curse, Willem’s body was also permanently damaged from his last battle. While the extent of his injuries do not seem too great, Willem will not be able to fight at the same level which he had before. In the face of his situation and the changed world Willem has to accept the hideous reality. The sacrifices that were made to save mankind were for nothing. He failed to protect all who were close to him, and feels alone in an unfamiliar world.
After sometime of wandering, Willem meets and spends a short time helping a disfeatured girl named Chtholly. This chance encounter is the first in a series which changes Willem’s life once again. Not long after, with some convincing from a friend William accepts the position of being a caretaker for a warehouse that holds special weapons for the military. What Willem unexpectedly finds at the location is an estate with a number of girls that reside there, including Chtholly. Many of them are young, and Chtholly takes on the role of an older sister for them.
While hinted at, Willem is still unsure about what to make of his new position, and tries his best to have the girls open up as they are initially apprehensive about him. After a few attempts they do come around to Willem. This reminds him of his life from long before, filling the spot of those that were lost. But, as he spends more time with them it becomes apparent that something is off about the girls. After observing one of the girls suffer a serious injury and witnessing her and the others’ complete indifference, Willem finally demands to know the truth about the warehouse.
Although mankind met its end, he finds out the Carillons endured. They would go on to be renamed Dug Weapons and are among the most effective means to combat the Beasts. But the surviving races, which for the most part are mostly animal people, are unable to wield them. This is the reason for the warehouse. Though they seem to be humans they are actually fairies (specifically mentioned as leprechauns), who are basically raised for the role of being a living weapon to use the Dug Weapons. They do not have a fear of injury and for the most part look at death in a similar manner. For those who survive the fighting, over time they may face effects such as losing their memories or minds.
The life of a fairy is short, harsh, and brutal. They live for the most part alone among themselves at the warehouse, and are at times looked down upon by the other races when they do come into contact with them. Their sole purpose is to fight and die against the beasts. From early on, Chtholly seems to have already made peace with the inevitable. However, she does have some things she would like to do before the end. They include desires such as having some fond memories, connecting with someone, and to be remembered. With the short amount of time the girls are given, she wants to leave a mark behind with someone. From the first time they meet, it’s easy to see the person she has in mind is Willem. While it doesn’t take long for the last human to connect with Chtholly and the others, Willem knows of the grim road ahead.
The world that the two live in is bleak, and that’s not even taking into account their own troubles. The fairies wait for what seems to be an unavoidable destiny. Chtholly in the beginning seems to be expecting the end at anytime, seemingly to not even attempt thinking about a chance that she will survive. This could have been from believing it would be easier to avoid thoughts which could just become a false hope. As Chtholly wished, she and Willem end up getting closer to one another. But, as this happens the afflictions of battle begin to wear on her as the battles with the beasts continue.
Willem, who has suffered from the loss of just about everything, now has people he cares for once again. Unfortunately, he knows that like before he could end up losing everyone just the same. In this case it’s more or less expected by all. Willem believes that there has to be a way so that Chtholly and the others won’t have to die. Willem’s role as caretaker keeps him at the estate most of the time, far from the battles that are fought against the beasts. This fact, the weakening of his body, and his failure to save the world in the past puts Willem into a situation where he can do very little to help Chtholly and the others. While he does give advice and help train them with many things, Willem can only hope that they come back and that he can find a way to keep them alive. If not that, then maybe to at make them happy in some way.
While the world only seems to throw tragedy at them, both Chtholly and Willem continue on. Willem wasn’t able to save his loved ones or mankind. While this haunts him he finds a new cause with the girls at the estate. In Chtholly, he finds someone that he wants to protect. The same goes with Chtholly, as she will seek out to protect him too. Most of all though, the two are able to bring happiness to one another even among the sorrow of a ruined world.
WorldEnd: What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? can be watched on Crunchyroll and Funimation. The light novel will be published in North America by Yen Press. A sequel series has also been published in Japan.
Author’s note: The article was based off of the anime, not the light novels which it was based from.
