Hell's Paradise

Episode 9

Looks like we finally got our big reveal as to who the top dogs are on the island. This episode did a good job of establishing their strengths and potential limits. So this island was once prosperous about a thousand years ago, and the people of the island did indeed worship something called the Tensen. The seven hermits used to all exist as one entity but were eventually split off into these humanoid beings that could easily switch between genders. We've already seen how capable they are in previous episodes, but this time, one seemingly goes all out against Gabimaru, who has been pushed to his absolute limits. He is only barely able to make it out alive with the assistance of the little girl from the previous episode.

The action this episode was definitely a treat for the eyes and I'm a sucker for some good choreography. Seeing Gabimaru manipulate his feet and strikes in order to land precise, deadly blows was fun. However, there was a certain satisfaction in seeing it just boil down to a slugfest at the end, with Gabimaru eventually coming to the realization that these creatures aren't necessarily gods. This is a good thing, though, because while gods can't be killed, monsters can.

I find it funny that the episode starts with Gabimaru jumping in recklessly, headfirst just for the sake of getting the job done as quickly as possible because he wants to return to his wife and that nearly gets him killed. Now he ends the episode arguably with more information than other members of the cast based on what he learned from his reckless fight. There definitely seems to be a limit to the immortality that these creatures are able to exhibit, or at the very least it's possible that it comes from a finite source that constantly needs to be replenished.

However, if it took that much just to narrowly push one of these creatures to the edge, how is the cast going to deal with six more who are probably just as, if not stronger?

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Hell's Paradise is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.