One of the most unique characters in Japanese media is the ronin character, a masterless samurai. These ronins are often depicted wandering on their own in their adventure. Sometimes, a ronin character is a form of counter-culture to Japanese tradition and lean more to humanity, like in the legendary movie Harakiri (1962).

The wandering ronin also makes its way to anime, such in Rurouni Kenshin. The typical ronin is a lone wolf warrior who left his old ways or on a journey for vengeance. However, in term of traveler tropes, the ronin is not the only one.

There are many traveler tropes, like the knight errant who is tied to his code or lord, the drifter who tries to live among scraps, or the flying dutchman trope in which a person is stuck between the mortal world and afterlife.

There is one that is unique among the traveler tropes. A traveling scholar is someone who seeks to gain knowledge by going around the world, similar to Marcopolo and Ibn Battuta.

What sets them apart is they don’t pursue glory, revenge, or survival. A traveling scholar is not interested in chasing love interest either. Instead, they opts for obtaining understanding the world in a bigger picture.

This trope has been done in anime. The most recent example would behe top anime of this season, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. The main character is an elf who loves obscure and sometimes downright weird magic, and she collects them like pokemon.

A 90s comedy anime entitled Golden Boy also has this trope as its whole premise. Young Kintaro Oe is a freeter who wanders the country in pursue of studying as a student of the world.

The Ultimate Freedom

The most defining aspect of the traveling scholar trope, or all traveler tropes for that matter, is their freedom. Their journey are typically voluntary and for personal curiosity. They answers to no one, they do things independently, and their master is their calling in knowledge.

Specifically for the traveling scholar, they are devout learners and also geniuses on what they do. They are completely captivated on the knowledge that they pursue. And, they usually makes use of their mastery as they see fit in their journey.

Frieren Works And Leaves Whenever Frieren Wants

As an age old elf Frieren’s perception of time is a bit skewed. In a way she is actually free from the bound of time with her almost immortal lifespan.

She doesn’t have to worry when to get up and look for something to do for the majority of the time. She always has tomorrow and when she must periodically available in a place, it’s usually okay if she visits every few decades.

Her character is the very definition of the ageless trope. However, with her practically unending lifespan, she is free to do anything that she can think of.

And she decides on collecting grimoire of magic. Her love for magic is consistent whether in her new adventure with Fern and Stark or with the hero’s party in the past.

Freedom Is Uncertain But Also Liberating

Kintaro’s backpacker lifestyle is what leads him to a multitude of professions and, unexpectedly but expectedly, a bunch of girls yearning for him. His character is way more cheerful than the calm Frieren.

However his curiosity is much more diverse. In the anime, Kintaro gets the chance to work at a programming office, a swimming school, and even an animation studio.

The settings in Golden Boy might be not of the fantasy genre. Kintaro is also a regular young man who has to eat and earn money to support himself. However, he chooses to live freely, hopping from one job to another.

In a way, his lifestyle is a form of rejection of the 9 to 5 work culture. Although financially restrictive, for Kintaro, being a backpacker is liberating.

Learning About People Is Very Educational

Throughout their adventure, Frieren and Kintaro discover things that they didn’t know before. This is another key aspect of the traveling scholar trope.

In Frieren’s case, she seeks to know more about Himmel, her old comrade in the hero’s party. It is not rare for Frieren to stumble on his old statues and people who love Himmel in her new journey with Fern and Stark.

On the other hand, Kintaro’s journey is more about helping people whether it is out of his generosity or him trying to make up for his mistakes.

Also, in each episode Kintaro learns about something new in his odd jobs. The anime surprisingly takes its time to explain each profession Kintaro is trying, especially in the animation studio episode.

Frieren Learns To Appreciate Precious Little Moments

For Frieren, human’s life is comically short. Her ten years adventure to defeat the demon king with Himmel, Heiter, and Eisen might feel like a summer vacation for her. Her realization of how precious their memory comes late when Himmel finally in his coffin.

This new journey is a process for Frieren to learn about how important her old adventure with the hero’s party. Also, this is another chance for her to show more care to her new party members.

In both the manga and anime, Frieren doesn’t actively pursue a love interest like a typical adventuring party. Although it is heavily implied that Himmel is the one harboring feeling for Frieren, his love never became obvious for her.

This is why Frieren is such a perfect example for the traveling scholar trope. Among other tropes, the traveling scholar will often have an unhealthy fixation over the knowledge that they are passionate about. In this case, Frieren didn’t concern herself with love and relationship when she had her eyes only on magic and killing the demon king.

Yes, Frieren loves magic. Yes, Frieren can’t get enough of grimoire. However, when it comes to her new adventure. Frieren’s discoveries are about learning human emotion, and the value of companionship.

Get The Knowledge And The Girls, Is Golden Boy Secretly A Harem?

Kintaro, being a freelancer and a backpacker that he is, switch jobs every time he gets to a new place. He put everything he learns on his notebook, while saying his iconic catchphrase “very educational”.

Kintaro’s learning is much more literal than Frieren’s. His enthusiasm for new knowledge is what suits him really well into the traveling scholar trope.

Interestingly, it is not just knowledge that he gets. As mentioned before, Kintaro often solves the problems of everyone he meets in each episode. And for this reason, he manages to snatch the heart of every main girl of each episode, despite him always being down bad.

When Friern collects grimoire, Kintaro collects both knowledge and girls, like making a harem of intellect and gorgeous ladies. However, he always have moved on to the next destination once the girls realize their feeling, leaving the girls chasing him.

Crouching Student Hidden Master

The majority of the aspects of the traveling scholar in Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and Golden Boy involves learning so far. However, this trope isn’t always about a student learning something new from their mentor.

A traveling scholar can also be someone who already mastered the craft, and now they wander the world for other purposes. This aspect is heavily emphasized in Frieren. She is probably the strongest character in her anime so far.

Frieren The Slayer

While Kintaro is more on the learner side, Frieren is more on the expert side. In the anime, it hasn’t been cleared how strong Frieren really is. Perhaps it will be revealed this Friday in her battle with Aura the Guillotine.

However, the anime has revealed that Frieren is the student of the Great Mage Flamme, an expert mage from more than a thousand years ago. And, she is the elf that all demons fear, known with her nickname Frieren the slayer.

Anyhow, a scholar is not just someone who learn but also someone who has the expertise. In this case, Frieren is both for her love of learning new obscure magic and her experience.

Moreover, she is passing her knowledge to her apprentice, Fern. In episode 9, the anime shows how strong Fern can be. So, it is safe to say, her elven teacher who has years of magic knowledge under her belt is immensely powerful.

Kintaro Oe Is Actually A Genius

In Golden Boy, Kintaro’s life is far from consistent. Being a freeter left him no choice besides becoming a fast learner. Kintaro, however, always manages to catch up to his mentor in almost every episode.

The stories display him as a young but smart and fit man, despite being down bad. He has many potential although he seems to already have a few things that he is a master of.

It is revealed at the end of every episode that Kintaro is actually a law major drop out from University of Tokyo, the most renown university in Japan. He decides to leave his formal education just before his graduation. And after that, he becomes the traveling scholar that he is now.

However, Kintaro is a true student who is passionate about learning. He always says his iconic line “study, study, study” while pedaling away on his bicycle. Perhaps one day, he might even saves the world, or not.