Jigokuraku

It’s time to employ another Suicide Squad-like theme. Oh you know, when good guys are feeling too chicken to get a dangerous job done because the cost will be countless casualties from their side, the only way is to use hardened criminals. That’s right. It might also seem like an oxymoron that Jigokuraku AKA Hell’s Paradise is named so. Sorry folks, not some sort of isekai slapstick comedy. Nope. Seriously. Phew. Hence your fantasy period drama of a group being formed using criminals on death row to go look for the legendary elixir of life at some mysterious but very dangerous place because some fat ass shogun wants to live forever. And to think the reward for doing so is an official pardon of one’s past crimes. That’s it? I don’t know, if you ask me, I’d say the criminals still got the raw end of the stick. Better to keep your honour and die like a criminal. But what do I know? I’m not part of this suicide mission.

Episode 1
Gabimaru is sentenced to death. However he won’t die! From beheading to being burnt alive and even torn apart by bulls, damn this guy is tough! Sagiri Asaemon Yamada has been tasked to observe and record him. She learns his parents were killed when he was a baby, taken in by a village chief and trained to be a cold hearted killing ninja from Iwagakure but got captured when he tried to leave the village, a sign that marks as betrayal as no one leaves the village. Why would he want to leave? You see, he married the chief’s daughter and being the sheltered and naïve girl, I guess she got too naggy and fearing his skills would dull, he tried to leave. Gabimaru claims he has no attachment to life so why is he resisting death as Sagiri observes. Even the next sentence of boiling him alive didn’t work. Hence his final execution would be to die at the hands of Sagiri. She comes from a family of well-known executioners. Just then, Gabimaru becomes afraid and even dodges getting killed by her. Sagiri explains he is indeed hollow like he is called but knows about his lie. He does have an attachment to life and that is his wife. This is the reason why he is living because of her feelings for her. Flashback shows she is a very sweet and understanding girl. He thought she will only see the dark side of him but apparently she has this huge hideous scar on her face and only Gabimaru wasn’t repulsed by it. As men become soldiers and women bear children, those who live in Iwagakure cannot live a normal life. Hence the scar was put there by her own father. But her heart won’t give up easily and she knew Gabimaru isn’t as hollow as he thinks. So when Gabimaru talked to the chief for them to leave and lead a normal life, the rest is history. Sagiri throws a surprise for Gabimaru. Apparently he will get an official pardon from the shogun himself but with a condition. There is this risky mission he must undertake. You see, legend has it that there is a land like heavens called Shinsenkyo. Recently it was discovered and an expedition was sent there to retrieve the elixir of life. However none came back alive and their bodies turned into flowers. The shogun then gave an order to find condemned criminals to bring that elixir back. Whoever does so will be pardoned. Hence Gabimaru will be in competition with other condemned criminals. Sagiri tells him she heard news that his wife has shut herself off and hasn’t spoken to anyone. This means she still believes in his return. With that desire to return to his wife, what choice does he have? Mission accepted.

Episode 2
Sagiri’s father was a legendary executioner. One time he was tasked to behead a storyteller. So swift and painless the beheading that the storyteller didn’t know he was beheaded and continued his storytelling until it ended. Sagiri tried to imitate that skill but with all the doubts, her victims mostly died a painful death and it still haunts her. All the death row criminals are gathered on the beach as they are told about their mission. Many mock this fairytale mission. Until they bring out the only survivor of Shinsenkyo who is now dead. Flowers bloomed all over his body. When one wants out, he is swiftly beheaded. They are reminded that each of them will have a guard accompany them to the island. If they act out of line, they will be beheaded on the spot. Also one more thing, because of the limited number of guards, they want to trim the numbers. For those who don’t get it: Kill each other and those who survive will qualify to head to Shinsenkyo. It soon erupts to a bloody violent brawl. The shogun is enjoying this bloodbath but some officials wonder the logic behind this. Yeah, shouldn’t they have more hands to try in getting the elusive elixir? Eizen talks to Sagiri about being overwhelmed by this scene. He thinks she is not suited for this job. She explains that being born into the Yamada clan, they make their living through people’s deaths. One may turn a blind eye to it but the truth is always reflected in the blade. When some prisoners want to kill her to take her sword and make a break, she hesitates for a while but manages to kill them. But still, those dreaded feelings still haunt her. Gabimaru then asks the officials if this is the right way of doing things. Because not killing others should be the most natural thing in this world. The officials then announce whoever kills Gabimaru will get to go on the expedition. The baddies will rather kill than talk so Gabimaru has no choice but to brutally kill all of them. Yeah, seen too much for today, shogun? It is then Sagiri realizes what she needed wasn’t the strength to not fear killing but the resolve to take on the burden of that fear and the lives she took. Screening test is over and the 10 ‘qualifiers’ are Gabimaru, Chobei Aza, Gantetsusai Tamiya, Keiun, Nurugai, Horubo, Akaginu, Yuzuriha, Makiya Moro and Rokurota.

Episode 3
Gabimaru believes the village chief is immortal because there was once a demon on how much you kill him, he won’t die. Therefore he believes such elixir of life exists but isn’t sure if it’s here. Walking through the beautiful and colourful flora, Gabimaru finds it all unnatural. WTF Sagiri being a rigid b*tch and doesn’t want him to untie his hands? She claims she is not his friend but executioner. Refuse to heed and off goes his head. Suddenly Gabimaru is smashed by Keuin’s weapon. Of course he lives but calls out to Sagiri’s double standards because isn’t Keuin’s hands free? Kisho can’t be bothered over something trivial and will just tie his hands on the way back. If that ever happens. Keuin wants to test all his weapons on Gabimaru and eliminate all competition before taking his time to look for the elixir. The executioners will not interfere in this quarrel but WTF Sagiri still wants Gabimaru to fight with his hands tied? Probably too violent for us to see because we see Keuin’s corpse. Kisho finishes the job and decapitates him just in case. Kisho is relieved he gets to go home early. He has seen so much when they arrived on shore. Criminals trying to kill each other while others forming alliance. Some breaking the rules for their own convenience. Those don’t matter if nobody follows as the priority now is the elixir. He warns the situation will change within a few hours. We see snippets of some already dead. Like Eizen getting killed by Rokurota. Then he mentions news about the shogun will make contact with the new Iwagakure and this job might be some sort of test to see who becomes the next ruler of Asaemon. After he leaves, Gabimaru swiftly tries to kill Sagiri. However both seem hesitant to strike the finishing blow. For Gabimaru, blame it on his wife. Yeah, as long as he is true to his feelings, lovely wife will follow him anywhere. He thinks because she introduced emotions to him, he has gained some and became weak. Eventually Gabimaru overwhelms Sagiri. But he still cannot bring himself to kill her. Ghost of his wife stopping him? Sagiri realizes he has been wearing the same expression and trying to endure something. Watching him allowed her to face her own emotions. She tells him emotions are not weakness and because he faced them, it is strength. Normally she would’ve executed him but will let this slide for she wants to see whether he can reclaim his life or not. Gantetsusai and Fuchi are in a weird place. When a butterfly stings Gantetsusai’s hand, he immediately cuts it off! He notices the butterflies have human faces and their stinger soon turn that severed hand into flowers. More creepy creatures show up. Some with human limbs.

Episode 4
Gantetsusai was once called by some hotshot to be his officer. But when he jokingly doubted his skills to cut a dragon, Gantetsusai cut down his dragon gate. His clan arrested him and put him on death row. Hence his goal is to get the pardon so he can cut down things again. As he calls Fuchi weird, he explains the clan doesn’t do just executions as some dabble in medicine like him. He likes dissecting the human body to find its secrets so beware. They realize that this task is also an attempt to create the strongest warrior as the criminals will be attempting to eliminate each other. But it won’t be the strongest because if they fail, the shogun will send another batch here. Gabimaru fights the weird creatures and he can actually hold his ground well. Sagiri is being the hindrance so he wonders if he should save her or his own skin. Eventually his reflex did the former. This almost causes them to be killed but luckily the final monster is cut down by Yuzuriha. She wants to work together and tries to use her feminine charms to seduce him. Too bad it won’t work. This guy got a cuter wife! Wondering why she has 2 executioners with her, originally Genji was assigned to Makiya but deemed her dangerous and decided to go with her. Is he weak against woman? Her executioner is Senta. Yuzuriha wants Gabimaru’s strength and in exchange she will tell him info about this island. Apparently the most dangerous ones are those butterflies with faces. Other insects and monsters are relatively harmless unless you approach them. She knows all this because she tested it on Makiya. Gabimaru wonders why she is telling all this. Isn’t she desperate to survive? True, her goal is not to die young. That is all. He asks about Gabimaru’s fate but she doesn’t tell. Clips hint that he is already dead. Sagiri must be feeling so useless that she hasn’t done anything worth on this island that she collapses.

When Touma rose up to be a top executioner in the Yamada clan, it seems it is all part of the plan to infiltrate it and save his older brother, Chobei who is deemed to be executed. We watch Chobei mercilessly killing the monsters. He is excited that they are alive because it means they can be killed. Flashback shows their father was executed for avenging his lord’s death. The brothers were left to fend for themselves. They were kidnapped by bandits but Chobei worked his charm and eventually ended up controlling the group. Hence Touma’s narration about the law of the world is not the strong preying on the weak but survival of the fittest. Those who can adapt are strong. This is where Chobei excels in. As the monsters surprisingly speak and call them sinners for killing (because insects also have lives), Chobei doesn’t give a sh*t and continues to mow them all down. He mocks they are slaves to justice who cannot do anything on their own. Because he is not letting anyone telling him what to do and will become his own lord. Become his own God. A time when Touma was lost, Chobei told him to trust him whenever so. Because he is always right. As these monsters are real, he believes so must be the elixir. Thus they are going to kill all monsters and humans here and claim the elixir for themselves. Not even death can tell them how to live.

Episode 5
Despite being poisoned by those butterfly scales, Sagiri is still okay. Rejoining the rest, Gabimaru has gathered what he can to make some food. While scouting around, he saw familiar and unfamiliar plants. Especially those that grew on the dead. It could very well mean those plants are from those who never returned. He also didn’t find any mandarin orange, a sketch of what it is believed to be the elixir. Forget about what it looks like, they should be noting the strange statues and what kind of technology makes them. They also discuss about the weird creatures, monsters haphazardly joined to human bodies and they have no reproductive organs. Like as though they are malformed gods and this is some sick mandala. But this gives Gabimaru some hope since if something can survive without organs, it means the elixir is possible. Soon, Genji wants Sagiri to head back and he’ll take over her duties. As a woman, it is her job to bear children for the clan. She might have exceptional sword skills but that is only as a tester and executioner. In battle, it is very different and she is clearly not strong enough. Because can she kill Gabimaru without hesitating? But here is the next question: Can you get off this island? Because many didn’t. We see Tenza trying to escape with Nurugai. They stumble upon a graveyard of ships and are soon attacked by monster tentacles. As Tenza cuts through them, Nurugai is disillusioned. Apparently she let some samurais into her village where they cut down all her tribe. The shogun believed they are rebels or something. Nurugai was to be executed after she reveals the other villages but that was when Tenza offered this mission. He believes she is the one most deserving to live. To Tenza’s shock, he sees Kisho’s corpse with those flowers. Nurugai becomes even more disillusioned and wants to die. She thinks this is punishment for letting her tribe die. However Tenza doesn’t understand all that is not asking that. He wants to know if she wants to live. Nurugai realizes she wants to so he tells her to do all it takes to survive.

They manage to get a boat back but they end back up on Shinsenkyo. They realize that the currents lead back to the island and that the graveyards of ships barricade the island and some weird monster guarding it. They need to walk around the island to find that current that flows out. But they can’t do it alone and need cooperation from others. Senta tells Sagiri part of him wants her to leave but another part wants her to stay. Because of her, Gabimaru is different. That night, she talks to Gabimaru who thanks her that her actions have made him calm down and think rationally. He needs to better plan and won’t run away from those trying to get in his way. People might understand themselves less than they think but they’re all the same when they start to act. Next morning, Sagiri tells Genji she won’t be leaving because she wants to walk her own path. She has lived with the scorn from even her own father who didn’t want her to become a samurai. She doesn’t want to be haunted by all those regrets and wants to decide how to live. She chooses to be a samurai. Genji is going to cut her to teach her a lesson but she manages to steal his sword. But soon Rokurota smashes Genji in half!

Episode 6
Flashback shows Rokurota loves to eat and push things till they break. Of course eventually his parents and the villagers fell victim to this. Sagiri could have died had not Gabimaru come to her aid. He needs Yuzuriha’s help but it seems she isn’t willing to put her neck on the line. Gabimaru tries to analyse Rokurota’s attacks. Just plain brute force. This means whatever skills Gabimaru throws at him whether it is close or range attacks, all have no effect. And he can’t get slammed once by his palm or he’s dead. Sagiri tries to save Genji but he knows he is a goner. Then he realizes that instead of clearly dividing everything into clear cut categories, Sagiri chose the middle ground and accepted all. Noting that this is the path she has taken, he gives her his sword. As a samurai, do not run but kill Rokurota. She returns to the battle and deflects Rokurota’s swings and even cut off a pinky (hardly any damage to him). As narrated, Sagiri’s low rank is only because she is a woman. If she puts her mind and focus into it, her sword skills surpass all others. Because of his posture and toughness of the skin, Sagiri cannot easily decapitate him. The duo try to find a way to bring him to his knees. Sagiri using her calm reasoning to objective assess the situation and what to do next. Rokurota gets hungry and starts crying? So loud that Gabimaru takes some damage. Then he does a risky gamble move. Casting fire into rocks and throwing at the giant, this is part of the plan to burn down the forest. This is to choke and suffocate him, bringing him to his knees. Once he is in kneeling position, Gabimaru pins down his hand for Sagiri to cut off his head. We hear Rokurota wondering why he can never be full nor why people would not want to play with him. Sagiri calms the giant down as she claims all those he hate are dead and to rest in peace. Then they get out of here before they burn to death. Sagiri is sad to leave Genji behind. He’s already dead. They notice the monsters are heading towards the fire and hence their only clue is to go where they came from. As they reunite with Sagiri and Senta, they are shocked to see a village. This is where hermits live? As explained, they are immortals or at least super humans with strange magic. Touma and Chobei stumble into a pair of hot chicks making out! Uhm, is this the paradise?

Episode 7
Hot chicks not impressed humans got this far and the Soshin didn’t do their job. One of them then transforms into a man to get rid of them. Gabimaru notices somebody watching her. This little girl? Is she Sakura of Naruto?! He chases her but this discount Groot guardian tries to stall them. Gabimaru lets Yuzuriha handle it while he chases after Sakura (temporary name). He realizes for a kid, she is fast and strong but when finally cornered and tied up, she starts crying. Sagiri consoles her as they return to the rest. Groot wants Sakura returned to her and in exchange will tell them about the elixir as well as provide them shelter and food. Yuzuriha does not trust him and thinks are lies until he mentions there is also a bath. He takes them back to the village where the ladies enjoy their bath and after food, Groot tells them what they need to know. The elixir exists and is called Tan. This place is called Kotaku and the island has 3 layers: Eishu the shore and woods, Hojo the village and Horai the centre with mist where Tan is located. Groot has no reason to lie to them because this the least he can do as it will be their last request. You see, those eternal beings guarding Tan are called Tensen. Soshin are those monsters. Tensen are on a different level since they are immortal and beautiful. They do not allow anyone on this island to leave and will kill them. However those punished will not die outright. They are reborn as flowers and serve as the source of Tan. Speaking of that, Touma and Chobei lost to the Tensen and got thrown into the pit as vines start creeping up to them. Groot tells them it is up to them to believe it or not. This place is indeed Shinsenkyo and it is up to the gods to decide the fate of humans. Groot introduces himself as Hoko and this girl is Mei. They were born and raised on this island for centuries. Gabimaru then goes to take a bath to wash off his wounds. Sagiri notices Mei doesn’t know how to clean herself perhaps nobody taught her. To thank for the food and shelter, Sagiri teaches Mei on how to clean herself. This has Gabimaru remember his wife washing his back and talking about things in life. Because she covered her facial scar with her hair, Gabimaru told her not to because he doesn’t mind it. This means he tells Mei not to be shameful of hers because he knows a woman with a huge scar but yet is the most beautiful woman in the world. Aww… How sweet. So can we expedite getting the elixir so he can return to his beautiful wife soon?

Episode 8
Tenza was born to say the least a street urchin. He did whatever he want without a care. Until that is, Shion from the Yamada clan picked him up. As Tenza and Nurugai continue to find a way out, a Tensen pops up before them. Seeing his abnormal powers especially his regeneration, Tenza needs them to run. Of course all that cutting is futile as the Tensen can regenerate but it bought them time to run into the woods. Still, they get cornered but had not Shion come to their rescue, they would’ve died. Shion is Tenza’s master and despite being completely blind, he has acute senses of smell and hearing. Shion was about to head home after killing Akaginu for trying to seduce him. However he couldn’t find a path out and when he found the only one, sensed a very strange presence he could not make out. But Shion wants to know why Tenza is keeping Nurugai alive and flouting the rules. Because he sees potential in this child. The same reason why Tenza picked him up. Like the kind soul he is, Shion agrees to that and lets Nurugai live. Break time over as the Tensen returns. Shion is dealt a heavy blow as Tenza gets reckless to fight it. Oh my, he got a few holes blown into his body! I guess when you’re dying, you see a flashback of your life. And so we see Tenza as an unimpressed kid being trained under Shion. Shion maintained his confidence that Tenza’s potential will bloom but Tenza himself does not see that and is sick of this. He wants to quit. Okay. But he must land a blow on him anytime or anywhere. Tenza won’t play along and just left. But he stumbled into Eizen who then brought him to a grave where Shion’s former disciple lies. Tesshin was a scoundrel like Tenza too. However at that time Shion placed importance in honing his skills and did not give much attention to Tesshin. Eventually Tesshin left. A few years later, the criminal whom Shion executed was Tesshin. Life was hard and he fell into a life of crime. His last words were sorry to his master. Ever since, Shion began helping others. Tenza returned to fight Shion but this time with motivation. Now Tenza realizes he is dying but he can at least buy time for the rest to escape. If he can’t use his sword, use his fist for beat down! Against Nurugai’s wishes, Shion takes her and run while Tenza continues his futile brawling. Nurugai is upset Shion abandoned his pupil but he believes that is what Tenza wants. They must not waste his chance of letting them live and vows to avenge him one day. Final flashback, Tenza was able to finally hit Shion. He is free to live but requested Shion to continue teaching him the ways of the sword. RIP, Tenza…

Episode 9
Senta is so confused. Despite all the books he has read, he still finds the mystery even more mysterious. His brains gonna explode! He thinks it is best to sort this out and come up with a plan before entering Horai. However Gabimaru cannot wait for that so when everyone is sleeping, he sneaks off into Horai. Entering a misty area, he sees many Hoko-like creatures praying and chanting sutra towards Horai. As he is at the gates of Horai, he stumbles into a Tensen (the one who killed Tenza). This Tensen is troubled because he just fought a tough one and he’ll be damned if he fights another on his watch. But I guess he has to as both sides start fighting. Gabimaru soon watches his regenerative abilities no matter how many times he breaks him. The Tensen even fighting back using some wave force. Gabimaru thinks he doesn’t need a plan. Just keep moving. He’ll just pummel it until his regenerative abilities cannot keep up. The Tensen then turns into his flower hybrid monster form. And shoots electric beams! Obviously this is Gabimaru’s limit and even his teachings of giving it all to take down the enemy together with his last ounce of life didn’t work. A vision of his wife. Can’t make it back home? I thought he said he will come back even if he is dead! Maybe there’s hope because Mei saves him and escapes. Next day, Senta and the rest believe Gabimaru has gone to Horai on his own. Hoko is willing to guide them there since he hasn’t seen Mei too.

Along the way, Hoko talks about the Tensen who are the 7 hermits in the legends. Now we see them frolicking in their beautiful garden, arguing which gender suits them best. Zhu Jin is blamed for the reason fiasco of letting some humans escape. The rest know he has used up a lot of Tao as his regeneration now isn’t complete. The leader, Rien reminds them they are family and must stick together. As they compare notes about the recent humans, Rien reminds Ju Fa about the humans he tossed into the pit. Because if they make it out alive, they’ll be even more dangerous. Seeing which, looks like Chobei indeed got out with his brother. Then they drink a cup of Tan to replenish their vitality. Hoko continues his explanation that there was originally only 1 Tensen but split into 7 different personalities and roles. Long ago, Hoko was once human. His village was prospering 1000 years ago and his people was more devout. When they are about to die, they slowly transform into trees and gather at this place to pray. Because they believe the Tensen will only choose those who will enter Horai. Hoko’s daughter was the first in his family to transform and subsequently his village fell into ruin. Gabimaru wakes up near a river. Realizing he is alive and that Tensen he fought aren’t gods but monsters, it means there must be a way to kill them. However he can’t do it by himself and needs help. But look who’s here? Gantetsusai and Fuchi.

Episode 10
Not sure about this visual showdown between Gabimaru and Gantetsusai. It’s like they’re killing each other so Fuchi tells them to stop this pointless thingy as what they need now is info. Surprisingly Gabimaru bows his head to seek an alliance with them. He tells them what he encountered and this sends them into shock. Gantetsusai is even more interested to fight and kill a Tensen. He is not interested in the pardon and wants to become immortal. No, not live forever. He wants his name and face to be forever remembered by the future generations. That is what he meant of being immortal. Fuchi is of course interested to dissect and research on immortals. Mei has awakened but now she looks more grown up and can speak. Gabimaru asks for any ways to defeat Tensen but she speaks retardedly and doesn’t make much sense. Tao. Mind. Strength. Weakness. Huh? Meanwhile Senta has put together his findings and believes all the Tensen are names taken from different religions. Because this place is so mixed up, this all comes from culturally specific interpretations, which means they were preceded by human religious views. He cites Makiya as an example because he wanted to use a new religion he created to overthrow the shogun. This means that this island most likely has a creator. Hoko continues to explain that Tao is the flow that creates everything in the world. Obviously the Tensen control that.

Meanwhile Nurugai is trying to force Shion to teach him the sword. However he will not let more young ones die and will do the killing. Because she too share the same sentiments, he starts talking about how he could see everything in waves and then explains the correct way to use a sword. So is he teaching her or what? However Soshin pops up and Shion has to start cutting them down. Sorry, he is too busy to be her teacher. But feel free to observe and learn. Gantetsusai relishes cutting down the Soshin as practice and a way to find the Tensen’s weakness. As Chobei and Touma are out of the pit, Touma wants to escape the island but Chobei is hell bent on killing those bastards. From his observations, he believes the weakness is at the lower parts of the body like the navel or groin because that is where it regenerates. Because they are like plants, it makes sense the roots is at the bottom and not at the top where the head or the heart is. They are approached by a strange fellow known as Doshi. He wants to talk and is amenable to reason unlike the defects known as Soshin who are not even allowed into Horai. The Doshi serve the Tensen directly and do their dirty work. Now they are scouting the island from humans who have arrived. He hopes they can go back into the pit and became Tan. Obviously Chobei will not and starts fighting him. He lets Touma handle the Soshin grunts. Doshi can tell Chobei is no ordinary man because of his incredible strength and all. However he is exhausted and he can see weaknesses in his waves. Using the blind spot to his advantage, he takes out Chobei.

Episode 11
However it seems Chobei has learnt to see Tao now and he is getting confident this is the key to kill Tensen. He fights to force Doshi to reveal more secrets. Doshi starts to fear him as he could be on the same level with Tensen. It could be that inside the pit, he might have absorbed some of the powers and that’s why he is now showing superhuman abilities. Doshi tries to call the Soshin for help but Touma has taken care of all of them. Touma then notices vine scars slowly appearing all over Chobei’s body. He is worried what will become of him. As Gantetsusai and Gabimaru fight the Shoshin, Mei seems to be in distraught. Her cryptic words of strong x strong is a no. But strong x weak, yes? A Doshi is glad to see Mei again since she has been missing from Horai and Rien forbade them to look for her. He wants her to return with them to Horai to complete their training. Mei is hesitant and Gabimaru wouldn’t want anything to do with her since it will distract him from his goal. Noticing he has changed since entering the island and that he can’t bear to see her cry, he goes to protect her. Another Doshi pops up to attack. Then they start explaining the 5 different stages of mastering Tao. The final and most important step is bochu jutsu that involves circulation of yin and yang. To put it bluntly, sex. Unlike Tensen that have both sexes, many other creatures only have one. Mei shares the same origins with Tensen but she was given the ultimatum to die or continue her training. The scars on her body were inflicted by Rien. Well, Mei as a sex object makes Gabimaru real mad. He’s on fire! No wonder Mei doesn’t want to go back there. The guys attack the Doshi in their transformed form. They are even more formidable. Fuchi has deciphered Mei’s words. She meant that in order to see Tao, the mind must both be weak and strong. With Mei touching his hand and Fuchi doing more explanations, Gabimaru gets the gist of it and learns on the fly. Yeah, because time is running out too! With this adaptation, Gabimaru now can see the Tao and easily dodge all attacks. The Doshi get destroyed. At Hoko’s side, they arrive at the gates of Horai. Upon entering, Hoko gets decapitated.

Episode 12
While Hoko is still alive, Mu Dan welcomes Sagiri and co to Horai. Yuzuriha’s first reaction is to flee but Mu Dan catches her in an instant. As Hoko tells them who Mu Dan is, he accepts his death fate and prays his soul would at least be invited to Horai. But Mu Dan rubbishes all that as untrue. Those were just lies to maintain order on the island. All humans here are simply prototypes for experiments. This includes the Kyoshi humans he shows them. Once humans but now experimented on and now are his toys. As for the elixir, sorry people, no such thing. Because many humans who are of high quality just get turn into Tan. This shocking truth has Sagiri’s first thoughts on how Gabimaru will get back to his wife. Mu Dan is interested in Yuzuriha because she has great amount of Tao but has not efficiently used it. She manages to escape his clutches as the rest cooperate to fight this monster. Of course as they see for themselves, he regenerates after any sort of decapitation. Sagiri pleads to Hoko for any weakness. Then she slices his guts where the important Tanden source is. However, Sagiri’s Tao is too weak to do any damage. But then she changes the way she breathes and this increases her Tao tremendously. She manages to cut a wound on Mu Dan that doesn’t regenerate. The trio continue to cooperate until Senta restrains him for Sagiri to cut his Tanden. As they rest, Sagiri wanders if Senta likes Yuzuriha because he has been trying to protect her ever since. He says he is envious of her freedom. You see, Senta loves to draw but as a Yamada clan, he is not permitted to defy tradition to become an executioner. Thus he actually hated all the executing. Because he spent time learning on the reasons why human kill, many thought he was diligent. This was also the way how he became knowledgeable in religion. But too much killing has made him closed off his heart. Until he met Yuzuriha. Despite both lie to themselves before others, there is something so free about her lies. He is ashamed for having a soft spot for a criminal but Sagiri can also relate to him. When Yuzuriha notices strange flowers, Senta pushes her away but gets sting instead. Now he turns into flowers as we see him in dreamland, wanting to draw Yuzuriha for eternity and if he cannot be close to her, at least he can keep watching by her side. Apparently Mu Dan is still alive and has transformed into his hideous flower monster version. Yeah, that is enough to zap the morale out of the ladies. There is no way they can beat this monster again, right? So is it time for them to die? Not if Shion can help jump in to save the day.

Episode 13
Shion instructs them to tear away the flowers on Senta to slow the process and of course to get out. Shion fights Mu Dan and it seems he knows where to cut and all because he used all those monsters along the way as practice. With his heightened senses, it is no surprise he can put up a formidable fight. But even so when he gets stung and flowers growing all over him, he tears them off. He is willing to die if it means progressing. Sagiri can’t sit back and watch and wants to help. Nurugai too. Not Yuzuriha, though. But they won’t go back in blindly as they have covered themselves with Yuzuriha’s mucus for better protection. Together with Shion, they fight the monstrosity. As Shion is about to cut the Tanden, he finds it strange as he doesn’t feel its power source. That is when Senta using his last ounce of strength to say it is in the ovule since it is like a plant. Shion cuts there as Mu Dan dies. He laments seeing the perfection in Shion because of the space between his life and death, something he himself can never attain. Sagiri tries to save Senta but Yuzuriha points out she would rather use what’s left of her salve on Shion. Let’s be realistic, Senta is a goner. She talks to him to let things go. No use hanging on. Think of all the nice things you want. With that, Senta is able to pass on with a smile. After burying him, they seek refuge inside this fancy palace. They share the info they have. Like this Tao thing, while it might give you superhuman abilities, he cautions of using them too much as it might cause mental or physical changes and worse, death. Then there’s the elixir which is non-existent. But Sagiri believes it does because of Gabimaru’s chief. However Yuzuriha points out that could be an illusion to imprint into his men never to defy orders. Furthermore, she suspects something about Gabimaru’s wife: She might not exist and could be an illusion! Do you even know her name?! Because if Gabimaru is a pawn, he needs some sort of motivation to carry out his missions. And is it not strange for a young man like him to be married to a woman? Meanwhile Gabimaru seems to be having trouble with his memories. Nevertheless he will play along to get info. Yuzuriha’s words have caused Sagiri to be further worried. While she brushes Shion’s ‘joke’ that she is in love with him, it is clear that she feels strongly about him. So that’s not love? Okay. Meanwhile the shogun has tasked Shugen with a mission to select new monitors to head back to Shinsenkyo to check on the expedition. I guess life sucks when you don’t have the internet to update stuffs!

Oh, Think Twice, Just Another Death For You And Me In Hell’s Paradise
Well, good news. If everything has seemed to end so abruptly and unresolved, be glad to know that there will be a second season coming! But of course. With so much development and potential, it would have been a real crying shame to just end it with a single cour. Yes, I was actually loving and enjoying this series and was quite worried at the pacing and direction of the season as it further draws to a close. With each episode dwindling and counting down to end the season, I wonder how they will tie it all up and heck, worse, an unsatisfying cliff-hanger-cum-teaser. Well, thank goodness I can rest my anxious heart now that a sequel has been confirmed. Phew.

Honestly, I didn’t actually expect myself to be drawn and fascinated by the story and plot here. While on the outside it looks like a group of criminals being tasked with a suicidal mission to find the elixir of life, there is more to it all than meets the eye. It goes way deeper than that as it delves more than just about finding the elixir. There are a lot of intrigue and enigma surrounding just about everything here. After all, as one who has not read the original manga source (which of course already ended in 2021), I was going into the series absolutely not knowing anything except with the intriguing synopsis as my only basis.

However I have to admit that there are some parts of the season which feels draggy but I suppose this is necessary to flesh out the characters and bring about some drama. Heck, even the fight scenes have such drama. They have to explain their moves or the thing they see in the midst of the battle. How are they going to drag out this mission for 13 episodes and beyond, right? I mean, if they skipped chapters and just showcase the action bits, this series would have lost a lot of shine and charm. So it is an irony that despite that the drama parts can sometimes feel like it is moving at a snail pace, I do not actually find it completely boring at all. Yes, sometimes I do catch myself feeling impatient to get this drama over and wanting to move on to the next scene. But at the same time, all that character drama, flashback and fleshing out are not that bad to actually watch. I do find watching such moments to be quite absorbing to a point where I sometimes lose track of time. Oh you know, when the episode ends, I will be in shock, “Oh mah goodness, it’s over already???!!!”. Yeah. That.

Obviously, the characters play an important role to drag out, oops I mean to make the entire series a whole lot more interesting. Not only the criminals but their executioners as well have their own story and past to tell. I would say that each of them are interesting in their own right. By having at least the main characters telling their past, it gives them more depth as we learn and understand their position better. They’re only criminals because of the current justice system says so. As for the executioners, it isn’t all a bed of roses either. A family line and tradition of beheading others, this kind of job is not for the queasy. Not all enjoy such fate and were thrusted into it and some trying to battle discrimination of age old conservative traditions. The lines between executioner and criminals are further blurred when both have to work together to ensure their survival so as they don’t become fodder for Tensen. I believe for that part, it brings out the best and worst aspects of the characters’ humanity because at the end of the day, it is the strongest of the fittest and like any other mortals, you die if you don’t adapt. There’s the motivation to become the strongest unlike immortals who know not the concept of death so there is no reason for them to seek improvement to become stronger.

Gabimaru being the main character of course has the most spotlight although in between they flesh out other characters of concern. Unlike many others who know him of his cruel reputation, Gabimaru is just like any other human. There is a kind side that he doesn’t show others and you could say that his greatest motivation is to get back to his lovely wife. She is the reason for him living and bringing out his humanity even at times when he is down. Best wife ever. So you bet he isn’t going to pull any punches to get the job done. Of course Yuzuriha’s theory throws the spanner in the works and what if it is all just an illusion. Oh no! The wife is a lie?! There might be some truths to it because we all know Yuzuriha is a realist and she can’t be telling jokes, right? Unless she too is putting on a show to fool us. Damn, who to believe! Then there is his assigned executioner, Sagiri. For the most part, she has been trying to fight this battle of insecurity inside her. Always hesitating because of using her gender as an excuse. It is with irony that she learns how to become stronger and be more level headed after learning indirectly from Gabimaru. If I should say, both actually learn from each other and grow to overcome their weaknesses. Not to say that they are completely out of the woods yet but they are much better than where they started.

The other characters are rather interesting too. Even made more so when they have their back stories flesh out or at least mentioned. So we have seen a full episode on Tenza and Shion, Chobei and Touma while the rest like Gantetsusai, Fuchi and even Yuzuriha were just briefly mentioned. Perhaps next season would flesh them about even more. Of course there were a few that were a bit disappointing but I only have myself to blame for having such expectations. You see when 10 criminals ‘qualified’ to be part of the expedition, I thought this was going to be some sort of a slow battle royale and they will be picked off one by one. Something like Basilisk. But in the very early episodes, some get killed off instantly. Akaginu, Horubo and Makiya, I am only thinking that their characters are just to troll and throw us off because otherwise we would be forming early conclusions on who are going to make it out alive. Some like Rokurota and Keiun only serve as stepping stones for the next plot so that’s that. So with half of the field gone, I guess we have to drag out the drama from here and not let any more unnecessary deaths follow until the time is right.

On a trivial note, I thought it was dumb of criminals initially trying to fight each other to get the elixir even if it was all baseless. Heck, they should at least just steal the elixir for themselves (like what Chobei said himself because did he steal my idea?)! Screw whatever pardon! Because if you’re immortal, nobody can stop you, right?! Either they are too dumb to think that or they have to keep this intention under wraps because if found out, their executioner will just lop off their head. Hey, even if they do cooperate and find the elixir, it’s not like they’re going to share it among themselves, assuming the elixir has enough room for more than a single person.

As for the Tensen beings, virtually immortal only because they keep using human as fuel for their Tan. Even if they consider themselves as gods, eventually it is just a big lie because they still have a weakness and can be killed. My suggestion is to pit Tensen against the Iwagakure chief to see who is more immortal! But then again, the fight might drag out so long and break all records from the Dragonball series! Yeah, I don’t want to watch a fight between immortals that last forever! Even if it is an illusion. Anyway, Tensen being not humans, there are many aspects that we do not understand about them. Even more so, the series has deep roots in the religions of Buddhism and Shinto, both of which I am of course not really familiar with. So when they start spamming those Buddhism and Shinto terms in their explanation, I’m already lost. Even those terms feel like tongue twisters! Can’t even remember! Sorry people, not really a religious guy. Unless you say anime is a religion then I’m in!

While the action bits are part and parcel of the series (how can you not have any fights when you have badass criminals in it?!), I won’t really say they are an integral factor to the whole thing. Sure, it’s nice to see the characters using their weird jutsu whatever against enemies, human or nonhuman alike. But yeah, it must be just me that sometimes the action parts can be dragged out a bit longer than I expected. Am I complaining?! Well you see as already mentioned, there are also a lot of drama parts in the midst of the action. For instance, Gabimaru having some sort of monologue in his mind in finding the best technique to kill his enemy or some other related drama pertaining to his mission. Or Sagiri, trying to psyche herself to be stronger on whatever insecurities that is plaguing her at the moment. Thus it is not really 100% punch fest or slash fest. So yeah, perhaps this is why sometimes the whole series felt draggy because of this too. Oh, I almost forgot, lots of blood too so this show isn’t for the faint of heart either.

I have to say that the art and animation are a mixed baggage. It is not a masterpiece but it could have been given better attention to quality. At certain times, I would notice the animation quality degrading like as though they wanted to finish a fast job. This happens usually with the fight with Tensen. I don’t know, is this the series’ trademark visuals? I don’t think so because at slow drama moments, the characters are decently animated. Though, some characters look familiar like Gabimaru I thought he is a ninja version of Accelerator from the To Aru series, Sagiri the executioner version of Houki from Infinite Stratos fame and did Bleach’s Renji disguised as Eizen? Touma looking such a pretty boy, I thought he is the male version of Sawako from Kimi Ni Todoke! And here I thought Chobei was a badass bandit version of Chainsaw Man’s Denji! And don’t even mention about Mei looking like Naruto’s Sakura and Hoko the discount version of Groot.

I keep wondering if the Tensen look so because they aren’t exactly humans to begin with and understandably, they will look weird even when taking a human form. But even so, their character design seems left to be much desired as at times they look simpler. Even more so when they change into their female version. I thought there were going to be bare tits but looks like it’s that anime loophole of not drawing the nipples and getting away with it! That’s right. When Tensen are in their female form, you can see the boobs and cleavage. However no tits so this doesn’t constitute to be even hentai. Hey, at least we can all fap to hot sexy Yuzuriha chick, right? Just don’t let her get all sweaty, you know…

Another part of the visual animation I would like to bring up is of course the Soshin. If I were to describe them in a short sentence: Nightmare fuel. You know me, I don’t really like horror-like things so to see such creatures being weird chimeras of human and animal parts, ugh. Grotesque. Even worse, some of the Soshin have that goofy smiling face, a reminiscence of those terrifying Titans in Shingeki No Kyojin. Yeah, sometimes I thought they would do a Titan and just devour the humans but thankfully they are weaker compared to the Titans. Their design is also because as said, the series’ theme is deeply rooted in Buddhism and Shinto so they have some creatures resembling the smiling Buddha. Which is creepy as f*ck. The Doshin are also weird themselves although it’s just the face that makes them look messed up. The biggest nightmare fuel for me are the centipedes! YIKES! I HATE THOSE!!! PLEASE STOP ANIMATING TOO MANY OF THEM!!! PLEASE!!! ARGH!!! This anime is done by Mappa who did Shingeki No Kyojin, Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Dorohedoro and Kakegurui so you can see their trademark works here. Also to note that they did Bucchigire, an original anime that is similar in its theme with Jigokuraku but obviously the latter is way much better in terms of story, characters and even animation visuals than that one.

For the voice acting, let me get this one out of the way first: OH MAY F*CKING GAWD, IT IS MAMIKO NOTO AS GABIMARU’S WIFE!!! OMG! OMG! OMFG!!!!!!!!! HOLY F*CK!!! IT’S REALLY HER!!! OMG! OMG!!!! NO WONDER GABIMARU WANTS TO BACK TO HER! THAT HEAVENLY VOICE! I TOO WANT TO RETURN TO THIS GODDESS OF A VOICE!!! F*CK YEAH!!! At least her voice isn’t an illusion! Oh well. That’s that. For the rest whom I recognized, they are Rie Takahashi as Yuzuriha, Cho as Hoko, Junichi Suwabe as all the Tensen in male version while Yuko Kaida doing the female version. The other casts are Chiaki Kobayashi as Gabimaru (Mash in Mashle), Yumiri Hanamori as Sagiri (Shizuku in Arifureta), Daiki Yamashita as Senta (Midoriya in Boku No Hero Academia), Aoi Ichikawa as Fuchi (Nagara in Sonny Boy), Chikahiro Kobayashi as Shion (Sugimoto in Golden Kamuy), Tetsu Inada as Gantetsusai (Gamagoori in Kill La Kill), Ryohei Kimura as Chobei (Tsubasa in Kyoukai No Rinne), Kensho Ono as Touma (Floch in Shingeki No Kyojin), Makoto Koichi as Nurugai (Sakura in Lycoris Recoil), Yuusuke Kobayashi as Tenza (Subaru in Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), Konomi Kohara as Mei (Chiaki in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai), Volcano Oota as Genji (Mora in Boku No Hero Academia) and Makoto Furukawa as Eizen (Shirogane in Kaguya-sama Wa Kokurasetai).

The opening theme is Work by Millennium Parade x Ringo Sheena. To put it in a word, strange. Hearing such modern age music for this kind of series, I find it really bizarre and yes, personally I feel it doesn’t quite fit in. Even more so when the opening lines of the song reminds me of an iconic song from Super Mario Bros! You know, the level where you go face Bowser! Did this song sample part of it? Still, hearing the techno beats, rap verses and strange singing voices, it is all a weird experience to me. Hmm… Maybe it is to be synonymous with all the weirdness on Shinsenkyo. As for the ending theme, it is a slow ballad, Kamihitoe by Uru. As calming and gentle this song, I also feel there is some sense of haunting too. I don’t know if it is because part of the animation credits of those ghost hands wrapping themselves over naked Sagiri. Yeah, such images even in the episode can be unnerving. But if I can look past that creepiness, this song is quite soothing to listen to.

Overall, I really liked this anime and despite some of its setbacks like being draggy at times and the animation quality questionable at times, at least the story and characters are intriguing enough to retain my attention and the bloody action bits are enough to keep me entertained. Hopefully the next season will get even better as it reaches its conclusion (assuming it is the last stretch). I read comments that many aren’t really happy with this production in a lot of aspects. Well, I do agree that it could’ve been better but considering the many other sh*tty animes that I watched in that same season (yeah, mostly the isekai ones), this one stood out and retained my attention the best. Sorry, sucks to have sophisticated tastes like you people! Being a simpleton has its benefits. So in the end, this series isn’t exactly the paradise I’ve dreamt of nor the hell that it was, so is it like stuck in between? Like, stuck in limbo?! You mean like Buddhism’s Bardo?! Sorry, not well versed in that to make puns of it…