There is a fairly significant bit of wordplay in Frieren that will escape the notice of most English-speaking viewers, but I quite like it so Iâll explain it here. The title of the series in Japanese is èŹéăźăăȘăŒăŹăł (Sousou no Furiiren). âFuriirenâ is of course Frieren; âsousouâ means âfuneral ritesâ or âattending a funeralâ, but can literally be translated as âsending to the graveâ. Since the story opens with Frieren watching her old adventuring pals growing old and passing away, weâre naturally led to the simple interpretation of the title: sheâs attending her friendsâ funerals.
(The full official English title is Frieren: Beyond Journeyâs End, because literal translations rarely make catchy titles.)
Later, as Frieren is fighting Aura, LĂŒgner explains that Frieren is the most prolific demon-killer in history. In the English translations Iâve seen, this earns her the nickname âFrieren the Slayerâ. But in the original Japanese, this nickname is èŹéăźăăȘăŒăŹăł: âSousou no Furiirenâ, the title of the series.
In this context, this line (and the title, too) could be more literally interpreted as âFrieren, who sends you to your graveâ. It also means the line is a little more impactful in Japanese â youâre supposed to point at the screen and yell âhey thatâs the name of the show!!â
Thereâs really just no way to preserve wordplay like this through translation so I canât fault the translators at all for not trying, but itâs a fun thing thatâs worth pointing out nonetheless. I just love that this was clearly something the author was setting up from the very beginning.
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