A Promising Dystopian Premiere: Heavenly Delusion Episode 1 Blends Sci-Fi & Mystery
Maru hires Kiruko as a bodyguard in search of a place called ‘Heaven’. Will they find the academy children who live behind walls surrounded by tech? Kiruko and Maru are wandering the wasteland ruins of a collapsed Tokyo. I wonder if there’s a reason why Kiruko referred to Tokyo as “Edo”, though?
Drawing Parallels: From The Promised Neverland to Shin Sekai Yori
I’ve got to say, the premise for this show is very impressive! Sure, it’s been compared to The Promised Neverland (and we all know how that adaptation ended), but it has also been compared to Shin Sekai Yori – which happens to be one of my favorite anime of all time. Nonetheless, I decided to give the first episode a go, and here are my impressions: it has a lot of potential.
The Sterilized Academy: Tokio, Mimihime, and the World Within Walls
We started the story at an academy filled with children who have no notion of living beyond the walls. They take tests (similar to The Promised Neverland) and are surrounded by technology everywhere in their daily lives.
While taking a pop quiz, a student named Tokio is randomly asked if she would like to “go outside the outside”. Tokio’s friend Mimihime brings up a dream she had of two people rescuing her from their enclosure, and Tokio later asks what seems to be the matron of their civilization if there indeed is something beyond their walls.
The academy segment ends with Tokio being told a civilization exists beyond their enclosure, but that it’s essentially a wasteland filled with monsters. Hopefully the academy segments of the story progress quickly in future episodes, since I honestly found the lawless civilization outside of the walls far more interesting.
Wasteland Survival: Kiruko & Maru’s Search for “Heaven”
Tokyo in Ruins: Plasma Guns, American Jackets, and Wasteland Dynamics
A stark contrast from the sterile and technology-filled walled enclosure, you have the real world – or at least what’s left of it. Kiruko is a young woman from Tokyo who wears a US Air Force jacket and wields a plasma gun. She was hired by Maru, a soft-spoken young man with a killer ability to fight – to escort him to a place unspecified.
As the pair were looking for “Heaven” the entire episode and the children were living in a sort of “heaven” at the academy, I’m guessing they are looking for their civilization? The Tomato Heaven behind the walls? ☺
Suspicious Hospitality: The Innkeeper, Drugged Stew, and Nightly Monsters
Kiruko and Maru find an inn on the outskirts between towns and encounter a pleasant woman who begins acting strangely once the monster that visits her nightly is brought up. I don’t know if the story is alluding to the fact that she lost her son to said monster, and I’m really hoping the woman didn’t drug the stew she fed the travelers in order to appease the beast and offer them as sacrifices.
Again, life or death amongst the ruins of a collapsed Japan is far more interesting than a sterile, boring academy filled with robots and shady elderly people. Either way, I will definitely be tuning back in next week.
Although…I may not be reviewing this one weekly; rather, I’ll do a full series review in 12 weeks when it ends. I’m already doing Vinland Saga Season 2, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, and most likely Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia if I end up enjoying the first few episodes.
But, let’s just see how this all turns out. ☺
Tell me your thoughts!
Do you think the innkeeper drugged Kiruko and Maru?
What is going on at the academy?
And…where did Kiruko get a plasma gun?
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