Himmel never explicitly told frieren he was in love with her because he fully understood how different their lifespans were. Himmel didn't want Frieren to be completely broken by his passing. Himmel just wanted Frieren to be happy
Thank you. About as perfectly said as I could think of. Himmel was a goofball who played a part for his precious companions, but I don’t think it would even be possible for him to become THE FING HERO if he wasn’t was quite learned and clever. He spent a decade falling in love with her, and I think he expressed that love by being kind to her whenever possible and by refusing to ask her to stop on the eternity that is the road of her path in order to fulfill his moment of life. If she could remember him a decade, a century, a millennium after he was gone from her life, that would be the most he could ask for. If she could go on to find comfort in that memory, even better.
Oh, that's a good take. I didn't think of that myself. I figured it was maybe because Himmel wasn't sure if Frieren was emotionally mature enough to understand and reciprocate his feelings or maybe because in the end of it all, despite being the hero and very courageous, he also never mustered up the courage to ask her directly. But I like your version better.
@@catsouplover7745 Exactly, I don't think it was anything to do with him not wanting to hurt her when he died. Himmel just saw that she didn't feel the same way (yet). If it was about death the lesson would be that she shouldn't have feelings for anything because she'll outlive it all. Depriving herself of love because it will end eventually... That's just dumb. She just needed more time to develop the feelings because she's an elf. For Himmel it's love that developed over years, for Frieren at best it would be like a week/month long crush. But after the 50 years it starts being different.
to be fair though, i don't know if its tragic! He seems to really understand her and understands that she's not there emotionally yet. I think he knew all along that one day she'll see him there if i'm honest, he seems to consistently want to be remembered, and I don't think its for anyone but her, because one day she'll look back and she'll get it.
@@farohreactsI wouldn't say it's so much tragic for Himmel as it is for Frieren. She spent 10 years with him and had another 50 years she could've spent with him afterwards if only she'd noticed his love for her. It took her another 30 years to realize this and explore her own feelings towards him. It's tragic because this realization came too late for her.
Imagine spending the best 10 years of your entire life with someone, loving them but never explicitly stating your feelings (at least from what was shown so far), parting with them for 50 years without ever getting married and having children, then 50 years later meeting them again, and them looking exactly the same as they looked 50 years ago, but you are a 70-80 year old man...
This is the most underrated anime reaction channel I swear. You have the best frieren reactions by far. Keep doing your best. I think you'll be very, very successful soon.
I don't think Frieren knew what it meant. She never does. So her entire journey now is about understanding what happened with her previous adventure with Himmel. It's both happy and sad- finding out what you had and the fact that you *HAD* it. You never know what you have until you lose it.
"For it so falls out That what we have we prize not to the worth Whiles we enjoy it, but being lack'd and lost, Why, then we rack the value, then we find The virtue that possession would not show us Whiles it was ours."
Notice that Fern's bracelet the Lotus is in full bloom, showing that love has or will blossom fully into it's full form. Frieren's ring, however, is still a simple bud and hasn't bloomed yet, showing that Himmel's love will never fully come to fruition, even if it still exists and is still eternal.
Frieren did not know. Remember, this is a woman who spent most of the past 1000 years living in isolation. Himmel definitely knew. It is only now, 80 years later, that Frieren is beginning to understand how much Himmel loved her. Himmel did not push his love on her because he understood the gap of time that lay between them. When he puts the ring on her finger, the clock tower is positioned between them. It symbolizes both that unbridgable gap and the time that it takes Frieren to realize what Himmel was saying to her.
Frieren did not know. Still does not fully comprehend it I believe. Also there was a mistranslation. The time he gave her the gift was for another task way bevor they killed the big bad DK.
No, Frieren really doesn''t know what it meant. Before Himmel's death, she was mostly oblivous to other people's feelings and emotions. It was Himmel's passing that caused her to wish she had known him better which then resulted in her journey to Heaven so she can meet him again.
4:07 My honest thought is (and this is coming from a guy who can never understand teenage girls 😅) is that Fern is mad about not getting a present from a boy she LIIIIKESSS~ 😁 So we had the same thought. For Stark the concept of giving presents is new to him so it makes sense he didn’t go out and buy one for her.
I'm not a German expert but I do believe "Fern" roughly translates to "Distant" in German. That would explain why her character is hard to read. I could be wrong however so someone can correct me if that's the case.
Also the translation is really bad where Himmel is praising Frieren. It's not about defeating the Demon King, it's about fulfilling a extermination quest against Demons/Monsters. The scene takes place in the middle of their journey.
I saw the "for defeating the Demon King" almost everywhere so far for Anime Subs, but yes the Manga mentioned it was a Reward from Himmel for a Subjugation Quest.
Welcome back! To be fair, Fern learned of Stark's birthday... on the day as well (however many months back that was). Both lovebirds grew up without any interaction within their age range, but we're getting there slowly. Honestly it makes more sense that way, it would take them years to learn and then acknowledge each other as significant others. Frieren had absolutely zero clue, just a few episodes ago (and I think 3 years in story), she was surprised to even see him as her "person dear to you" from the illusion monster. Himmel was just living his one sided crush without pressuring her with concepts she is unfamiliar with until she learned, which unfortunately for him, started slowly happening 80 years after the fact. I had forgotten he got down on one knee to put the ring on her hand though. Oh, and 酷い can be used for a lot of things. "How could you" (say that now), or "How cruel/mean/heartless/harsh" has the same meaning.
The flower buds on the fern ring are open and the flower buds on the freiren ring are still closed. This means that Himmel and Frieren's love journey will not be happen .
Fern, having grown up beside a travelling elf that have few concerns beyond studying and gathering odd spells, are naturally quite inexperienced in social interactions with real people. so , to an exten even beyond that of ordinary 'debutantes', she likely has little to no idea what she feels or why at any given moment. but, like frieren, she's learning. much as she stubbornly refuses to. :)
This was such a sweet episode, I can't wait til Fern n Stark finally confess their feelings. Thanks for another great reaction vid and I hope you had a great holiday season. Also, I'm not sure if you take recommendations but I think you check out blue eye samurai if u haven't already, I think youd fw it😊
You're not understanding Frieren. You have to see this episode in context of the others. She was oblivious to the people around her and ignorant of the ring's local tradition. It wasn't until Fern explained it that she was able to understand her memory of Himmel giving it to her. It was only a memento of a friend to her at first which is why she stops wearing the ring after Himmel's funeral in the first episode and starts wearing it again from here on, now understanding the real significance. Himmel loved her dearly but he was practical. He understood that it was a relationship that could never be for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being that due to her very nature she'd probably never be capable of reciprocating. But he did his best to leave her with memories because ultimately that's all a mortal like him could do.
I think Frieren had no clue about the meaning because….is it magical? Nope, mere trivia. Though, now, she has an impression on why he said nothing and bought it. She’s an airhead and otaku, but not an idiot in the least.
Cant wait to know what the Author plans to do in the Future... since its a new Manga there are only 120 Chapter released and Season 1, since it has 28 Episodes, will end at exactly Chapter 60. If we are lucky it takes a while before a End is reached 😅
16:58 i dunno when u recorded this but in this part, its a mistranslation that actually means “You worked really hard in today’s extermination/subjugation quest”, so this happened before defeating the demon king. Crunchyroll fixed it a few days later
The saddness part is unfortunately She didn't know what it meant at that time, and it's a bit heart broken once focusing on Himmel's face especially in the manga as you able to stare at it ... His wry smile showed that he literally feeled ironic as he knew Frieren obviously didn't know the love message behind but she chose it not on purpose. He choose to "secretly confess his love" caz he knew it won't be a good ending and she literally don't even had the interest to try understand human emotions, not to talk his love 🤕
Stark and Fern don't have much of a choice, really. It's either each other or no one, given their lifestyle. Most people would rather have a suboptimal (not horrible) relationship than none at all. Not that they don't have chemistry. Normally I'm not a fan of what feels like obligatory pairings, but in their case, because of the way Frieren operates and their strong connection to her/Eisen (after 1 yr. traveling with Frieren I assume Stark is also attached to her now; Fern is committed for life, essentially), neither even has a practical option aside from the other. It's realistic and good writing.
No, I´m sorry, they were not lovers. I know I know, people want to see romance in everything, but Frieren just randomly picked the first ring there and surely didn´t know the meaning. Himmel knew and played along with it, he certainly had feelings for her. But he knew well enough that would never happen. Remember, when they returned from defeating the Demon king, Frieren just left for 50 years without hesitation.
True, they weren't lovers... as in they weren't dating. What was happening at the time was that Himmel was totally in love with Frieren but Frieren did not know how to interpret her feelings at the time. A thing that most miss is that Frieren is not a reliable narrator in this series. This is a long explanation but bear with me for a moment. First lets address an incorrect notion most have after episode 7 for the Elves, which is that the Elves don't have emotions or that they don't have the same feelings like humans and most believe that Frieren is supposed to learn to have "human" feelings. That is in fact incorrect. The Elves have emotions, the same range and with the same intensity as humans. Frieren's comment that the Elves don't have romantic emotions and reproductive urges is wrong. The Elves are going extinct for 2 different reasons. First it's the near total war that the demons declared on them that led to a lot of casualties and the second is their different sense of time. While they do have reproductive urges and romantic feelings, because they live for so long it is not necessary for them to find a romantic partner and create a family within the first 2 to 3 decades of their lives as humans usually do. They can live their lives pursuing their hobbies, and then find someone they like, live with them for a couple of centuries to know them and then finally tie the knot. But, because of the war with the Demons for more than a millennia that we know of, the elven population was decimated and the elves are now few and far between. Now enter Frieren. She is not a reliable narrator for the exact reasons I stated above. Frieren was the sole survivor of the attack on her village when she was a young girl. After that she lived with Flamme that taught her that the best possible way to fight effectively against demons is to be an unknown quantity. To hide her mana and to have never made a name for herself so that the demons would have never heard of her. While they visited towns and cities for supplies and news, they never interacted for anything more that shopping with anyone. So, Frieren's social skills and manners are nothing more than what was needed to interact civilly with another for work and shopping. She has no idea how to behave around people, she had no real friendships or relationships of any kind until Himmel and his party pestered her to go with them. Himmel, Heiter and Eisen were the first real friends she had since Flamme! So, of course she didn't understand most of the things Himmel did for her! She didn't because she doesn't know even now what he really meant to her. It's only now that she has started to understand her own feelings and Himmel's feelings. That is the tragedy of their story. Being and Elf of course has it's own place in the story, giving us that different sense of time an elf has in contrast to a human, but it is really a combination of factors that led to the tragic love story we see before us. In sort, if we want to be precise Frieren was already in love with Himmel during their journey, but, because of the above reasons she never really understood her own feelings at the time and only now does she start to finally understand Himmel's feelings and accept her own feelings for their relationship. But, of course the tragedy is that it is too late for that love to finally bear fruits...
And suddenly it makes sense we never got to see Himmel`s wife, children or grandchildren at the funeral. The most desirable man in the land, the hero who saved the world, never got married, because he already loved someone unattainable.
I KNOW THE WAIT HAS BEEN LONG BUT IM BACK IM SORRY OK IM BACK
Welcome back! Prepare your heart for the next few episodes lol
im so excited!!
Are you shuree about dat? 🤔🤨🤨
Try to to react Frieren First Class Mage Exam Trailer
16:18 she not lying 😡
Himmel never explicitly told frieren he was in love with her because he fully understood how different their lifespans were. Himmel didn't want Frieren to be completely broken by his passing. Himmel just wanted Frieren to be happy
Thank you. About as perfectly said as I could think of. Himmel was a goofball who played a part for his precious companions, but I don’t think it would even be possible for him to become THE FING HERO if he wasn’t was quite learned and clever. He spent a decade falling in love with her, and I think he expressed that love by being kind to her whenever possible and by refusing to ask her to stop on the eternity that is the road of her path in order to fulfill his moment of life. If she could remember him a decade, a century, a millennium after he was gone from her life, that would be the most he could ask for. If she could go on to find comfort in that memory, even better.
HIMmel
Oh, that's a good take. I didn't think of that myself. I figured it was maybe because Himmel wasn't sure if Frieren was emotionally mature enough to understand and reciprocate his feelings or maybe because in the end of it all, despite being the hero and very courageous, he also never mustered up the courage to ask her directly. But I like your version better.
i see it more as he knew she wouldn't or a better word, couldn't, reciprocate those feeling, so he thought it would be pointless.
@@catsouplover7745 Exactly, I don't think it was anything to do with him not wanting to hurt her when he died. Himmel just saw that she didn't feel the same way (yet).
If it was about death the lesson would be that she shouldn't have feelings for anything because she'll outlive it all. Depriving herself of love because it will end eventually... That's just dumb. She just needed more time to develop the feelings because she's an elf. For Himmel it's love that developed over years, for Frieren at best it would be like a week/month long crush. But after the 50 years it starts being different.
And yeah, she absolutely didn't know at the time. Himmel absolutely *did* know. It's why this series is so beautiful and emotional.
It’s so tragic how in love Himmel was with Frieren and how she didn’t notice until he was gone
to be fair though, i don't know if its tragic! He seems to really understand her and understands that she's not there emotionally yet. I think he knew all along that one day she'll see him there if i'm honest, he seems to consistently want to be remembered, and I don't think its for anyone but her, because one day she'll look back and she'll get it.
And rationale love was the reason he did not explain it.
@@farohreactsI wouldn't say it's so much tragic for Himmel as it is for Frieren. She spent 10 years with him and had another 50 years she could've spent with him afterwards if only she'd noticed his love for her. It took her another 30 years to realize this and explore her own feelings towards him. It's tragic because this realization came too late for her.
Imagine spending the best 10 years of your entire life with someone, loving them but never explicitly stating your feelings (at least from what was shown so far), parting with them for 50 years without ever getting married and having children, then 50 years later meeting them again, and them looking exactly the same as they looked 50 years ago, but you are a 70-80 year old man...
Frieren definitely didn't know what it meant at the time, she's only realizing all these years later.
This is the most underrated anime reaction channel I swear. You have the best frieren reactions by far. Keep doing your best. I think you'll be very, very successful soon.
Wow, thank you 🥹
The way she looks at the sky whenever she talks about Himmel because the colors remind her of him is simply magical!
Himmel also means sky in German.
I don't think Frieren knew what it meant. She never does. So her entire journey now is about understanding what happened with her previous adventure with Himmel. It's both happy and sad- finding out what you had and the fact that you *HAD* it. You never know what you have until you lose it.
"For it so falls out
That what we have we prize not to the worth Whiles we enjoy it, but being lack'd and lost,
Why, then we rack the value, then we find The virtue that possession would not show us
Whiles it was ours."
frieren probably like "oh is this how humans give a ring." lols cold so cold.
Notice that Fern's bracelet the Lotus is in full bloom, showing that love has or will blossom fully into it's full form. Frieren's ring, however, is still a simple bud and hasn't bloomed yet, showing that Himmel's love will never fully come to fruition, even if it still exists and is still eternal.
This is also the ring she is playing with right after they finish his funeral before they all split apart and go their own ways.
17:15 Yup. This moment got me when I watched this, and it does so again with every reaction I see. Himmel is far more impressive than we even thought.
Can’t wait to see next episode reaction, episode 15 plays off of episode 14 so well 😭
good final analysis
Frieren did not know. Remember, this is a woman who spent most of the past 1000 years living in isolation. Himmel definitely knew. It is only now, 80 years later, that Frieren is beginning to understand how much Himmel loved her. Himmel did not push his love on her because he understood the gap of time that lay between them. When he puts the ring on her finger, the clock tower is positioned between them. It symbolizes both that unbridgable gap and the time that it takes Frieren to realize what Himmel was saying to her.
Frieren is a cute little sociopat.
Because the ring had a closed lotus it basically represented unrequited love as opposed to the bracelet which was open
I will never not tear up watching this episode.
Frieren did not know. Still does not fully comprehend it I believe. Also there was a mistranslation. The time he gave her the gift was for another task way bevor they killed the big bad DK.
18:14 is just a mood, i did exactly the same and i wasn't expecting the same LMFAOO
your reactions are so relatable i love them! frieren makes me super emotional every week without fail it's nice to see someone react so similarly.
Your reactions were great on this show. You were the very first reactor that actually commented about the slightly wrong translations
she most definitely did not know what the ring meant until Fern told her
EL MEJOR CAPITULO DEL AÑO
I've been waiting for your reaction to this episode and you did not disappoint. The kneel + ring finger combo was so great.
Am so happy I waited for your reaction 1000% worth it
No, Frieren really doesn''t know what it meant. Before Himmel's death, she was mostly oblivous to other people's feelings and emotions. It was Himmel's passing that caused her to wish she had known him better which then resulted in her journey to Heaven so she can meet him again.
4:07 My honest thought is (and this is coming from a guy who can never understand teenage girls 😅) is that Fern is mad about not getting a present from a boy she LIIIIKESSS~ 😁 So we had the same thought.
For Stark the concept of giving presents is new to him so it makes sense he didn’t go out and buy one for her.
Beautiful reaction Faroh! You always have the best ones.
Fern is sooo tough to understand. She also doesn't blush to anything so that makes it even harder.
I'm not a German expert but I do believe "Fern" roughly translates to "Distant" in German. That would explain why her character is hard to read. I could be wrong however so someone can correct me if that's the case.
Also the translation is really bad where Himmel is praising Frieren. It's not about defeating the Demon King, it's about fulfilling a extermination quest against Demons/Monsters. The scene takes place in the middle of their journey.
Idk where they watch but Muse Asia has better translation
I saw the "for defeating the Demon King" almost everywhere so far for Anime Subs, but yes the Manga mentioned it was a Reward from Himmel for a Subjugation Quest.
Who cares, doesn't take away from the scene.
we all just need this kindness like here..
She really had no clue… until 80 years later. 🥺 those feels…
NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE, THEY'RE MARRIED
Welcome back!
To be fair, Fern learned of Stark's birthday... on the day as well (however many months back that was). Both lovebirds grew up without any interaction within their age range, but we're getting there slowly. Honestly it makes more sense that way, it would take them years to learn and then acknowledge each other as significant others.
Frieren had absolutely zero clue, just a few episodes ago (and I think 3 years in story), she was surprised to even see him as her "person dear to you" from the illusion monster. Himmel was just living his one sided crush without pressuring her with concepts she is unfamiliar with until she learned, which unfortunately for him, started slowly happening 80 years after the fact. I had forgotten he got down on one knee to put the ring on her hand though.
Oh, and 酷い can be used for a lot of things. "How could you" (say that now), or "How cruel/mean/heartless/harsh" has the same meaning.
The flower buds on the fern ring are open and the flower buds on the freiren ring are still closed. This means that Himmel and Frieren's love journey will not be happen .
I cant wait for episode 15 :D
Fern, having grown up beside a travelling elf that have few concerns beyond studying and gathering odd spells, are naturally quite inexperienced in social interactions with real people. so , to an exten even beyond that of ordinary 'debutantes', she likely has little to no idea what she feels or why at any given moment. but, like frieren, she's learning. much as she stubbornly refuses to. :)
Finallyyy, your reactions in this anime are literally me 🥹
Great end analysis, very heavy
Im sure freiren had no idea what the ring was ,its totally in character of her
This was such a sweet episode, I can't wait til Fern n Stark finally confess their feelings. Thanks for another great reaction vid and I hope you had a great holiday season. Also, I'm not sure if you take recommendations but I think you check out blue eye samurai if u haven't already, I think youd fw it😊
I've heard this show has been hard on reactors. Glad it's returned. :)
in terms of copyright? yes heavily lol
how much japanese do you speak and what made you learn?
You're not understanding Frieren. You have to see this episode in context of the others. She was oblivious to the people around her and ignorant of the ring's local tradition. It wasn't until Fern explained it that she was able to understand her memory of Himmel giving it to her. It was only a memento of a friend to her at first which is why she stops wearing the ring after Himmel's funeral in the first episode and starts wearing it again from here on, now understanding the real significance.
Himmel loved her dearly but he was practical. He understood that it was a relationship that could never be for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being that due to her very nature she'd probably never be capable of reciprocating. But he did his best to leave her with memories because ultimately that's all a mortal like him could do.
this is so romantic but at the same time a lot of people cried
I think Frieren had no clue about the meaning because….is it magical? Nope, mere trivia. Though, now, she has an impression on why he said nothing and bought it. She’s an airhead and otaku, but not an idiot in the least.
18:34
you're right, damn
Cant wait to know what the Author plans to do in the Future... since its a new Manga there are only 120 Chapter released and Season 1, since it has 28 Episodes, will end at exactly Chapter 60.
If we are lucky it takes a while before a End is reached 😅
It’s gonna really hurt hard when she finally realized that Himmel loved her, but she never realized it, nor did he tell her before he died, isn’t it?
16:58 i dunno when u recorded this but in this part, its a mistranslation that actually means “You worked really hard in today’s extermination/subjugation quest”, so this happened before defeating the demon king. Crunchyroll fixed it a few days later
16:18 she not lying
She was lying
The saddness part is unfortunately She didn't know what it meant at that time, and it's a bit heart broken once focusing on Himmel's face especially in the manga as you able to stare at it ...
His wry smile showed that he literally feeled ironic as he knew Frieren obviously didn't know the love message behind but she chose it not on purpose. He choose to "secretly confess his love" caz he knew it won't be a good ending and she literally don't even had the interest to try understand human emotions, not to talk his love 🤕
Frieren is backkkk
The next episode made me MELT, it was a huge win for the Stern (?) Nation
9:16 serie?
Right person, not enough time.
Stark and Fern don't have much of a choice, really. It's either each other or no one, given their lifestyle. Most people would rather have a suboptimal (not horrible) relationship than none at all. Not that they don't have chemistry.
Normally I'm not a fan of what feels like obligatory pairings, but in their case, because of the way Frieren operates and their strong connection to her/Eisen (after 1 yr. traveling with Frieren I assume Stark is also attached to her now; Fern is committed for life, essentially), neither even has a practical option aside from the other. It's realistic and good writing.
I need the next episode asap also love you
she dont know she took almost a century too late to realize
frieren had no idea what it meant. I really don't think reciprocated his feelings, honestly
ひどいの発音うまい😂
you're a mess, and I dont blame you, I also was a mess.
why you holding in the tears? Let it all out. Show those emotions 😢
U cancelled Tokyo revengers?
No, it’s on her Patreon
@@remaniant but when is gonna be on RUclips
bruh how does Frieren knows what it meant, and what benefit does she get of her lying about not knowing it? LoL
No, I´m sorry, they were not lovers. I know I know, people want to see romance in everything, but Frieren just randomly picked the first ring there and surely didn´t know the meaning. Himmel knew and played along with it, he certainly had feelings for her. But he knew well enough that would never happen. Remember, when they returned from defeating the Demon king, Frieren just left for 50 years without hesitation.
True, they weren't lovers... as in they weren't dating. What was happening at the time was that Himmel was totally in love with Frieren but Frieren did not know how to interpret her feelings at the time.
A thing that most miss is that Frieren is not a reliable narrator in this series. This is a long explanation but bear with me for a moment.
First lets address an incorrect notion most have after episode 7 for the Elves, which is that the Elves don't have emotions or that they don't have the same feelings like humans and most believe that Frieren is supposed to learn to have "human" feelings. That is in fact incorrect. The Elves have emotions, the same range and with the same intensity as humans. Frieren's comment that the Elves don't have romantic emotions and reproductive urges is wrong. The Elves are going extinct for 2 different reasons. First it's the near total war that the demons declared on them that led to a lot of casualties and the second is their different sense of time. While they do have reproductive urges and romantic feelings, because they live for so long it is not necessary for them to find a romantic partner and create a family within the first 2 to 3 decades of their lives as humans usually do. They can live their lives pursuing their hobbies, and then find someone they like, live with them for a couple of centuries to know them and then finally tie the knot. But, because of the war with the Demons for more than a millennia that we know of, the elven population was decimated and the elves are now few and far between.
Now enter Frieren. She is not a reliable narrator for the exact reasons I stated above. Frieren was the sole survivor of the attack on her village when she was a young girl. After that she lived with Flamme that taught her that the best possible way to fight effectively against demons is to be an unknown quantity. To hide her mana and to have never made a name for herself so that the demons would have never heard of her. While they visited towns and cities for supplies and news, they never interacted for anything more that shopping with anyone. So, Frieren's social skills and manners are nothing more than what was needed to interact civilly with another for work and shopping. She has no idea how to behave around people, she had no real friendships or relationships of any kind until Himmel and his party pestered her to go with them. Himmel, Heiter and Eisen were the first real friends she had since Flamme! So, of course she didn't understand most of the things Himmel did for her! She didn't because she doesn't know even now what he really meant to her. It's only now that she has started to understand her own feelings and Himmel's feelings. That is the tragedy of their story. Being and Elf of course has it's own place in the story, giving us that different sense of time an elf has in contrast to a human, but it is really a combination of factors that led to the tragic love story we see before us.
In sort, if we want to be precise Frieren was already in love with Himmel during their journey, but, because of the above reasons she never really understood her own feelings at the time and only now does she start to finally understand Himmel's feelings and accept her own feelings for their relationship. But, of course the tragedy is that it is too late for that love to finally bear fruits...
He definitely was in love. There was no playing along.
And suddenly it makes sense we never got to see Himmel`s wife, children or grandchildren at the funeral. The most desirable man in the land, the hero who saved the world, never got married, because he already loved someone unattainable.