Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi – 11 (END)

「腥」 (Namagusa)
“Smells Fishy”

Before anything, I would like to take some time to speak about the series as a whole. Heion, was one of the small hidden gems this season. Every single term there are these precious anime gems, that somehow even though the world might be in a state of emergency, these studios keep producing adaptations of unbeknownst manga, except to those really digging deep through the archives, or staying up to date with new releases. Last season (Spring 2021) was no exception, heavily packed with gorgeous-looking animated shows, with crips butter-smooth animation, and outstanding lavishly produced quality and great immersive stories to boot. Summer was a little bit of a letdown, in days of yore Summer used to be the season where all the hottest shows would arrive, the most commercial and best-selling shows would start airing during this time. Nowadays, it’s more during Spring and Fall that shows with more production value start airing. Studios are no more interested in the season show’s air than knowing if they produce something good, fans will stick with it, even if it means staying up that extra half hour one day a week. Anime is honestly trending downward, people want quality shows while paying the bare minimum.

Sure there are studios that are out to make a name for themselves by producing quality work that well resonates with you after the fact you’ve turned off the tv or the episode has ended. But there are also studios that see the possibility to run a business, and thus will cut corners if need be. There are those studios that are dedicated to the craft, passionate about stories that inspire and bring joy to those that watch them. But some studios just don’t care and take their audience for granted. The normal person is not going to notice. So they say in a meeting room in an office building somewhere in Japan. And that’s mainly because of how the industry works. Studios rarely have any say on what they’re actually going to produce, instead, it’s the big-name magazines that get to call the shots on what manga get’s adapted to what. There’s an exemption to the rule, like in the case of an original. In a sense when you’re paying for a manga whether it’s in a magazine or a tokoban. You are essentially buying the storyboards for that manga’s particular anime. With light novels, studios get a little bit more leeway, but it’s basically the same. Of course, an actual storyboard for a show is very different from a manga panel. But my point still stands.

So it’s incredibly refreshing to see a series like Heion not afraid to take risks, without condemning the product to a blurry overall of censoring effects, while still managing to be one of the most compelling and interesting show’s this season. Of course, take all of this with a grain of salt, I’m just a nobody on the internet, writing a blog post on a website. But the animation on display here is clearly crafted with love and affection for the craft. This final episode proved that, maybe, just maybe, the creators of this animated piece of media are in accordance with the manga. There’s a spark here, and you don’t want to miss the fireworks.

At some point, the show turns a little bit of a political drama, but it’s is a logical progression towards that goal that makes it interesting. The betrayals and death are along the way make this a show comparable to something like GoT. The Idaten can never truly die, shown today by the de-arming and de-legging of both Paula and Ysley. Yet if tortured enough, cut enough, made mincemeat enough, I guess they can.

The characters and personalities seen throughout this journey are also worth mentioning, these characters are so far advanced in the story, they know more than we do, and thus makes the show almost impossible to predict at times. At one point I sort of stopped trying. I’m far too under knowledge about political science to even pretend to understand each character’s actions and justifications towards the civil war that played. It’s sort of disheartening that Miku’s plan actually worked, since this is the last episode, the cliffhanger is real! Ysley and Paula are basically unable to move, and the demons returning from their brainwashed state, torture them until no tomorrow. This show has little care in dispensing blood and gore, and that’s what’s great about it! The story is about gods trying to mix in with the human world, but getting involved with the demons instead. Everything about this is fascinating. Furthermore, this show doesn’t waste any time making sure it tells the story it wants to tell.

There are other stand out moments for me throughout the episode, but it didn’t really feel like a season finale, there wasn’t a big reveal or a manifest that would close the storylines, in fact now thinking about it the show sort of stalled to make room for Ysley’s mistake and letting his guard down. To move the story along so much in the final episode, just to set it up as a cliffhanger cut’s a little deep. But it’s clear they’re trying to set up a second season.

As of yet, nothing has been announced for a second term, but if anything like that happens, you can make someone here at RC will be covering it. For now, let’s hold our breath and pray farewell to Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi, and hope we see each other in the future without certainty that it would come true.

So. what were your thoughts on this big finale? Let me know in the comments! And thanks for reading the final coverage for Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi.