Heavenly Delusion: Why see the new anime on Disney Plus
Heavenly Delusion
Predicting which anime will dominate the public opinion discussions is always very complicated also because history is full of successful productions, but also of anime that became legendary over time despite having little marketing or no pre- hype exit. However, sometimes, there are some historical moments when designs come out that perfectly fit the trends of that moment, which results in great success and immediate high popularity. Heavenly Delusion seems to be part of this vein thanks to the success of the manga of the same name from which it is based, the topics covered and the setting in which the story takes place.
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Heavenly Delusion: the reasons why it could be a huge success
--> Heavenly Delusion is therefore based on the homonymous manga written and illustrated by Masakazu Ishiguro and is set in Japan 15 years after a huge disaster has completely destroyed civilization. The story is divided into two parts: on the one hand we find an imprecise number of kids who live in a structure with a green area and completely surrounded by walls, on the other hand there are the protagonists, Maru and Kiruko, engaged in a daily struggle for survival in what is left of Japan as they wander in search of “Paradise” .It is clear that one of the key elements of the probable success of Heavenly Delusion is precisely the post-apocalyptic setting . This, in the last period, is undergoing a rebirth after a few years of strong decline also thanks to high-level and highly spectacular productions such as The Last of Us. Italian viewers, therefore, will likely be eager to also travel to a ruined Japan that will showcase numerous supernatural and visually interesting twists. Just think, for example, that even in the fictitious safe area the teachers are robots and some kids have strange visions with which, for example, they are able to predict the future. Not only that, some inhabitants of this area also have inhuman physical prowess and have developed character and physical characteristics that are not very usual for humans, despite being humans in substance and appearance.
When the viewer will then be catapulted on the outside, he'll realize that the weirdness is definitely not over. The two protagonists, in addition to having a very ambiguous relationship, so much so that Maru calls her big sister despite not being related, will find themselves in equally ambiguous human and non-human encounters during their complex journey. It is clear how this last aspect represents the paranormal and original component of Heavenly Delusion. In this dystopian world, in fact, there are some survivors of the mysterious catastrophe and their relative heirs, but there are also monsters called maneaters that look like birds, but have extendable limbs.
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All of this is nothing more than a continuation of several trends carried out by the most popular anime of recent years. A mixture which also includes dark fantasy with milestones such as The Attack of the Giants and The Promised Neverland from which Heavenly Delusion takes numerous references. The couple's journey shown, in this case, with Maru and Kiruko, then, is present in many dystopian works including the aforementioned The Last of Us or the equally recent successful anime Spy x Family (we have also reviewed the action figures if you are interested).
It goes without saying that if you are passionate about this type of story in which the characterization of the characters is also strong, you could enjoy a potentially very interesting product. However, based on the manga, we can tell you that the action is not always the main element of the narrative just to emphasize the characters. There will be strange symbolisms and small sub-plots inherent in sexuality. This last aspect makes the production much more adult than it might seem. In the manga there are also scenes of explicit nudity and homosexual love. Nothing vulgar or explicit, but it will be curious to see how they will be inserted in the anime.
--> The anime, however, already comes after a great international success of the manga. Heavenly Delusion, in fact, was nominated "best comic for boys" in the 2019 selection of the magazine Kono manga ga sugoi! also placing first in the top 20 manga series of the same year. More recently, however, the manga series was one of the works recommended by the jury at the 24th and 25th Japan Media Arts Festival respectively in 2021 and 2022. Strengthened by these numerous awards and the incredible volume sales all over the world, it is a decidedly unusual and also very fascinating method of releasing the anime was also chosen.
