At the start of the season, many pegged Heavenly Delusion as spring's breakout hit. In fact, some argued that the show would follow in the footsteps of series like Spy x Family and go from unknown to the talk of the town overnight. However, while the series has received good reviews from fans and critics alike, it hasn't become the smash-hit many predicted it would be. One reason for this drop in interest is the show's launch issues, which dulled its impact. However, these issues can teach other distributors several crucial lessons.
Before release, it was announced that Heavenly Delusion would be streaming worldwide on Disney Plus, which caught the eye of many anime fans, as Disney Plus is a prominent player in the streaming space, albeit one that isn't known for anime. However, when the show landed, people discovered that in America, the show was a Hulu exclusive. It was only available on Disney Plus in Japan, Canada and other territories where Hulu and Disney Plus are a combined service. Still, due to the global nature of the internet, there was a lot of crosstalk, leaving many would-be fans of the show unsure where to watch it.
Heavenly Delusion's Confusing Marketing Hampered Its Launch
Even worse, the American release of the first episode of Heavenly Delusion was delayed, amplifying the confusion surrounding the show -- doubly so because there was no way to know about the episode's delay unless someone found an article or stumbled upon a social media post discussing it. This is because neither Disney Plus nor Hulu posted about it on their main social media profiles or put a message on the platform itself. In fact, the news was broken on the personal social media of Reuben Lack, Disney Plus' senior manager for English dubbing -- a place most people wouldn't think of checking.
Finally, in many places, the show was only listed under its Japanese name, Tengoku Daimakyo, so fans who searched for Heavenly Delusion got no results, making it look like the show didn't exist. This problem was made more egregious by the fact that almost all the English-language marketing for the show used the localized title, not the Japanese one, meaning many fans wouldn't even know what the show's Japanese title was.
What Other Anime Shows Can Learn From Heavenly Delusion
The issues surrounding Heavenly Delusion's launch are things that other streaming platforms should pay close attention to, as they could teach them several crucial lessons. Many viewers will only navigate so many hurdles before they get distracted or opt to watch another show, no matter how good they think it is. Thus, platforms need to make sure onboarding is as smooth as possible.
One key lesson Heavenly Delusion's launch teaches is that it's crucial to be clear about what platform a show is streaming on when advertising it. Today, there are many different streaming platforms, some of which offer exclusive anime. It's therefore important to inform fans of exactly where to watch a show. This is extra true if the show is only available in certain regions or is on different platforms in different countries. Due to the global nature of modern social media, it's easy for a user to find information about a show's status in another country and not realize it doesn't apply to their location, which can lead to confusion. This confusion can quickly spread, leading to the situation people experienced with Heavenly Delusion.
Secondly, distributors need to be sure that fans know the exact name the show will have in their territory or make that all titles fans might search for lead them to the show they want. With anime, it's hard to know if a show will use its Japanese title, a localized version or get a whole new title when brought to America, making the overseas industry ripe for confusion.
Finally, distributors must better convey release schedules and inform fans of release delays. If Hulu had put a note on the Heavenly Delusion page explaining the delay, there would have been less confusion and the show would have had a smoother launch. Anime distributors should look to Viz Media's Shonen Jump page for inspiration. At a glance, this site tells fans what has recently come out, and each series' page has a timer counting down to when the next chapter is released. This makes it a breeze for fans to keep up with a franchise, meaning more people will stick with them long-term and not forget or fall off.
Heavenly Delusion's rocky launch shows how important it is for companies to advertise their upcoming anime correctly. Every hurdle that's put between a potential viewer and a show increases the chance that the potential viewer will do or watch something else instead, especially as every new anime season brings loads of new and exciting shows. Hopefully, other distributors look at Heavenly Delusion's launch and learn from it so that this kind of situation doesn't happen again.