TV-Series
Description
The Grandfather is a posthumous figure whose unseen presence and final actions serve as the catalyst for the entire journey in Girls' Last Tour. His real name is never revealed, and he exists in the story only through the memories and dreams of the protagonists, Chito and Yuuri, whom he raised from a young age in a dying settlement.
Physically, he is described as a tall man, standing at 185 centimeters, with grey hair and eyes. In a dream vision, he is depicted wearing spectacles, a beige turtleneck sweater, black trousers, and black shoes. More important than his appearance is the role he played as a guardian and teacher in a world stripped of structured society. The Grandfather was an avid collector of pre-war books, including volumes on mythology, folklore, and historical battle records. This habit reveals his core personality as an erudite and thoughtful individual who valued knowledge for its own sake as well as a tool for survival. His literacy allowed him to teach Chito the contemporary written language, though he could not instruct her in older systems like Kanji or the Latin alphabet, which had become relics of the past. For reasons that remain unclear, he was unable to teach the basics of reading and writing to the more impulsive Yuuri. He also possessed practical skills from his past, including the ability to drive, which he passed on to Chito, enabling her to operate the Kettenkrad that carries the two girls throughout their travels.
His motivations are centered entirely on the protection and future of his two adopted wards. Living in a town constantly on the brink of violent civil war over dwindling resources, the Grandfather recognized that their survival depended on escaping that doomed environment. When the final conflict broke out, he took decisive action. Armed with a revolver, he ordered Chito and Yuuri to flee through a pipe storage area, the only safe exit from the settlement. He ensured they had enough food and supplies to begin their journey, and with this final act of provision, he sent them away toward the unknown.
In the story, his role is that of the architect of the main plot. It is on his instruction that the girls began traveling upward toward the highest levels of the vast, multi-tiered ruin of a city that forms the series' setting. He provides the initial direction that structures their entire journey, even though he does not live to see its outcome. The final moment of his life is heavily implied but not graphically depicted; after watching the girls leave, the sound of a single loud gunshot is heard, indicating that he likely turned the revolver on himself in a final, traumatic act of suicide.
His relationship with Chito and Yuuri is the foundational emotional bond of the series, even in his absence. He is the only parental figure they have ever known, and his teachings form the basis of their worldviews. The more intellectual and literate Chito embodies his passion for knowledge and recording history, while the pair's shared memory of him gives them a sense of identity and purpose in a largely empty world. Their flashbacks to a more stable life, including routine baths and shelter provided by him, highlight the scale of their loss and the collapse of the world he tried to shield them from.
The Grandfather does not experience development as a character within the narrative, as he is already dead before the story begins. However, his legacy develops posthumously as his dream for Chito and Yuuri to reach the top layer is ultimately fulfilled after his passing. His final recorded words lament humanity's tendency to forget the lessons of history despite accumulated knowledge, a poignant theme that echoes through the girls' observations of the ruined civilization around them. His notable abilities were not combat-oriented but intellectual and caretaking: a deep knowledge of forgotten history, literacy in a time when it was a rare skill, the mechanical know-how to operate and teach the use of a vehicle, and ultimately, the grim foresight and courage to make an impossible sacrifice to give two children a chance at life.
Physically, he is described as a tall man, standing at 185 centimeters, with grey hair and eyes. In a dream vision, he is depicted wearing spectacles, a beige turtleneck sweater, black trousers, and black shoes. More important than his appearance is the role he played as a guardian and teacher in a world stripped of structured society. The Grandfather was an avid collector of pre-war books, including volumes on mythology, folklore, and historical battle records. This habit reveals his core personality as an erudite and thoughtful individual who valued knowledge for its own sake as well as a tool for survival. His literacy allowed him to teach Chito the contemporary written language, though he could not instruct her in older systems like Kanji or the Latin alphabet, which had become relics of the past. For reasons that remain unclear, he was unable to teach the basics of reading and writing to the more impulsive Yuuri. He also possessed practical skills from his past, including the ability to drive, which he passed on to Chito, enabling her to operate the Kettenkrad that carries the two girls throughout their travels.
His motivations are centered entirely on the protection and future of his two adopted wards. Living in a town constantly on the brink of violent civil war over dwindling resources, the Grandfather recognized that their survival depended on escaping that doomed environment. When the final conflict broke out, he took decisive action. Armed with a revolver, he ordered Chito and Yuuri to flee through a pipe storage area, the only safe exit from the settlement. He ensured they had enough food and supplies to begin their journey, and with this final act of provision, he sent them away toward the unknown.
In the story, his role is that of the architect of the main plot. It is on his instruction that the girls began traveling upward toward the highest levels of the vast, multi-tiered ruin of a city that forms the series' setting. He provides the initial direction that structures their entire journey, even though he does not live to see its outcome. The final moment of his life is heavily implied but not graphically depicted; after watching the girls leave, the sound of a single loud gunshot is heard, indicating that he likely turned the revolver on himself in a final, traumatic act of suicide.
His relationship with Chito and Yuuri is the foundational emotional bond of the series, even in his absence. He is the only parental figure they have ever known, and his teachings form the basis of their worldviews. The more intellectual and literate Chito embodies his passion for knowledge and recording history, while the pair's shared memory of him gives them a sense of identity and purpose in a largely empty world. Their flashbacks to a more stable life, including routine baths and shelter provided by him, highlight the scale of their loss and the collapse of the world he tried to shield them from.
The Grandfather does not experience development as a character within the narrative, as he is already dead before the story begins. However, his legacy develops posthumously as his dream for Chito and Yuuri to reach the top layer is ultimately fulfilled after his passing. His final recorded words lament humanity's tendency to forget the lessons of history despite accumulated knowledge, a poignant theme that echoes through the girls' observations of the ruined civilization around them. His notable abilities were not combat-oriented but intellectual and caretaking: a deep knowledge of forgotten history, literacy in a time when it was a rare skill, the mechanical know-how to operate and teach the use of a vehicle, and ultimately, the grim foresight and courage to make an impossible sacrifice to give two children a chance at life.