Heavenly Delusion (aka Tengoku Daimakyo) is a new anime series that’s available now on Disney+, and it’s simply a must-watch.
The Spring 2023 season has lots of awesome anime to watch, including ones like Demon Slayer, Oshi no Ko, Gundam: Witch from Mercury Season 2, and more. Though for us, Heavenly Delusion is a major highlight of the season, and is one that many anime viewers may not be all that familiar with.
Heavenly Delusion is an anime series by Production IG (the studio behind Psycho-Pass, Haikyuu, and others) that’s based on the manga of the same name by Masakazu Ishiguro.
The show’s story is set in post-apocalyptic Japan, fifteen years after a mysterious disaster ravaged modern civilization. Now, fearsome monsters roam the lands at night.
The anime begins with Maru, a 15-year-old boy who seeks a place called “Heaven” and is travelling Japan to find it. He is joined by Kiruko, an 18-year old girl who acts as his hired bodyguard but is also seeking something else during their journey.
Elsewhere, another storyline is happening which follows Tokio who is living with other children in a mysterious facility that’s implied to be “Heaven” (which is rather reminiscent of something like The Promised Neverland).
This description of the story is rather vague, but there’s a good reason for that. Heavenly Delusion’s various mysteries are the key to its appeal. Even a couple of episodes in, there are still a lot of things left unanswered. And that’s not a bad thing as these make the show compelling to watch.
Of course, having many unanswered questions is great and all for the mystery, but too much of them can be detrimental to how good it is to watch on a week-by-week basis. Thankfully, Heavenly Delusion grabs viewers thanks to its interesting cast of characters.
The two main characters, Kiruko and Maru, are fun to watch as a duo. Without getting into spoiler territory, their journey through a post-apocalyptic Japan is a treat as their personalities work well together on screen.
Along with the main duo, the cast members in the mysterious “Heaven” facility are also interesting in their own way. While Tokio (who looks a lot like Maru) is a bit more subdued in terms of personality, the other children in the facility are an interesting bunch that’s also rather creepy.
What also helps is that the characters inhabit a unique world that feels lived-in. Unlike other shows where the world is just there to facilitate the story, this world has a lot of mysteries that engage viewers to come up with theories about what happened to cause the apocalyptic event.
Aside from the characters and the world, the Heavenly Delusion anime is also a stand-out for its incredible animation. While we’re not haters of 3D animation, it’s great to see an anime like this where action scenes use well-made 2D animation. Plus, the character designs and the overall art style also make it stand out over most of the other Spring 2023 shows.
Then there’s the music. Heavenly Delusion’s score is made by Kensuke Ushio, the same composer behind Chainsaw Man and Devilman Crybaby. As always, Ushio knocked it out of the park as his tracks for this anime excellently match the action and enhance the anime’s unique atmosphere.
It’s tough to go into detail about why Heavenly Delusion is so good without getting into spoiler territory. But it’s clear to us that this is easily a must-watch, even if the series is still ongoing. Thanks to its intriguing world, great characters, and stand-out animation, Heavenly Delusion is a must-watch show, especially for viewers who want to see something a bit different from the typical action anime.
Heavenly Delusion or Tengoku Daimakyo is streaming new episodes every week on Disney+ in the Philippines and other regions. Meanwhile, the show is streaming on Hulu in other countries.