I first found Maloki (The anime first) back in Sept. 2023. Heimdallr was the first character to make me laugh--only because he was just so damn edgy i could NOT take him seriously. Since then, I've actually been able to feel sad for him lol. He's just a silly little guy...

---

Thoughts + Story

...spoilers...TW for death and towards the end suicide...

Heimdall is an incredibly vengeful person in both the anime and manga. He's also quite selfish, his thirst for revenge is already proof of that as revenge is inherently a bit selfish, lol. Despite that, or rather, because of that, he's a very entertaining character to watch. The plot always working against him makes his every move seem a little pathetic too, which probably helps.

In the anime, Heimdall is at his worse, as a person and also mentally, probably. He holds a strong grudge against Loki and hates him after Loki took his eye out, stealing away his powers too. After he fails at his first attempt to take Loki out, he's a little beaten down, but not hopeless. He has some words with Narugami, AKA Thor in disguise as a highschooler. Their relationship is interesting, esp. when you take into the account they're probably brothers in the mythology.

It's a little hard to feel sympathy when he starts working behind his only ally's back. Freyr also seems to trust him greatly, especially with his missing sister's necklace. A big part of why Freyr is helping Heim is because he values his sister's safety, Freyja, so Heim using the necklace to control her is definitely a big wtf moment if you want the best for her and Freyja. When she implies that he tortured her into obeying too... yikes! I promise he's silly this is just one of his fucked up moments and he's like way worse in the manga but we'll get into that.

After his using Freyja to kill Loki plan fails, he eventually gets comforted by Frey. Here is where they actually become friends, at least in my mind. He and Freyr sort of fall to the wayside as antagonists after this, but they appear in the episodes as comedic relief, usually just hanging out together, which I think is sweet. Or they heckle Loki and friends. Heimdall, despite being uptight and short-tempered, does help Freyr go after a girl he ikes! I just think its nice to see him gradually open up to Freyr and become better friends. In one episode, he gets defensive and aggresive over seeing Loki and Freyr supposedly playing horsie. They weren't (Loki was cursed and started acting like Freyr's mechanical pig) but Heimdall accused Loki of trying to get Freyr to be his friend and was about to get physical about it. See, he does care about the people close to him! And is a little insecure about them leaving him, I guess.

It's not until the towards the end of the anime that he's truly developed, and I honestly really love this arc. I could go on about Hel's role in this because OUGH, but this is the Heimdall page so Heim analysis only. Heimdall gets some of his power back by Odin, and is told by the Norns to kill Loki once and for all. They go through battle, ect ect. It's a little awkward tbh lol... The scene where Heimdall dies though, shows a lot of his character. Loki dives to save him, and Heimdall is taken aback, until he hits Loki's hand away and falls to his death into the void. Is it Ginnungugap? Either way, RIP.

Anyway, that just shows he's really stubborn and truly wants to stick to it to the end, but on a deeper level, how he doesn't want to admit the truth. His blindness in one eye also returns amidst his fall. Personally, I've always interpreted it as Heimdall briefly realizing that Loki is right, and that he'd been betrayed by Odin, someone who he's implied to trust and respect greatly. Loki's betrayal is much easier to handle than Odin's, so why would he want to believe Loki? He'd rather die than face the fact that he was wrong and that all of his anger and pain had been misdirected, and that he'd been lied to by someone dear. Honestly so sad :(

Hel, Loki's daughter, saves him. Heimdall takes his debts seriously, and so he begins to work alongside her to repay her for her act of service, despite the fact he doesn't exactly want to be alive (iirc he says something along the lines of "Don't expect a thank you"). He ends up having to go against Loki again, although he doesn't truly want Loki dead anymore. He sees a lot of himself in Hel, in the way she was obsessive and ruthless in her fury towards Loki, and her want for revenge. He tries to warn her, but can't do much as he's under her word. Eventually, he crafts a fake world and a train to take Loki and Hel anywhere she desires. Having her wish--to finally realize her father loves her--been fulfilled, she disappears into the void (Ginnungagap, probably lol).

In the end, he returns to life with Freyr, and seems genuinely happy, having finally found peace and happiness alongside his best friend in Midgard. I think this ending is really sweet, and considering all that Heim's been put through, very well deserved.

Manga Heim is... incredibly different. His best as a person and mentally is at the beginning of his appearances. All you really need to know is that he's still trying to kill Loki, and he's way more obsessed about it. Like, thinks about him every second of the day kind of obsessed. He's also really shit at trying to kill him and/or take his eye out, to the point where Freyr even says its a little pathetic. After his first failed attempt, Odin takes away his divinity, making him literally just some kid. With claw hands. Yeah under his gloves he has claws for an unstated reason lol.

Here, his and Freyr's relationship is a lot more strained. In fact, their first interaction is Freyr making fun of Heimdall for being a loser. Eventually, they fall into the same odd couple duo type friendship again. Freyr does seem to genuinely care about Heim though, having searched for him when he went missing and also created a Loki Robot to help him relief stress through violence (of course). Heimdall doesn't seem nearly as emotionally invested but does care about him (albeit on a shallower, less of a friend more as just a teammate level). Even so, he's still a little insecure about Loki hanging out with Frey ( He starts speaking for him, even, "Are you stupid? Frey wouldn't do favors for the likes of you.") Although, in one panel of the last chapter of Vol 4 of Shinsekai No Kamigami, he is shown to be hanging around Frey in the back, so maybe their relationship runs a lot deeper and a lot longer than what we're shown.

Really, he's not so plot relevant as a huge antagonist in the second season of the manga, but he still attempts to kill Loki twice towards the end. Loki has another Complicated Relationship moment with him, in which he believes only he can help Heimdall, and he does regret hurting him so deeply, both physically and mentally probably. It's interesting because Loki DOES care about Heimdall and wants him to move on a heal but it's really not working.

Anyway, plot stuff happens, Asgard is destroyed Baldr is imprisoned and Odin is dead, and Freyja is queen now. Season three of the manga, and Heimdall visits Baldr to basically be like "lol loser youre a shit ass attempt at king" and so he dips. Hoenir made a magic staff out of his missing eye to control the Valkeryies and Var, who was supposed to deliver it to Baldr, gives it to Heimdall because the scepter is sentient. Turns out the eye wants to see some good and evil in the world and then it'll return to Heim's face so off they go to some time travel shenanigans.

Okay, Heimdall gets like super fucked up here. As for his "good nd evil" he goes around granting wishes to people across time. It's a monkey's paw type situation. He gives some guy his daughter back and then kills her, brings a lesbian couple back to the time they were young together except he returns them to when they were seperated by war so they just kill themselves in a joint suicide instead, then he tries to help a girlie kill her sister. He's a little croinkers for that one but hey at least he isn't obsessing over Loki anymore!

i have yet to and cannot finish the manga because of language barriers, oh well, but hey. Heimdall :)

---

Other

I don't have many headcanons for him but I do think his claws are actually bird talons. Just for funsies, and it make sense as he has a hawk theme going on (less prominently as the manga goes on and only kind of relevant at the beginning and end of the anime.) I don't ship him with anyone either, but Loki and Heim def have a toxic somethings going on and i think he does care a lot for Frey deep down (although that's just straight up canon in the anime).

Sidenote, my friend crocheted me a little panel of him for my Bday so now i have him just hanging out on the sofa all the time lol