- "We haven't met before, huh? When'd you come to Offandon?"
Furen (alternatively Furēn or Furein), also known as "Buddy" by Bowser Jr. in the English dub, is a character from Mario & Luigi: Brothership. He is a Concordian who befriends Bowser Jr. on Offandon Island and later the Mario Bros. upon meeting them.
Profile
Physical Appearance
Furen is a yellow-skinned Concordian with blue eyes and eyebrows. He wears a blue shirt, a cyan dungaree, a blue beanie, a red scarf, and blue boots.
Personality
In his normal state, Furen is generally friendly, to the point of befriending Bowser Jr. However, Ten warps him into a surly brat by infecting Furen with Glohm.
History
Mario and Luigi first encounter Furen trapped beneath a boulder during their visit to Offandon Island after they were forced to ditch Shipshape Island (which Bowser attacked when the ship got his attention at Gulchrock Sea), and smash it with a Hammer to free him. Furen thanks his liberators and introduces himself. When he hears that Mario and Luigi just washed up on Offandon Island, he believes he is saved before realising that they are the same persons pictured on the Wanted Posters. This prompts him to flee from them and the Bros. to give chase.
Furen makes his next appearance after Mario and Luigi discover their faces on Wanted! posters (which explained Furen's initial animosity). He explains that Bowser and his people claimed that the Bros. were "bad." Mario and Luigi assure him of the contrary and of their mission to reconnect the islands. Furen, realising his hostility was misplaced, reveals a passage to Offandon Island's lighthouse.
Furen later befriends Bowser Jr., where they talk about Bowser. After Bowser's goons capture Mario and Luigi, Furen comes by and busts the Bros. out of jail, handing them a key that can be used to free other captives. However, he ends up betrayed by Bowser Jr., who brands him a traitor and abandons him much to Kamek's anger.
Mario and Luigi later encounter Furen crying at Shipshape Island over how Bowser Jr. betrayed him, and press Furen for answers. Furen tells a story about how his parents apologise right away when they argue, so he plans on heading back to Offandon Island to make amends. This unlocks a sidequest that the Mario Bros. can partake in. If the Bros. do this sidequest, Kamek can be seen giving Junior lectures on friendship, only for his words to be refuted until he tells Junior that true allies are for life. Junior, realises the error of his ways and sets off to to find Furen so he can make amends.
Furen makes his next appearance after the defeat of Bowser himself, as the Extension Corps abduct Bowser Jr. He tries to save Junior, but gets captured by the Extension Corps as well and infected by a toxic substance called Glohm, getting warped into an unfriendly brat who shoos Bowser Jr. away instead, when Ten opens fire with his arm cannon. When Mario and Luigi explain to Kamek that Furen is infected by Glohm and can be cured by an Ampberry, Kamek reveals one, which Furen eats, reverting back to normal. When asked by two Goombas if he is okay, Furen fails to respond.
During the final leg of the game after the awakening of Reclusa and the creation of the Soli-Tree, it is revealed that Furen returned to Offandon Island to make amends with Junior, although since he is unable to fight the Glohm-infected Koopa Troop, he begs the Bros. to save Junior. After the Bros. do so, Furen repairs his relationship with Junior, creating a bond that Mario and Luigi get. This proves essential in breaking into the Soli-Tree.
After the Bros. kill Reclusa, they can go to the beach on Shipshape Island, where an optional cutscene can play Bowser Jr. parts ways with Furen to return to his world. He informs Furen that they will be friends forever, no matter what. Furen can be seen during the credits hanging out with Arc, implying the latter to be his new friend.
Behind the Scenes
Etymology
Furen is named after a Japanese transliteration of English "friend" (furendo; written フレンド).
Nomenclature
In Chinese, Furen is called Ā Péng (written 阿朋), derived from péngyǒu ("friend"; written 朋友). In Spanish, he is called Compi, which means "mate." His Portuguese name, Miguinho, comes from a diminutive of amigo ("friend"). Italian calls him Rico, which could be an abbreviation of the name Riccardo ("Richard"). French refers to the character as "Amion," from ami ("friend") and ions, which are atoms with differing numbers of protons and electrons. German and Korean use the original name as a base, resulting in Fren and Peuren (written 프렌), respectively; the former is influenced by Freund ("friend"), thus explaining the loss of the U, while the latter had the F changed to a P due to Korean lacking the F sound. In Dutch, Furen is known as Mattie ("buddy").