Heavenly Delusion Wins Anime of the Year at Anime Trending Awards

Following what many anime fans perceived as a major snub following the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Heavenly Delusion has now won big at this year’s edition of the Anime Trending Awards.

Anime Trending has announced that Heavenly Delusion won the 10th edition of its awards ceremony, held on March 9, 2024. The series also won in the categories Best in Episode Directing and Storyboard for the episode “Their Choices” (directed by Ryo Nakano, storyboarded by Haruka Fujita), Best in Sceneries and Visuals (art direction by Yuuji Kaneko, color design by Izumi Hirose, photography direction by Kentaro Waki), Best Mystery or Psychological Anime, and Best Supernatural Anime. Via ANN, the full list of winners at the 10th Anime Trending Awards can be viewed below.

Anime Trending’s Anime of the Year Award Winners

• Anime of the Year: Tengoku Daimakyo
• Anime Movie of the Year: The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
• Boy of the Year: JETURK, Guel (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury S2)
• Girl of the Year: ARIMA, Kana (【OSHI NO KO】)
• Couple Ship of the Year: Kyoutaro x Anna (The Dangers in My Heart)
• Supporting Boy of the Year: JETURK, Guel (Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury S2)
• Supporting Girl of the Year: ARIMA, Kana (【OSHI NO KO】)
• Best in Adapted Screenplay: 【OSHI NO KO】
• Best in Animation: JUJUTSU KAISEN S2
• Best in Character Design: 【OSHI NO KO】
• Best in Episode Directing and Storyboard: ‘Their Choices’ (Tengoku Daimakyo episode 8)
• Best in Original Screenplay: Buddy Daddies
• Best in Sceneries and Visuals: Tengoku Daimakyo
• Best in Soundtrack: Vinland Saga S2
• Best in Voice Cast: 【OSHI NO KO】
• Opening Theme Song of the Year: “IDOL” by YOASOBI
• Ending Theme Song of the Year: “Red:birthmark” by Aina The End
• Best Voice Acting Performance – Male: Seiichirō Yamashita as Cid “Shadow” Kagenou (The Eminence in Shadow)
• Best Voice Acting Performance – Female: Reina Ueda as Miyo Saimori (My Happy Marriage)
• Action or Adventure Anime of the Year: JUJUTSU KAISEN S2
• Comedy Anime of the Year: MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES
• Drama Anime of the Year: 【OSHI NO KO】
• Fantasy Anime of the Year: The Eminence in Shadow
• Music Anime of the Year: Blue Orchestra
• Mystery or Psychological Anime of the Year: Tengoku Daimakyo
• Romance Anime of the Year: My Happy Marriage
• Sci-Fi or Mecha Anime of the Year: Dr. Stone: New World
• Slice of Life Anime of the Year: SPY x FAMILY S2
• Sports Anime of the Year: BLUELOCK
• Supernatural Anime of the Year: Tengoku Daimakyo

The official Heavenly Delusion X (formerly Twitter) account commented on the awards, thanking fans and releasing a statement from director Hirotaka Mori. An excerpt reads, “I would like to express my sincere gratitude for receiving this wonderful award. For the TV anime, we focused on how to intertwine the two worlds of ‘Maru and Kiriko on a journey to find heaven’ and ‘Tokio and her friends who live in a school inside the walls’ through animation. It’s a work with a lot of foreshadowing, so I think you’ll discover something new every time you watch it.” Heavenly Delusion original author Masakazu Ishiguro was more reserved given that he wasn’t in the same position as the anime staff. Nevertheless, he added, “But I do know that I’m very happy!”

Heavenly Delusion and Vinland Saga Struggled at the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards

CBR’s report on the Crunchyroll Anime Awards’ Anime of the Year “snub” highlighted large numbers of fans who felt that Heavenly Delusion and Vinland Saga had been overlooked. Unlike Anime Trending’s awards, Crunchyroll’s is mostly decided by a jury, with judges getting 70% of the vote. Nevertheless, Vinland Saga also struggled in Anime Corner’s 100% fan-based awards, with its best finishes coming in 4th for both Adventure and Drama Anime of the Year.

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Heavenly Delusion‘s distribution was suspected to have held the series back from greater heights. Many struggled to access it on Disney+ and Hulu, while others have argued that the sexual assault on the protagonist, Kiriko, made it a seasonal show to forget quickly. Nevertheless, the anime’s massive popularity is evidenced in its growth on MyAnimeList, going from just over 2,000 members in October 2022 to over 450,000 as of writing. The series also currently enjoys an 8.22/10 rating.

Heavenly Delusion

A boy grows up behind the safe walls of an apocalyptic Japan full of monsters. Tokyo flourishes as a paradise, while outside the walls of hell dangers lurk. However, a small group searches for heaven.

Release Date

April 1, 2023

Seasons

1 Season

Studio

Production I.G

Franchise

Heavenly Delusion

Characters By

Nick Martineau, Gen Satô, Sayaka Senbongi

Creator

Masakazu Ishiguro

Main Characters

Tokio, Mimihime, Maru, Kiruko

Production Company

Production I.G

Writers

Makoto Fukami

Number of Episodes

13 Episodes

Source: ANN, Anime Trending