Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku (Volume 4) – Strong, Weak!
Gabimaru teams up with Gantetsusai and Asaemon Fuchi to defeat Lord Tensen. However, they are met by some of Lord Tensen’s scouts and they want Lady Mei back. Meanwhile, Choubei and Toma meet another Scout!
Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku (Volume 4) – Strong, Weak!
What happened?
Mei saved Gabimaru from Zhu Jin but now they find themselves at the mercy of Gantetsusai and Aseamon Fuchi. After sizing each other up, Gabimaru suggests that they work together. He isn’t the same person he was when he arrived on the island and that might be a good thing. When he goes to check on Mei, he’s shocked to discover that she has suddenly aged. She is now a fully grown woman. Is she even human? Not, if the two strange-looking monsters have anything to say about it!
Choubei and Aseamon Toma were thrown into a pit by Zhu Jin where their bodies would be consumed by the plants, creating Tan. However, they managed to climb out and even though Choubei was badly hurt, it seemed to be impacting him less and less. They were met by one of the strange-looking monsters too. Both parties learnt that these were scouts of Lord Tensen sent to check on the humans and assess their danger. Choubei tells Toma to take on the smaller monsters while he focuses on this one.
Meanwhile, Aseamon Shion has refused to teach Nurugai, however, he is keen to explain his technique in the hopes she’ll learn enough to survive. Being blind, he uses a very strange ability that allows him to see waves. From Choubei and Gabimaru’s fights, we learn more about Tao and how the Hermits use this power to fight. We also learn what fate awaits Mei should the scouts return with her and Gabimaru is not about to let that happen.
What did you think?
Information overload! But in a great way. I’m not a huge fan of exposition dumps or multiple characters in multiple locations finishing each other’s thoughts and sentences, but this one time it worked. I think part of that is that there are so many questions that we really needed some answers. And so far, so good. I love that the hermits or Lord Tensen are actually one being that achieved a higher level and split into five parts. I liked the yin and yang explanations behind some of their training, although, like Gabimaru and Gantetsusai, I don’t want to think about that happening.
We also found out that the humans on the island who live a longer life than regular humans were all mysteriously turned into tree monsters before praying to Lord Tensen for all eternity in the hopes of moving on. I loved Senta’s thoughts on how everything didn’t add up. There’s a lot more going on than we can see and I think it’s great that he’s spotted that too. He’s a fascinating character.
Now, while I’m a big fan of all the characters at this point, I really would like to focus more on Gabimaru and Sagiri. It may not be an issue, but I hope we don’t spread everything a bit thin, especially with another group about to come to the island. They will shake things up a bit though, especially as they are from Gabirmaru’s clan and the chief seems determined to kill his son-in-law. I am absolutely loving this series.
Volume highlights
Other posts in the series
Series Information
| English Title | Hell’s Paradise |
| Japanese Title | Jigokuraku |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Samurai |
| Demographic | Shounen |
Manga
Anime
| Season | Season One |
| Released | Spring 2023 |
| Animation Studios | MAPPA |
| Episodes | 13 |
The anime was great, but I definitely like the art work more in the manga! And I kind of feel like the story is a little more clear in the manga too.
I’m going to start the anime soon, but one thing I’ve noticed from the screenshots that I’ve seen is that it feels too light and colourful. Obviously, the manga is black and white, but the story is dark and gritty. I was expecting the anime to reflect that more. Maybe, it’s just the screenshots I’ve seen.
The books usually have more time to explain stuff and it’s easier to reread a page than rewind the anime if you didn’t quite grasp what they were saying.