Heavenly Delusion is more than just the next Last of Us
Every now and again a show comes out and lays down a template that the TV landscape tries to emulate for years after.
By all accounts, HBO's blockbuster The Last of Us is the latest show to imprint on our TVs. But fans of post-apocalyptic wastelands and unlikely traveling partners don't need to wait long to fill the Joel and Ellie-shaped hole in their hearts.
In fact, all they need to do is head over to Disney+ and try out Heavenly Delusion, listed under its Japanese name 'Tengoku Daimakyo' on the service.
The animated show might not look much like The Last of Us, but the pair share a whole host of similarities, as well as a few key differences.
Like that show, Heavenly Delusion tells the story of a pair of weary travelers making their way across a country ravaged by a yet-unnamed cataclysm.
Kiruko and Maru, like Joel and Ellie before them, must navigate all the standard pitfalls of the end of the world - dangerous roving bandits, suspiciously happy cults, and deadly creatures. Kiruko and Maru are also extremely easy to root for and surprisingly adept at protecting themselves.
Kiruko is a punchy 20-something bodyguard with a deadly firearm while Maru, her ward, is strangely adept at martial arts and more than capable of looking after himself.
Unfortunately for them, the monsters in Heavenly Delusion are decidedly more psychedelic, and often more horrifying, than The Last of Us.
Across the first four episodes Maru and Kiruko encounter various 'man-eaters' that attempt to kill and absorb them.
This includes a huge shadowy bird that stalks the owner of a roadside inn before decapitating her, and a giant fish with arms down the side of its body that plucks sailors right off the deck of their boats. Normal stuff.
One of the things Heavenly Delusion has going for it is some truly striking visuals, which really shine in these moments. Both the production style and pace are cinematic, and the bizarre world our heroes find themselves in is drawn with a subtle mix of 2D and 3D animation.
The show uses the now-standard 2020s anime staple of over-simplified character designs, especially noticeable in faces and facial expressions, against richly-detailed and vivid backgrounds.
Aside from their presentation, the way Heavenly Delusion reveals information about the man-eaters is also really different from The Last of Us.
In that show, we got a glimpse into the world before mushroomageddon through key flashbacks early on, including some big clues about the origins of the Cordyceps outbreak. In contrast, Heavenly Delusion avoids saying too much at any one moment and keeps its cards close to its chest.
As a result, we've still only learned small tidbits about how the creatures operate, mainly that they love to absorb people, and that they materialised roughly fifteen years ago.
Luckily for viewers, the mystery box element of Heavenly Delusion does not stop there. In fact, the show's biggest difference from The Last of Us is the inclusion of an entire secondary plot and location.
When we're not watching Maru and Kiruko trawl the wasteland, we're getting glimpses into something even more dangerous – high school.
It's not just any old anime high school though. This all-white-everything academy is almost entirely staffed by 'helpful' robots, although there are more than a few sinister-looking human faculty members prowling the grounds.
It's also completely closed off from the outside world, and we don't have any idea why. We also don't know when it is, where it is, or why it contains multiple secret labs.
The teenagers we meet in these scenes seem to be entirely naive about the world outside their walls, but some subtle hints around key individuals (including one very talented artist) certainly imply a close connection between them and the man-eaters.
In this way, Heavenly Delusion leans much more into the mystery box storytelling style of a show like Lost (or Yellowjackets) than the high-stakes emotional drama of The Last of Us.
If that sounds up your street and you have a penchant for anime (or fancy giving it a go) the show is definitely worth your time - and could be just the thing to tide you over until The Last of Us returns.
Heavenly Delusion (Tengoku Daimakyo) is available to watch on Disney+ with new episodes released every Saturday.
You Might Also Like
