Today the twelfth episode of the anime finally aired Tengoku Daimakyou (Heavenly Delusion), which was highly anticipated by the readers of the original manga because it explores a very particular theme: the rape. Some have even classified it as “Netorare (NTR)“, because the abused girl is the love interest of the protagonist.
There is something to consider before explaining what happens in this episode, and it is about Kiruko. She is a girl who runs a second-hand store in Tokyo, accepting the assignment of a bodyguard to take Maru to “Heaven”. She is a skilled survivor and an expert with the use of pistols. However, prior to the events of the series, Haruki’s (a male) brain was implanted in the body of his sister, Kiriko (a female).
He has been looking for the doctor who performed the operation, as well as the man who was his mentor before the accident, Robin. He looked up to Robin as a father figure growing up around Asakusa Racecourse. Refusing to believe that he was dead after recovering from an operation, she set out to find him, seeing Maru’s job offer as an opportunity to do so.
However, after the events of this episode, Robin held Kiruko captive and forced her, torturing “Haruki” with the vision of her sister being raped. She was later rescued by Maru, who found Kiruko tied up. She was deeply traumatized and began to question her identity. After the event, Kiruko tore up the photo in which Haruki and Robin appeared together. Although when Maru was going to kill Robin, Kiruko begged him not to, thinking that maybe it wasn’t himself.
In short, this type of theme is not uncommon in a dramatic series like Tengoku Daimakyoubut it seems that many found it “too traumatizing”, as the comments from fans demonstrated:
- «Very good chapter, the scene of Maru and Robin causes a lot of emotions, and at a certain point I understand people who dislike it, because it happened to me too. I think it goes beyond just being a rape scene, but we know the characters and we sympathize with them and their cute development.».
- «I shit on the bitch. If only they told me that they kill Robin I can rest in peace, but no. I already know from the spoilers that they don’t do anything to it and that’s what makes me want to break something».
- «I felt helpless, I won’t watch the anime anymore. Do they at least come enough to make it worth continuing to watch?».
- «How is it that people can accept seeing murders, terrorism, massacres, torture, but when a rape appears they are alarmed and repudiate the series? Are they so hypocritical that they have their priorities a bit off?».
- «I don’t see the controversy, do you know how many animes with themes like this were there before? It is normal, there is a new public that is more sensitive and they overreact».
- «I don’t read the manga, but I already knew that something strong was going to come out in this chapter».
- «The complaint that many have is that this scene does not affect anything in the story, it is only there for curiosity».
- «I’m so bloody repulsed by Robin. I wanted to point out that he has Zoro’s voice but it’s not important anymore. What a fucking yuck! This is what a fucking apocalypse entails, no rules, and a bunch of rubbish like Robin who want to do whatever they want just for the fun of it.».
- «With this scene, many say that it was unnecessary, and there is no consequence. She expected that she would be traumatized and that they would bring up the subject every now and then, but she is never mentioned again.».
- «I wasn’t surprised by the spoilers, but I hadn’t seen him in five years and decided to trust him just because».
- «Well, jerks will finally stop watching this anime, they’ve already seen what they wanted. All season watching shitty memes on Facebook. It has no logic, there is no revenge, and the subject is not discussed again, according to readers».
- «The truth is almost the same as the manga, only some scenes were more explicit in the manga. Now that motherfucker the Robin, but it was a good chapter».
- «The ending really made me gag, it was a bit disgusting and abominable, I think that when I finish this anime I’m going to despise it for life, it’s a disgusting and abominable anime».
