History Manga / HeavenlyDelusion

* CozyCatastrophe: Downplayed. The setting is far from ''cozy'', the government and all infrastructure is gone, there are plenty of bandits and marauders, and monsters roam the countryside. That said, however, civilization is still up and going, pre-collapse currency is still used for barter and trade, the cities (or at least sections of them) are still population centers with their own functioning societies, and there are even orphanages taking care of children who've lost their parents.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Haruki suffered this, having everything except his head and torso consumed by a man-eater. [[spoiler:Conveniently, his head was completely untouched, allowing his brain to be transplanted into Kiriko's body]].

* ItsBeenDone: During one chapter, Maru and Kiruko are escaping a giant man eater in their van, and to give Maru stability, Kiruko ties her down to the seat with some cloth. Once they escape, Maru praises Kiruko, saying that he came up with a brilliant invention, much to his satisfaction. But in the shot of her saying this and the shot of his reaction, you can clearly see the car's unusued seatbelts behind them.

** During the “Inazaki Robin” arc of the Post-Disater plot line, [[spoiler: there is the Chief of the Water Filtration Center, Inazaki Robin himself. When Maru found out Robin had [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] Kiruko, Maru took it upon himself to [[PayEvilUntoEvil punish]] Robin. [[{{Deconstruction}} However]], Maru toyed with Robin by throwing him at a wall numerous times, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters mirroring the humiliation that he had subjected Kiruko to]], which ended with [[DarkestHour Maru deciding to murder Robin]] after he was knocked out cold. While he was an evil and remorseless rapist, Maru’s actions against Robin steered unnervingly close to turning Maru into a [[KnightTemplar cold-blooded murderer seeking vengeance]], but was stopped by [[MoralityChain Kiruko]] before he threw the final punch. [[ThisIsUnforgivable He hasn’t recovered from this yet]], having planned in secrecy to murder Robin if the opportunity arises]].
** In the “Dream of Hell” arc of the Post-Disaster plot line, [[spoiler: the Glasses Man is tricked by a teenage Helm into allowing her to attach her prosthetic left arm unto his crotch, which activated a bomb that blew him up to near death. This was done to ensure he could no longer [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape young girls]] like what he did to Helm when she was a child, though he succumbed to his wounds after Helm mocked him about the [[MeaningfulName “dream of hell”]] she gave him]].

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Both plots have one of these.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Maru is a kind and empathetic person, but he’s more than willing to give a brutal beat down if the situation calls for it; a vigilante group inside a city that Kiruko and himself visited [[CurbStompBattle learned this the hard way]] after one of them sucker punched him and made him lose one of his teeth. Also, he does ''not'' like it when anyone harms Kiruko. [[spoiler:When [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped Kiruko]] and [[BullyingADragon taunted Maru about this]], he showed [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge how vicious he can become]] when [[RageBreakingPoint pushed too far]]]].

** Kona’s paintings from the Nursery plot are implied to be this.

*** The fifth painting featured a strange fish-like creature that had multiple long humanoid arms stretching from its body. This particular painting was held by a girl named Kuku who had the ability to stick to walls with her hands and feet at will, making her an adept climber. [[spoiler:Maru and Kiruko fought a Man-Eater that looked exactly like the creature in the painting, which had the ability to climb on objects using “hands” formed from telekinetic abilities involving water.]] It’s notable that [[spoiler: later the children are referred to as “Hiruko” by the robotic staff of the nursery; “Hiroku” was the other name that people with connections to the Nursery called the Man-Eaters. Dr. Usami (a grown up Shiro) revealed the Man-Eaters were once human, but died because of an unknown disease that warps their corpses into Man-Eaters, which sadly implied that the fish Man-Eater may have been Kuku]].

* CrapsackWorld: The Post-Disaster plot is this in a nutshell. [[spoiler: The Nursery plot isn’t any better, considering the children noticed the air outside the nursery was unusually warm and hard to breathe in -- indicating several climate changes had taken place. It’s also stated by some of the staff working in the nursery that place has “crossed several taboos,” indicating there were horrible experiments being performed in secrecy]].

* DetectEvil: Maru later gains the ability to detect the presence of any nearby Man-Eaters in the Post-Disaster plot; it’s nicknamed the “Maru Sense” by Kiruko later on.. [[spoiler:This includes the “Hiruko Humans” introduced in the Nursery plot and their descendants in the Post-Disaster plot who have a core just like the Man-Eaters, such as Juiichi’s son]].

* EldritchAbomination: The Man-Eaters are this, most of them appearing as the [[AnimalisticAbomination animalistic variant]], but there are some exceptions like the giant armored Man-Eater who could turn [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]] and the tarantula armed with [[KillItWithIce freezing abilities]].

* ExpositoryHairStyleChange: At some point in the past, Kiruko's haircolour changed from black to reddish brown. [[spoiler:She figures it's probably from trauma, but also sees it as a reminder from her sister to take care of her body]].

** Maru’s “Maru Touch” ability doesn’t work on normal wild life and humans [[spoiler: until Maru learned the latter wasn’t always true when he was able to reach a core upon touching Totori, a young innkeeper]].

* PosthumousCharacter: During the “Immortalite” arc of the Post-Disaster plot line, Maru and Kiruko come across a facility where a tech savy man is keeping a woman alive. He explains to the duo that she is slowly turning into a Man-Eater, being kept human through a rather brutal method of him cutting off the parts of her body that are beginning to turn. By the time they arrive, she is missing parts of her limbs and is covered in bandages -- save for her right eye -- and the man admitted that she had finally reached her limits. Having seen Maru kill the Man-Eater in the building’s basement, the man believed that Maru could end the woman’s misery without turning her into a Man-Eater. [[spoiler:Maru complies after the duo and the man help the woman see the sky one last time. It later becomes clear that the man and woman are an older Shiro and Mimihime from the Nursery plot line. Their first major interaction in the story, aside from Shiro watching Mimihime from a distance and some miscellaneous interactions between them, doesn't occur until about 20+ chapters later, though other breadcrumbs are given like Mimihime having the same fascination with the sky like the woman and a chapter title [[{{Foreshadowing}} showcasing the two of them on the picture during the “Immortalite” arc]]]].

** Maru and Kiruko were stopped by the innkeeper from dealing the finishing blow on the [[AnimalisticAbomination Bird Man-Eater]] because she claimed it was her son Yuuto. She told them it protected her from bandits after it ate him, thus it has Yuuto’s memories and should be left alone. When she approached the Man-Eater, yet it refused to harm her, the duo believed there was credence to this theory and that Man-Eaters that won’t harm humans should be spared [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope until the monster sliced the woman’s head in half and began eating her remains]], forcing the duo to destroy the monster before it could fool anyone else]].

** Later, this turns out to be deliberate by the nursery’s experiments as it's revealed that [[spoiler:about half the population of nursery are hermaphrodites, first showcased by the shaggy haired child who is fully grown in the Post-Disaster storyline and was assumed by others to be male, but has defined breasts and apparently a penis as well as a vagina.]]

''Heavenly Delusion'' (天国大魔境 / ''Tengoku-Daimakyou'') is an ongoing 2018 sci-fi post-apocalyptic {{Seinen}} manga written and illustrated by Masakazu Ishiguro (best known for ''Manga/AndYetTheTownMoves'') and published by DENPA. There is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D25K5O0CMCc an anime PV]] made to celebrate the first volume's publication.

** Kiruko told Maru when he unsuccessfully tried to romantically woo her that [[spoiler:her body is female... but her brain is a male's. She has Haruki Takehaya’s brain and memories, who was male, therefore she considers herself a man. Maru has mixed feelings about this, mainly because he doesn’t see Kiruko as either “Haruki” or “Kiriko” and chooses to sees Kiurko as her own individual]].

Maru is on the hunt for two things: someone who looks just like himself and a place his previous guardian called “Heaven.” On the flip side, Kiruko tags along to protect him as part of her job, but is also searching for several people she knew - including Robin - hoping to discover what happened to them after they disappeared five years ago under mysterious circumstances. However, the tasks before them on their journey are easier said than completed, not to mention there are other dangers on the road besides the Man-Eaters...

* AnAesop:
** Choosing to believe and trust in someone — or an idea — can give people the strength to persevere through the harshest of times. However, blind trust as well as ignoring any potential negative attributes to avoid self-doubting can lead to disaster, as many characters find out the hard way in ''[[MeaningfulName Heavenly Delusion]]''.
* AnAxToGrind: Helm’s choice of weapon is a hatchet. [[spoiler:It’s hinted that it may be the same one she used to chop her left forearm off with]].

As it turns out, [[spoiler:that is indeed the plan of the [[EvilOldFolks Director]] from the Nursery plot line. She wanted to transplant her brain into Tokio’s child and gain access to their supernatural abilities, but since the child was too young it wouldn’t work before the Director died of old age. She instead decided to have it transplanted into one of her aides named Aoshima and wait until the child was old enough for another procedure, but Sawatori - the scientist who would be responsible performing the surgeries - had little interest in the Director’s plan, having chosen to instead work with Aoshima behind the Director’s back]].

* BreakThemByTalking: Kiruko does this often [[MartialPacifist to avoid having to kill people in self defense]]. For instance, she once talked down a group of bandits who intended on robbing both Maru and herself as well as raping her by threatening them at gun point. Despite their threats, she made it clear she was in charge as well as continued to make fun of them. Once they charged the battery for her [[RayGun “Kiru-Beam”]], they found out she was bluffing the entire time - her ray gun was out of shots, yet they had unwittingly recharged it. In the end, the bandits gave up and let Maru and Kiruko go out of frustration rather than put up with any more of her berating.

** Dr. Usami, [[spoiler:aka Shiro, does this after he read the final words on Mimihime’s tablet, [[DyingDeclarationOfLove proclaiming her love for him]] and never holding anything against him for the actions he took to keep her alive - knowing full well she would’ve become a Man-Eater had Shiro not acted]].

*** One of the paintings has two babies inside of an egg covered in wings. [[spoiler:Tokio gave birth to a child who was mysteriously duplicated, and due to [[StrongFamilyResemblance Maru’s similar appearance to Tokio]] - plus the fact they [[SuperpowerfulGenetics both have supernatural abilities]] - it’s possible that Tokio is Maru’s mother]].

* CrapsackWorld: The Post-Disaster plot is this in a nutshell. [[spoiler: The Nursery plot isn’t any better, considering the children noticed the air outside the nursery was unusually warm and hard to breathe in - indicating several climate changes had taken place. It’s also stated by some of the staff working in the nursery that place has “crossed several taboos,” indicating there were horrible experiments being performed in secrecy]].

** Kiruko’s past in general is this. [[spoiler:She’s the result of a surgery that put the brain of a dying boy, Haruki Takehaya, inside the body of his sister (who was believed to be dying for reasons not yet known). Since she believes she’s Haruki - due to having his brain - she lives life believing she’s a man trapped in a woman’s body, leading to all kinds of psychological issues when she contemplates who she is as a person. And neither sibling lived a grand life beforehand, instead living in a post-apocalyptic world where [[HumansAreBastards people wouldn’t hesitate to murder you for the clothes on your back]]; it’s no wonder she also became cynical about life]].

[[spoiler:It’s later revealed that “Kiruko” is an alias for Haruki Takehaya, the younger brother of the aforementioned Kiriko Takehaya, whose body Haruki’s brain is inhabiting due to a [[MedicalHorror medical procedure done by a doctor]] - one that he knew five years ago. When he tried to kill a Man-Eater who could turn invisible before it attacked his sister during one of her kart races, his experimental crossbow weapon [[NoSell failed to bring it down]], thus [[EatenAlive most of his body was eaten]] before his sister managed to pull his body out. In the end, Haruki passed out with his sister crying over him, making him believe he was dying.\\
When Haruki awakened, he looked at himself in a mirror and saw Kiriko’s body in the reflection instead, then panicked while screaming he was Haruki - much to the confusion of the people in the room who tried to correct him by saying Haruki had passed away. The people stated that a doctor wasn’t able to save him, but the doctor did save her before he left town, indicating something bad might’ve happened to Kiriko while Haruki was unconscious. After “she” recovered, having accepted her new strange fate[[labelnote:note]]albeit referring to herself as a man to whoever knows the truth about her brain surgery, like Maru[[/labelnote]], she named herself “Kiruko” and set out on a journey to discover the truth, plus look for Robin who had disappeared. The reason why Kiruko forgets her age is because she has a tendency to think of herself as “Haruki” instead of as “Kiriko,” who was about two years older than him. It’s also revealed that [[BrotherSisterIncest Haruki had a secret one-sided crush on his sister]], which is why Kiruko was admiring her body in a lustful manner]].

** The Chief of the Water Filtration Center, [[spoiler:Robin,]] ''panicked'' when he saw Maru for the first time and ran away, hinting that the Chief knew Maru was a [[LightningBruiser dangerous]] [[SuperToughness threat]] despite appearing to be a mere teenage boy. This was even before the Chief found out all the guards had been knocked out by Maru. [[spoiler:Five years ago Robin had disappeared for several months before the orphanage closed down, making it possible he came into contact with some the people of the nursery where children with supernatural abilities had been - thus he may have known who Maru was]].

** A few of the children from the Nursery plot are hinted to have mental disorders of sorts, none of which prevents them from using their special abilities and/or enhanced physicality to great effect. Also, Tarao has [[SuperStrength super human strength]] - able to lift large boulders with ease - but is often bedridden due to his poor health and moves around on a wheelchair.

** No matter how well you think you know someone, there’s always a chance they may betray you. While that doesn’t mean you should be paranoid of everyone, it does mean you should remain vigilant around others. Case in point, while discovering the Chief of the Water Filtration Center was abusing their authority and power to take advantage of others isn’t too big a surprise at the end, the knife twister is knowing [[spoiler:the Chief is Robin himself, [[BigBrotherMentor the man who took care of Haruki and Kiriko when they were children]]. Kiruko[[labelnote:note]]who has Haruki’s brain and considers herself to be him[[/labelnote]] had received guidance by Robin for a long time, thus she believed that she had no reason to think he had a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sinister motive]] for inviting her to stay overnight at the facility and left caution to the wind — something she never would’ve done otherwise.\\

** The Chief of the Water Filtration Plant becomes one after [[spoiler:he [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] Kiruko. He was earlier revealed to be Robin, who at one point was Kiruko’s BigBrotherMentor she looked up to — even going on a long journey for several years to find him, only to be betrayed in one of the worst ways possible. The authorities of the town later discovered Robin had also been performing experiments on a woman, whose limbs had been removed with her body connected to a docile Man-Eater via tubes. Even worse, she appeared to be aware of her situation and in complete pain, [[AndIMustScream unable to do anything about her situation]]]].

* MercyRewarded: When Maru and Kiruko spared the life of a gang leader named Iwata — who had planned on ambushing the duo with an accomplice but fell victim to a [[BearsAreBadNews hungry bear]] — and helped him return back to the nearby town, the manager of the hotel that the duo were staying at lied to the local gang by saying the duo had already fled town. This gave Maru and Kiruko a chance to relax after a harrowing experience with the same bear.

* PosthumousCharacter: During the “Immortalite” arc of the Post-Disaster plot line, Maru and Kiruko come across a facility where a tech savy man is keeping a woman alive. He explains to the duo that she is slowly turning into a Man-Eater, being kept human through a rather brutal method of him cutting off the parts of her body that are beginning to turn. By the time they arrive, she is missing parts of her limbs and is covered in bandages — save for her right eye — and the man admitted that she had finally reached her limits. Having seen Maru kill the Man-Eater in the building’s basement, the man believed that Maru could end the woman’s misery without turning her into a Man-Eater. [[spoiler:Maru complies after the duo and the man help the woman see the sky one last time. It later becomes clear that the man and woman are an older Shiro and Mimihime from the Nursery plot line. Their first major interaction in the story, aside from Shiro watching Mimihime from a distance and some miscellaneous interactions between them, doesn't occur until about 20+ chapters later, though other breadcrumbs are given like Mimihime having the same fascination with the sky like the woman and a chapter title [[{{Foreshadowing}} showcasing the two of them on the picture during the “Immortalite” arc]]]].

* RefusalOfTheCall: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-zagged]]. While Maru seemed at first to take the journey to “Heaven” in stride, the reality was he didn’t have anything else to do - having lived a life of constant partings from different groups and being taken under the wing of an adult who saw potential in him (like Mikura). This reached a point where he outright told Kiruko that he thought they should abandon the journey; this way he could instead team up with her as a fellow handyman since he fell in love with her (much to her shock, though she was flattered by it regardless). Kiruko, on the flip side, was hoping to find Robin or the Doctor she knew from her childhood during their journey, all so she could find out what happened to them. Since Maru realized she still wanted to travel, he decided to continue the journey, [[ChivalrousPervert all the while making constant romantic moves on her with comedic results oftentimes.]]

** In the “Post-Disaster” plot, [[spoiler:Inazaki Robin is this. He’s the Chief of an important water filtration center in a town run by the Ministry of Reconstruction, using his charisma and smarts to woo everyone - [[TheCasanova especially women]]. However, he uses this prestige to lure innocent women into the facility where he can [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]] and [[MedicalHorror experiment]] on them]].

** [[spoiler:Dr. Usami, aka Shiro, does this after he read the final words on Mimihime’s tablet, [[DyingDeclarationOfLove proclaiming her love for him]] and never holding anything against him for the actions he took to keep her alive - knowing full well she would’ve become a Man-Eater had Shiro not acted]].
** [[spoiler:After Kiruko had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped for days]] by her former BigBrotherMentor [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighted]] by him into realizing [[LossOfIdentity she doesn’t know who she is anymore]], she cried out in anguish for Maru to save her. Fortunately, he happened to hear this while he was infiltrating Robin’s facility, [[BigDamnHeroes which led to Maru finding and saving her]]]].
* CerebusCallBack: Kiruko once made a deal with Maru that if he accomplished a dangerous task he would get to grope her breasts [[ThePowerOfLust (which he accomplished in haste after initially complaining before she made the deal with him)]]. But when it came time for him to collect she panicked and tried to dissuade him with multiple reasons, including trying to convince him that [[spoiler:because she had Haruki Takehaya’s brain, she considered herself a guy, therefore Maru would be feeling up a man instead of a woman]]. This didn’t work [[spoiler:because Haruki’s brain was inside Kiriko Takehaya’s body (Haruki’s sister), a beautiful and well-endowed woman]], although she managed to escape because she screamed out loud by accident and caught the innkeeper’s attention of the hotel they were in, who promptly dragged Maru out of the room.\\

* FireForgedFriends: While there wasn’t any animosity between the two, Maru wasn’t an open book for Kiruko starting off due to his previous history following adults around and not knowing what to make of her at first. He even didn’t mind Kiruko leaving him alone on his journey, but after they defeated the Bird Man-Eater and he saw her sensitive side they developed a true friendship. However, Maru wants to [[BattleCouple upgrade this]] if given the opportunity.

However, when Haruki awakened, he saw his sister’s body in a mirror reflection, and panicked while screaming he was Haruki instead - much to the confusion of the people in the room who tried to correct him by saying Haruki had passed away. When he asked what happened, the people stated that a doctor wasn’t able to save “Haruki,” but the doctor did save “Kiriko” before he left town, indicating that Kiriko had also been on the verge of dying at some point after Haruki passed out. Later, Haruki took up the name “Kiruko” and set out on a journey to discover the truth, deciding to look for the doctor as well as Robin - a missing man who once watched over the orphanage that Haruki and Kiriko resided in. The reason why Kiruko forgets her age is because she has a tendency to think of her own age as “Haruki” instead of as “Kiriko,” who was about two years older than him. It’s also revealed that [[BrotherSisterIncest Haruki had a secret one-sided crush on his sister]], which is why Kiruko was admiring her body in a lustful manner]].
** A picture of Shiro and Mimihime from the Nursery plot is used as the title cover, [[spoiler:hinting at the true identities of Dr. Usami and Hoshino respectively as now grown up in the Post-Diaster plot]].
** The Chief of the Water Filtration Center, [[spoiler:Robin,]] ''panicked'' when he saw Maru for the first time and ran away, hinting that the Chief knew Maru was a [[LightningBruiser dangerous]] [[SuperToughness threat]] despite appearing to be a mere teenage boy. This was even before the Chief found out all the guards had been knocked out by Maru. [[spoiler:Five years ago Robin had disappeared for several months before the orphanage closed down, making it possible he came into contact with some the people of the nursery where children with supernatural abilities had been - thus he may have known who Maru was. There’s also the matter of Robin choosing to lock up the room with the woman surgically attached to the Man-Eater instead of running outside, but information on this remains scarce]].
* FourEyesZeroSoul: The Glasses Man, a sinister criminal who raped Helm when she was a child and escaped judgement by not wearing them when the town searched for him. Years later, Helm found him once again with a child prostitute chained to him, thus she asked Maru and Kiruko to help her end the Glasses Man’s perverted crimes towards children once and for all.

* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: When Maru and Kuriko were trapped on a concrete pillar because of a [[BearsAreBadNews wild bear trying to eat them]], Kuriko dropped the battery that powered her “Kiru-Beam” [[RayGun ray gun]] by accident. She then told Maru if he went down to fetch it that she would let him feel up her breasts. Despite the danger involved, [[ThePowerOfLust he jumped down without hesitation and got the battery]], which led to the bear’s death a short while after.\\
However, when Maru came to collect in Kuriko’s hotel room, she tried to convince him not to go through with it, saying that [[spoiler:if he groped her boobs, it was a man’s body he would be feeling up instead due to Haruki Takehaya’s [[BrainTransplant brain being transplanted]] into Kuriko’s body years ago (despite the fact it’s still well-endowed female body that Haruki’s brain was put into)]]. Maru realized she was trying to avoid fulfilling her promise and started unzipping her jacket, but Kuriko let out a terrified scream by accident that caught both of them off guard because of how girly it sounded. This caught the attention of the innkeeper named Totori, who dragged him out because she didn’t want Kuriko and him to dirty up the room (much to her relief). Then it turned out the real reason Totori did this was because [[HookerWithAHeartOfGold she wanted to seduce Maru instead]], much to his dismay since she was a thirteen year old girl.

[[{{Deconstruction}} However]], she also has to face real life issues in the wilderness and abandoned cities, ones that even an Action Girl would have problems with. For instance, [[AllPeriodsArePMS suffering her period]] in the midst of hostile territory; having to make sure Maru is alright; and keeping a careful watch on their supplies out on the road since they have to eat as well as rest, meaning they could die of mundane reasons like starvation. Finally, no matter how tough an Action Girl she is, [[spoiler:being betrayed as well as [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] by someone she trusted [[BrokenPedestal (Robin)]] was a harrowing experience. The artwork showcased brutally realistic details of how terrifying rape is for a victim, alongside the story making it clear that even brave women who fight literal monsters on a regular basis [[TraumaCongaLine can be traumatized]], especially if [[EtTuBrute the victim had trusted their rapist beforehand with their lives]]. Fortunately, [[FireForgedFriends she has Maru to help her]] when things get too rough for her alone, and [[{{Reconstruction}} overcoming these grim experiences has made her a stronger person along the way]]]].

* AmbiguousGender: Tokio has an androgynous appearance unique amongst most of the children within the nursery. [[spoiler:It’s confirmed in chapter seventeen that Tokio is female, which was revealed when she had sexual intercourse with a boy named Kona in secrecy and later gave birth to a child.]]
** In general, most of the children within the nursery are rather androgynous in appearance. With many, it's hard to tell whether they are a boy or a girl unless it is explicitly stated. [[spoiler:This turns out to be deliberate as it's revealed later that about half the population of nursery are hermaphrodites, first revealed by the shaggy haired child who is fully grown in the post apocalyptic side of the story who was assumed by others to be male but has defined breasts and apparently a penis and a vagina.]]

** A [[HardTruthAesop harsh message]] is given in the “Inazaki Robin” arc during the Post-Disaster plot line: people are not always who they appear to be, no matter how well they present themselves to you. While discovering the Chief of the Water Filtration Center was abusing their authority and power to take advantage of others isn’t too big a surprise at the end, the knife twister is knowing [[spoiler:the Chief is Robin himself, [[BigBrotherMentor the man who took care of Haruki and Kiriko when they were children]]. Kiruko (who has Haruki’s brain and considers herself to be him) had received guidance by Robin for a long time, thus she had no reason to believe he had a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sinister motive]] for inviting her to stay overnight at the facility and left caution to the wind — something she never would’ve done otherwise. This is TruthInTelevision; many victims of rape were targeted by people that the former trusted, which is the point of a criminal earning the trust of their intended victim in the first place. Robin himself admitted that the reason why he looked after Haruki and Kiriko when they were kids is because “he thought they were interesting,” not because he cared about them.]]

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: An unusual example. The story alternates between Maru and Kiruko's travels through a post apocalyptic Japan with the various people they meet and monsters they kill and a mysterious bunker filled with children being taught by robots, with much time spent fleshing out the various children and the mysterious abilities they seem to possess. [[spoiler:Eventually, it becomes clearer and clearer that the bunker side of the story occurred before Maru and Kiruko's side of the story rather than along side it as initially implied. Furthermore, it's implied by that side of the story that many, if not most, of the children have either turned into the monsters that Maru and Kiruko fight or died in one way or another (such as the one eyed scientist and the heavily bandaged girl he was taking care of). But with the structure, said characters die before we realize who they really were.]]

* TheGovernment: It’s hinted during the Nursery plot that the Japanese government is involved with the various tests being conducted on the children from the nursery. A benevolent variant appeared in the “Post-Disaster” plot known as the Ministry of Reconstruction, whose goal is to revive Japan back to its pre-disaster glory [[spoiler:albeit they too have resorted to hiding details from the public, like the existence of a dormant Man-Eater in the water filtration center]].

*** The fourth painting had several humanoid-like figures with wings flying together. [[spoiler:A bird-like Man-Eater was the first one featured in the Post-Disaster plot line, one that Maru and Kiruko had to kill in order to defend themselves]].
*** The fifth painting featured a strange fish-like creature that had multiple long humanoid arms stretching from its body. This particular painting was held by a girl named Kuku who had the ability to stick to walls with her hands and feet at will, making her an adept climber. [[spoiler:Maru and Kiruko fought a Man-Eater that looked exactly like the creature in the painting, which had the ability to climb on objects using “hands” formed from telekinetic abilities involving water.]] It’s notable that [[spoiler: later the children are directly referred to as “Hiruko” by the robotic staff of the nursery; “Hiroku” was the other name that some people called the Man-Eaters. Dr. Usami (a grown up Shiro) revealed the Man-Eaters were once human, but died because of a certain disease that eventually warps their bodies into Man-Eaters, which sadly implied that the fish Man-Eater may have been Kuku]].

** While the Chief of the Water Filtration Center was [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighting]] [[spoiler: Kiruko]], he decided to make his victim more submissive by [[spoiler:questioning who she really was: “Haruki” or “Kiriko.” Terrified, she kept insisting she was “Haruki” because she had his memories. However, the Chief (aka Robin) pointed out that even if it’s Haruki’s brain in Kiriko’s body, it doesn’t mean that Kiruko is “Haruki” for sure, it was possible that her mind was actually “Kiriko” who was able to access Haruki’s memories instead. This [[HeroicBSOD broke Kiruko]] because she had no way to rebuff Robin’s theory, so when she started to see memories of “Kiriko” later on for the first time Kiruko realized [[LossOfIdentity she didn’t know who she was anymore]]. While she does recover later on, she continues to believe she is “Haruki” to spite Robin for raping her, even if she doesn’t really know the truth]].

** During the “Inazaki Robin” arc of the Post-Disater plot line, there is the Chief of the Water Filtration Center, [[spoiler:Inazaki Robin himself. When Maru found out Robin had [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] Kiruko, Maru took it upon himself to [[PayEvilUntoEvil punish]] Robin. [[{{Deconstruction}} However]], Maru toyed with Robin by throwing him at a wall numerous times, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters mirroring the humiliation that he had subjected Kiruko to]], which ended with [[DarkestHour Maru deciding to murder Robin]] after he was knocked out cold. While he was an evil and remorseless rapist, Maru’s actions against Robin steered unnervingly close to turning Maru into a [[KnightTemplar cold-blooded murderer seeking vengeance]], but was stopped by [[MoralityChain Kiruko]] before he threw the final punch. [[ThisIsUnforgivable He hasn’t recovered from this yet]], having planned in secrecy to murder Robin if the opportunity arises]].
** In the “Dream of Hell” arc of the Post-Disaster plot line, the Glasses Man [[spoiler:is tricked by a teenage Helm into allowing her to attach her prosthetic left arm unto his crotch, activating a bomb that blew him up to near death. This was done to ensure he could no longer [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape young girls]] like what he did to Helm when she was a child, though he succumbs to his wounds shortly after Helm mocks him about the [[MeaningfulName “dream of hell”]] she gave him]].

* LittleUselessGun: The "Kiru-Beam". On the one hand, it only has four shots before the battery dies; takes thirty seconds to charge up before it can be used; and misfires often, much to Maru and Kiruko’s chagrin since the gun won’t regain a misfired shot. On the other hand, when it works, it can be seen as the [[RayGun laser gun]] equivalent of the [[Film/MenInBlack Noisy Cricket]].

** [[spoiler:Kiruko told Maru that the part that made her up, “Haruki,” was gone forever as well as stating she was weak; needed to be saved numerous times by Maru despite being his bodyguard; and that everything she believed about herself was lies after she had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighted]] by [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] two days prior. [[HeroicBSOD As a result, Kiruko no longer knew who she was]]. However, Maru snapped her out of this after declaring that he didn’t care who she was, he loved her regardless and would protect her from then on. Later on, Kiruko resumed believing she is still “Haruki” whose brain is occupying the body of “Kiriko,” but it’s made apparent she is forcing herself to do so [[JerkassHasAPoint despite the fact she has no proof that Robin’s theory is wrong]]]].
* MartialPacifist: When against human opponents, Maru and Kiruko refuse to murder and will even avoid killing in justifiable self defense, instead using their [[CombatPragmatist wits and surroundings in combat]] to disable opponents or try to talk them down. [[spoiler:That is, unless you push Maru’s BerserkButton and violate Kiruko, as [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] found out the hard way]].

* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: [[spoiler:An inverted example is the basis for a theory [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] has that Kiruko’s mind may not be that of Haruki Takehaya, whose [[BrainTransplant brain was transplanted]] into his sister’s body - Kiriko Takehaya - several years before the Post-Disaster plot begins. Kiruko once believed she was “Haruki” because she only had his memories, but after seeing a memory from a viewpoint that belonged to “Kiriko” later on, Kiruko realized that [[JerkassHasAPoint Robin had a point]]]].

* ParentalIncest: At one point, Maru and Kiruko come across a large family living alone in the wilderness while being drawn towards a Man-Eater. The family is led by the grandmother of the family. While staying with them, one night Maru senses the Man-Eater and they follow it's presence towards well tended cave. At the entrance, Maru notices a graph of some kind that he takes to be a map of the cave. [[spoiler:In fact, it's heavily implied that it's the family tree of the family they were staying with, and if so, then the Grandmother's husband impregnated their two daughters, and then those children continued to interbreed with each other to produce more children. And judging by their happy reaction to one of them giving birth to a girl in tandem with said family tree right before Maru and Kiruko leave, they plan to have the grand children eventually interbreed to continue the family line...]]
* PosthumousCharacter: A very odd example in that initially you won't even realize it's happening. Relatively early on in the story, Maru and Kiruko come across a facility where a tech savy man is keeping a woman alive who is slowly turning into a Man-Eater and is being kept human through a rather brutal method of cutting off parts of the body that are beginning to turn. By the time they arrive, she is missing most of all 4 limbs and is almost entirely covered in bandages save for over her right eye [[spoiler:which had been transplanted into her by the man watching over her, allowing her to see the world again]]. There is clearly a history between the two as she doesn't hate him for what he's doing and even thanks him for [[spoiler:keeping her alive long enough to die as a human. Shortly after Maru puts her out of her misery in the same way he's killed many man-eaters, the man shoots himself while embracing her body. Maru finds that he is holding a button with the same logo that Kiruko's gun has. Though there is some foreshadowing during this storyline, it isn't until a while later that it begins to become clear that the man and woman are an older Shiro and Mimihime from the Nursery side of the story. Their first major interaction in the story aside from Shiro watching Mimihime from a distance doesn't occur until about 20+ chapters later.]]

* SequencingDeception: [[spoiler:At first it seems as though the two plotlines are occuring at the same time and that the nursery may be some sort of bunker that survived the disaster that destroyed Tokyo, it eventually becomes revealed that the nursery plotline happened before the disaster struck. In fact, eventually the characters of the nursery get released and adopted into families with new names not too long before and earthquake destroys everything.]]

** #13: Maru was harassed by a vigilante gang that [[CurbStompBattle drew his full wrath]] when their leader, Iwata, knocked out one of Maru’s teeth. Afterwards, Iwata [[MoralMyopia swore vengeance]] and planned on ambushing Maru along with Kiruko, but a [[BearsAreBadNews wild bear]] mauled Iwata to near death; he ended up being saved by the duo. Maru later found out that Iwata had been watching over Totori, the young innkeeper of the inn they were staying at that night, which made Maru realize Iwata [[JerkassWithAHeartOfGold wasn’t a bad person at heart]]. Maru had been part of a gang in the past and believed they could’ve been good friends if he had grown up in that town, thus he became depressed upon learning that Iwata died later that evening.

** #21: [[spoiler:Dr. Usami, aka Shiro, does this after he read the final words on Mimihime’s tablet, [[DyingDeclarationOfLove proclaiming her love for him]] and never holding anything against him for the actions he took to keep her alive - knowing full well she would’ve become a Man-Eater had Shiro not acted]].
** #33: [[spoiler:After Kiruko had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped for days]] by her former BigBrotherMentor [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighted]] by him into realizing [[LossOfIdentity she doesn’t know who she is anymore]], she cried out in anguish for Maru to save her. Fortunately, he happened to hear this while he was infiltrating Robin’s facility, [[BigDamnHeroes which led to Maru finding and saving her]]]].

** #5: Maru and Kiruko were stopped by the innkeeper from dealing the finishing blow on the [[AnimalisticAbomination Bird Man-Eater]] because she claimed it was her son Yuuto. She told them it protected her from bandits after it ate him, thus it has Yuuto’s memories and should be left alone. When she approached the Man-Eater, yet it refused to harm her, the duo believed there was credence to this theory and that Man-Eaters that won’t harm humans should be spared [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope until the monster sliced the woman’s head in half and began eating her remains]], forcing the duo to destroy the monster before it could fool anyone else]].

** #3: The Nursery plot shows that Kona is an artist with his artwork bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Man-Eaters. This is followed up by the Man-Eaters being shown early on having supernatural abilities that are similar to the children of the nursery. [[spoiler:Later on, a grown up Shiro who goes by the name Dr. Usami revealed to Maru and Kiruko that the Man-Eaters were once human, but they died from an illness that eventually warped the corpses into the monsters we see today. Future chapters even showcase humans who have a Hiruko core that Maru can interact with using his “Maru Touch” ability]].

** #19: A picture of Shiro and Mimihime from the Nursery plot is used as the title cover, [[spoiler:hinting at the true identities of Dr. Usami and Hoshino respectively as now grown up in the Post-Diaster plot]].
** #33: The Chief of the Water Filtration Center, [[spoiler:Robin,]] ''panicked'' when he saw Maru for the first time and ran away, hinting that the Chief knew Maru was a [[LightningBruiser dangerous]] [[SuperToughness threat]] despite appearing to be a mere teenage boy. This was even before the Chief found out all the guards had been knocked out by Maru. [[spoiler:Five years ago Robin had disappeared for several months before the orphanage closed down, making it possible he came into contact with some the people of the nursery where children with supernatural abilities had been - thus he may have known who Maru was. There’s also the matter of Robin choosing to lock up the room with the woman surgically attached to the Man-Eater instead of running outside, but information on this remains scarce]].

** #40: The Glasses Man is a victim of this when [[spoiler:Helm detached her prosthetic arm and latched it onto his groin using fishhooks built into the glove’s fingertips, inflicting immense pain on him. Then she revealed the arm had explosives in it, blowing up the pedophile rapist when it successfully detonated at his groin, which guaranteed that even if he somehow survived the blast [[LaserGuidedKarma his groin wouldn’t]]]].

** #40: [[spoiler:Helm]] has a prosthetic left arm. [[spoiler:If she unhooks it from her upper arm it activates a timed bomb within, which she attaches to her intended victim by using the fishhooks built in to the glove’s fingertips]].

** #32: While the Chief of the Water Filtration Center was [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighting]] [[spoiler: Kiruko]], he decided to make his victim more submissive by [[spoiler:questioning who she really was: “Haruki” or “Kiriko.” Terrified, she kept insisting she was “Haruki” because she had his memories. However, the Chief (aka Robin) pointed out that even if it’s Haruki’s brain in Kiriko’s body, it doesn’t mean that Kiruko is “Haruki” for sure, it was possible that her mind was actually “Kiriko” who was able to access Haruki’s memories instead. This [[HeroicBSOD broke Kiruko]] because she had no way to rebuff Robin’s theory, so when she started to see memories of “Kiriko” later on for the first time Kiruko realized [[LossOfIdentity she didn’t know who she was anymore]]. While she does recover later on, she continues to believe she is “Haruki” to spite Robin for raping her, even if she doesn’t really know the truth]].

** #34: [[spoiler:Kiruko told Maru that the part that made her up, “Haruki,” was gone forever as well as stating she was weak; needed to be saved numerous times by Maru despite being his bodyguard; and that everything she believed about herself was lies after she had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighted]] by [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] two days prior. [[HeroicBSOD As a result, Kiruko no longer knew who she was]]. However, Maru snapped her out of this after declaring that he didn’t care who she was, he loved her regardless and would protect her from then on. Later on, Kiruko resumed believing she is still “Haruki” whose brain is occupying the body of “Kiriko,” but it’s made apparent she is forcing herself to do so [[JerkassHasAPoint despite the fact she has no proof that Robin’s theory is wrong]]]].

** #38: A Man-Eater shaped like a dome that Kiruko fired her “Kiru-Beam” at deflected the beam right back at her, though fortunately she was too far away for the beam to hurt her.

** #14: Kiruko panicked when Maru wasn’t in the room they were staying in until he revealed he was hiding in another room looking at a porn magazine. But when he tried to assure her that he was ok, she started crying, much to his dismay. He remembered that she grew up in an orphanage, which shut down at one point [[spoiler:because when Kiriko “died” the money she brought in from winning electric cart races stopped, therefore the orphanage couldn’t support itself]] and she sometimes begged out loud for Robin to save her when she’s in extreme danger. Maru realized at that point she has a fear of being abandoned by people she cares about, thus he decided to stay at a location that Kiruko wanted him to from then on. [[spoiler:Which unfortunately meant that he waited two days before he went to check on her at the Water Filtration Center, finding out upon seeing her that she had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped the entire time]] by [[BrokenPedestal Robin]]]].
** #40: Helm was terrified when she saw the Glasses Man who raped her years prior, leading her to try and kill a Man-Eater by herself since she believed doing so would make her strong enough to face her former pedophile rapist.

** #32: Kiruko and Robin are catching up on old times after many years had passed, enjoying each other’s company and Kiruko believing everything will be alright again since she found her BigBrotherMentor. [[spoiler:[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Then he rapes her]], and reveals his [[BitchInSheepsClothing true]] [[SoftSpokenSadist nature]] to her horror]].

** #7: Kiruko told Maru when he unsuccessfully tried to romantically woo her that [[spoiler:her body is female... but her brain is a male's. She has Haruki Takehaya’s brain and memories, who was male, therefore she considers herself a man. Maru has mixed feelings about this, mainly because he doesn’t see Kiruko as either “Haruki” or “Kiriko” and chooses to sees Kiurko as her own individual]].

** Helm was [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped when she was a young girl]], but her attempt to get revenge by accusing a glasses wearing man that she thought was her rapist ended up going horribly wrong when she learned that she accused the wrong man.

* AfterTheEnd: The Post-Disaster plot follows this theme in particular, showing how people in Japan are getting by with living fifteen years after an unknown disaster occurred. [[spoiler:The Nursery plot is revealed to have taken place about fifteen years before the Post-Disaster plot begins, and in chapter forty-four Mikura reveals that an unknown source of power called “The Jeweled Spear of Heaven” unleashed massive worldwide destruction via increased natural disasters; Japan itself was targeted by powerful earthquakes and she claimed it would be the only place that would be affected “lightly” by this calamity]].
* AllPeriodsArePMS: Before entering the basement of the “Immortalite” group’s stronghold Maru noticed Kiruko was acting sluggish and unfocused, but she dismissed his concerns for her. This led to a number of problems, like a psychic Man-Eater’s hallucination attack driving her mad with ease until Maru [[KissOfLife calmed her down]]. As time went on, Kiruko’s condition worsened until she collapsed, forcing Maru to find a safe place for her sake. What made things worse was this took place during a violent confrontation between the Immortalites and the Liviuman groups, but to the duo’s fortune a former member of the Liviuman group found and sheltered them both until Kiruko recovered from her period. [[spoiler:It’s also revealed this was the first period that Kiruko went through, which is why [[FirstPeriodPanic she didn’t recognize any of the symptoms]]. Why it took five years for this to happen after the brain switch medical procedure is currently left unknown]].

** A [[HardTruthAesop harsher message]] is given in the “Inazaki Robin” arc during the Post-Disaster plot line: people are not always who they appear to be, no matter how well they present themselves to you. While discovering the Chief of the Water Filtration Center was abusing their authority and power to take advantage of others isn’t too big a surprise at the end, the knife twister is knowing [[spoiler:the Chief is Robin himself, [[BigBrotherMentor the man who took care of Haruki and Kiriko when they were children]]. Kiruko (who has Haruki’s brain and considers herself to be him) had received guidance by Robin for a long time, thus she had no reason to believe he had a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sinister motive]] for inviting her to stay overnight at the facility and left caution to the wind — something she never would’ve done otherwise. This is TruthInTelevision; many victims of rape were targeted by people that the former trusted, which is the point of a criminal earning the trust of their intended victim in the first place. Robin himself admitted that the reason why he looked after Haruki and Kiriko when they were kids is because “he thought they were interesting,” not because he cared about them.]]

* AnimalMotif: Maru shares similarities to the Japanese Macaque Monkey, a group of which makes an appearance with the story. Besides having white colored hair, he has a curious personality and is highly acrobatic.

* BodyHorror: If the Hiruko monsters have you in their grasp you will ''not'' have a clean death.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman:
** In chapter five, Maru and Kiruko were stopped by the innkeeper from dealing the finishing blow on the [[AnimalisticAbomination Bird Man-Eater]] because she claimed it was her son Yuuto. She told them it protected her from bandits after it ate him, thus it has Yuuto’s memories and should be left alone because it was now her son that was controlling the monster’s body. When she approached the Man-Eater, yet it refused to harm her, the duo believed there was credence to this theory and that Man-Eaters that won’t harm humans should be spared… [[SubvertedTrope until the monster sliced the woman’s head in half and began eating her remains]], forcing the duo to destroy the monster before it could fool anyone else.

* AfterTheEnd: The Post-Disaster plot follows this theme in particular, showing how people in Japan are getting by with living fifteen years after an unknown disaster occurred. [[spoiler:The Nursery plot is revealed to have taken place about fifteen years before the Post-Disaster plot begins, plus it may have a direct connection to the disaster itself]].

* ArcSymbol: A bird emblem that Maru discovered on the handle of Kiruko's “Kiru-Beam” [[RayGun ray gun]] serves as a clue for them both to find “Heaven,” the destination Maru is looking for. [[spoiler:It turns out later the children of the Nursery plot line had a pin on their outfits that has the exact same icon, making it clear the bird emblem has a direct connection to the nursery]].

** In chapter thirteen, Maru was harassed by a vigilante gang that [[CurbStompBattle drew his full wrath]] when their leader, Iwata, knocked out one of Maru’s teeth. Afterwards, Iwata [[MoralMyopia swore vengeance]] and planned on ambushing Maru along with Kiruko, but a [[BearsAreBadNews wild bear]] mauled Iwata to near death; he ended up being saved by the duo. Maru later found out that Iwata had been watching over Totori, the young innkeeper of the inn they were staying at that night, which made Maru realize Iwata [[JerkassWithAHeartOfGold wasn’t a bad person at heart]]. Maru had been part of a gang in the past and believed they could’ve been good friends if he had grown up in that town, thus he became depressed upon learning that Iwata died later that evening.

** In chapter twenty one, [[spoiler:Dr. Usami, aka Shiro, does this after he read the final words on Mimihime’s tablet, [[DyingDeclarationOfLove proclaiming her love for him]] and never holding anything against him for the actions he took to keep her alive - knowing full well she would’ve become a Man-Eater had Shiro not acted]].
** There’s also chapter thirty three. [[spoiler:After Kiruko had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped for days]] by her former BigBrotherMentor [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighted]] by him into realizing [[LossOfIdentity she doesn’t know who she is anymore]], she cried out in anguish for Maru to save her. Fortunately, he happened to hear this while he was infiltrating Robin’s facility, [[BigDamnHeroes which led to Maru finding and saving her]]]].

* DetectEvil: Maru later gains the ability to detect the presence of any nearby Man-Eaters in the Post-Disaster plot. [[spoiler:This includes the “Hiruko Humans” introduced in the Nursery plot and their descendants in the Post-Disaster plot who have a core just like the Man-Eaters, such as Juiichi’s son]].
* DirtyCoward: In chapter eight Robin taught Haruki how to fight, passing on lessons like watching your opponent’s body movements by looking at their collar; cowards will try to intimidate their opponent by staring at their face; and the losers are those who only focus on their opponents. These lessons stuck with Haruki throughout his life time when he fought many opponents using these exact tactics, [[spoiler:which Kiruko (who has Haruki’s brain and memories) continued following to protect Maru]]. Later, [[spoiler:[[{{Hypocrite}} Robin does everything he preached against in a fight]] to Maru in chapter thirty three, which happened after Maru discovered that [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Robin had raped Kiruko]]. During the entire fight [[TranquilFury Maru didn’t focus on Robin, nor react to anything he said]], choosing instead to stare at the wall and thwart every attempt Robin made to run away by grabbing his jacket and throwing him at the wall, showing that [[CurbStompBattle Maru didn’t even need to see Robin to defeat him]]]].

* DubNameChange: Rather than a character, the gun that Kiruko uses has two different names depending on the translation. In Japanese, it’s called the “Murder Beam,” whereas in the English translation it’s known as the “Kiru-Beam” to follow suit with the “Maru Touch.”
* EatenAlive: This happens on occasion when a Man-Eater devours a human being via absorbing them through their mouth, but what makes it worse is that the process is slow and painful for the victim. [[spoiler:Haruki suffered this gruesome fate, who had his limbs and lower portion of his stomach area “swallowed” by the Invisibility Man-Eater]].

* EveryoneHasStandards: While [[HormoneAddledTeenager Maru]] would love nothing more than to fondle Kiruko’s boobs, he won’t stand others doing the same and even manages to restrain himself from letting his perversion get the best of him. It doesn’t help matters that Kiruko herself knows this, even tempting him on occasion for fun and to [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey get him to accomplish difficult tasks for her]].

** In chapter three, the Nursery plot shows that Kona is a masterful artist, but his artwork bears an uncanny resemblance to the Hiruko monsters. This is followed up by the Man-Eaters being shown early on having supernatural abilities that are similar to the children of the nursery. [[spoiler:Later on, a grown up Shiro who goes by the name Dr. Usami revealed to Maru and Kiruko that the Hiruko monsters were once human, but they died from an illness that eventually warped the corpses into the monsters we see today. Future chapters even showcase humans who have a Hiruko core that Maru can interact with using his “Maru Touch” ability]].

[[spoiler:It’s later revealed in chapter nine that “Kiruko” is an alias for Haruki Takehaya, the younger brother of the aforementioned Kiriko Takehaya, whose body Haruki’s brain is inhabiting due to a [[MedicalHorror medical procedure done by a doctor]] - one that he knew five years ago. When he tried to kill a Man-Eater who could turn invisible before it attacked his sister during one of her kart races, his experimental crossbow weapon [[NoSell failed to bring it down]], thus [[EatenAlive most of his body was eaten]] before his sister managed to pull his body out. In the end, Haruki passed out with his sister crying over him, making him believe he was dying.\\

** A picture of Shiro and Mimihime from the Nursery plot is used as the title cover of chapter nineteen, [[spoiler:hinting at the true identities of Dr. Usami and Hoshino respectively as now grown up in the Post-Diaster plot]].
** In chapter thirty three, the Chief of the Water Filtration Center, [[spoiler:Robin,]] ''panicked'' when he saw Maru for the first time and ran away, hinting that the Chief knew Maru was a [[LightningBruiser dangerous]] [[SuperToughness threat]] despite appearing to be a mere teenage boy. This was even before the Chief found out all the guards had been knocked out by Maru. [[spoiler:Five years ago Robin had disappeared for several months before the orphanage closed down, making it possible he came into contact with some the people of the nursery where children with supernatural abilities had been - thus he may have known who Maru was. There’s also the matter of Robin choosing to lock up the room with the woman surgically attached to the Man-Eater instead of running outside, but information on this remains scarce]].

* GroinAttack: In chapter forty, [[spoiler: Helm detached her prosthetic arm and latched it onto the groin of the Glasses Man who raped her many years prior using fish hooks. Then she revealed the arm had explosives in it, blowing up the pedophile rapist when it successfully detonated]].

** Chapter forty reveals that [[spoiler:Helm has a prosthetic left arm. If she unhooks it from her upper arm it activates a timed bomb within]].

* JerkassHasAPoint: During chapter thirty two, [[spoiler:while Robin was [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping Kiruko]] he decided to [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslight her]] in order to make her more submissive by questioning who she really was: “Haruki” or “Kiriko.” Terrified, she kept insisting she was “Haruki” because she had his memories. However, Robin pointed out that even if it’s Haruki’s brain in Kiriko’s body it doesn’t mean that Kiruko is “Haruki” for sure. It was possible that her mind was actually “Kiriko” who was able to access Haruki’s memories instead. This was the final straw that [[TraumaCongaLine broke Kiruko]] because she had no way to rebuff Robin’s theory, so when she started to see memories of “Kiriko” later on for the first time Kiruko realized [[LossOfIdentity she didn’t know who she was anymore]]]].

* LossOfIdentity: In chapter thirty four, [[spoiler:Kiruko told Maru that the part that made her up, “Haruki,” was gone forever as well as stating she was weak; needed to be saved numerous times by Maru despite being his bodyguard; and that everything she believed about herself was lies after she had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] and [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslighted]] by [[BrokenPedestal Robin]] two days prior. [[HeroicBSOD As a result, Kiruko no longer knew who she was]]. However, Maru snapped her out of this after declaring that he didn’t care who she was, he loved her regardless and would protect her from then on]].
** Later during chapter thirty nine, [[spoiler:Kiruko has resumed believing she is still “Haruki” whose brain is occupying the body of “Kiriko,” but it’s made apparent she is forcing herself to do so because she despises Robin for [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping]] her and refuses to believe his theory stating otherwise, [[JerkassHasAPoint despite the fact she has no proof that his theory is wrong]]]].

** In chapter thirty eight, a Man-Eater that Kiruko fired her “Kiru-Beam” at deflected the beam right back at her, though fortunately she was too far away for the beam to hurt her.

** In chapter fourteen, Kiruko panicked when Maru wasn’t in the room they were staying in until he revealed he was hiding in another room looking at a porn magazine. But when he tried to assure her that he was ok, she started crying, much to his dismay. He remembered that she grew up in an orphanage, which shut down at one point [[spoiler:because when Kiriko “died” the money she brought in from winning electric cart races stopped, therefore the orphanage couldn’t support itself]] and she sometimes begged out loud for Robin to save her when she’s in extreme danger. Maru realized at that point she has a fear of being abandoned by people she cares about, thus he decided to stay at a location that Kiruko wanted him to from then on. [[spoiler:Which unfortunately meant that he waited two days before he went to check on her at the Water Filtration Center, finding out upon seeing her that she had been [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped the entire time]] by [[BrokenPedestal Robin]]]].
** Helm was terrified when she saw the Glasses Man who raped her years prior, leading her to try and kill a Man-Eater by herself since she believed doing so would make her strong enough to face her former pedophile rapist.

** Chapter thirty two starts off with Kiruko and Robin catching up on old times after many years had passed, enjoying each other’s company and Kiruko believing everything will be alright again since she found her BigBrotherMentor. [[spoiler:[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil Then he rapes her]], and reveals his [[BitchInSheepsClothing true]] [[SoftSpokenSadist nature]] to her horror]].

** Chapter seven has Kiruko telling Maru when he unsuccessfully tried to romantically woo her that [[spoiler:her body is female... but her brain is a male's. She has Haruki Takehaya’s brain and memories, who was male, therefore she considers herself a man. Maru has mixed feelings about this, mainly because he doesn’t see Kiruko as either “Haruki” or “Kiriko” and chooses to sees Kiurko as her own individual]].

* IJustWantToBeLoved: As it turns out, this is [[spoiler:Kiruko’s]] FatalFlaw. [[spoiler:Kiruko enjoys being praised by others for being useful, but the story revealed later this had a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic background]]. Haruki Takehaya - whose memories Kiruko has - wanted approval from his BigBrotherMentor Inazaki Robin and affection from his sister Kiriko (who Haruki had a [[BrotherSisterIncest secret one-sided crush]] on). As a result, he tried to kill a Man-Eater by himself, which ended with [[EatenAlive most of his body being eaten by the monster]]; put Kiriko into a dying state as well for unknown reasons; and forced a doctor both siblings knew to perform the surgery that resulted in Kiruko’s current state (Haruki’s brain in Kiriko’s body). After recovering from the surgery and finding out the orphanage had shut down, plus Robin had gone missing, Kiruko planned on [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]], only deciding otherwise because she realized that Robin might still be alive. She searched for Robin, hoping to find out his fate, and after five years she finally reunited with him...]]\\
[[spoiler:…which is why Robin’s decision to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape]] as well as [[{{Gaslighting}} gaslight]] Kiruko took a brutal toll on her mental well-being. After having learned [[BitchInSheepsClothing his]] [[BrokenPedestal true]] [[SoftSpokenSadist nature]] while she was being raped, it got worse when he [[JerkassHasAPoint raised a considerable point]] about her identity that she couldn’t disprove, making her realize that [[LossOfIdentity she didn’t know who she really was]] anymore; she [[TraumaCongaLine broke down]] into a [[HeroicBSOD catatonic state]] and only wanted to “follow orders” as a result. The only thing keeping her from crossing the DespairEventHorizon was knowing that Maru loved and cared about her, which meant there was someone in the world who would cherish her. Fortunately, [[BigDamnHeroes Maru]] managed to find and rescue her after he gave Robin his comeuppance]].

* ActionGirl: [[DeconReconSwitch Zig-zagged]]. Kiruko is resourceful and has survived many years on the road even before she met [[SuperToughness Maru]]. However, she’s up against horrifying monsters with supernatural abilities and groups of bandits who coordinate with each other, making it difficult for Maru and herself to survive even when she’s armed with the [[RayGun “Kiru-Beam.”]] Still, while her [[WeakButSkilled strength and durability isn’t up to par with Maru, she is a skilled sharpshooter]] and [[CombatPragmatist uses the environment to her advantage]] whenever possible. She has even won some fights due to outsmarting her opponent instead of relying on her firearm [[spoiler:e.g. the giant fish Man-Eater)]].\\
[[{{Deconstruction}} However]], she also has to face [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome real life issues]] in the wilderness and abandoned cities, ones that even an Action Girl would have problems with. For instance, [[AllPeriodsArePMS suffering her period]] in the midst of hostile territory; having to make sure Maru is alright; and [[WalkingTheEarth keeping a careful watch on their supplies out on the road]] since they have to eat as well as rest, meaning they could die of mundane reasons like starvation. Finally, no matter how tough an Action Girl she is, [[spoiler:being [[EtTuBrute betrayed]] as well as [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raped]] by someone she trusted [[BrokenPedestal (Robin)]] was a harrowing experience. The artwork showcased brutally realistic details of how terrifying rape is for a victim, alongside the story making it clear that even brave women who fight literal monsters on a regular basis [[TraumaCongaLine can be traumatized]], especially if [[EtTuBrute the victim had trusted their rapist beforehand with their lives]]. Fortunately, [[FireForgedFriends she has Maru to help her]] when things get too rough for her alone, and [[{{Reconstruction}} overcoming these grim experiences has made her a stronger person along the way]]]].

* TragicKeepsake: The “Kiru-Beam” ray gun’s first owner was a woman named Mikura, who took care of Maru before she passed away a short while after meeting Kiruko. Mikura gave it to Kiruko, telling her to take it in order to protect Maru’s life on their journey.

* [[TruthInTelevision Truth In Manga]]: Due to Maru and Kiruko traveling throughout post-apocalyptic Japan a good number of real life survival tips/tactics are showcased in the Post-Disaster plot.
** When Maru and Kiruko were being chased by a [[BearsAreBadNews wild bear]], they managed to escape by climbing up a make-shift ladder to wait out the bear on a concrete pillar, except the bear had no intention of letting a rare meal escape and remained in the area. Kiruko’s biggest fear while on the pillar was that the concrete would sap their body heat, which meant they could die from hypothermia long before starving or from dehydration and further made problematic by the unnaturally cold weather.
** Knowing how to start a fire has helped them numerous times, such as cooking meat to edible temperatures; creating a heat source to keep warm; and creating a beacon in the darkness that would allow other survivors to know of their location (it’s even mentioned that the smoke the fire produces can be seen from further distances). On the flip side they sometimes won’t start a fire to hide from other survivors; they tend to do this in unfamiliar locations that are far away from a civilized town, knowing that bandits prey on people far away from any make-shift authorities a town may have.
** Kiruko oftentimes tries to mix in edible vegetation she finds on their journey with their meals. Proper nutrition is vital for survival, which is why eating only preserved food from containers they looted can lead to serious illnesses like scurvy if the food is lacking in nutrients. However, at one point Kiruko made the mistake of mixing unknown vegetation with an entire can of food for dinner, which led to their dinner being inedible as well as gross tasting. If you want to eat plants in the wild it’s best to know what you’re dealing with, but if you’re not sure then only mix it with a small portion of the main dish set aside as a taste test. And be prepared to feel sick if the plant you couldn’t identify was poisonous and/or contaminated.
** Chapter sixteen revealed the dangers of entering a tunnel environment if you don’t know the layout of the area. If you enter a tunnel, yet the original entrance you used either gets blocked off by a freak accident (e.g. cave-in caused by an earthquake) or a hostile being cuts you off from the outside that you cannot overpower, you’re forced to either wait and hope your resources on hand can sustain you until help arrives or explore deeper for a new exit. And if the rest of the tunnel is cut off (e.g. flooded with water) then you’re trapped, limiting your options.

* WeakButSkilled: Kiruko. [[ActionGirl While she’s no slouch in the athletics department]], she’s up against [[EldritchAbomination horrific monsters]] and gangs of human bandits who wouldn’t think twice about violating her. Therefore she’s had to rely on her survival skills, sharp intuition, and her trusty [[RayGun “Kiru-Beam”]] in order to keep Maru and herself alive.

** A [[HardTruthAesop harsher message]] is given in the “Inazaki Robin” arc during the Post-Disaster plot line: people are not always who they appear to be, no matter how well they present themselves to you. While discovering the Chief of the Water Filtration Center was abusing their authority and power to take advantage of others isn’t too big a surprise at the end, the knife twister is knowing [[spoiler: the Chief is Robin himself, [[BigBrotherMentor the man who took care of Haruki and Kiriko when they were children]]. Kiruko (who has Haruki’s brain and considers herself to be him) had received guidance by Robin for a long time, thus she had no reason to believe he had a [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil sinister motive]] for inviting her to stay overnight at the facility and left caution to the wind — something she never would’ve done otherwise. This is TruthInTelevision; many victims of rape were targeted by people that the former trusted, which is the point of a criminal earning the trust of their intended victim in the first place. Robin himself admitted that the reason why he looked after Haruki and Kiriko when they were kids is because “he thought they were interesting,” not because he cared about them.]]

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Totori, a thirteen year old girl who also runs an inn within a town inhabited by a vigilante group. While it’s hinted that she knew about the trap involving the “pure water” gathering site when Maru and Kiruko went to collect fresh water, Totori helped out Maru and Kiruko later on when she discovered they had saved her boss from a wild bear by telling the rest of the vigilantes that the duo had already fled town, ensuring the duo could have a peaceful night in the inn. She also tried to make a move on Maru that same night, which ended comically since [[HasAType he preferred older women]] like Kiruko [[spoiler:and was too freaked out to want to make love when his “Maru Touch” ability activated on Totori, which happened since she had a core like the Hiruko, making him realize some humans were fair game for his ability]].

* AnAesop: Choosing to believe and trust in someone - or an idea - can give people the strength to persevere through the harshest of times. However, blind trust as well as ignoring any potential negative attributes to avoid self-doubting can lead to disaster, as many characters find out the hard way in ''[[MeaningfulName Heavenly Delusion]]''.