It is quite rare to find movies or series where contextual intricacy is combined with impressive action and outstanding art form. In the road of becoming a true masterpiece (of the category) “Heavenly Delusion” seems to combine all the aforementioned in the best fashion.
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Based on the homonymous manga series written and illustrated by Masakazu Ishiguro, the story unfolds in two axes, in an Earth where 15 years have passed since an unprecedented disaster completely destroyed modern civilization. In the first one, a group of children are living in a rather protected facility, isolated from the outside world, with essentially all their actions being part of a specific program established by the people who run the whole thing. One day, a girl named Tokio receives a message that says “Do you want to go outside of the outside?” Mimihime, another girl who lives in the same facility, tells the upset Tokio that two people will come from the outside to save her, one of whom has the same face as her, while the director of the school tells her that the outside world is Hell.
In the second axis, a 15-year-old boy named Maru, who looks just like Tokio and has impressive martial arts skills, is roaming the dystopian outside with a girl named Kiruko, who owns a gun, with the two constantly fighting man-eaters, monsters that roam the devastated Japan, in order to survive. At the same time, they are looking for Heaven, a place where supposedly civilizations still exists, while Kiruko is also searching for both the doctor who performed an operation on her and a friend she knew. Inevitably, the two come closer together, but there seems to be a particular issue with Kiruko that is essentially impossible to overcome.
For starters, one of the main and most intriguing aspects of the narrative here is the connection of the two axes, with Tokio and Maru sharing looks, but without any particular explanation, although as the episodes pass, some notions do appear. In that regard, that it is not evident at all even how close the timelines of the two are adds a very appealing sense of mystery, which works from the beginning to the end of the 13 episodes of the season. Furthermore, the issues on institutionalization the kids in the first arc face, and the ones with survival the latter do, are excellently juxtaposed, also highlighting that in the particular setting, danger lurks in every corner.
Furthermore, the episodic approach to the narrative, and also the fact that each event also results in more revelations about the past of the protagonists and what exactly is going on, showcases the rather impressive structure of the script, which also owes much to Hirotaka Mori's direction. Furthermore, the ‘will-they-won't-they' between Maru and Kiruko is rather intricate this time, including elements of identity, sexual orientation and coming-of-age, in another of the most appealing aspects here, that also takes different turns as more episodes in the lives of the two take place. Lastly, as a whole, the series seem to make a series of comments regarding human nature, most of which move towards a dark path, including eugenics, science and life preservation, euthanasia and even the relationship between parents and children.
The artform here is also of the highest level. Utsushita's character design is truly top notch, with both the humans and the monsters that appear being impressive to watch. The same intricacy is extended to the backgrounds and the coloring, with the antithesis between the inside and the outside working excellently, also for the narrative. Production I.G.'s work in the animation is as outstanding as always, with the motion of every moving character and object flowing in the most realistic fashion.
“Heavenly Delusion” is on the road to becoming a masterpiece, although the way everything is revealed in the next seasons will be the most crucial factor in that regard. From what we have seen so far, though, this is definitely one of the best titles of 2023, to say the least.
