Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku
Studio: MAPPA
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Adventure
Hello my friends, Welcome to another entry of my blog. I take this opportunity to reveal that in a couple of days I will make a very important announcement, do not worry, it is not what you think. It is in fact… a very… VERY good news. But I will tell you know when the time comes. I am sure you will love it.
Until then, I will continue with the reviews that I love to do… Anime. And here, I will take about a very good series of this amazing time. After so much time, I am trying to recover the lost time, which is why I am starting to talk about…
I hope you like my thoughts of the new goose that lays golden eggs of Studio MAPPA.
But before I start my review, I must ask you the typical question;
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Now… time for us to go to the most beautiful, worldly part of Inferno with Hell’s Paradise – Jigo… Jigo… Jigokaku? JIGOKURAKU. Damn. Why am struggling with the last word. Anyway.
PREMISE
Based on the manga written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku. Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku… (Yeah, I wrote it correctly), takes us to the Edo Period of Japan, with one of the deadliest, most infamous and powerful ninja around, Gabimaru the Hollow, member of the Iwagakure Clan. During one mission, Gabimaru is captured and sentenced to death, but there is a problem – nothing can kill Gabimaru, decapitation, burning, dismemberment, nothing is effective against the powerful ninja, much to the surprise of the officers of the shogunate. However, one day, an executioner, called Yamada Saemon Asagiri, offer Gabimaru the opportunity of a pardon with one condition – he must obtain the Elixir of Life, located in the island of Shinsenkyo, located in the southwest of the Ryukyu kingdom. The problem is that the Shogunate has already sent, apparently, five expedition teams to that place, and. None of them have return, so this time, they are sending a new team consisted on death row criminals, and if any of them can get the Elixir of Life, they can obtain an official pardon, but if any escapes, that person will be slain in a executioner of the Asagiri clan.
Inspired by the love of his wife, Yui, and the chance of a normal life, Gabimaru accepts, always under the watch of Yamada.
Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku started publication on January 22, 2018, and ended on January 25, 2021, completing thirteen volumes and 127 chapters, furthermore, Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku was published by Shueisha. One fun fact is that Yuji Kaku was a collaborator of Tatsuki Fujimoto.
Studio MAPPA started broadcasting Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku from April 1, having a total of eight episodes, for a total of, I assume… 12 or 13 episodes. But still, this time is okay, the series is so good that there is a big chance of having a second season, just like Chainsaw Man. I just hope it is soon.
I am talking of both.
Finally, Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku has a pretty nice opening song – “Work” performed by Ringo Sheena and Millenium Paradise, I will be happy to put the link here for you to listen.
STORY
Now. I have just watched the first two episodes of Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku, and also, some clips of the anime, especially some featured Yuzuhira, and I got to say that I am being hooked by the premise. A couple of months ago, I was reading about this series, here and there, and it got my attention, almost as much as Oshi No Ko and its sticky “Idol” performed by Yoasobi. And when I say the animation, I really wanted to watch Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku.
I thought Gabimaru will be some kind of villain protagonist. But I will talk about him later.
But nope. The story is very similar to Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man in terms of tone, dark fantasy but with some humour that does not overstay its welcome. What do I mean by this? Simple. That is put on the right moments, without ruining the moments of dark atmosphere and tension. Moreover, the story is fun, it has a lot of action, some violence and gore, but with genuinely heart warming moments, most of them brought by Gabimaru and Yui. Also, the first two episodes done a pretty good job by slowing showing Gabimaru as not as hollow as his title points out, and that is something I value in a story – some time for poignant scenes, as well as some humour, it actually helps to sympathise more with our characters, especially both Gabimaru and Sagiri.
Nonetheless, I must admit that sometimes the story can be a bit slow. But one thing is for a story to be slow, and another is to be boring, and Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku is anything but boring.
Also, the animation is beautiful, the aesthetics, color palettes and character designs seems to take inspiration from Ninja Scroll, Tenchu and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. I like the animation Unfortunately, despite being wonderful, it is not on the same quality of Demon Slayer or Chainsaw Man. If something, it surpasses the animation of both Vinland Saga and Jujutsu Kaisen. I admit this might be a very unpopular opinion, but that is what I think.
However, once our protagonists arrive to Shinsenkyo… My goodness!! It looks beautiful, the background looks like a painting. A very colourful world that, due to the story’s dark tone, really makes you feel like you are in a hollow Garden of Eden… Kind of.
As Bart points out…
‘Sweet in the outside, poison in the inside”
Finally, I think that the music is nice, especially the opening song. I will take my time to listen to more songs, later on.
I am still have to watch a lot of episodes from Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku. But I am having a lot of fun, and I think it is one of the best anime of spring/autumn of 2023.
CHARACTERS
I think one of the elements from Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku that surprised me the most is the characters, especially Gabimaru. Of course, we all know that he is not as hollow as he claims, but he has a lot of features, such as his relationship with his wife Yui.
Honestly, I was very happy to watch at them, I am rooting for Gabimaru, even though I read the ending of the manga… for good or bad. Also….
Was I the only one who though in Tomura Shigaraki every time I look at Gabimaru?
I spoke too soon.
Secondly, I also loved Sagiri, because beneath that cold, calm and collected persona, you see a person full of fear and regret due to her occupation. I thought I couldn’t show a image of her and her fear, but they are not as… revealing as I thought. So here it is.
This image perfectly represents her fear in the best way possible.
Finally, one more character I want to mention is Yuzuriha. My goodness! She is hilarious! She is a deadly assassin, and a… femme fatale, but she has a lot of charm with her expressions and her personality you really liked her, probably more than Sagiri.
Just look at her…
I have no comments
Man… Please come and kill me! Yuzuriha!!! Or at least Sagiri, nor Gabimaru.
And finally, I want to make a honorable mention Mei, which is… adorable, but has the power of creating Groots.
But seriously, I liked the characters, but Gabimaru, Sagiri, Yuzuriha and Mei are my favourites.
CONCLUSION
I am enjoying Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku, the characters, the action, the setting, the conflict. Everything is so cool so far, probably not as engaging as Chainsaw Man, or as immersive as Jujustu Kaisen, but if you liked the productions of MAPPA, I know I do…
…you will enjoy this as well.
I will be watching more episodes later on, and trust me, I am coming back with a lot of reviews of pretty good anime. I don’t know if I publish another review tomorrow, but I will try… I promise.
Until then, I will look for Yuzuriha to kill me…
Oh! I am already dead! Am I in Paradise?
Well… could be worse.
Ok… Now this is Hell.
Jainituos Presents 