Forum

Last edited by Tony K. on Tue May 30, 2023 12:22 pm; edited 4 times in total

Episode 03: Weakness and Strength

Summary: When Gabimaru and Sagiri arrive to the island, they are attacked by the condemned criminal Twisted Keiun and the Yamada Asaemon Kisho. Later, the criminal Tamiya Gantetsusai is stung by a human-faced butterfly and quickly severs his left-hand, which withers and sprouts flowers. Then, both he and Gabimaru are confronted by strange monsters and surrounded by bizarre creatures.

Comments: Got some nostalgic Ninja Scroll vibes from Gabimaru's master. His design reminds me a lot of the demons in that one, and the freaky human-faced butterflies also give me a far-out creep factor. Those are pretty neat.

I feel the dynamic between Gabimaru and Sagiri is building pretty well. Even though he wanted to kill her, I think some of her reluctance and compassion, combined with Yui (the wife's) memory is retaining just enough of his humanity to not make him a rampaging corpse-maker.

The big monster guy at the end threw me for a loop. I thought we'd only be getting the butterflies and, maybe, some other human-sized antagonists. But it looks like the criminals and executioners might have to team up, after all!

Screen Caps:

#4

It isn't just the Gabimaru and Sagiri show; this episode actually gives us an insight into the other condemned criminals on the same objective. What I do like is that the episode does this while giving the audience gratuitous amounts of violence to enjoy while the different backgrounds are explored, so it's not just about narration and exposition.

There's comedy as well. Watching Yuzuriha try (and fail) to seduce Gabimaru on numerous occasions and end up with the same result each time is humorous, what isn't is her flippant approach to incapacitating and then killing the criminal who betrayed her. Gabimaru could tell she wasn't lying when she said it was best not to pry, not only that for probably the only time in that sequence she actually managed to pin him in a dangerous position. Her reputation for taking out an entire castle's retainers precedes her and she isn't to be trifled with. A marriage of convenience, but the five of them know it's better to stick together now that the island is showing some of its teeth. It's four for a while, at least until Sagiri recovers from her mental exhaustion.

Gantetsuryuu and Fuchi are another odd couple. One is too skilled in swordsmanship but has poor anger management, while the other has a manic grin on his face when doing autopsies. They're certainly capable of fending for themselves, but will they fight together like the other five are doing while their alliance holds?

The biggest surprise of this episode is Aza Choubei's executioner being his younger brother Touma. He might be utterly devoted to his brother and won't execute him like the other Asaemon would with their charges, but if he passed the course in just a month he's very talented with a sword despite his emotional frailties. Choubei himself is the master of adaptability, which he showed in episode 2 and again this week. The pair have an advantage over the others as they are easily the best at cooperation, but will that be enough in an island which they don't have any advance knowledge about?

The island itself gets creepier and creepier. The giant guardians can speak, but they act like some kind of moral police in warning interlopers to not do things like wanton killing. Doesn't stop them from trying to kill the interlopers themselves, but it's a very surreal situation the survivors find themselves in. Now that they know the giants and monsters are living and can be killed, they'll at least be able to react accordingly if they're attacked again. Not sure what they can do about the insects beyond killing the human-faced butterflies with extreme prejudice, at least the centipedes are "harmless" if they're only interested in dead flesh.

If viewers unacquainted with the source material weren't hooked by this point, I would be very surprised if they didn't drop it already. For everyone else, the hook is set and it's a matter of seeing how far this adaptation will go as the source material is already finished. I'm not confident there's enough airtime in one quarter to do the series justice, but if they animate half of the material in one quarter and return for another there should be enough time to do a proper job keeping viewers of all types happy and satisfied.

The combination of bloody action and the colorful hell(?) that they find themselves in really works to make the episodes feel very short. Hell wise it reminds me a bit of Otherworld Picnic in how the island has seemingly nonsensical rules and creatures in it. Also, my guess as to who would survive for atleast a few episodes was mostly wrong.

Last edited by Tony K. on Tue May 30, 2023 12:23 pm; edited 3 times in total

Episode 04: Hell and Paradise

Summary: Gantetsusai sets out to eliminate criminals to find the elixir, while Gabimaru destroys the monsters surrounding him and Sagiri. Aza and his Yamada Asaemon brother, Toma, face a similar group of monsters, when Toma is temporarily captured and Aza cuts them to pieces in a berserker rage.

Comments: Another duo with some interesting and dynamic chemistry. I thought the main duo of Gabimaru and Sagiri was enough, but here we are being introduced to more pairs. I feel that's good in the sense adding character roster depth, but then I also think pretty much every pair in this show, other than main one (or maybe even half of the main duo) are gonna' end up getting killed in some epic or tragic way.

That kunoichi girl seems untrustworthy. She's definitely the fan service element of the show, but that honeypot effect is a staple of femme fatales. I'm sure she'll double-cross somebody or everybody at one point.

Loving the attention to detail in the background art. There's so much greenery, and the production crew are very consistent in maintaining that look, even in the midst of talking heads. It amazes me MAPPA can keep being so great. They might be the new Madhouse, which is ironic, since MAPPA was founded by Madhouse's co-founder.

Screen Caps:

The weirdest thing in episode 4 is that those giants/gods/whatever seem to be intelligent and capable of communication. That combined with how artificial the whole island seems makes for an interesting mystery.

Yah, they've done a pretty good job balancing out the weirdness, danger, and ambiguity. I also like that the other convicts aren't simple. I mean, they're still bat$#!+ crazy and evil, and they haven't been fleshed out much, but they're not just the generic "I'm gonna try to kill you while I leer a lot with my tongue out of my mouth" psychos.

I'm in.

#5

This is probably the episode with the least variety of action scenes to date. In exchange, the show has briefly shifted to exposition mode as we learn more about the island, what happened to the previous expeditions and what the surviving parties have to do if they wish to return home. A convenient interlude episode, since the episode ending indicates the pacing accelerates again because of the Giant of Bizen.

This time it is Senta, Genji, Tenza and Nurugai who have the spotlight. Senta is surprisingly knowledgeable for a Samurai, and he provides enough information to the others to give them something to target first instead of just blindly exploring the island. In addition, he isn't as prejudiced as Genji and is realistic enough to accept Sagiri is going to be key in keeping Gabimaru in check. Genji is a typical man of his time, but perhaps it's just as well that his time in the spotlight is brief since he's not someone to root for given his personality. Tenza and Nurugai take up a big part of the episode and fill in the final piece of the puzzle that is the island. One can enter easily, but it's a deathtrap and there are many obstacles preventing successful interlopers from escaping. Even Kishou suffered the compost fate despite his wish to return home quickly after his mission was prematurely ended.

So Sagiri wasn't overwhelmed by the environment and the situation; the cuts on her face after duelling with Gabimaru and the butterflies which were flitting around her while Gabimaru was going to town led to her collapse last episode. She's fortunate she wasn't stung so she isn't turning into compost just yet. Because of her unusual position, she is shunned by all for the path she has chosen. Yet if she does not see it through she cannot live with herself. Good thing Gabimaru (and to a lesser extent Senta) don't have the typical mindset embodied by Genji so she's not completely overwhelmed by negativity.

As an aside, am I the only one who thinks Sagiri is better off not tying up her hair? She looks very different without it in a ponytail and not doing up her hair probably suits her better. Good reason to tie it up though, doesn't get in the way of combat which she will see a lot of on this island by the looks of things.

The big cliffhanger being Rokurouta has found his way to Sagiri and Genji's position. He's already dispatched one Asaemon effortlessly and has almost certainly finished off another with his strike. If he really is immune to bladed weapons, then Sagiri and company are effectively finished unless they find a way to outrun him and the monsters or figure out how to kill him despite his resistances. That should be an interesting puzzle, since Rokurouta cannot be negotiated with and he must be dealt with before they can explore the island further. If they choose to kill him, that's next week's action quota taken care of.

I'm only 2 episodes in (my viewing leaves me behind a couple weeks on most things). So I won't labor over stuff that's already been covered.

So far I'm really liking this series and the setup. Nice mix of humor (dark humor) with some good action and real brutality and artistry. That being said, the one knock I have is Gabimaru is too short. That and something about him seems like he (and his wife) come from a different anime stylistically from Sagiri. Every time they are standing near each other I can hear her thinking "Shrimp" in the back of her head.

I'm truly puzzled by where it's all going to go, what's up with his wife, who's alive and who really isn't. Is this going to have love angles or tri-angles. But regardless, I'd prefer to have seem Gabimaru drawn more at scale with Sagiri. I think he looks too much like Baku or a character from DBZ.

That being said, he's kicking ass and I'm interested in where it's going.

Harleyquin wrote:

#5 Tenza and Nurugai take up a big part of the episode and fill in the final piece of the puzzle that is the island.

It would be easy to get a little annoyed at the story introducing another parallel thread when I'm already invested in watching the major storyline play out, but I liked these two's Lenny and George dynamic (circa Mice and Men, strong and dumb person working with a small and brainy person in a co-dependent way if that reference wasn't clear). Not sure how Nurugai wound up in the dirty dozen of deadly convicts though; I get that the shogunate was persecuting small independent mountain clans, but I'm not sure how being a young survivor of one of them makes her a dangerous killer unless she's going to start pulling out some trump cards. .

Anyhow, I wasn't annoyed or bored at all, and pulling off multiple storylines is a pretty delicate balancing act. Lots of stories do it, but not many do it well IMHO.

Heh-heh-heh, it was most enjoyable seeing Genji-san the sexist pig get thwacked. Harleyquin is correct that the samurai is simply the product of his time (hell, it's not like his views on "women's responsibilities" has disappeared from the world even today) but his attitude toward Sagiri was still annoying to me. I like how Sagiri was able to steal his "sword" just before his (presumed) timely end... very Freudian.

I enjoyed the introduction of the new pair. I was afraid a few episodes back that it seemed like most of the convicts and their guardians had been wiped out already but clearly that was a mistaken impression on my part. Like Edjwald, I could see how some viewers might be irritated by multiple story lines since any branching off does take away from the Gabimaru/Sagiri main thread, but right now it's working for me. And, of course, my expectation is that eventually all threads will merge into one as characters continue to meet and die.

Well, they will need most/some of said survivors in order to have a change at escaping. There is exploring the island itself and figuring out where the elixer is (plus not getting killed by the insects and gods/giant). You will then need to reach a boat and before that need to have figured out the correct route to get away from the island without getting attacked by the kraken people. That is all a bit much for just two people.

Also interesting is the question as to what the existence of the elixer is based on. It has become clear that the island has been around for a long time and that a lot of people have died on it or near it. The drawing of the elixer is vague as hell as is any concrete information on the island. Besides that town chief there seems to be no actual viable information as to if the elixer is real or not.

Plus, given how poorly the whole thing seems to have been thought out, especially the how to get back after having gotten the prize, makes me wonder if they are supposed to get back at all.

Last edited by Tony K. on Tue May 30, 2023 12:23 pm; edited 2 times in total

Episode 05: The Samurai and the Woman

Summary: Sagiri learns that many plants on the island were former samurai sent by the shogun. Genji suggests replacing Sagiri in guarding Gabimaru, but she refuses. Gabimaru gives Sagiri the confidence to stand her ground and become a samurai, when Rokurota, the Giant of Bizen, tears a large piece out of Genji's body.

Comments: The revelation that all the plants used to be samurai is intriguing. But if that's the case, where did the monsters come from? Maybe they're a byproduct of some other yet-to-be-revealed x factor of the island like experiments of a god or some weird cross-breeding of plants and something else?

Tenza and Nurugai have a pretty neat dynamic. She definitely has that typical shounen vibe of "survive and get stronger" attitude. Even for the brief backstory they gave of her village, I'm hoping that chip on her shoulder leads to a cool atonement arc. Tenza seems a bit basic, but deceptively capable as a fighter. I get the feeling he'll probably die a hero's death protecting her at some point.

And it was great to see the pep talk from Gabimaru. Sagiri reminds of me a player in some sport who was really great in college, but didn't pan out as well in the pros. But then a great coach comes along, offers a few words of encouragement, and the player achieves the potential they had in them all along. It's like what Mr. Miyagi said in Karate Kid, "no such thing as bad student, only bad teacher." All it took, here, was not being a misogynistic douche to make her confident.

Screen Caps:

Oh, I forgot to mention that despite Genji being a sexist and product of his time he is so far not entirely wrong about Sagiri and her skillset. As things stand she has shown less than stellar combat skills and if there is ever a need for her to face gabimaru again...well, good luck.

But Genji's contention does not take into account that of all the guardians, Sagiri has the best chance of keeping Gabimaru in line and that's got zero to do with her combat skills.

When it comes to the emotional aspect of it, agreed, she is the only one that might give him pause. In a situation where combat will be necessary to stop him however, which might happen given how unpredictable the island is, Genji has a point. I suppose that other guardian saying half agreed is where I am at.

Forum - View topic
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku (TV) (w/ index).

Detective Conan Author Gōshō Aoyama's Yaiba Manga Gets New Anime

trapezium Anime Film Review

Welcome Back, Spice and Wolf

Yura Urushibara's Tougen Anki Manga Gets TV Anime in 2025

This Week in Anime - Will We Ever Know Why Anime Get Cancelled?

Your Anime Rankings - Best of Spring 2024, Apr 1-28

The Spring 2024 Manga Guide

Producer Masakazu Kubo on Making an Anime for Hardcore Golf Fans

	Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Series Discussion	All times are GMT - 5 Hours Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Next
Page 2 of 8

Forum - View topicHell's Paradise: Jigokuraku (TV) (w/ index).

Forum

Forum - View topic
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku (TV) (w/ index).