Lennart Dossier Analysis
if it wasn’t obvious already, Lennart is my favorite solo leveling character so I’m gonna sit here and analyze his Dossier even though I’ve already read it like 10 times.
Dossier #01: The Clever Child
Lennart Niermann was a clever child. He understood the game: follow the rules, obey his father's instructions, and he would be loved.
this clearly implies that if he didn’t obey his father, he was likely punished with (at least) emotional neglect
He lived up to every expectation, enduring both hardship and restriction without complaint. Time passed without a sense of achievement or dissatisfaction as he strictly adhered to his father's demands.
so you just wanna drop this on me and make me ignore the fact that Lennart literally had no free will as a child?? we know his father was likely some kind of rich businessman who wanted Lennart to inherit his company, but he didn’t even let his son think for himself or make his own decisions. I can’t imagine how long it must’ve taken to break those habits just to be able to be independent after he ran away
But then, something unforeseen shattered the monotony of his peaceful life. This event turned Lennart's life upside down.
not so subtle foreshadowing netmarble
Dossier #02: Half-Brother
One day, Lennart was told he had a younger brother. A child he had neither seen nor head of before. Holding the child's hand, his father spoke indifferently.
“indifferently”? hold me back before I beat this guy up that’s a like six year old child who just lost the only family he’s ever known in the most horrific way a child can imagine. and you’re “indifferent” to him. (if you couldn’t tell, I hate Lennart’s dad)
"He's your half-brother." He explained that there was another woman in his life, not Lennart's mother, who was killed by a magic beast, so he had no choice but to take the child in.
so not only is he a terrible father to both of his kids, but he also cheated on his wife. also the fact that Lennart’s mother could be alive or dead (I thought she was killed by monsters too but tbh I think I just hallucinated that) because she’s never mentioned implies that she plays a negligible role in her son’s life. she’s either dead, or she’s alive and just lets her husband treat their son however he likes
His father placed the child's small hand into Lennart's and stressed. "Whatever happens, you must keep him by your side." He didn't know why, but his expression and tone suggested he wanted to keep watch.
the fact that Lennart can read his father like that implies that he’s spent years catering to his whims purely based on reading his mood and expression to determine what he wants so he can be loved. emotional abuse at its finest
To Lennart, it was just on more thing he had to deal with. The sudden appearance of his younger brother was a little uncomfortable, but nothing really changed. Niermann muttered while looking at Bjorn's back. "One more thing on my plate."
now, obviously, that’s not something anyone should say about care of a living person who can’t take care of themselves, but tbf Lennart is only 16-18. he should not be the one always looking after his little brother. it’s perfectly understandable that he would be tired of everything his father expected of him, adding on top of that taking care of an actual child at all times when he’s not even old enough to have one himself, I’d say his reaction is reasonable, but likely harsh from Bjorn’s point of view (my poor baby)
Dossier #03: A Place
Bjorn, his younger brother, was ten years younger than Lennart, Bjorn felt just as uncomfortable with their newfound relationship and kept his distance. Lennart found him difficult. He only acted as his older brother out of duty, with no time or reason to care about anything beyond that.
poor Bjorn is grieving the loss of everything he’s ever known and the person who’s supposed to be taking care of him made his older brother (who’s too busy to actually care about him) do it instead
Every day, his father called upon his younger brother and relentlessly questioned about "that day." At first, Lennart thought his father was heartbroken and couldn't accept the loss of Bjorn's mother, but he soon realized the truth was much more complex
just wanna point out that since Lennart is the one taking care of him, this is probably Bjorn’s only interaction with their father everyday.
It had been about two years since he started caring for his younger brother. The boy still sat like he was a doll: slumped over and staring blankly. But inside him, chaos was churning. Being an S-Rank, Lennart could sense that his younger brother possessed nearly equal strength to his own.
two years passing means Lennart is now 18-20 and Bjorn is 8-10. the description makes it sound like Bjorn is constantly dissociative, barely responding to any outside stimulus—possibly because of his forced awakening. I’d say Bjorn is probably upper A-Rank lower S-Rank based on the description, but I’m leaning more toward A-Rank
His father wasn't worried about his half-brother's well being. It was clear he was more interested in the power his brother possessed. Maybe he had witnessed Bjorn using that power himself, or perhaps he sensed that something was off about what happened "that day."
this implies that Lennart knows what kind of terrible man his father is, but he chooses to ignore it because that’s all he’s ever known to do
Lennart had to make a choice: tell his father about the tremendous power his younger brother possessed, protect Bjorn from their father, or ignore it all. He didn't take long to decide. Lennart Niermann chose to turn a blind eye. He told his father that he had been evaluated as an S-Rank awakened being and made it clear he wouldn't be working as a hunter.
Lennart chose to be a bystander, rather than choose a side between Bjorn and his father. He has a duty to his little brother to protect him, but all he knows is obedience to his father’s orders. so instead of compromising either one, he chooses to turn a blind eye and do nothing
"The heir to the family shouldn't be getting themselves into that kind of danger. Someone who has no such responsibilities, on the other hand..." His father trailed off and shifted his gaze to Bjorn.
I find it so interesting that the concept of responsibility and duty was something that was used by Lennart’s father to control him, but now those same concepts are what he uses to do good in the world and protect the people and things he cares about. something something something, the complicated nature of learning valuable lessons from your abuser while also recognizing that they’re a terrible person
Dossier #04: The Blame
The incident happened suddenly. In the middle of the night, his father and his younger brother disappeared. The trail led him to an uninhabited mountain. There, Bjorn stood frozen in front of the corpse of a small magic beast. No one could figure out how he had managed to take down. Watching from a distance, his father muttered to himself like someone half-mad.
he IS mad. crazy psycho bitch needs to go die in a ditch (I hate him)
"He's never going to be normal... but these days, that's a profitable thing. What's unnatural is what makes money. We need even more like him."
the fact that this man is willing to use a young child who isn’t even a teenager yet for his own profit disgusts me
Lennart blamed himself for ignoring his responsibilities as an elder brother. He walked past his father, lifted his stunned younger brother, and made his way down the mountain. From that day on, he refused to see his father ever again.
Lennart must carry so much guilt. he must think it’s all his fault for not properly taking care of Bjorn, when that should never have been his responsibility to begin with. a small child—his own brother, at that—was hurt and used by their father while he did nothing to stop it, so in his eyes, the blame is on him for Bjorn’s mental state, even though he was also a child.
but oh, the irony that the responsibility their father drilled into him is what made him lose both of his sons (though they were probably just assets in his eyes)
Dossier #05: A Home To Return To
Lennart Niermann decided to become a hunter in order to protect his younger brother. To keep Bjorn from being abused by powerful adults, he needed to have even greater influence.
tbh, I don’t even think Lennart considered his own opinion on becoming a Hunter at any point. when he chose not to, it was to please his father, and when he chose to, it was out of necessity to protect Bjorn
The guild he founded, the Ritcher Guild, quickly grew into a bulwark of the industry and one of Germany's leading guilds.
yk I think it’s seriously impressive that Lennart managed to become a Hunter and immediately found a future top Guild when he’s like. 20. it’s unspecified how much time passed since his Awakening, so he’s probably like 18-21 at most. and like on top of that his whole childhood didn’t exactly set him up for success in most areas (like he probably didn’t know how to cook or anything)
as a side note, Richter translates to “judge” like the occupation, which fits with the scales in the logo (I imagine that with the eagle and sword are meant to represent gaining freedom and justice through power)
but it’s also a German surname so that could have some kind of connection to Lennart somehow (maybe it’s his mother’s maiden name or smth and that’s why he picked it idk).
it could also be a double entendre because Richten is a verb that can mean “to fix”, making Richter an uncommon word meaning “someone who fixes” (I got this from a Reddit post about Frieren and did some fact checking lol) so it correlates to the Richter Guild being Lennart’s redemption as an older brother
Though managing the guild kept him busy, Lennart still made time to teach Bjorn how to properly control his power. Though at most, Bjorn only nodded silently, Lennart cherished even the smallest response from him.
while I do think Lennart has grown to genuinely care about Bjorn, at the beginning, him cherishing his small responses was likely out of guilt for letting things get that bad. if Bjorn is improving, it means he can still be forgiven for everything wrong he did
also, Lennart is a workaholic and you can’t convince me otherwise. the only reason he leaves the office at a reasonable time is so he can go home and take care of his brother
Then one day, Bjorn left the house and began wandering, seemingly without reason. Then it happened again, and again. Suddenly for Bjorn soon became a part of Lennart's daily life. "Did you sleep well? Don't go too far today. I've got a lot of work to handle, so I don't think I'll be able to come pick you up."
the fact that Lennart just accepts all of Bjorn’s oddities instead of getting mad or punishing him for them is so sweet to me. he still worries a lot, but he knows Bjorn can’t help it so he just accepts it and does what he can to keep him safe. breaking the cycle of abuse fr
Lennart gave his brother a small tracking tag so he could pick him up wherever he came to his sense. Wherever his feet wanted to go, his journey would always end back at home.
I love this so much because neither of them were at home in their father’s house. Lennart was a puppet to his father’s whims and Bjorn was a tool to be used, but now they both have a home together
He knew Bjorn's wandering was closely tied to the events of "that day." As a result, he never stopped his investigation. His task of protecting Bjorn was far from over.
the contrast between Lennart investigating on his own to spare Bjorn the suffering and their father hounding him about it and demanding answers from a child is just. yeah.
I feel so bad for both of them they deserved better
