Design Details in Hazbin Hotel: Portals
Here comes a quick post about another design detail that I noticed in Hazbin Hotel (and to a lesser extent in Helluva Boss). That is portals!
The ability to think up portals seems to be an ability shared by high ranking angels and demons alike. As per usual, the way the portals appear tells us something about the characters.
This portal opens up for Charlie and Vaggi in Welcome to Heaven. It appears like a golden circle on fire. It is fun 'cause it loosely resembles a circus fire hoop, which fits Charlie.
Cherubs can materialize portals to move between Heaven and Earth. These portals look like circles made of shining clouds, which fits the Cherubs' pastel aesthetic.
Lucifer's portal is a sparkly ring made of light and little stars, which ties with the King of Hell's celestial theme. He is the "Morningstar", after all.
In general, Lucifer has a double elemental motif.
Light, which ties him to Heaven, angels and dreams:
Fire, which ties him to Hell, demons and sin:
This double elemental motif pops up everywhere, even Lucifer's teleportation ability.
Emily's portal is made of bubbles! This check, as Emily's character is commented by the motif of "bubbles" in multiple ways:
She has a bubbling personality
She is "holy water" to Charlie's "hellfire"
She is "the girl in the bubble" in the sense she is sheltered
She sings bubblegum pop :P aka what Welcome to Heaven and Like You are deep down
Sera's portal is interesting because it is a mix of Lucifer's and Emily's:
Like Lucifer's, it is made of light and sparkles
Like Emily's, it has bubbles and seems made of water
It's too soon to say, but it would be interesting if Sera's elemental motif commented her foiling with both Lucifer and Emily. In particular, she could be light and water in juxtaposition with Lucifer (light and fire). This would make the two older Seraphims complementary just like Emily and Charlie.
In season 1 the Exorcists move between Heaven and Hell through portals that are made of two circles decorated with rays:
Season 2 has the same portals return:
Now, it is not clear if these portals are:
Typical of the Exorcists or of the Archangels
Specific to Adam and Abel
Whatever the case, they are clearly meant to be linked to the Exorcists' army since they are associated to them. They could also highlight the similarity of powers between Adam and Abel.
Let me highlight that in season 1 the portals are circles that let the final destination be visible. In season 2 instead they are made of energy and hide the final destination.
This change is probably an animation/aesthetic choice. That said, it is fun to think it is a result of Sera putting Heaven under lock-down.
Asmodean Crystals let demons move through places and dimensions. The portals they create resemble... well... crystals :P
When Loona and the Imps use the book to teleport, the portals appear as generic red rings of fire. I guess these are default portals.
Father and daughter's portals are similar, since they appear made of "dark matter"/"space matter". This fits the family space motif. At the same time, Stolas's portal appears lighter, while Octavia's is darker. This might mirror their respective personalities, as Stolas is more outgoing, while Octavia is in her emo phase :P
I will add that Octavia seems to have inherited both her father's space powers:
And her uncle's ice powers:
So, it is possible she may be able to create portals made of ice. In general, it would be interesting to see how her two elemental motifs comment her story.
After all, in Sinsmas she uses:
Her space powers to protect Stolas
Her ice powers to cut Stolas off
I would not be surprised if her two elements were used to comment Octavia's inner conflict and the influence of both her mother/uncle and her father.
Probably all Sins and Higher Demons can manifest portals. However, Ozzie is especially linked to them. After all the crystals that let demons teleport are called "Asmodean". So, it is not surprising Ozzie uses this power often. His portals are obviously made of fire whose flames are shaped like little hearts.
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