The production company today issued a naming announcement confirming that the younger brother, until now referred to only by a nickname, is formally named 牛犇 (Niu Ben). Overseas releases will use the romanisation Niu Ben uniformly, rather than leaving each territory to transliterate.

Everything turns on the second character. 犇 is built from three 牛 stacked vertically, pronounced bēn, and originally describes a herd of cattle bolting — by extension, charging forward without hesitation. The studio explained the choice simply: the character "is already three oxen", which matches the trio walking together on screen.

Niu Lai’s own name, design and characterisation are unchanged — a point the studio emphasised, answering speculation that the elder brother would be renamed too.

A character many people cannot type

Within a day of the announcement, the conversation had moved from the name to input methods. A great many viewers reported that typing bēn in pinyin buries 犇 well down the candidate list; several said they scrolled three or four pages before finding it.

Rendering is the bigger problem. On some older Android handsets and certain subtitling tools the character comes out as an empty box. Viewers posted screenshots: three characters side by side, and the brother labelled 牛□.

We know it is awkward to type. But a name that makes people go and look up how to write it beats a name they forget the moment they finish reading it.— The producer, in the naming announcement

Why the studio will not change it

Faced with calls to pick a common character instead, the studio was clear that it will not. Its reasoning is twofold: the character is tied directly to the three-character premise, so replacing it would empty the name of meaning; and after three competing translations over two years, changing again would only prolong the confusion.

Some viewers side with the studio. One long-time follower commented that the brother has always been "the one who follows behind and steps forward when it counts", and that 犇 — three oxen charging together — "looks more like him than any common character would".

Explainer posts on how to type 犇 are now circulating widely on social platforms. Several have been shared more often than the announcement itself.

From the naming announcement: Niu Lai in the centre, his newly named brother Niu Ben on the left, and the leopard character travelling with them on the right, whose name has yet to be announced.
From the naming announcement: Niu Lai in the centre, his newly named brother Niu Ben on the left, and the leopard character travelling with them on the right, whose name has yet to be announced.
  • Named: the younger brother, as 牛犇 (Niu Ben)
  • The character: 犇 is three 牛, pronounced bēn, meaning cattle at a gallop
  • Unchanged: Niu Lai’s name, design and characterisation
  • Known issues: buried in input method candidates, renders as a box on older devices

The third character still has no name

The leopard appearing alongside them in the announcement image is a new regular for the coming season. The studio said naming is still in progress and will be announced before the season starts, adding: "The next one will be a common character."

The new season is confirmed for next month, running to twelve episodes released weekly. The studio also said the relationship between the two brothers will be one of the season’s main narrative threads.