Unlike his previous work And Yet The Town Moves, this show adapts a much darker tone in storytelling and setting. To me, this was an experimental type of anime that focuses on the 'what ifs' and how people can survive in a world without laws and being in ruins. The postapocalyptic setting of this anime is never shy to show the cruelty of reality. Not only do we meet monsters known as 'Man-Eaters' but our characters must deal with everyday environments too. It's a setting that depicts how humanity can live without modern technology and being part of something that's far from heavenly.
As mentioned before, the show follows two storylines. One of them focuses on the pair of Maru and Kiruko as they travel through the desolate lands with their personal goals. The other storyline involves a facility for children with special abilities. This place in the show is dubbed as 'Heaven', a name contrasting sharply with the outside word. Both storylines contains a similar tone with a sense of mystery and dark themes. Masakazu wanted us to experience the story as if we were there ourselves. His creative vision leads to many elements found in other postapocalyptic settings and most noticably, we realize how he wanted to create a society where our worst nightmares can come to life. Maru and Kiruko's journey throughout the anime shows how dangerous their environments can be. With cities in ruins, Man-Eaters are a constant threat to humanity. Their encounters with them leads to vicious fights as these monsters show no mercy against their prey. However, I would also like to mention that despite all the dangers, Maru and Kiruko make an effective pair. Their skills and talents along with resourcefulness allowed the duo to survive.
Maru and Kiruko also has an unique chemistry among the cast. Let me just say that as we follow their journey, we see how the duo cares for one another beyond just survivng. Maru's goal for searching for Heaven inspires himself to not give up no matter what obstacles are ahead. With Kiruko's resourcefulness, she helps him during their journey while also making jokes and and humor to lighten up the mood. In fact, having Kiruko's companionship gives Maru's a sense of relief and her tomboyish personality brings out the best of the two. For herself, Kiruko feels more comfortable when not alone with Maru by her side. The chemistry of these two characters brings out not just the lighter side of the anime but perhaps also show that there's hope for humanity after all.
The other more darker and mysterious story plot involves characters at a nursery type of facility that we come to know as Heaven. Under a controlled environment, the characters are clueless about the outside world. They are not being held as prisoners but something always felt off and ominous. It is also under mysterious circumstances that some of the characters have special abilities that transcends above logic. Watching these segments brings a lot of questions, and unfortunately, this season alone doesn't have enough answers for them all. Yet, I find this side of the story intrguing because it ties in with a theme of the show about facing the unknown. Heavenly Delusions' mysterious world is created based on a postapocalyptic setting and we really have to ask ourselves what truly exist out there and if there's a bright future for humanity. Characters at Heaven often feels a sense of danger as if something is out to get them but also fears about the outside world. Behind the scenes, we don't know a whole lot about the endgame goals of higher ups. Some brief glances gives us a disturbing picture related to experimentation. But again, being a 1-cour (13 episodes) anime does hold this anime back from answering our questions.
Thankfully, the plot doesn't carry itself around loosely between the two plots. We have the characters with personalities that makes us curious about the anime altogether. This is especially true for characters within that mysterious facility such as Tokio, Shiro, among others. One especially interesting episode details background events about Heaven that takes place years ago. A particular child named Asura begs a lot of question about her true origins and why she existed in the first place. She even exists in the main timeline and we must ask ourselves how much she affects the world. On the more disturbing matters, we also learn about Tokio's fate at the end of episode 9. In fact, I would say Heavenly Delusions contain dark and somewhat controversial elements throughout its duration. From experimentations, psychological violence, and postapocalyptic elements, you need to brace yourself as this anime is not light to the heart.
Production IG is an interesting choice for this show, as they adapt a world in ruins. From the fictional world setting to its characters, the studio wanted to give us a real look at how it's different from our modern society. In fact, the world is crafted with care and precision to show how much the world lies in ruins. On the other hand, Heaven is built on a foundation that sounds out more than any other place in the world. Finally, expect graphic violence from the show. Man-eaters in this anime are designed with grotesque elements. Make no mistake, the man eaters show no human traits and their presence inspires fear among humanity. Combined with its eerie soundtrack, Heavenly Delusions truly is Masakazu Ishiguro's darkest work to date.
Ultimately, Heavenly Delusions may not be aimed at everyone but certainly is a special anime on its own. Using ideas from postapocalyptic themes and tying together two storylines together always kept me at the edge of my seat. With every episode, I felt like the anime continues to build more and more into its mystique. And to be honest, Masakazu Ishiguro truly gave us a worthy anime to talk about this year.
