Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi

This show is the reason why 3 of the most notable entities exist: Interspecies Reviewers, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, and MAPPA. What, you still cannot figure out what sets Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi a.k.a "The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace" apart? Then go figure and find your own peace treaty in a wild wonderland world.

Written by Amahara, illustrated by Cool-kyou Shinja (of which this is the 3rd work of 3 featured in this season, damn this author is rekting the Summer season hard) and produced by MAPPA. Announced as one of many shows at the MAPPA Stage 10th Anniversary event under debut director Seimei Kidokoro's ... direction, Idaten tells the story of humans and demons co-existing in a fictionous world where demons drive mankind nuts, only to have literate gods in the form of deities called "Idatens" for humans to pray for salvation and extinction upon their kind, and attain peace for an exchange. And damn is Idaten-tachi such an uncanny, other-worldly anime, if not already hinted by both Amahara and Cool-kyou Shinja's expressions of interest at weird-looking demon and deities with the same aforementioned traits from the series they've worked on, much less all the fast-paced frenetic action. Combine that with MAPPA's production that animation-wise, looks identical to Jujutsu Kaisen and the visuals full of psychedelia, Idaten is grotesque, rapey, and in all ways condescending, but to stomach all those, and you'll see an experimentation show like no other (well, count Dorohedoro one as well).

A deity, or an Idaten in this matter, is made out of these things: Adding your own thoughts to a nascent existence in order to shorten the amount of time required for manifestation. As a result, the personality of one who draws the newly chosen Idaten has a certain level of degree of influence shapen from the summoner. If you couldn't get that scientific-level explanation, just remember this trait: a common shared desire between beings thirsting for abilities that would help defend those worth living a life. That story is told through Rin, a young 800-year old Idaten who has witnessed the battle between Idatens and demons, and sealing them on a vast desert statue/monument-like location so that the peacetime "treaty" can be maintained for years and generations. Protecting this seal for 800 years has the Idaten gods rendered tiredness at their job, because their role is to eradicate demons, and since there're no demons to kill, they need to kill time somehow to remain for that one purposeful day, where demons have an uprising to prove their usefulness towards mankind once again. But as Magneto of X-Men once said: "Peace Was Never An Option", and indeed, demons acted on that thanks to a nation known as the Zoble Empire, stacked full of demons at their disposal to wreak havoc at both mankind and the Idaten gods they pray to. So, it's the conquest of the Idatens to finally have their purpose-driven life be served to give the demons a beating-down and wash, rinse, repeat the same commitment held for those 800 years of peace past. It's quite the simple "as molasses" story, but Cool-kyou Shinja's illustrations truly take the manga (and now the anime) to the next level.

It's of no doubt that Amahara knows what his characters want to be, and is thoroughly exemplified through the manga and anime. Starting off with the Idaten deities crew, Rin is the 800-year old Master Shifu Idaten who has crossed her life at doing the one sole, important job of not letting demons have their way, and she is OP by default, learning from the experiences of the elder gods who went before her. Her understudies are Prontea and Hayato. The former is a mix of both strength and intelligence, while the latter is this normal-looking boy who's quite brash and proud, and is one who've suffered most with Rin's unrelenting training sparring sessions, becoming the usual "no-reason" Shonen-ish trope of a strong OP character to protect those who can't defend for themselves. Paula is the same as Hayato, though she's forced to become like him because she is an Idaten in name only, and walks alongside Hayato in companionship. Ysley is truly balls-to-the-wall intelligent, I'd reckon that I can refer to him as their world's Albert Einstein. Alas, where there lies a yin, there must be a yang, and the demons equalize the Idatens in every regard. There is no shortage of powerful demons, but intelligent ones are far and few in-between, so for the lead group led by Dr. Oobami (better knows as Demon Lord Over-M for a disguise), the higher-up demons are posed to follow his political totalitarianism and make that ideology work. Some demons like Takeshita and Brandy (king and queen of the Zoble Empire) take that into heart, while others like the sex-crazed Miku envelopes that and comes up with strategists Zhuge Liang style to see their objective towards the end. Miku is a crazy-ass archetypal character (like the rest), and given Amahara's fascination for fictional rough sexual favours, I have to admit that Miku is the closest resemblance to Interspecies Reviewers in almost every way, and "come one, cum all" if we all have a lil' bit of Miku in our lives.

Not surprisingly, MAPPA has come under the spotlight recently for the unapologetic practices of overwork, and if the Attack on Titan's director Yuichirou Hayashi's now-infamous panda black eyes meme at the MAPPA Stage 10th Anniversary event is of no consolation, then the studio itself is in deep trouble of angering fans the wrong way. Speaking of the event, this show was one of many works featured at the event (with the biggest highlight of course all given to Chainsaw Man), and the reception was decent. Even then, I feel that MAPPA has been pushing their employees way too much by pumping out lots of works (just like all other studios except KyoAni), and while Idaten's production values are on the high-end, you can't really tell the backbones of how this anime managed to shine with its outlandishly unique visual aesthetics, hiding the inherent flaws of a studio whom has regularly pumped out hit after hit action-heavy shows like Jujutsu Kaisen.

The music is just simply *chef's kiss* fantastic, and by the way, it's not Akari Nanawo's ED, but Tatsuya Kitani's OP, which is just pure banger, and one of the stand-out OPs of the season. The OP visuals are on a whole other level resembling the likes of Dorohedoro, only if it wasn't CG and a lot more color to bring that trippy, seizure feel. I'd never get tired of watching such a creative OP done very well to complement the high beats of Tatsuya Kitani's excellent vocal range, and for a female-like soprano no less sung by a male. Visuals are top marks across the board, and Akari Nanawo's ED is fine I guess.

Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi is pure uncensored wildness like Interspecies Reviewers, has character designs like Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (when it comes to the busty boobs part), and debut director Seimei Kidokiro's first outing is truly a great step in the right direction. Definitely looking forward to more works that this director will helm in the future, and for the rest, Idaten is not for the faint of heart with its R17+ rating of violence, profanity and sexuality at the core of it all. I'm speechless that MAPPA has done another wonderful job, but that should come as of no surprise. Just get the inner workings sorted out and let everyone have some rest from working hard to give us more anime. Meanwhile, watch Idaten, it's a very good godly show that doesn't know peace in it.

Perhaps it's time to play Devil's Advocate.

Idaten Deities is certainly an oddball among the Summer 2021 line-up. By far one of the most lavishly animated, stylistically interesting, and well-produced shows of the year has been largely ignored, and similarly written off as nothing more than incomprehensible edgy garbage that's "style over substance".

What a silly pain in the ass this buzzterm is. It's nothing more than an excuse for people to dismiss a well-animated work they don't like because the writing isn't trying to be the 10/10 kino that the visuals are. It's not because the writing actually gets in the way of all the spectacle ... like the overly serious and painful melodrama in Bubblegum Crisis and Symphogear. It's because a work that's entertaining and well-presented first and foremost tends to be looked down upon. It neglects the idea that perhaps the style is the substance like in Redline. It also forsakes the idea that while the writing can’t quite compete with the visuals, it can still do enough to not only avoid getting in the way too much, but make the show more interesting in its own right, like with this series.

This isn't to say Idaten Deities doesn't have issues worthy of criticizing. It most certainly does. It's crass and juvenile to a fault. The character designs by Amahara (not actually Cool-Kyou Shinja, this is based more on the OG web manga than the serialized one) may work when the female characters are just doing their thing or casually flaunting it around with their mannerisms or outfits without drawing too much attention for a (somehow) non-ecchi title. The show can even highlight that with its camera angles if it wants, since it knows how crass, sexy, and debaucherous it wants to be. However, whenever it shoves rape and sexual assault into the mix, the results are as gaudy and annoying. No matter how much the show tries to spice up the scenes with weird visuals or anything, these scenes are just needlessly unpleasant to watch. If anything, it shows why they don’t work, as the show tries to be super casual about these issues. The demons are generally vile and debaucherous enough without this element coming into play more than once to sour the mood. The fact that one character is introduced by getting raped and her second scene involves her getting fingered against her will while neither of these scenes have that much gravitas to them, makes it understandable why someone would be turned off by this show. It’s a stain on an otherwise fun and interesting ride you won’t get anywhere else.

However, barring that one particular blemish, what exactly is so wrong with this show? Why is it that something like Idaten, which has higher production values than even some popular anime that have come out as of late, deserves to be buried or dismissed? The other issues people seem to have involve the show's constant color changing and its characters not being particularly sympathetic, both of which seem to miss the point entirely and feel a bit restrictive and taste-based, respectively.

Let's address the show's visuals. Despite being overshadowed by Maid Dragon S2 this year, Idaten is still a highlight of the year in terms of style. The colors are vibrant and the outlines are distinct, often a noticeable reddish purple as opposed to the more understated thin black outlines in most modern anime. Despite how they stick out, the characters still fit the vibrant backgrounds. The colors, both regarding the fun and expressive character designs and the art direction, are similarly vivid. The environments and colors are the closest thing anime is gonna come to looking like Cruelty Squad or ULTRAKILL, as much of a reach as those comparisons are. One can certainly take issue with the admittedly somewhat garish color choices, especially when the show completely and constantly shifts them, but it’s nonetheless really cool and fun that they did this without making the colors eye-bleedingly oversaturated.

Fun really is the right word for the show’s visuals. Is it not fun for the show to constantly shake up the colors depending on the environment they travel to, what situation they’re in, or even what attacks some of the demons bust out if the situation calls for it? Should it really be constrained to only busting out these changes in the big beefy flashy moments like in Chivalry of a Failed Knight, especially when the show does this consistently to the point where it never feels aimless or haphazard? It would be one thing if it were truly random and silly, or if the colors were absolute death, but here, it’s a refreshing treat. Outside of the color changes, the actual character animation is wonderful. There are all sorts of amusing facial expressions, and the action scenes are very fluid, punchy, and easy to follow. They’re generally pretty dynamic and even the cuts that don’t seem as visually impressive and do employ some animation shorthands do, such as characters having multiple limbs to show how fast they’re punching, look way better than examples you’d find in Akame ga Kill, Slime, or any number of shows. Good luck counting the number of shorthand speed lines or stock backgrounds in place of actual backgrounds on more than one hand!

Even the episode title cards have creative thought put into them, with each of them having distinct colors from one-another and sometimes being put into the environments and backgrounds! Seriously, you can feel just how much director Seimei Kidokoro and his team at (black company) MAPPA emphasized the word “fun” when it came to the visual presentation. The backlash the studio has faced regarding its abysmal treatment of its staff even by the subterranean standards of the industry is certainly warranted. It’s natural that this show would be a casualty of that in some regards, should that be one of the reasons it’s not even remotely popular for its season. However, the efforts of director Kidokoro and his team deserve to be lauded and acknowledged. The fact that they haven’t gotten anywhere near the level of attention of beloved juggernauts of modern anime visuals such Mob Psycho 100 or Dragon Maid has, hell, the fact that it’s not even close to more moderately popular titles such as Akudama Drive, is criminal!

Let’s not neglect how the show is written or assume that the visuals are the only real reason to watch it. Doing so is what nets you in “style over substance” territory, and dismisses the writing purely for its juvenile aspects and [very much controlled] flippant tone. They may be the best part, but there’s more to dig into with how the show’s written than some may think. The conflict is ultimately a farcical one. The Idaten notice that demons are out there in the world after 800 years of them being sealed in the underworld, and so they find each other, train, and wipe them out. It's made as early as episode 2 that not only are demons generally weaker and aren't able to regenerate the way an idaten can, but they're never gonna have a chance. It's utterly hilarious how the death of one of their stringer members shuts them up, as they know they're the underdogs in this situation. The best they can hope for is to be brainwashed into aiding the idaten, but they already obtained all the captivates they need by episode 5. This fact and what does come in the last 5 episodes do present faint moments of hope for the demons, but the series goes out of its way to show that it's more about delaying the inevitable than anything else. They know they're screwed by episodes 2, 7, and 10. It's utterly hilarious seeing them shift the goalpost over the course of the series from "killing all idaten" to "killing one" and "surviving long enough for remnants to reform in any meaningful way".

Despite this, the show still manages to keep some level of intrigue with what both sides learn and guess from one-another, and how every time, most of it is true except for at least one vital piece of information that trips them up or otherwise stalls their progress. A lot of explanations and info-dumps are fast-forwarded for the sake of time and entertainment, but the way both the Idaten and the humanoid demons under Dr. Obami's rule piece together who or what he is when he himself doesn't know, is one of many examples where this cat and mouse game of information constantly keeps itself fresh while informing the audience. The more the audience learns about the idaten, the demons, and the mechanics, the more engaging some of the fights become in spite of the foregone conclusions of “demons lose and/or die”.

Adding to the farcical nature is the fact that we’re not even necessarily meant to root for either side. It’s simply an entertaining charade of evil-doers trying and failing to kill and then slip past the generally callous Idaten. The show may stop and ask questions like “if the demons that forced themselves into human civilization were generally able to live and rule in secret amongst them, what’s to say they can’t coexist”, but the only one who genuinely entertains this question until the very end of the show is Gil, the one relevant human character. She's also the one that got raped in episode 1 and spends most of the shoe in captivity until being freed and watching the emperor of Zoble (the kingdom she's imprisoned in) try to make sure she and the other prisoners aren't hurt. It does seem like sometimes some of these evil demons have a shred of decency and humanity, but barely anyone cares and the most some of the others amount to is loving one specific partner or when Brandy (the Zoble demon empress) makes sure her kids are safe in a moment that surprises both her and said offspring.

The idaten aren't necessarily moral, either. They're gods meant to protect humanity from demons, but couldn't give a fuck about the humans themselves or if countries slaughter each other via wars. The oldest one, Rin, even suggests eradicating the kingdom if Zoble outright, knowing any humans living there will die just to kill the couple hundred demons living there. Ysley, the most strategic one of the group, only really rejects this because neighboring countries such as Hotaena will use this as an excuse to war and it'll be a pain in the ass for him considering his master, Prontea, is stationed in Hotaena and enjoys his time there. Even Hayato and the youngest idaten for most of the series, Paula, are single-minded strength junkies and the token normal person without a strong moral compass, respectively. Morality isn't of anyone's concern except for the human, Gil, and what little standards anyone on either side has. Why care? Gil's practically chastised or brushed off by both sides for doing so regarding the war and what the demons did to her people. The show keeps this amusingly callous nature until the last few episodes where the tone still feels rather frank.

It's not necessarily a bad thing that we're not meant to really root for/against or sympathize with anyone. That being said, it can limit how enjoyable the show can be as the lack of ability to really care about or get invested in the conflict prevents the spectacle from being as exciting as it can be. The characters and fights are entertaining enough, and the show knows not to take itself too seriously, but it's not like the characters have that much going on beyond fun, catty banter and antics, and how Ysley, Obami, and Miku constantly scheme, learn, and adapt over the course of this conflict.

Oh, that's right. We should probably touch upon some of them beyond just Gil, Paula, and Hayato. Ysley is perhaps the most interesting of the main cast, as his allegiance leans more towards Prontea than Rin, making him conduct retrievals behind everyone's backs as he starts asking most of the questions and making the most hypotheses regarding the demons. He's also the one who explains how nobody really gices a fuck about humanity aside from when demons are involved. Rin is the shrimpy oldhead of the group, existing for over 800 decades, watching her father and ancestors seal themselves for that time. Her backstory and how the end of ep 8 and start of 9 bring that back to haunt her at the end of the Zoble invasion are the closest the show comes to expecting us to care about anyone as she spent decades without anyone in the world before she realized the world had become safe for a time. The last two characters to really mention are Miku and Dr. Obami. Miku is debauchery incarnate: a supernaturally intuitive planner who spends as much time thinking as she does feeling up or hitting on prisoners and subordinates. This is before the last few episodes where things get so much more messed up and she becomes just as much of a threat as Obami. Interestingly enough, she's the only one to question him on his identity and intentions, the former of which Obami doesn't know himself, as both the idaten and audience learn only slightly more about him than he does. He just knows the initiative to conquer the idaten and the world, and that ordinary demons not quickly fused into a human brain and body are just savages that will complicate matters for both sides.

The music is also pretty good, at least regarding the OST by Yoshiaki Dewa. It's not always that memorable when listening to the show itself, but there are a fair number of choir-based and intense tracks, with the vibrant and ever-shifting title track and its variants, "World Adjustment'', "God of Battle", “Escape”, “Training Room”, “Kicking”, and “Sadness of Love” being among the most notable ones. It's like a mix of industrial and avant garde, with techno, and perhaps more indiginous (for lack of a better word) percussion and choir elements thrown in as well to make it an eclectic soundtrack. Some of the tracks are rather strange and unique, and the OST fits well with the impressive fight scenes, as well as the moments of thinking and planning several characters engage in. Many of the aforementioned pieces stood out when watching, but several more did as well upon listening to the full OST, including some of the more traditional kinds of songs in the tracklist. Meanwhile, the OP and ED aren't exactly memorable or enjoyable songs as the former is kinda whatever and the almost noise-pop-esque song for the latter is surprisingly hard to listen to, but their visuals are top-notch with a Mob Psycho 100 II level sequence and a still vibrant and fun what-if scenario, respectively.

Idaten Deities is a weird and engaging show for reasons that some other titles could never get away with. It’s callous and juvenile, both hilariously and unfortunately so at times. The characters are the least interesting aspect of the series, with the amazing visuals amusingly uphill and forgone nature of the conflict being where most of the entertainment comes from. The show's callous attitude does make slapstick beatdowns more fun whenever Hayato, who expects beatings from Rin no matter what, gets demolished and treats it like an annoyance at worst. It's an entertaining spectacle with some odd decisions made towards the back end, and some interesting questions and ideas it tackles without losing sight of its fun yet lackadaisical and glib tone. There's minimal ugly CG and generally speaking, the show's visuals are consistently well-animated, vibrant, and ever-changing. If you can look past some of its worst and most distasteful moments, then this series is certainly one of the most darkly humorous and entertaining popcorn spectacles in recent years. Just beware of the cliffhanger ending that happens right when the show actively feels like creating tension.

The only other manga from this creator with an anime adaptation is Ishuzoku Reviewers, and my problem with this show is the same as my problem with that one. In both cases, you read the premise and think, “that’s genius,” but then you actually watch the show, and it’s just mediocre. The idea is that once upon a time, demons ravaged the Earth and drove humanity to the brink of extinction, so deities came down to seal them away and save humanity. Centuries later, humans have become their own worst enemy, killing each other for politics, power, religion, militarism, expansionism, the usual. However, the deities ... don’t intervene or pass judgement, because in their eyes, the only way you could save human lives is to take other human lives. This moral detachment is a surprisingly mature worldview for an anime like this to have, and the story at first seemed like it would capitalize on this completely. The villains are this group of degenerate fascists who wage indiscriminate wars of aggression, raping and pillaging to their heart’s content. This is obviously a case where the deities should step in, because these people are inflicting untold amounts of death and destruction, so even though the deities would still ultimately be killing humans to save other humans, the amount they’d save versus the amount they’d have to kill speaks for itself. As Winston Churchill once said about the Nazis, “we can’t breathe the same air as these people.” They simply have to go. But just as the deities begin stepping in to smite the aggressors, it’s revealed to us at the end of episode two that the fascists are actually demons in disguise…do you see why this ruins the thematic message? If those responsible for instigating the conflict are demons, the embodiment of all generic evil, then the moral grey area becomes black and white, and all our analysis regarding the ethics of human conflict gets thrown out the window as humanity is completely exonerated of its greatest crimes, because it turns out demons are the ones to blame. I mean, it’s not like the evils of humanity have engulfed the world in untold amounts of death and destruction in real life before, right? It’s not like the soldiers in this show dress like Fascist Italy and act like Imperial Japan, right? Anyway, if you don’t think about it that seriously and just forget the themes, this show isn’t bad on the surface.

The crazy colorful artwork looks awesome, but unfortunately, the animation is rarely there to back it up. There’s one or two flashy cuts of action sakuga every now and then, but the production is super messy, so even these cuts can sometimes be surrounded by speedlines or completely unanimated stills. It also does that annoying shit MAPPA does now where they’ll hire freelance animators without correcting their stylized drawings at all, so in the finalized episode, certain scenes will look totally different and out of place. I saw people defending this when they did it with Jujutsu Kaisen and when A-1 Pictures did it with Fate/Apocrypha and Grancrest Senki, and I won’t fault casuals for thinking it looks cool regardless of technical shit, but let’s not be willfully ignorant and pretend this is an artistic choice by the animation staff when it’s clearly a consequence of poor scheduling and outsourcing foreign animators from Twitter. Not a joke, by the way. They seriously outsourced from Twitter. The sound director doesn’t have a bad record, but the audio mixing in this show is really uneven. I bring this up because the music is amazing, but sometimes it gets drowned out by the action, and other times it’s just as loud as the dialogue. The opening is badass, and it’s filled with bizarre imagery and tons of personality, but it just makes the show seem like a let-down by comparison. The writing is fine, and the director obviously cared, but while many comedic moments can be genuinely hilarious, most of the humor is slapstick. There’s a scene where this woman makes fun of a nun for getting gang raped, so I can’t say there’s no memorable characterization, but the main protagonists are all dull and underdeveloped. It’s for this reason the series can honestly be accused of making its villains WAY more likable than its heroes. It doesn’t stick to tropes and actively tries to be as irreverent, vulgar, and objectionable as possible—to the point emotional moments feel unnatural and obnoxious—but daring doesn’t equal engaging, and the show is often boring. Some say this is a bad adaptation which butchers the flow of the manga and suffers from heavy censorship, and this may be true considering its odd pacing issues and anticlimactic cliffhanger ending, but frankly, I don’t care. What I care about is the anime in front of me, and the anime in front of me is underwhelming, if watchable.

Thank you for reading.

It has been a long tradition since anime fights are about 2 mindless guys brutally punching each other while shouting their move names out loud as if anyone even cares and eventually stops until one is deemed unable to move. What if there was an exception? What if fights only reached the climax after someone had both of their arms chopped off, eyeballs plucked out and heart pierced out? Blessed with heavenly-made animations from MAPPA, Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi adapts the story of the peaceful generation of mythical battle deities capable of growing infinitely strong, Idatens, facing the revival of the demons. The production team ... of Heion is a match made in heaven. With the original story coming from Amahara, the original creator of Ishuzoku Reviewers (the most "cultured" anime last year that is surprisingly decent) and original character design from Cool-kyou Shinja, the mastermind behind Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. This show eventually became what the public claims to be "the hidden gem of Summer 2021, the blandest season in a long time".

Fixed colour palettes? We don't do that here, the colour changes as the atmosphere changes. You might get reminded about JoJo, which is entirely normal. The art style, as expected of another Cool-kyou Shinja work, is overly simple yet manages to remain fascinating. "Never judge the book by its cover." The complexity of the art style does not define the quality and overall enjoyment of anything, anime or not. The fight animations are fluid, smooth, well-done, and perfectly demonstrates the intensity of the fight between heaven and earth, Idatens and Demons. Blood spills are everywhere, and maybe a lost limb, it superbly captures the fighting spirit that everyone longs to witness in an anime. The fight scenes are probably the first thing that comes to my mind when you ask me about what's the main appeal of Heion. Not saying that Heion is only good for its fight scenes.

You might think that the character personalities are bland, but they're totally not... that much.
- Hayato, the Eren Yeager of the show. Strives for power over everything else. He's not the type of character who gets overpowered simply by believing in the "power of friendship", he believes in the power of power itself, constantly training under Rin in order to achieve the strongest "power" can become.
- Ysley, the type of nerd who instead spends his time figuring out the smartest and most brilliant way to cheat in an exam. He's the big boss behind all the plans. Planning everything, performing "surgery" on demons to inspect and gain more knowledge about them and even managing to convince enemies into joining forces with him.
- Rin, the only surviving Idaten from 800 years ago, rumoured to be the strongest Idaten out there. Nothing much to talk about her except that she's basically the center of the story. She's the trainer of all Idatens and everything relates to her. Even Obama himsel- I mean Oonbami has some sort of relation to her that might be spoilers if further elaborated.
If you look closely the characters are actually not that bad.

Openings. Some skip them. Some don't. But in Heion, NO ONE on Earth skips them unless they're in a rush. The OP is an absolute banger. It's a combination of a catchy song and animation that perfectly matches the beats and bass of the music. Providing one of the best OP experiences ever presented in the entire anime history.

The quality of sound effects are not realistic, low-quality, and drags me back to the 80s when television and the animation industry weren't as fully-fledged as the present. However as the show progresses, I realized that IT WORKS. Take as an example when a studio hired a chef to film a cooking show on making pancakes, but the production team messed up and provided the ingredients for a pasta. The chef still managed to make pancakes better than before knowing that it was the wrong ingredients. I know this might not make sense but it's the most direct way of explaining how well the seemingly out of place sound effects work in this. It fits the atmosphere, the plot, the simplistic art style, to the point that you will feel weird if you imagined Heion with realistic or any other genres of sound effects.

So the conclusion, is Heion worth our time to watch? Yeah, probably. Possibly the only con of the anime is that there are a few bits of deus ex machinas. If you're looking for some otherworldly fight scenes and a simple yet dark and thrilling story then I highly recommend you to give this a shot. It's fully up to you whether you decide to mark this show as a boon or a bane.

Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi gets an 8/10 from me.

Average intellect characters in this anime would be giga geniuses in other anime.
So much happens per episode.
It's so fast paced dynamic and colorful.
Characters act rationally and play to their strengths fully.
Plot is consistent and things established early on are used even in later episodes
Exposition dumps are done at 10x speed


I don't usually rate shows because I am not a pretentious anime viewer that gives 1 to shows because they are to sensitive about controversial topics in FICTION.

Especially when those controversial things happen for a reason and establish the atmosphere of the world the characters live in. Also this controversial thing that happens in episode 1 ... will function as a plot device later on, therefore it functions as a cog in the story and its not just shot value.

THIS. THIS SHOW IS A MASTERPIECE!

Meet the action of Dragon Ball, the comedy of Gintama and the Drama of Cowboy Bebop and mix them all into one.
You get an anime full of action scenes and something that is unique yet still familiar. You'll fall in love with the characters, you have a whole assortment, from the typical Shonen main hero we all know to the deceiving guile mastermind.

The story might seem simple, but that actually what makes you fall in love with the anime.

I see a second coming of Dragon Ball but with a mix of Gintama and Bebop.

The character building is occurring at a steady pace and ... the potential future developments are endless.

Pros:
-Simple yet Deep story that doesn't pull punches with the gore, sex and the R+ like one piece or Naruto.
-Crazy action
-Comedy showing that the anime doesn't take itself too seriously
-Intriguing characters
-The ART style

Cons:
-Sometimes the comedy part breaks the feel of the epic fights and setting the word the anime is set in.
-Not very realistic and there are a few shortcuts in the logic, this however, is like many other anime where we choose to ignore these discrepancies to simply enjoy the anime.

"In a nutshell ... I think it's an anime you watch when you feel like throwing away your annoying ethics." - Amahara 6:27

The target audience for this anime is for those that are tolerant against typical dark themes like r*pe, gore, etc. If you can't handle these themes then it's not intended for you. As for those who are tolerant, if in anycase that you find the execution poor, then you have all the right to argue and criticize.

Now without further ado, let's get into the analysis.


Plot:

A seemingly simplistic plot about Gods Vs. Demons, but underneath all that we have ourselves a very intricate set ... of characterization and themes.

Sub-Genres: Ecchi, Mystery, World-building, Morality

World-building is a common element that Amahara likes to add to his collection of works, such as the case with Ishuzoku Reviewers. While this may be a basic element, it still plays an important role in establishing the state of the world which greatly parallels with world history. While the world-building isn't revolutionary, it still sets up some pretty absurd moral actions that each species tend to appeal to. To simplify it, the moral takes granted most of the time tend to shit on human logic which may come off as unappealing to moralistic individuals.

The morality throughout this whole series is abysmal, which is to be expected when the main cast is comprised of Gods and Demons. Of course a human is added to the mix to give their take, but we all know how that turned out. To be honest, the whole morality ordeal is pretty unbelievably realistic. For example, the current generation of Idaten living in isolation and peace for most of their lifetime don't ever find the need to develop a sociolgical structure like humans do. As for humans, they are weak and need to rely on support for each other. That is why they form sociological structures, but since humans are weak they will eventually fall into the act of commiting sin. And due to the act of sin, conflict arises, which ends up with humans being predatory towards one another. Of course the Idaten will pay no heed towards this, because it is not their problem and even though the majority of their being is made from human thoughts, they know for a fact that the predatory acts will just support the growth of the predator's side which doesn't have any affect on humanity's decline. As for the Demons, they are pretty much oppressive dictators who have absolute power over the humans. There are two types of demons, [Intellectual] and [Base]. The [Base] demon is basically a rampant monster that possesses little to no intelligent thought and they run on the basic instinct to attack the Idaten. The [Intelligent] demon is basically a mixture of human and demon, where if successful, you would have yourself a very powerful creature that is capable of basic human intellect. But if unsuccessful, you would have yourself a weak demon who is inflicted with a major side effect. These side effects are still successful tbh, considering the abilities we've seen. To conclude the morality of demons, they basically function just like humans, since they possess their brain afterall.

Mystery is also another common theme to be found, but I won't get too deep into it like with what I did in the previous paragraph. The mystery incorporated is done through huge exposition dumps that definitely feels like lazy story-telling, but considering the pacing of the story it's understandable. While it's definitely a subjective opinion, I believe the directing towards these fast-forward exposition dumps was handled pretty well. A bombtastic ost combined with moving visuals is an effective strategy in engaging the viewer into boring dialogue. Besides that point, the mystery narrative comes up pretty often as well as being solved pretty often. This doesn't come of as pretty impacting, but it for hell sure does keep the viewer engage.

Ecchi is the last thing I will cover for this section and I will make this short.

Any artists seeing this rn better get on their ass and create some rule34.


Characters:

I definitely felt like a lot of details went into their species rather than their actual "character", but I would still like to cover this part.

To sum it all up, each character is pretty stereotypical, but I don't mean to put this in a negative tone. Although they follow the basic personality format, they are still pretty enjoyable characters thanks to Amahara's sense of humor. Of course a lot of these jokes may be filled with a lot of dark humor, I still found it quite enjoyable since it gives a bit of meaning towards each of their character.

If you want to know the basic traits for the Idaten:

Hayato: Shounen MC that wants to become stronger

Isli/Yeesly/Easely: Nerd that serves as exposition dumps and strategy tactics

Paula: ... Fill-in Heroine? (I honestly think she has a ton of potential with her communicative ability, but so far she served little to no purpose other than negotiations)

Rin: Training Master that is brutal af. Also one of the two idaten who served an emotional purpose.

Prontea: He seems pretty cool and laid-back, but he's built like a mf ronald mcdonald head ass.

The last Idaten is actually a spoiler, but I would just like to say that this one has the most potential out of all them in terms of character development.

I won't be going into the demon's side, but from watching the series I can say that they do possess the traits of humans as well as being bat shit crazy.


Animation/Visuals/Production (AVP):

This will be the last thing that I will cover in this review so I want to make this long.

As expected of Fuko Noda (Producer of Dorohedoro), we now have ourselves another masterpiece in terms of the art/visuals. The mix of different color palletes can be seen throughout this series and it's used in such a creative way that I can't help but find myself looking at it in awe and admiration. It is without a doubt one of the most artistically creative works ever seen in the anime medium and to think that this is being paired with Amahara's cartoonist and simplistic artwork is pretty unbelievable. Also to top it off, the Idaten Opening is a certified masterpiece, nuff said.

*(Yes, I know that Coolkyoushinja is listed as the character designer, but none of the character designs actually look like his work. Take a look at the Islis from both source materials for example.)

For the animation side of things, I would definitely have to say that it feels kinda experimental. This is to be expected since many of the freelancers that worked on this series are just starting to make their debuts. While it may be experimental, I still think the animation in this series was pretty above average and there were definitely some very good moments, but they ended too short which kinda sucks. I believe the reason for all of this is the fact that the production wasn't so great in the first place. Considering they announced the pv last year back in november 2020 and for it to release within the 2021 summer time-frame, the schedule is handled pretty poorly. But considering the staff's talent, I would like to praise them for putting up with this mediocre schedule and to still produce high quality content at the same time.


Conclusion/Final Thoughts:

As with that being said I'll be giving this an ９/10 for this review. I know that I barely listed any criticism for this review so I'll list a few such as the plot barely having any substance. Viewers will percieve the substance to be psuedo, considering that it was mostly given to us through expostion which isn't good story-telling wise. Another criticism that can be made is about the flimsy structure of the plot. The plot being as basic as it is doesn't exactly strike that much to some viewers and it isn't exactly outstanding, so concern is to be expected.

Moving on from the criticism, I honestly think this is one of the best animes to come out this year. The directing was insanely good and it still managed to give me the feels even if most of the main cast are sort of apathetic towards humanity. The ost as well is another masterpiece in my books which is all thanks to Yoshiaki Dewa (Flying Witch, Fate/Stay Night). This series felt so chaotic and simplistic in such a fun way that I can't help but f'ing love it.


Second 2 pls....

For me this is an anime that I thought was going to be shit but he and that anime that we broke our faces and we liked very quickly because he and that anime of being fights way with incredible funny moments full of reference so much from other anime series movies, series also about how the world is today I also liked how it is portrayed and also has an animation that is very different and very beautiful, the opening is very good and so even though it has this fast pace I don't see any problem despite it have some scenes of Echhi ... and so besides and a great anime

There are no spoilers in this review. Also, I rarely rate something 10/10.

This show is fantastic. It starts slowly, and, to be honest, initially I thought that it would be just another overpowered esper battle show, 7/10. Now, the show is approaching to its end, and I totally assure you that that initial impression was wrong.
If this anime were a book, it would be a nice modern sci-fi rather than a light novel. It makes you think: wow, that's a really interesting and well-thought world. In this aspect, it resembles me Shinsekai Yori, though the story, art style and overall tone are all different

This show presents sexual assault about as well as hentai. It's just so bad that I found the show to be completely unwatchable after episode 5, which is a shame because the rest of the show is pretty good. The SA in episode 1 was pretty pointless and gratuitous, but at least it didn't have the hentai shit where people like getting raped which is what happens in episode 5. If you can tolerate that garbage, then great there's a lot to like about this show; if not, then skip.

Everything ignoring the sexual assault: 8/10
Not ignoring the sexual assault: 2/10

Since the first seasons of "Attack on Titan" and "Tokyo Ghoul" aired in 2013 / 2014, a plethora of anime have been released which attempt to answer the same philosophically and ethically grey question: When two populations are so utterly at odds that the only solution seems to be complete eradication of one side, what is the correct way forward? In "Attack on Titan", this conflict manifests in the struggle for racial supremacy between Eldians and non-Eldians, with both sides marred by centuries of brutal, unfair oppression. In "Tokyo Ghoul", the paradigm sees Ghouls, who rely on humans as a food source for existence, clash ... with humans, who view their lives as more than that of a mere meal. This pattern of one side versus the other, with no apparent room for any middle ground or compromises, has been seen numerous times in the real world as well, with the most obvious example being the oppression of Jews and other persecuted peoples under the Nazi regime during World War II.

In "The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace", the author attempts to answer the same question as the anime mentioned above, although in a more supernatural and less human-centric way. The core conflict revolves around an eternal war between Demons, who merely by existing threaten the wellbeing of humans, and Idaten Deities, whose meaning for existence lies in protecting humans from external threats. What primarily sets this anime apart from similar anime is its use of extreme gore and brutal sexual scenes to pull viewers deeper into the depravity of the conflict. This is war in the truest sense of the word, where both sides are willing to do anything to ensure the success of their people, even if that means complete, merciless domination of the other side.

Some viewers have likened this show to the "plot with porn" anime that have become more popular in recent years, such as "Redo of Healer", "Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World", and "Futoku no Guild". While this comparison is understandable due to there not being many mainstream anime with sexually explicit scenes, it detracts from the true and intended essence of the anime. This is a story about an intense struggle between natural enemies. The mature content that comes along with it is a natural product of the environment, as well as a symptom of the show's non-human beings, who are shown on multiple occasions to lack a sense of human morality.

I would be remiss not to mention the anime's beautiful production quality. MAPPA has proven repeatedly in recent years that their animation, directing, sound effects, and OSTs are well-developed enough to rival any other major studio. The vibrant colors, active pacing, and aggressive POVs of this anime allow the content to range from hilarious, to intriguing, to horrifying, sometimes all in the course of a single episode. The opening sequence encapsulates these features well by sticking to the general aesthetic of the actual show but also cranking the peculiarities of the animation style up to max.

The most obvious issue with the anime is the fact that it is incomplete. Further content is desperately needed, and an eventual resolution to the main plotline that doesn't conflict with the show's callous nature, yet brings satisfaction to the viewers, will be critical. Aside from that, however, there aren't many complaints to be had. Squeamish viewers who aren't interested in graphic depictions would be best served staying away from his particular anime, but anyone okay with mature content will be pleasantly surprised by this underappreciated, unique, artsy, and sometimes-comical-sometimes-horrifying hidden gem.

This series hit the ground running, immediately hooking me in with it’s unique psychedelic art, starting off with a chaotic first episode that serves as an excellent introduction for what the rest of the series will be.

Episode 1 starts off with your standard “demons once walked the earth hundreds of years ago but were sealed away” and the series sets up to be possibly the most standard shonen one could create. This alone could possibly be enough to turn away many first time watchers… if it weren’t for this immediately being followed by the masterpiece of an OP.

The groundwork of the OP is an absolutely ... bumpin’ track that immediately went on my workout playlist from the second I heard it, laying down the foundation that the rest of the opening would be built on. We start with a slow avengers style fade-in to the title card, followed by an immediate jump into strobing colours and shifting fractals, all centred around the various characters of the show. I can’t stress enough how incredible this opening is. There is not a single person I have shown it to that didn’t immediately love it, with intriguing visuals mixed with such an incredible song. If you have yet to watch it, take a quick 2 minute break and go check it out, because you’re in for the long haul with this review.

After the OP we cut to a shonen style master and student training session with two of the main protagonists, Rin (the master) and Hayato (the student). For the first few seconds it seems like your standard power trip shonen training until Hayato insults Rin, to which she responds by beating him to a bloody pulp. This is the first instance of this show breaking the expectation of the viewer. After his training is complete, he meets up with his idaten friends Ysley and Paula.
These protagonists are presented as your standard shonen tropes of the master who is immensely powerful and constantly spouting stories of old, the student who is focused solely on training, the smart friend who is incredibly intelligent and hates training, and the female who is more gentle and talks to animals.

Shortly after meeting up they have their first confrontation with the obvious antagonist, the Zoble nation, a militarized nation focused on conquering and gaining more power through war. They fight their first demon who was found trapped in ice, and once again we find ourselves on the standard shonen track. During the course of this first battle we see Hayato “kill” the leader of the Zoble empire only to find out that it was an automated robot, and we start to see a more devious side of Ysley focused on gathering data on his enemies and running experiments. The first episode concludes with a graphic rape scene during a successful invasion from the Zoble empire with a contrasting orchestral soundtrack playing in the background, which completely shatters any and all expectation that this may just end up being a shonen despite any earlier deviations from this script. Truly this episode is a masterclass in how to hook an audience, feeding into their expectations just enough to make them question whether this show will follow the script of its predecessors, only to shatter that belief to pieces with the final scene.

What I have discussed thus far is only what hooked me into Heion, not what made me love it. What made me fall in love with this show was the attention to detail in what seems like the most trivial parts of the show. In episode 7, we see Paula and Ysley interact with the religious state of Sarabael, and everything about this scene is perfect. Suddenly the show shifts from the subject matter of the plot being fight scenes and scheming to a serious introduction of religion and politics. Political undertones and bureaucracy remain as background elements throughout many of the following episodes, and they are portrayed with surprising accuracy.

On a similar tangent, the intelligence of Ysley and Miku were clearly well thought out, with their conclusions actually arising from logical deduction instead of just this magical and ethereal thing that we are supposed to believe is intelligence (see BBC’s Sherlock Holmes or any other of a wide variety of “intelligent” characters throughout pop culture).

This attention to detail is carried throughout the entirety of the series with many more instances such as Rin’s inability to change her methods as new ones are developed being an excellent parallel to older generations, and many of the major plot points cropping up in the final episodes referencing elements brought up in prior episodes.

I’m sure this statement will make a lot of people mad, and I’m sure many will write off my entire review simply because of it, but I feel it needs to be said. The only other series that I have seen this level of attention to detail in is Attack on Titan seasons 1 through 3, and it is that - not the cool fight scenes or edgy humour - which makes this show a 10 for me.

In closing, I’m sure many who watch it won’t find the same enjoyment that I did, but why miss out, when you just might find yourself having the same experience I did? I truly would recommend this show to anyone who isn’t scared to get into a potentially more graphic show than they are used to.

Why Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi is one of the most iconic anime of last decade?

In short, it includes:
- JJK's like fast-paced action;
- Soul Eater's / Devilman: Crybaby's like aesthetically pleasant artstyle;
- battles of wits (not Death Note level, still can give a headstart to JoJo);
- hidden between the lines philosophical concepts (for example, coexistence of different races, war questions, science dillemas);
- dirty topics, which are needed not just as a fan service, but also complement story and setting;
- catchy characters: each with their own peculiarities;
- great ost, which only is opening worth.
...
Overall anime rating 10/10
Further goes more detailed review for sophisticated readers.

Story 10/10
Idatens, demons, people - everyone with their own interests interacts with each other. Some lives for science knowledge, some tries to reach new heights, some follows the teachings of their ancestors, some only satisfy their animal needs, others just exists.
Military theme raises up even in times of peace. This is what happens in Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi. To avoid spoilers, I will not go into the details of the plot. However Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi is one of the few pieces of art, in which events do not happen on their own, and the storyline moves based on the actions of the characters, which fit logically and do not contradict everything that we have learned earlier.

Art 10/10
Artstyle of the anime may not be for everyone, however, in my opinion, it suits the setting well.

Sound 9/10
Opening song became one of my favourite. Other soundtrack splendidly accompanies all the anime doings.

Character 10/10
Every Idaten has unique character, which makes them truly memorable. I can't say the same about minor characters, but there are also many bright personalities among them (for instance, Miku and Piscalat). As I said everyone has their goal and methods to achieve it.

Enjoyment 10/10
For the current moment i can be charmed with all the Idaten's vibe, nevertheless the anime is remarkably entertaining.

*** TW for episodes 1 & 5: these episodes depict egregious scenes of SA ***

I remember when this anime initially aired and a lot of the reviews for this were talking about how dark this anime was from episode 1 and oOoOooH iT's sOoOO gOoD. I'll be frank, if you think SA is necessary for a story to be dark or is an indicator of a GOOD dark story then I highly recommend you go read some statistics of SA and its effects on victims because you absolutely cannot boil SA down to just being a TV trope. It still occurs today and a ... real sign of maturity is not in whether or not a person can handle watching something as traumatizing as SA, but whether or not someone can admit that SA is an ongoing issue and how it's presented in media can be immensely damaging. Frankly, I've seen way too much of that kind of dogsh*t to tolerate it anymore. This is a seinen show, so if you are a minor, don't interact with the show,,, seriously.

Story: 6/10
In episode 2 alone, the show is already playing with some very interesting concepts such as where the Idaten come from as well as the demons in Zoble. Overall, the story seems interesting enough and the story beats are working towards what seems like an interesting adventure for the characters we know, as well as whatever Ysley is up to. However, it all just kind of reeks of stuff that I've already seen before, only the premise of a handful of immensely strong gods who've little to no battle experience now coming into conflict for the first time in 800 years is pretty much the most intriguing thing about this. On the other hand, the evil empire doing bad stuff for whatever reason (I honestly couldn't tell you what) is just... eh.

Art: 10/10
I don't think you need me to explain this. It's extremely colourful and the animation is solid. It carries a simple yet striking theme in its character design and the background is coherent with everything going on around it. But, as a side note, don't forget that animation is an extremely hard industry to work in so send the animators your appreciation, but not the studios who exploit them.

Sound: 10/10
OP is a banger, soundtrack and sound effects work great, and voice acting is stellar.

Character: 6/10
So far, the characters aren't anything original. You have your standard hard-headed shonen protagonist, the smart guy, the pure animal-loving ingenue, and a ton of other archetypal characters. Rin is probably the most interesting character because, at first, she's the archetypical teacher who acts motherly sometimes yet also doesn't take anyone's crap lying down and is extremely straight forward which all makes for some great interactions with the other characters. Furthermore, it's interesting to see her as essentially a child 800 years ago compared to now but I don't see her getting much development in the future. The only characters who really show any sort of promise are Ysely and Prontea but, after episode 5, I just feel as though I've seen these characters before and done better. Only Rin and Piscalat are the most intriguing characters in my opinion, while everyone else seems very mediocre nor fleshed out outside of their cookie-cutter archetypes. I especially am not very ecstatic by the show's repeated s*xualisation of its female cast (excluding Rin) but more on that later.

Enjoyment: 3/10
And here's where I need to get real (a big trigger warning for SA). At the end of episode 1, there is a r*pe scene where a nun is assaulted by soldiers while praying to God. While I'm not religious, this may be both triggering for those who are and victims of SA. The scene is integrated into the end of the episode with little correlation to the scenes prior, puts in a bit of fanservice when the soldiers rip off the nun's clothes, overlays what would've been a potentially interesting montage of the assault with waltz music - though clearly the music is intended to dark irony as what is going on is clearly not romantic at all, I would personally have kept it silent out of respect - which then cuts as the nun prays to God, and then proceeds to the shows ending theme of cute girls doing cute things to cute music. Needless to say, it left a rancid taste in my mouth, and honestly pretty upset with it. Now most scenes like this should arguably leave you with this sort of reaction as this stuff is immensely horrible but it shouldn't impair your enjoyment of the show. Yet here we are. Up until this point, the panty shots and Gainaxing were becoming an eyesore but it didn't hurt me. This scene did and rightfully so, these scenes should be as horrible to watch as they should be experienced first hand and you can't go undercutting the trauma of the victim like this. It's straight-up disrespectful to victims and the viewer, especially when everything else was going so well. From the looks of things - in episode 2, there are references to r*pe of people of all ages and gender which is pretty nasty tbh; as well as some gross sexualisation of Paula in episode 4; and then both Ysley somehow rips off Piscalat's top off and administers a debilitating aphrodisiac (which, I guess, she's a demon... but it's still horrible to watch) AND the nun from episode 1 is assaulted AGAIN in episode 5 - this kind of stuff isn't ending anytime soon. So take this as a warning, while the rest of the show is pretty enjoyable, there is certain content within the show that is insensitive and triggering. If you're looking at a show with a r*pe scene and thinking "nice, dark fantasy" then please take a moment to consider how traumatizing this stuff is and remember that SA and hyper-s*xualization - they literally s*xualize a r*pe victim in the opening - is still a massive issue in our reality. It's not a matter of maturity, but of experience.

Overall: 5/10
I've given myself time to think it over and watched some more episodes, and my concluding thoughts are just that there are other better shows that do this exact thing much better and are far easier to stomach. Depending on how the show continues to tackle issues of war and its crimes, the show has a lot of potential but it may completely undercut it by handling such issues very poorly. If you are not easily triggered and are going into this show with a good understanding of everything I wrote about above then you should be well-equipped. Personally, I will be dropping this show just because it just doesn't spark joy (quite the opposite really) and I only have so much free time that I don't want it to be spent on things that can potentially make me sick to my stomach. Look, if you enjoy this stuff then more power to you but don't go making others feel bad for it, there's some pretty distressing stuff in this show so it's pretty justifiable honestly. That's it from me, please have a safe viewing experience!

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When you read Synopsis you might think this might be an awesome anime if you into action and fantasy, well.... you might be wrong and right, let me quickly say why.

The animation style is really kind weird compared to other mainstream anime, so that can put you off, as it did for me at the start, but as i watched it i got used to it, so it didnt bother me later on (although i still dont like it).

So if you can get pass that then this anime isnt that bad actually, it has action, erotic characters(a bit fucked up and i didnt like that ... part) and some questionable things going on if that intrigues you...
The part that made it a bit different from other anime is that the "good" guys are just op compared to the bad ones and they just whoop their ass easy, no random fake struggling and then they win in the end, and that made me like it.
But the saddest part is that it ends unfinished and i doubt it will ever get the end it needs.

So in the end its not a must watch anime by any means but it can be good for a lot of people.

At first i didn't quite like it i found it a bit meh, but now holy sht i fking love it. The story is really interessting, it's very unpredictable which i really like. When i try to predict what's gonna happen something completely different from what i had expected happens (it doesn't always happen tho like with the demon lord sht, but when it does it's amazing).
The art works really well with this anime and the sound/music is fking great especially the opening.
The characters are amazing the way they act, how they do thing all have a reason for it. Every one of the characters ... differs from the other they all have a distinct personality.
I would rate idaten deities 9,5/10. This is an amazing anime it's really worth your time watching it. You might not enjoy it at first but give it a chance.

I'm not entirely sure where this show is gonna go, or how it's gonna go there, or even what's going on half the time, but three eps in it's got some cool themes and fight scenes already.
The art and the actual content don't really match at first, but after a little bit the contrast honestly makes it more enjoyable, but I gotta say,
This is one of the weirdest and most chaotic fever dreams I've had in a while.

Pros:
-has good potential
-straight banger opening, music and art
-art style in the show itself is wildin

Cons:
-might be hard to differentiate between watching this show and lying outside in a ... park straight trippin on high dose

**SPOILERS**

The art and characters of this show come across as sort of whimsical and humorous. It contradicts the story as it told along with the brutality that is depicted throughout. There is a lot of pointless and completely random scenes of fluorescent shapes and colors that pop in and out. If its trying to be stylish, it's failing. It looks like FLCL, Kill la Kill and Dragonball had a baby. Your mileage may vary on this show but one thing I cannot stomach is the romanticized, joyfully colored rape scene at the end of episode one. It is absolutely appalling. I've seen the Revenge of ... Healer series and while the subject matter is the same, Healer does not try to hide its darkness. Heion, however, presents the scene in a playful almost comedic manner complete with a waltz soundtrack and dancing montage. I will not finish this one. Garbage.

I hate anime these days only focuses on battle / violent scenes but no significance on why they happen or how they contribute to the story line. They just there for the sake of the 'action scenes'. Much like hollywood hero movies.

THIS ANIME IS DIFFERENT. It's basically about fight between gods (idaten) vs demons. But it's not as simple as good guy beating the bad guy. The story background is well built. They have strong OP characters but also clever characters, so they actually use their brain and strategies to fight.

Animation is superb: epic battle scenes complimented with dope SFX. For voice casts, ... they have Park Romi, Ishida Akira, Horie Yui, Ogata Megumi, etc. If you been anime fan since early 2000s then you must be familiar with these names. They're big big big veterans. I could tell this anime is something before even watching it, just by looking at the seiyuu line up.

For me this anime is way better than most recent popular / high profile animes. If you need more than just anime packed with highly animated fighting scenes, same characters same stories... You should try this one.