I promised a weekly letter, so a weekly letter you’ll get. As penance for my lateness, please accept this review of a show I was lucky enough to find on Disney+.

Heavenly Delusion (Tengoku Daimakyō)

As we march closer and closer to the singularity, it’s clear that future dystopias are on the rise again in science fiction. It’s become a bit tiring to see humanity’s end so many times. And you would be forgiven for missing out on Heavenly Delusion, as its premise is also fairly simplistic. In a world of hellish monsters, a bodyguard is tasked with transporting the only child capable of destroying them. Their destination: “Heaven”.

However, the show surprises from the first frame. Not only is the animation gorgeous – thanks to hardworking folks over at Production I.G – but the story is an elaborate web of twists and turns that keeps you guessing right up until the season’s jaw clenching ending. Its simplicity is a strength in disguise, as its vague setting provides space for the audience to piece things together themselves.

Yes it does borrow a fair bit from The Last of Us. Namely, its dynamic of ‘smuggler + smugglee makes family’ seems ripped straight from the game. But I think what’s admiring is that the creators knew what worked in that form of relationship and were able to create their own spin on it. For one, the age gap between Maru and his body guard, Kiruko is only about five years. This means the relationship between the two is more brother and sister than parent and child. This means the two characters are at once friends who can play around with each other, but still have the drama that comes with an overprotective sibling and rebellious teen pairing.

While Kiruko and Maru are the show’s main focus, we also get a glimpse into what “Heaven” is really like. A facility cut off from the outside in which super-powered are artificially reproduced and raised believing they are the future of humanity. That is, until they learn of the “outside of the outside”. This Akira meets Gattaca side story is a great compliment to the main plot thread as it has the audience wondering what will happen when the two groups meet, that is, if they ever do.

Does the world end with us, or the monsters we create? That seems to be the ultimate question posed by Heavenly Delusion. And without getting into spoilers, it most definitely answers it more ways than one. There’s one particularly heartbreaking episode in which words on a smart tablet nearly brought me to tears; yes its that kind of show.

Seeing as it is an anime, there are one or two moments which might be a bit crass depending on how familiar you are with the format. But they are far and few between and do little to detract from the story being told. It also goes to some dark places fairly quickly, but if you were okay with The Last of Us or anything similar you’ll probably be fine.

I wish I could dive deeper into the show without giving spoilers, but unfortunately like most TV nowadays, its better to go in knowing as little as possible. But if you do give it a shot, feel free to let me know! Trust me, you’re in for one hell of a ride!