Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is filled with names that are German words.
We don’t know if they’re randomly chosen or always have a deeper meaning.
Some of the names are a little bit spoilery.
If you’re a German native or know even a little bit of German, you’ve definitely noticed all the names that characters in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren) have. At first, you might have thought that it was just a coincidence (like yours truly did), but after a couple of episodes it’s clear: all names are just German words.
We can’t know for sure if the names actually have a deeper meaning or if the author decided to use them only because they just liked the way they sounded and thought that they would seem exotic for the Japanese people. But there are some theories, of course.
At first, it feels like the author just had a German dictionary on the table while writing the story due to such random words as Sein (the verb ‘to be’) or Methode (method, duh) being used in the series, but when you start thinking about them, some things actually make sense.
What do the main trio’s names mean?
“Frieren” means “to freeze” in German. It’s like when it’s cold outside and you’re freezing. And the first idea that comes to fans’ minds is that it’s an allusion to how cold and distant Frieren is. However, German people disagree with this idea, because then the correct word for that analogy would be “kalt” (cold) and not “frieren”. Still, the analogy reminds us of the movie “Frozen” where it was not only the parallel to Elza’s powers to control all winter-related things, but also to her “frozen” heart. So maybe it’s the same with Frieren?
Fern means “far” in German, and this information is a bit more complicated to go with. Some fans suggest that this word was used to describe how distant Fern is at the beginning of the series, but the word “fern” doesn’t have this metaphorical meaning, so we’re not so sure about that.
Stark means “strong”, and this one might actually be a good metaphor. When we first meet Stark, he seems cowardly and weak, but fans think that his name might be the hint at the future development of this character. Or maybe his strength doesn’t have anything to do with physical abilities rather than his personality.
Other names also have various meanings. From beautiful ones like Himmel (heaven/sky) to hilarious ones, like Lügner (liar). We wonder if we can trust a person named liar? Hmm…
A character named Lügner? Come on!
Summary:
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End is filled with names that are German words.
We don’t know if they’re randomly chosen or always have a deeper meaning.
Some of the names are a little bit spoilery.
If you’re a German native or know even a little bit of German, you’ve definitely noticed all the names that characters in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren) have. At first, you might have thought that it was just a coincidence (like yours truly did), but after a couple of episodes it’s clear: all names are just German words.
We can’t know for sure if the names actually have a deeper meaning or if the author decided to use them only because they just liked the way they sounded and thought that they would seem exotic for the Japanese people. But there are some theories, of course.
At first, it feels like the author just had a German dictionary on the table while writing the story due to such random words as Sein (the verb ‘to be’) or Methode (method, duh) being used in the series, but when you start thinking about them, some things actually make sense.
What do the main trio’s names mean?
“Frieren” means “to freeze” in German. It’s like when it’s cold outside and you’re freezing. And the first idea that comes to fans’ minds is that it’s an allusion to how cold and distant Frieren is. However, German people disagree with this idea, because then the correct word for that analogy would be “kalt” (cold) and not “frieren”. Still, the analogy reminds us of the movie “Frozen” where it was not only the parallel to Elza’s powers to control all winter-related things, but also to her “frozen” heart. So maybe it’s the same with Frieren?
Fern means “far” in German, and this information is a bit more complicated to go with. Some fans suggest that this word was used to describe how distant Fern is at the beginning of the series, but the word “fern” doesn’t have this metaphorical meaning, so we’re not so sure about that.
Stark means “strong”, and this one might actually be a good metaphor. When we first meet Stark, he seems cowardly and weak, but fans think that his name might be the hint at the future development of this character. Or maybe his strength doesn’t have anything to do with physical abilities rather than his personality.
Other names also have various meanings. From beautiful ones like Himmel (heaven/sky) to hilarious ones, like Lügner (liar). We wonder if we can trust a person named liar? Hmm…
