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WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers from Tengoku Daimakyou Manga
Maru’s true identity and his links to the man-eating monsters are, perhaps, the biggest mysteries in the entire series. His journey to find his lookalike is what kickstarts the show. But just when we thought we had it figured out, the showrunners pulled a fast one on the audience by leading us to believe that Tokio is the sought-after individual.
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One of the standout features of Heavenly Delusion is how we’re seeing the past and present happen at the same time. So, the plot twists hit us even harder as we attempt to connect the dots, and the dots change shape. The same goes for Maru and Tokio’s story – we see them side by side in every episode, so we assumed Maru must be looking for Tokio, and that Heaven (a place now lost to apocalypse) was still out there.
Background
We had no clue that the scenes with Tokio and the students at Takahara Academy were actually set in the past – not until Dr. Usami showed up in Episode 8. It became pretty obvious that Usami was the grown-up Shiro, and that his dying lover was Mimihime. And Maru turned out to be the child of Tokio and Kona.
No wonder they looked so much alike! Maru was also the first baby born from two genetically-modified Hiruko beings. So, naturally, he inherited the special powers that came with those Hiruko genes. The person Maru and Kiruko were on the hunt for this whole time was Maru's "clone" – or as Dr. Sawatari likes to refer to, his twin brother, Yamato. However, the bigger plot twist is which one of them is the real and clone here?
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Unlike Maru, Yamato grew up with Tokio and Kona in some little isolated town. Maru, on the other hand, ended up in an orphanage and had no clue who his real parents were. Likewise, Tokio and Kona had no idea Maru even existed. We have Dr. Sawatari to thank for that since he's the one who cloned Tokio's child and marked one of the babies with a circle under the foot. The marked baby is Maru. In fact, the word “Maru" translates to "circle" or "zero" in Japanese.
Why Did Dr. Sawatari Clone Maru?
It all kicked off with Takahara Academy's head honcho, Director Kaminaka Shino. Her goal is not very uncommon: like other anime villains, she wanted to dominate Earth and make a new world order, which she refers to as Heaven. Years ago, her super-computer Mina predicted that on November 11, 2024, an asteroid would hit and bring on The Great Cataclysm apocalypse. Director Kaminaka saw this as the perfect chance to take over the Japanese government.
Problem was, she was getting on in years and worried she might not live to see her plan through. So she hatched a scheme to move her consciousness into Tokio's baby. As the offspring of two genetically-modified Hiruko, Tokio's child was immune to the health issues plaguing the students at Takahara Academy. Thus, the baby was an ideal vessel for Director Kaminaka. But Dr. Sawatari was dead set against this plan. He believed it was morally wrong and didn't want to make Kona and Tokio's baby a scapegoat for the director's selfish ambitions.
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Right after Dr. Sawatari and Director Kaminaka's argument in Episode 11, we see him feeding not one but two babies. Dr. Sawatari never did specify why exactly he cloned the baby. But we can take a pretty good guess that he didn't want to lose Director Kaminaka's favor since she had looked after him his whole life, and he couldn't disobey her. So, the least he could do was save the original child and pull the wool over the director's eyes.
Who Is The Real Maru?
At this point in the story, it’s not clear yet who is Tokio’s real baby. Even Swatari is not sure. When the government seized control of Takahara Academy, Sawatari went into a frenzy and misplaced the tiny tots. So the baby who was with Tokio could very well be the clone itself, for all we know. However, former director Kaminaka Shino may know something. At the start of the show, she was the one who assigned Kiruko to Maru, before dying.
She instructed Kiruko to escort him to Heaven and find his lookalike. And if you’re wondering whether Mikura and the director are one and the same, you’re absolutely right. She transferred her consciousness into Mikura at some point and was the one who taught Maru his signature “Maru-touch” ability. This power could potentially be the distinguishing factor between Yamato and Maru, something that Kamanika already senses as special. However, being special doesn't necessarily imply being the original.
The mastermind behind this mystery may be crafting this thriller anime for a huge reveal somewhere down the line. Alternatively, there's a possibility that the truth may never be unveiled. The author, Masakazu Ishiguro, might instead introduce a mind-bending dilemma where the concept of "original" becomes ambiguous. Since Maru and Yamato share the same genetic makeup but have different memories and experiences, they increasingly diverge and become distinct original entities.
