Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku (Volume 8) – I’ll Sacrifice Whatever it Takes!
Everything has gone wrong. Lord Tensen was waiting for them and now it’s going to be a fight to the death or be part of their sacrifice in an attempt to become truly immortal. There’s no running away from this fight!
Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku (Volume 8) – I’ll Sacrifice Whatever it Takes!
What happened?
Gabimaru and Yuzuriha find themselves facing Ran, Gabimaru’s nemesis when it comes to elements. At least, Yuzuriha is ideally matched against him, but he knows that and is doing everything he can to keep her away. Facing him in his plant form, Gabimaru plans on taking some hits and working out his patterns, looking for a weakness. However, he’s far more powerful than they had imagined. Yuzuriha gets caught by a flying rock to her abdomen but still has the strength to pull Gabimaru away from Ran… at least for a moment.
Ran strikes down with his hand, but Gabimaru blocks it. It’s not enough though as Ran slices through Gabimaru’s shoulder, leaving him bleeding out. Any normal person would be finished at that point, but not Gabimaru. He pricks himself with a bud from their last fight, infecting himself with Flower Tao. It enables him to regenerate and return to the battle. They create enough confusion to blind Ran temporarily and then hit him hard. His plant form starts to break down which should mean they can defeat him.
However, Yuzuriha’s wound is bad. She’s barely got enough Tao to charge up her weapon. If she does it will kill her and Ran knows it. The idea of him surviving is less appealing to Yuzuriha who drives her blade into his naval, killing him. Gabimaru tells her they need to go and catch up with Sagiri and Mei, but Yuzuriha needs a rest. She tells him to go on without her. As soon as he’s gone, she examines her wound, leans back against a rock and breathes her final breath.
What did you think?
Noooooo! Not Yuzuriha! There are thirteen volumes in this series and this was volume eight. That means there are five more books that are completely devoid of Yuzuriha. I’m completely gutted. It was an incredible way for her to die, but still. I have to hold out hope that she’ll somehow make a miraculous recovery. This was a sad moment, especially when you compare it to when Senta died and she comforted him. She died alone thinking about her little sister.
Of course, there was much more to this volume as Gantetsusai and Fuchi fought against Tao Fu and since neither is particularly good with Tao they were struggling, but Gantetsusai’s vision was obscured by blood which forced him to use Tao. He finally got it and with Fuchi’s help, they defeated Tao Fu. Meanwhile, Aza and Toma were fighting Ju Fa. They too had him on the ropes, but then Tao Fu and Ju Fa merged their bodies into one terrifying monster. The next volume is going to be insane.
I still can’t believe Yuzuriha’s gone. Her final scene was heartbreaking and considering she’s been a wonderful source of humour for the series, I worry about how dark things are going to get going forward. My gut is telling me that we are going to see several more sacrifices as time goes on.
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 |
