Episode 3 of Tengoku Daimakyo: Heavenly Delusion focused on Kiruko’s backstory for the most part: it explained the origin of the person tasked with protecting Maru, while also giving some insight into the post-apocalyptic world they are living in. However, two of the most interesting parts were at the very end of the episode and in the post-credits scene.
Tengoku Daimakyo is probably the title I look forward to the most every week. So far it has been a perfect blend of action and drama, with just the right amount of mystery. I do love a good post-apocalyptic story, but not all of them do well with a mystery subplot, yet Tengoku excels in this segment. Every episode so far has left me wanting more and questioning everything every character has ever done on screen, but the animation is stopping me from reading the manga. I am sure it would be great and it would give me answers quicker, but the waiting and the visual aspect are stopping me from spoiling the experience for myself. This anime has the potential to be very good and I just want to see where it goes while enjoying it fully.
All that said, let’s talk about the post-credits scene: the faceless babies. We already saw one of them in the trailer, but if you haven’t read the manga the trailer didn’t really make much sense. This particular one had the mysterious symbol that Man-Eaters have and it also said “To-ki-o.” Pretty unsettling. Plus the baby doesn’t seem to have a belly button, meaning it’s probably not human. I’m also curious about Kuku’s role in all of this – how come she saw the babies? The next episode is titled after her.
What else is unsettling is the fact that Kona’s drawings seem to be coming to life (or perhaps he’s basing them on things that already exist). Because if you caught the previous episode, you probably noticed that he finished his drawing of the fish with human arms. The fish that looks surprisingly like the thing that attacked Kiruko and Maru’s boat. Does he have a superpower or is the facility they are in keeping the kids there to serve as an inspiration? The two fish don’t look identical, so it’s possible the baby is going to be a similar case.
Back to Kiruko and Maru: we finally found out Kiruko’s motivations which involve a potential conspiracy. We got to learn who Doctor and Robin are, the mysterious men in the photos Kiruko is carrying. And we also learn who Kiruko is: a combination of Kiriko and Haruhi Takehaya, siblings who tragically lost (kind of) their lives to a Man-Eater. The doctor might be an evil mastermind, but I’m really curious about Robin who managed to move an entire orphanage in just a few weeks for seemingly no reason. There is also the mystery of the gunshot Kiruko heard. It is nice to be able to learn more about the world, but I’m still curious about what caused the apocalypse in the first place.
Episode 3 of Tengoku Daimakyo is now streaming on Disney+.
© Tengoku Daimakyo Production Committee
