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The story
A 5ch live-commentary thread blew up over a figure of Fern from Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. In the show, there’s an episode where Fern uses the ‘Anywhere Window’ spell to sneak a donut, and she’s drawn so round that her belly gets stuck in the window frame. That single panel became the thread’s running joke: the slim figure is her ‘fake form,’ while her round, chubby-cheeked look from that episode is her ‘true form.’ Posters also argued over whether the chubby Fern shown in Stark’s flashback was an exaggeration or not.
What people said
That's just the body double — Skinny Fern
Isn't that just from when she was younger?
Don't say that too loud, people will actually believe it
That's exactly why Frieren spoiled her into getting fat
A reasonably chubby figure
She's gonna chomp down that wild yam she's holding and get even fatter
Is the person holding the fish supposed to be Matsuko Deluxe? (a famous Japanese TV personality)
A women's pro wrestler from the Aja Kong era? (a famous Japanese female wrestler)
Can't beat the 'strongest enemy turns ally' plot twist
If she could have conversations like this, she wouldn't get exterminated
Round-Face Triple Donut
Guess she leveled up from Double to Triple
Fern: 'Who's this fat round-faced woman…'
Fern: 'Huh, I look bigger than usual. This mirror must be broken.'
She looks ready to smash that mirror
Isn't she usually even fatter? The mirror's being nice and making her look a bit thinner
Guess she's doing magic practice and sumo training every day
Why's she suddenly giving off pure-and-elegant-beauty vibes
Yeah, this works too
Stark's proportions are way too tall, it's unsettling
Can you swap the second one from the left for an elf?
Here ya go
I'll go back to my true form, just please don't cut me 😭
↑ True form
↓ Fake form
The real one's got the same silhouette as Anpanman or Doraemon (round-faced Japanese characters)
Why's she fat in the flashback
Well it's a flashback, so it's colored by Stark's point of view
Stark: 'Yeah, I'm pretty sure Fern was about this chubby…'
Her belly's stuck in the little window
Don't strike a cool pose while you're stuck like that
Guess if you use the Anywhere Window to steal a donut, your belly gets wedged in and you can't move
Scene summary
• Situation: In the waiting room (or on the road) during the First-Class Mage Exam, a sulky, pouting Frieren says 'Ugh, forget it, I'm sleeping!' and flops down with her head on Fern's lap.
• Meaning of the line: With her head pillowed on Fern's lap, her view got blocked by Fern's chest, so she complained that she could only see half the sky.
Background and points of debate
Fern’s round design in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End traces back to the episode where she uses the ‘Anywhere Window’ spell to sneak a donut. The memorable panel of her belly getting stuck in the window frame became the thread’s running joke: whenever fans see the slim figure or her usual svelte look, they jump in with ‘no, THIS is her real body.’ Where opinions split was over whether the chubby depiction is actually canon. Some argue the chubby Fern in Stark’s flashback is exaggerated, since flashbacks are colored by the viewer’s own perspective (post 93), while others take it at face value that she really was that round (post 108) — the thread never settled on which version is "canon." Note that the body-shape joke here refers strictly to a single in-story visual gag, not to any comment about the voice actress or the original creator.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread 「[Sad News] Fern Gets Turned Into a Figure in Her Fake Form」.
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