We want to see them together.
Summary:
- Fans initially weren’t shipping Fern and Stark, but that changed later.
- The slowly developing relationship between the two is very realistic.
- Fans wonder when they’ll end up together.
Fern and Stark are one of the most popular ships in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren). It’s understandable — they’re in a similar age group, traveling together and have a good chemistry with each other.
That said, fans are still not fully convinced the ship is good. Well, it actually is — it just develops very slowly, but that’s perfectly fine.
Fans weren’t really invested in the ship at first
Initially, fans weren’t really on board with the ship. After all, initially, it wasn’t like the relationship between the two was more than friendship. However, later, it started showing signs of a romantic development — and fans began to change their minds.
However, people are still not convinced they are good for each other. In their minds, the occasional hints at the developing romance between the two aren’t necessarily enough. The anime doesn’t justify the ship enough, according to them. Well, it does — and a slowly developing relationship like that is actually very natural.
The slow development of the relationship is very natural
Both Fern and Stark are awkward teenagers. It would take a lot of time for both of them to realize they even feel something for each other, let alone figure out what it actually is and accept it.
They also don’t have much time to spend on wondering about romance, considering that they’re traveling through the world and have to actually worry about that first.
That said, they still influence each other more than they even notice themselves. That’s the beauty of a slow-paced romantic development like that — when the characters finally realize they are in love with each other, they will understand that’s what they felt all along.
Prospects for the future
One of the main themes of Frieren is actually relationships and the expression of love. During their years in the party, Frieren herself never realized Himmel loved her — something that still influences her behavior later in the story. Fern and Stark’s relationship mirrors that part, but they’re both human, and their perception of others is vastly different from Frieren’s.
While we currently don’t know if the two actually start dating, it’s definitely not happening in the anime. More specifically, it’s not happening in the first season — there’s just too much stuff in the first-class mage exam left. That said, fans want to see more of the two, and the manga is always there