Warning: The following contains major spoilers for Helck!The HIDIVE exclusive seriesHelckis not an isekai, and should be celebrated for its own merits and accomplishments rather than for possibly inadvertently deconstructing the well-known phenomenon, but a certain major event from the anime greatly emulates the popular genre’s best qualities while simultaneously showing how these types of series can mix up their own perfected formula for the better.
Adapted from the original manga by Nanaki Nanao, Helck introduces an unexpected event where the eponymous human protagonist and his demon ally Vermilio get forcibly transported to a place that might as well be another world and is even treated as such in the show, even though it’s technically not.
This anime’s quasi-isekai event revolutionizes the overall titular genre by when the phenomenon takes place in the series and how Helck and Vermilio react once they are transported there.
Helck Is Like An Isekai Where the Heroes are Devoted To Going Home
Adapted from the manga by Nanaki Nanao
Helck dedicates the first few episodes to establish the giant continent where the story takes place, which is afflicted by a never-ending war between humans and demons. So, when the unofficial isekai-esque moment transpires in episode 4, viewers are understandably shocked and want them to return home as soon as possible, especially since their war is at a major turning point that requires their presence. This understanding helps explain and further justifies Helck and Vermilio’s own priority in returning home as opposed to them adjusting to their new life, which is rare but sometimes happens in isekai. No one, including the audience and the characters want them to stay there.
Of course, the undeniable reason why the anime transports Helck and Vermilio away from the main continent is to force the two of them together with no ways of escape to deepen their ties and tear down the many obstacles preventing them from being allies. That’s what Helck should be known and appreciated for instead of for revolutionizing the isekai genre. Who Helck is naturally poses a threat to Vermilio’s people, but his dark past, which amusingly conflicts with his hilarious child-like personality, presents something else entirely, which could ironically save demon-kind.
The One Scene From Helck That Makes the Most Convincing Isekai Argument
Many skeptics may wonder how a series can be considered an isekai if the protagonists don’t get transported to another world. Technically, Helck and Vermilio only get transported to a remote island, but they have no means toescape. Even though they could sail home, they would have no idea which direction to go. Moreover, their only true hope lies in magic they don’t have, which is how most isekai heroes can return home. However, the most convincing parallel is portrayed through a spell that the demons use to locate Helck and Vermilio.
The spell involves combining the DNA of the person they wish to find with an item that is subsequently placed on a map of their world, which consists of one giant continent. The item then moves to the part of the map where the person with the DNA is currently located. In this case, an item containing Vermilio’s hair moves off the map entirely on a portion of the floor where the map was placed. To demon-kind, their whole world is their continent, and because the item indicates that she and Helck are not on that continent, they might as well be in a completely different world. The demons’ shocked reactions seal the deal.
While current fans of Helck might understandably be offended by the comparison of their favorite anime to isekai, hopefully, those who start watching the series on HIDIVE because of that connection will stay for the real reasons why Helck is so good.
Helck is exclusively streaming on HIDIVE
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