Confronting Life and Death in Heavenly Delusion

Heavenly Delusion is a series with more questions than answers. While there are undoubtedly many fans eagerly awaiting a continuation, we spoke with series director Hirotaka Mori and composition writer/screenwriter Makoto Fukami.

What led to you becoming the series composition writer for Heavenly Delusion?

Makoto Fukami: Production I.G, with whom I'd worked on Psycho-Pass, reached out to me asking if I was familiar with the manga. I had read the whole thing, so I ended up taking the position of series composition writer. I actually loved [manga author] Masakazu Ishiguro's previous work, And Yet the Town Moves, as well as his shorter works, so I'd been an avid reader of Heavenly Delusion since the release of volume 1.

Did you feel any pressure as an avid reader yourself?

Fukami: As a big fan of Ishiguro's work, I was really eager to take the job, but at the same time, I knew it would be tough.

Tough in what way?

Fukami: There are quite a lot of pages in Heavenly Delusion devoted to depicting the ambiance and atmosphere of the story's world. Throughout the entire manga, you really get a sense of the effort to convey a post-apocalyptic world. And so, if I were to omit any of that, it could be a detriment to the overall balance of the work. I realized writing the script would be a challenge since I'd have to cut it down somehow to fit into just 13 episodes for the anime.

What were you particularly conscious of when adapting the original story into a 13-episode series?

Fukami: The offer came just before the fourth volume was going to be released, so we weren't sure yet where we were going to wrap up the story. While preparing for the anime adaptation, we decided that it would work best to tell the story up until a certain point and cut it off there. But the manga serialization is still ongoing, so Maru and Kiruko's adventures are far from over. The director, producers, and I toiled over how we should depict a story that still had a ways to go.

So even director Hirotaka Mori had a hard time with it as well.

Fukami: Director Mori had been struggling with the overall picture since the writing stage. However, once he made up his mind, the rest quickly fell into place. The script is essentially a blueprint for the director, who is the one actually taking the lead and calling the shots, so it's important to make something they will be satisfied with. I carefully considered the director's vision as my guideline for the script.

Speaking of difficulties in story composition, Heavenly Delusion has two alternating storylines, "heaven" and the "forsaken world." The original manga also episodically switches back and forth between the two perspectives, but how did you go about working on it?

Fukami: We already have a clear picture from the manga of what happens next, so I knew which parts I could compress as well as which parts I could present earlier on. I guess it's sort of like cheating in rock-paper-scissors. We also heard directly from Ishiguro about future plot developments yet to appear in Monthly Afternoon magazine, so we've also tried to subtly lay some groundwork for those as well. That being said, rather than venture to add anything extra, it's more like we slightly altered the presentation. Come to think of it, at one point during the early planning stages, we'd even discussed the idea of just focusing on either side at a time and bulldozing through.

What made you drop that idea?

Fukami: For example, if we were to focus only on the outside world, it might be possible to neatly condense the story with the inn from episodes 1 and 2 into just one episode. However, that would merely be retelling the original story without building any sort of suspense for what comes next. We thought that alternating both perspectives would make people curious about what will happen next, and that's how we ended up structuring the story the way we did.

What was most important to you when working on the script?

Fukami: As I mentioned before, due to length constrictions, some parts of the story would have to be cut from the anime. The easiest way to do this would be to cut down on Maru and Kiruko's casual banter, but their conversations are exactly where we get that dystopian teenager-y feeling, so I tried my best to include as much of their banter and playing off one another as I could while still keeping the overall atmosphere in mind. For the "heaven" side as well, I was careful to pay as much respect to the original story as possible. Additionally, we needed to include a sort of horror-like element, so I entrusted a lot of that to Mori as we worked.

Out of all the episodes you wrote, which one left the most profound impression on you?

Fukami: That would be episode 1, which is the first episode I wrote. I wanted to have the first Hiruko appear and put in a bunch of action scenes to please the viewers. We built it up from there, and I was pleased to see that it turned out well in the animation with all the parts we had expanded on in the storyboards.

There are still many mysteries left unsolved, but the story came to a momentary close in episode 13.

Fukami: When writing the script, there was a particularly painful scene. However, without it, Maru and Kiruko can't move forward in their journey. So I hope you will watch it and see what happens for yourself.

Two worlds, captured from a variety of angles. The anime production scene experienced as a first-time director.

What was your initial impression when you first came into contact with Heavenly Delusion?

Hirotaka Mori: I'd read the first chapter before volume one had even been released. I had no idea where the story would end up going, but I was already excited about the worldview. I got the feeling that things would only get more and more interesting as it progressed. But I didn't read the whole thing until after the trailer had been released.

The teaser trailer, which came out at the time of the first volume's release, was produced by Minakata Laboratory, wasn't it? Minakata Lab's Utsushita was also responsible for character design.

Mori: The trailer was amazingly well done, so we wanted to go with that same atmosphere for the TV series. That's why we asked Utsushita to participate in the production as the character designer. Of course, we tried not to be overly conscious, but with Minakata Lab's trailer in mind, we could quickly get a general unified concept among the staff.

Did you give Utsushita any specific orders with the character design?

Mori: I did ask them to reduce the number of lines. There was still a large amount overall, but I felt that if we didn't regulate the line count, then the TV series would end up being a lot of work. Utsushita already possessed a great understanding of the Heavenly Delusion characters, so I didn't have any particular input as to how they drew them.

There was no chief animation director for this TV series, was there?

Mori: I think one of the charms of Masakazu Ishiguro's art is how the characters' expressions change from frame to frame. By having each animator's individual style and understanding of the characters shine through, I thought it would bring more life to the screen than conforming to one unified style.

The way each episode varies according to the storyboard artists and episode directors is part of what makes this series so interesting.

Mori: That's right. Kai Ikarashi's storyboards for episode 10, in particular, evoked something that I felt I personally didn't possess. It gave me a fresh perspective and was really invigorating. Haruka Fujita, who worked on episode 8, had written a ton of notes on her storyboards based on her impressions of the original manga. I do consider a lot of things myself while storyboarding, too, but seeing the work of everyone else who had come this far together rekindled that fire beneath me and really made me want to give it my all.

The plot of Heavenly Delusion advances through two alternating viewpoints, heaven and the forsaken world. Was there anything you focused on specifically while directing such a unique story?

Mori: Since the point of view is constantly shifting, I wanted to make sure the story progressed smoothly so as not to be jarring to the viewer. However I didn't want the story to feel as if we were simply crossing off a storyline checklist until we eventually arrived at the truth, so we had to be careful. I made sure to liberally sprinkle in little transitional scenes and everyday moments as well in the production.

The two worlds depicted in this series give off such different impressions, it's hard to believe they belong to the same story. How did you go about bringing these two worlds to life?

Mori: The manga author Ishiguro himself said that the "heaven" storyline has an unsettling atmosphere and a subtle, creeping eeriness about it. So even though Maru and Kiruko and the others in the dystopian outside world have to deal with man-eaters and all sorts of hardships, I felt that "heaven" was actually closer to hell between the two, and so I tried to focus on that eerie feeling. Meanwhile, I felt that the "forsaken world" depended on how realistically we could depict the feeling of ruin and dilapidation. To create a believable post-apocalyptic setting, you need to have things like buildings overgrown with ivy and moss. But if you put in too much, then it won't feel believable. I had several meetings with art director Yūji Kaneko to delve deeper into this believability.

kensuke ushio's musical composition is another appealing component of Heavenly Delusion.

Mori: I was worried that the emotional balance might be thrown off when switching between the two worlds. I feel like it could seem a little bland in the anime, so we used music to supplement that emotional aspect. Ushio's music has the power to appeal to people's emotions, so we went all out and took bold swings in certain places.

Heavenly Delusion is your first project as a director. I heard that the anime production is almost complete; how does it feel now looking back on it all?

Mori: I was able to work in sections that I had never before experienced when working as an episode director, such as screenwriting and sound, and it was a whirlwind of new discoveries for me. When I finally became a director, I realized all over again that anime production is a team effort. It is truly thanks to everyone's efforts and support that we were able to produce Heavenly Delusion. I strongly feel that the animators, in particular, are the ones responsible for building upon the story and breathing life into the characters.

This interview was first published in Newtype's July 2023 Issue.