Television series
Heaven Official's Blessing
A Chinese fantasy anime about a fallen god ascending to heaven for the third time, only to find himself entangled with a powerful demon king. Lush, deliberately paced, and suffused with romance that builds across episodes. For fans of baroque fantasy worlds and slow-burn character work. Expects patience with subtitles and indulgent storytelling.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy slow-building romances built on banter, bruised pride and a clumsy, put-upon god's bad luck, with a fantasy world that rewards patience.
Skip it if the first episodes lean on slapstick and rumour-mill jokes, and the mythology is dense enough that you may find yourself wanting more plot and less bickering.
What it asks of you: Twenty-three episodes of roughly twenty-five minutes each, across two seasons, with a slow-burn pace that rewards viewers who stay with the long setup.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Master of Diabolism2018
Another Chinese animated fantasy romance with intricate politics, beautiful character arcs, and a central relationship that deepens across seasons. The supernatural world-building is similarly ornate and rewarding.
But The animation can be inconsistent between seasons. If you need constant visual spectacle, the dialogue-heavy middle sections may test you.
Jujutsu Kaisen2020
Shares the same balance of action, character intimacy, and high-stakes supernatural politics. The demon-adjacent power system and mentor relationships echo similar beats. Visually sumptuous.
But More shonen-coded and violent. If you came for romance, it's secondary to combat narrative, and the tonal shifts can be jarring.
Fruits Basket2019
Another long-form romance wrapped in fantasy trappings that prioritizes internal emotional lives. Patient character development and a protagonist learning to be loved. Genuinely sweet without being saccharine.
But Considerably lighter in tone. The fantasy world is thin compared to Heaven Official's baroque detail, and some find the sweetness cloying.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Heaven Official's Blessing
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Hannibal2013
Both are essentially love stories wrapped in genres that don't usually contain them. Both find beauty in baroque visual language and explore what happens when two people become each other's entire world, regardless of the cost.
Transforms the detective procedural into baroque psychological horror. Like Heaven Official, it's about two men locked in a relationship of incomprehensible complexity—fascination, dependency, love, and destruction interwoven. Visually ornate and patient with its own obsessions.
But Cannibalism, graphic violence, and deeply disturbing imagery. Not a romance, but an anatomy of mutual corruption. Watching it requires a high tolerance for sustained horror and body manipulation.
More like this (7)
Castlevania: Nocturne2023
Animated fantasy with demonic hierarchies, stunning art direction, and a central relationship that's tense, mysterious, and builds toward understanding. Gothic and assured in its storytelling.
But Considerably darker and more violent. Nocturne is adult gothic horror; Heaven Official is romantic fantasy. The mood is entirely different.
The Dragon Prince2018
Fantasy world with warring realms, found family, and relationships that develop across seasons with genuine earned weight. Character-driven with lush magical design and unexpected emotional depth.
But It's aimed younger, and the animation is 3D rather than traditionally drawn. Some seasons lose narrative momentum in the middle stretch.
Arcane: League of Legends2021
Animated fantasy with corrupted beauty, complex relationships that spiral toward tragedy, and visual storytelling that's frequently breathtaking. The emotional stakes accumulate across episodes.
But Much darker and more violent. Less romance, more siblings-to-enemies devastation. If you need central relationships to remain warm, this will wound you.
Ergo Proxy2006
Cyberpunk anime with a strange intimacy between protagonist and mysterious figure. Glacial pacing and philosophical questioning. Visually distinctive and genuinely strange in a way that rewards attention.
But Genuinely difficult. The pacing is glacial bordering on static. Many find it impenetrable or self-indulgent, and the payoff is subtle.
Sora yori mo Tooi Basho A Story that leads to the Antarctica2018
Character-focused anime about transformation and chosen family. Builds relationships with real time and complexity, occasionally indulgent in its emotional beats but earnest throughout.
But Tonally lighter and considerably smaller in scope. If you're watching for vast supernatural worlds, you'll find only contemporary Japan and Antarctica.
Carole & Tuesday2019
Visually ambitious musical romance set on Mars. Character work is sincere, the central relationship is the entire point, and it commits to its earnestness about art and connection.
But The plot is sometimes overwhelmed by its own self-seriousness. Some find the soundtrack grating rather than moving, and the narrative meanders significantly.
Yasuke2021
Like Heaven Official, it's animated fantasy that prioritizes mood and visual language over plot clarity. Both ask you to sit with beauty and strangeness without demanding they make immediate sense. Both are unapologetically themselves, indifferent to whether viewers keep up.
A six-episode anime miniseries about a Black samurai in a fever-dream version of 16th-century Japan. Jazz score, minimal dialogue, painterly backgrounds. Each episode feels like a separate meditation on duty, loss, and disconnection.
But Nearly plotless. If you need narrative momentum or explained worldbuilding, this will frustrate you deeply. It's an artistic experience, not a story with resolution.
People
Cast
Recommended by
Legend, The Empress Ki, Love Between Fairy and Devil, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Eternal Love of Dream, Jade Dynasty, Douluo Continent, The Master of Diabolism, Zhu Xian, The Green Wall, Ice Fantasy, My Brilliant Career