The love story of Himmel and Frieren is told to us in flashbacks bit by bit. Frieren took her time to realize that she feels for Himmel, and Himmel never found a way to hurry her.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren) spoilers ahead!
Summary
In Episode 14, we learn that one of the rings Himmel gave to Frieren has an image of the mirrored lotus, which symbolizes eternal love.
In the flashback, he gets on one knee to place the ring on Frieren’s hand.
The more flashbacks we get, the more frustrating it is to realize how slow Frieren was to realize Himmel’s love because of her immortality.
Mirrored Lotus
Frieren’s flashbacks to Himmel make everyone fall in love with him. He has his flaws, of course, but he seems to be a kind man, who is willing to help others, even demons. We wonder how Frieren could have spent time with him and not fallen in love with him.
In Episode 14, we see that Himmel made it very clear he knew what he wanted. A flashback shows him buying Frieren a ring with a mirrored lotus on it, which symbolizes undying love. To show that he knows what he is doing, he even gets on one knee before putting the ring on Frieren’s finger. The only other thing he could do to show Frieren that he loves her would be to propose then and there. He does not do it for some reason, and Frieren is left with the memories of a man who loved her and who she probably loved back without realizing it.
Elves
According to Frieren, elves do not have a strong desire to procreate, which makes sense for a nearly immortal race. As a result, a lot of fans are convinced that Frieren simply did not understand Himmel’s intent, as well as her own feelings. We are certain that some feelings were there; it is especially clear the day Himmel fails to pull the Hero Sword out of the stone. His speech about real heroes impresses Frieren, and it is obvious that she feels something, but she might not know what it is. This take seems true to the story; Frieren only realizes that she loved Himmel on the day of his burial, and even then, it might have been friendly love, not romantic one.
Frieren’s perception of reality is affected by her immortality. Some fans joke that in Frieren, elves would not approve of marriage before a hundred years of courtship passes. That makes it rather difficult to romance a person who is not similarly immortal. In other words, Frieren might have actually known that she loved Himmel but thought that they were still in the stage of flirting and getting to know each other. It does not work well with the fact that she parted ways with him the day their journey ended, but she did return to him eventually, with as little regard for his age as always. To be honest, we are not sold on this theory; we think it truly took Frieren a little too long to understand that she was in love. But who knows?
Do you think that Frieren knew she loved Himmel all along?
The Tragic Love Story
Himmel is a sweetheart. He left statues for Frieren to remember them, he loved flowers, and he is Frieren’s new Einsam illusion, but he is gone, and it is too late. We absolutely consider Frieren and Himmel a couple, but with Frieren’s immortality and Himmel’s mortality, there was never meant to be a good ending. Frieren learned a lot from Himmel, though, and he continues to live on in her memories. And who knows, maybe Frieren manages to get to Heavens and meets Himmel again. That would be a great way for her to tell him everything she did not manage to while he was still alive.
The love story of Himmel and Frieren is told to us in flashbacks bit by bit. Frieren took her time to realize that she feels for Himmel, and Himmel never found a way to hurry her.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (Sousou no Frieren) spoilers ahead!
Summary
In Episode 14, we learn that one of the rings Himmel gave to Frieren has an image of the mirrored lotus, which symbolizes eternal love.
In the flashback, he gets on one knee to place the ring on Frieren’s hand.
The more flashbacks we get, the more frustrating it is to realize how slow Frieren was to realize Himmel’s love because of her immortality.
Mirrored Lotus
Frieren’s flashbacks to Himmel make everyone fall in love with him. He has his flaws, of course, but he seems to be a kind man, who is willing to help others, even demons. We wonder how Frieren could have spent time with him and not fallen in love with him.
In Episode 14, we see that Himmel made it very clear he knew what he wanted. A flashback shows him buying Frieren a ring with a mirrored lotus on it, which symbolizes undying love. To show that he knows what he is doing, he even gets on one knee before putting the ring on Frieren’s finger. The only other thing he could do to show Frieren that he loves her would be to propose then and there. He does not do it for some reason, and Frieren is left with the memories of a man who loved her and who she probably loved back without realizing it.
Elves
According to Frieren, elves do not have a strong desire to procreate, which makes sense for a nearly immortal race. As a result, a lot of fans are convinced that Frieren simply did not understand Himmel’s intent, as well as her own feelings. We are certain that some feelings were there; it is especially clear the day Himmel fails to pull the Hero Sword out of the stone. His speech about real heroes impresses Frieren, and it is obvious that she feels something, but she might not know what it is. This take seems true to the story; Frieren only realizes that she loved Himmel on the day of his burial, and even then, it might have been friendly love, not romantic one.
Frieren’s perception of reality is affected by her immortality. Some fans joke that in Frieren, elves would not approve of marriage before a hundred years of courtship passes. That makes it rather difficult to romance a person who is not similarly immortal. In other words, Frieren might have actually known that she loved Himmel but thought that they were still in the stage of flirting and getting to know each other. It does not work well with the fact that she parted ways with him the day their journey ended, but she did return to him eventually, with as little regard for his age as always. To be honest, we are not sold on this theory; we think it truly took Frieren a little too long to understand that she was in love. But who knows?
Do you think that Frieren knew she loved Himmel all along?
The Tragic Love Story
Himmel is a sweetheart. He left statues for Frieren to remember them, he loved flowers, and he is Frieren’s new Einsam illusion, but he is gone, and it is too late. We absolutely consider Frieren and Himmel a couple, but with Frieren’s immortality and Himmel’s mortality, there was never meant to be a good ending. Frieren learned a lot from Himmel, though, and he continues to live on in her memories. And who knows, maybe Frieren manages to get to Heavens and meets Himmel again. That would be a great way for her to tell him everything she did not manage to while he was still alive.
