[Rewatch] Jigokuraku • Hell's Paradise Episode 1 Discussion

**Hell’s Rewatch Host, subbed**

[Welcome, everyone!](#michaelwink)

Hope everyone who’s decided to join this has a fun time with one of my favorite shows from 2023!

Since I watched season 1 as it came out & posted my thoughts on each episode in the airing threads, I’ll also link my first-time reactions to the show here if anyone’s interested in them. [Here were my original reactions to episode 1.](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/128pwmj/jigokuraku_hells_paradise_episode_1_discussion/jejvy4o/) How will my reactions on a rewatch go? Let’s see…

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- [That drop of blood on a white flower really is a striking way to open the show.](https://i.imgur.com/VJEiH9W.png)

- [Imagine being so unkillable someone who tries to decapitate you *breaks their sword* instead.](https://i.imgur.com/sifNMev.png) [](#sobright)

- I remember the OP *song* taking a bit to vibe with me after I first heard it, but man the visuals are so *interesting*. [](#awe)

- [Not for long…](https://i.imgur.com/94e6TsN.png) [](#rinkek)

- [This really is terrifying, though.](https://i.imgur.com/8NNqsEH.png) [](#spooked)

- [Spoilers]> It just gets elaborated on later.!<

- [Absolutely vile mental image…](https://i.imgur.com/PFz96Of.png) [](#dighole)

- [I *do* like how the show](https://i.imgur.com/bBZn7mR.png) is [careful about not showing Gabimaru’s wife’s face](https://i.imgur.com/CUpbmDe.png) until the flashback later in the episode [that reveals she has a scar over her eye.](https://i.imgur.com/mybCihi.png)

- [Another instance of Gabimaru looking absolutely horrifying this episode.](https://i.imgur.com/1EYgqTT.png) [](#scaredmio)

- [Someone’s terrified *himself*, now.](https://i.imgur.com/2qXmDu9.png)

- [There’s the shot I used for the sidebar image!](https://i.imgur.com/Tqdt6ND.png) [](#binoculars) It’s a very cool shot, I love it when reflections on swords are used in shows.

- [D’aww, he’s so cute when he blushes like this.](https://i.imgur.com/R45Byiw.png) [](#mayushii)

- [That’s so right.](https://i.imgur.com/Tp2EbMA.png) [](#faito)

- [Absolutely *massive* yikes.](https://i.imgur.com/LKy9rxL.png) I do like how vibrant the flowers are in that scene though, really makes them feel *otherworldly*.

- I’ve trained myself to listen for “sore demo”s so well that my hand immediately moved to rewind the episode for Sagiri’s at the end of the episode even though I already collected all of the ones this show had back when it was airing. [](#crazedlaugh)

- [Sugoi~!](https://i.imgur.com/ryOSZH6.png) [](#saberawe)

- Yeah the ED still gives me residual PTSD for sounding a lot like the last Iron-Blooded Orphans one (they’re both by Uru, after all), lol. It’s absolutely gorgeous, though.

Rewatcher

Dub

So...this show is sort of just tailored at me. The style, the body count, the concepts are all pretty much Vaadcore. Coming off of Yuri Vore, I do realize that some studios will feed my more natural urges.

Anywho, Gabimaru is a betrayed ninja, which holds some weird ethnic issues if you get Japan, caught somwhere north of Edo. He is being poorly executed by a local magistrate. We get a lot of weird background this episode and let's see what we do with it.

QotD:1 If you have never witnessed a being getting quartered, that is a special kind of horror

2 Boredom

**First timer off to ~~Greed Island~~ find the Elixir of Life, French Subs**

*For our first episode :* A lecture about Japanese traditionnal methods of execution during the Edo era, a demonstration of Ninjutsu and one flowery, happy looking corpse.

Well, what can I say ? We're in shonen territory with a badass protagonist already leagues above the common mook, with a sad backstory to boot so he can gather sympathy from the audience. With a deadpan, badass female character that may accompagny him all the way to that fabled island given her proeminence in the opening and the ending credits (or we're in for a good twist).

And of course the obligatory Mc Guffin to fetch in a place full of danger from a place no one came back from so the audience can discover the worldbuilding at the same pace as the characters that would explore that island.

Meanwhiule, the chara-design is done to convey the characters personallities through their appearance.

Gabimaru being small with white hair to tell he's a shy, self-deprecative (depressive) young man. But with yellow eyes to reveal it's a facade that hide a more passionate side when it comes to his wife.

Speaking of her, her blonde hair with pale blue eyes makes her the perfect complement to Gabimaru's character by having a peppy behavior to hide a bitter side when it comes to the imposed hierarchy in the ninja village and how her father made the man she loves a merciless killing machine. Plus her scar to recall her rebellious attitude towards her father without making her too unnatractive for the audience. On the contrary of her father that screams ''I'm a villain''with his face the first time he appears on screen.

Finally, Sagiri being taller than the MC with brown hair kept in a ponytail appears as the confident symbol of authority, observant to rules and laws, to guide Gabimaru in his quest to free his wife.

So yeah, no big surprises for that first episode. Even tho we got some nice framing here and there. [Like this one](https://imgur.com/a/DZqiIBu) to illustrate Gabimaru storytelling about separating himself from his wife (and the light she bring in his life) so she won't be a burden.

With that neat detail of his wife's face being masked to hint that he doesn't establish a honest portrait of her. The first time when her face would be revealed being when Sagiri calls Gabimaru out of being a unreliable narrator.

Then when Sagiri makes her big talk about seeing the people she execute true intention through her blade, with [two consecutive shots that express this very idea](https://imgur.com/a/2Dw1fIX)

And that's a wrap for the first episode. As I said, nothing that got me at the edge of my seat right now, but I know some shows takes time to reveal their full potential, so I'll wait for the next episodes to surprise me. [](#mugiwait)

And now, for my favorite part as a first timer :

**Theories corner**

* Knwoing the location of the Elixir of Life is nice and all, but how exactly people came on the conclusion that ''We have Greed Island at home'' is indeed the place ? Is that from random sailors that happened to see the island at a distance and told themselve ''It's seems so beautiful, that must be the fabled paradise'' ? Is that from speculations based on some myths ? Is there someone spreading false informations for reasons ? Have we been lied to and someone did came back from an expedition ? Or is the Shogun just want to have an excuse to deport prisoners in the death rows without costing too much in blades, wood, oil and bulls for the executions ?

* The fact a row boat with a corpse on it came back indicate there are people smart enough to send a metaphorical message on that island. So opposition here is to be expected (that wouldn't be much of a surprise in a shonen). But it could be a hint either at the vegetation on the island actually being sentient and feeding off humans being, or islanders subtetly indicating that the plants are the ingredients for the elixir and a sacrifice is required (maybe to take his life force?)

* One guard tell Sagiri a rumort about ninjas at Iwagakure village drinkiong the Elixir of Life. Is that the same as the one supposed being found on the Island ? Does the village chief have intel about it ?

**Questions of the Day:**

>1) Which of the execution methods in this episode do you think was the most brutal?

[YES](#dighole)

>2) What would it take to make you be willing to travel to Shinsenkyo in search of the Elixir of Life?

"Now Malipit, you could play all the games, read all the books, see all the shows you ever wanted without worrying of dying of old age".

Hey, I'm a new watcher for this one. I'd been meaning to watch this for a while and just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

For question 1, it's gotta be the splitting, right?

[](#scaredmio)

For question 2, I have no idea, but it would take a hell of a lot.

[First Timer who's participating out of pure love for his sweetie Ms. Dickface](https://imgur.com/a/x2VROjd)

I went in this Rewatch blind, only remembering that Sky mentioned this to me on Discord, and needless to say I only remembered it due to seeing it on Sidebar an hour ago.

Fun note, as I went into this blind, my first thought after they failed to execute him was "let's get someone to execute his nipples"...

which made me chuckle after the girl revealed herself as Yamada Asaemon. [](#crazedlaugh)

**QotD:**

1. The quartering. Anything that involves splitting from your groin makes me cringe.

2. To be married to Ms. Dickface

**Rewatcher**

I thought I was excited for this. Then I watched episode 1 and I am doubly excited! I am definitely _noticing_ 👀

But first of all, if you aren't watching the BD version you should correct that asap. From what I saw there were quite substantial changes compared to the initial broadcast version, with many cuts completely reanimated for character model consistency's sake and even some compositing rearrangements. Looking at the two side by side in the corrected cuts you can definitely tell they were rushing to deliver the episodes.

Okay unto the episode.

The thing I was struck by the most is the excellent presentation.

First off, there is a habit among narrative arts to summarize at the start what the whole story is about in the first episode, in one scene, in one sequence, and/or even in a single cut. This is why paying attention at the start is especially crucial, as it will often provide the audience with the lens through which the rest of it is meant to be interpreted. It's the story's presentation card, and many artists will ponder very seriously what is the very first thing they want to show the audience when they dive into their work.

For example let's take _Attack on Titan_. The very first sequence of shots can be described in a sentence as follows: birds fly through the sky and pass over a massive wall, over which leans a Titan looking down on the terrified people.

That's it, that's all of _Attack on Titan_. Earthen animals yearning to fly, trapped in a cage and haunted by monsters. All of the thematic discourse that will unfold, even specific symbolisms, comes from this one "painting".

So what is the first thing we see when playing _Jigokuraku_? The most relevant for me where the first three shots before the framing opens up, and the narrator starts explaining the scene:

A white flower is stained by a drop of blood, decapitated heads reflected on a katana blade, and a crow coming down on a post.

I think these correspond respectively to: Gabimaru, Sagiri, and Shinsenkyo.

A man still more pure than he'd like to believe despite his many sins and the weight of blood on him. The samurai who believes the danger of a blade reveals the truth of a person. And the crow representing Yatagarasu, the intervention of heaven upon the earth.

Then as the scene expands and we finally travel from the purely symbolic to the story proper, these elements reveal their role in the setting. In the execution, there is the man condemned, the one who swings the blade, and the supernatural mystique of death that such a reality provokes upon us.

Finally synergy: A moment were fate takes shape, when Gabimaru confronted by the possibility of death, instead chooses to live.

Shit I don't think even 30 seconds have passed and at least the whole of episode 1 has already lain itself bare, thematically. The rest of it is really just fleshing out of all the elements that makes a proper story, but it will all repeat the same basic beats.

Now, I obviously don't want to go writing paragraphs upon paragraphs for every half a minute of runtime, so let's move on more quickly lol

The second thing that really impressed me this episode is the use of flashbacks. We all know flashbacks are a common, even abused resource in anime. But these ones got some spice: they change depending on the telling.

At first, Gabimaru's wife, who he describes as hopelessly boring and naive, is faceless and faraway. Later in the climax of the episode, as he is forced to recognize that he wants to live and why, she gains a face, we see her scar, and the scene is extended to show Gabimaru's blushing reaction.

There's also the flashback of his capture. Initially, it's a clean affair. They just fall on him and pin him with yari. The later iteration reveals the massacre.

I believe this is edited according to the symbolism I proposed earlier for Gabimaru: the initially pure flower that's stained with blood. The episode starts with Gabimaru lying to himself, and this the flashbacks reflect an unstained reality that he wishes could be true. When the vail fails it reveals scars, love, and violence. All the things that weigh upon him.

The way the flashbacks change to portray not reality but subjective experience is so enthralling!

[Jigokuraku S1]>!It could also be foreshadowing for how it's possible that some or even all of it is fake.!<

On a broader note, I love the way the overall editing keeps a brisk pace from scene to scene that maintains the intrigue of Gabimaru's background, motivation, and just who is this "record keeper" and what does she really want. All culminating in the fantastic climax scene at the end!

Speaking off, man Sagiri is so cool and beautiful! [Jigokuraku S1]>!Kinda wild how much aura she looses in the subsequent episodes lol, but I'm glad it pays off in the end.!<

I both love and hate the OP. I love it because it's awesome, and I hate it because, just as back when it aired, now the song is gonna be stuck with me like glue haha.

The studio that animated the OP also animated ED11 "Violence" from _Chainsaw Man_. And if I remember correctly, they use, or used back then, some AI assistance. I sure can't spot it though, and maybe it's not even in these EDs. But if I had to say, maybe backgrounds? It's obviously still mostly worked on by human hands.

Unfortunately the ED is just okay.

All in all an excellent first episode! Even better than what I remember! I'm stoked!

_Questions of the Day_

1- Definitely boiling. It's the one that takes the longest to kill you.

2- Only if it was the only way to escape death. I'm not particularly interested in gaining immortality, I just want to live. [Jigokuraku soft spoilers]>!Knowing what awaits on the island though, I think I'd rather chance it with the Shogunate haha.!<

According to my Crunchyroll history, this first episode is technically
a rewatch and then I'm a first-timer from here on out. Subbed.

I like the cold open, though as I noted yesterday I'm getting rather tired of beheadings. At least this one's... not successful. I think that's good. Probably.

Not sure how much I love the cutaways and such to hide the fact that he's been using jujitsu to survive the executions - I get that we're supposed to believe that he's just really difficult to kill before the reveal that he's actively been resisting, but it feels kinda... clunky. Or maybe it's also just a symptom of how fast he seems to accept that he really is resisting for the sake of seeing his wife?

It really does seem incredibly fast how he accepts that fact, at least to me. I *think* he was lying to himself about it, he seems more stunned by the realization than the inspector, so it doesn't seem like this is a cover story he came up with to protect his wife... I dunno, I think it'd be more natural for him to resist the idea of wanting to survive for his wife's sake for longer, but over the course of the season work out the disconnect between his words and his actions? it seems like the most interesting thing about Gabimaru's character was already resolved and I'm kinda curious to see what they plan on doing with him for the next 11 episodes then another season.

Fight scene was... good? I think? I watched it yesterday and unfortunately my tiers of action and choreography are probably like "distractingly bad", "good enough but nothing I'll remember in like a week," and "WOW that was really, really cool and I'll remember it for at least a bit longer." This so far fits in the second category, though it's lasted less than a day in my head soooooooo yeah.

1) Quartering, I think? Burning to death is also pretty bad...

2)Probabbbbbllly only a life or death situation. Maybe if a loved one was also incredibly sick and this was the only possible solution.

**Rewatcher (Dub)**

Hello, hope everyone's doing well this holiday season. Glad to get back to this show ahead of its premiere in a couple weeks. It should be fun watching through it again. As I said I'm watching the Dub, in part to have a unique experience this time, and also because one characters we'll see later on will be voiced by Ian Sinclair, who I know from Space Dandy (one of my favorite anime shows, and one of only 2 anime shows I've only viewed with dubs). It also helps make the experience a bit more passive, which I feel will help with this first week in particular, as I juggle a few things, and have been dealing with Covid (although it's not as bad as the first couple days). So far I'd say the dubs are ok. Some awkwardness, but I also think it could be worse. We'll see how future episodes go.

Anyway, this episode feels like it serves as a kind of prologue to the main story. We get to know about the main character Gabimaru, seeing how he views himself, how he got into his current situation, and eventually how he agrees to the Shogun's deal. The kind of unreliable first-person perspective was interesting here, as we the viewers are led to believe his initial story of wanting to get out of the marriage, which is why the village chief punished him, only for the true reason to be revealed. The way Gabimaru's dynamic with Sagiri was pretty interesting too, given her more passive role early on. I do like how she's able to see through Gabimaru's lies. Their dynamic is a major part of the show, and this is a good basis for what's to come.

And overall, the style is good so far. It doesn't have certain aspects of what the show becomes known for, but the atmosphere in the prison, the slow-drip of flashbacks throughout the main story, and the action when the story calls for it is all really well done.

**First-timer, subbed**


So I'm going into this more or less blind. All I know is that Chiaki plays a character named Gabimaru who loves his wife and [future scene]>!resists being seduced/killed by a hot warrior woman!< in this one scene that gets shared often on this sub and on twitter. 


That said, I was a bit confused when we opened with a shiny motorcycle. Turned out to be the studio's intro. This might be the first time I've seen one of those in anime. Movies have them but I didn't know anime shows did also. Will it take up the first few seconds of every episode?


The actual opening shot is quite arresting with the blood on the flower. And it turns out Gabimaru is on the chopping block (literally) and he's unkillable (what is it with undeads turning up in all my rewatches since starting with Undead Unluck? Frieren had mentions of them too).


The beautiful woman questioning him and recording his history is just as arresting as the flower in the beginning. Was wondering who she was working for when the magistrate didn't seem interested in her questioning and she kept telling everyone she's doing her job. Turns out that job is sword testing and she's an executioner! Did not see that coming. 


Neither did Gabimaru as it turns out and he's actually worried and really fighting for his life. 


Since I already knew he was a wife guy, I knew he was lying about his wife being an idiot and him wanting to leave her. Her scarred face reveal still worked though since I didn't know that part. And her father being the one who did that to her and simply for wanting to live a normal life - wtf! So this Iwagakure is a pretty brutal place. Hope she is able to get out of there. Go find this elixir and get back to her already, Gabi!


Won't happen that easily of course. That Paradise place sounds even worse than Iwagakure. 


This show has my attention from the get go. Looking forward to what comes next! 


As an aside, all the shinobi and ninjutsu mentions brought back memories of Naruto - my first proper venture into anime. I'd watched Cowboy Bebop many years ago but nothing else since. Around Covid time, started watching Naruto after hearing about it a lot and got hooked. Watched the whole thing and then all of Shippuden straight through (took a while) and that's how my anime journey began when I was almost 40. Now it's all I watch. 😁

Well, I'm not actually going to be participating in this rewatch, but me watching this on my own time just happened to line up, so I'll toss in a fun fact while I'm here: The dub of this series cast Alejandro Saab and Marisa Duran in the main roles, who happen to be the same people who played Miyamura and Hori in Horimiya. I don't think it was an intentional choice, but I also feel like they probably must have known what was happening. This came out right before The Missing Pieces was about to. Just a bit weird given that Gabimaru is very strongly in love with a completely different side character.

**First Timer in Hell’s Dubbed Paradise**

Those poor bulls ☹️

Always the ones who say they wanna die that they try to survive the hardest.

>I’d hate to speak out of turn, but [**sexism**]

Stahp ✋🏾😭

👀👀👀

And he’s okay after all that shit, what the fuck?

Is he Undead or something, I can’t go through this shit again girl 😭

**Dafuq?**

Alexa, play “Switch” by Shinitai-chan.

🎵[**Time after time**](https://youtu.be/4wMzfOT1ldk) 🎵

awwwwwww he was a blushy boi ☺️

Men being completely flabbergasted and blushy when they get kissed has gotta be one of my favorite genders, god bless, I love them cuties 🙏🏾

Iunno, I don’t think you’re supposed to be touching mysteriously flowers that come from a mysterious boat…

**Welp**.

At least he was smiling 😊

Wow. Recruiters really are a lot more badass than I thought.

***

**Additional Thoughts**

So she’s not the love interest then. Good to know. But will she fall for him is the question.

That dad/chief is a fuckass. I hope retribution comes his way.

For such a horrendous situation for both of them, I’m glad Gabimaru and his wife could have each other. The whole “she was an idiot” was more of “How could such a wonderful, kind person love someone like me?” right 🥹 I’m worried about her at that village. I hope nothing happens to her, or if something is on the rise, she can hopefully flee. Considering her fuckass dad burned her face, I wouldn’t put it past him to do anything else unseemly.

Curious about who the others are that have been recruited. They all have to be crazy in one way or another.

***

**QotD**

1. The bulls. Traumatizes the bulls and splits you open.
2. Clearing my student debt because *ahahahahahahahahaha* I’d do anything to get rid of it.

### Second-time rewatcher, subs

Technically this is the third time when it comes to the first two episodes, because I tried to watch it when it was airing along with many others. But it failed miserably, as Spring 2023 was my lowest point in my life. Luckily, I did not gave up on this, as I watched the entire series a few months later, during summer (with other things from the same season as Oshi no Ko or G-Witch), and realized how good it is, and really liked a lot. And also it is a bad habit of mine, that I can't progress anything beyond the first two episodes.

So you will know why did I liked it back then. And that is the reason why I decided to watching this for a second time. Yes, it was my decision, but since this is organized here as a rewatch, then it was the best choice to join. Because our interests were aligned after all.

I initially wanted to watch it again back in earlier this month, but other priorities first, like Frieren which yours truly hosting right now. But closer to the start, it is ideal for me, because yours truly finished Frieren, and had a blast with the CSM Reze arc on Christmas Eve. And it is one of the shows which supposed to fill the gap.

So let's start, shall we?

This starts with executions, not just one, but multiple forms. Beheading, pyre, bulls oil, whatever the case, these are the common forms of execution methods from the Edo era.

We see that Gabimaru is going on multiple types of executions, but for some weird reason he just can't die. His neck is too tough that breaks the sword, his body won't combust, the oxen can't break his body, breaking from any kind of shackles, nothing can hurt him. And who is this Gabimaru: a shinobi from Iwagakure, a hidden ninja village, one of the most famous members, he is called the Hollow because he kills with cold blood. A true murderer needs no emotions.

And there is Sagiri, a Yamada Asaemon, from a lineage of respected executioners and blade testers. Yes, decapitation is the method how they test the swrod how effective they are. And what is she doing here: to carry out the execution orders.

And we are seeing what is the real Gabimaru: he calling himself as a hollow person, a cold-blooded murder who supposed to be, but with a stroke of luck he survived all those executions, and during the fight with Sagiri, his body moving its own. He claims that he has no attachment to life anymore, but deeply within his heart, he does. Because he wants to live more. And all because he loves his wife so much. His wife is the motivation to live and survive. Sagiri can see through his lies, because he told everything to her.

Those who live in Iwagakure, they born to fight and kill, as they treated like soliders. Gabimaru had enough of that shit there, he wanted to escape with his wife (who is the daughter of the chief - who is a terrible person), and live a peaceful life and making one happy family, while avoiding violence and murder. But he was betrayed and sent to the authorities.

But this "execution" was but a test. Because Sagiri came from Edo, from the shogun's orders, to recruit Gabimaru that is to come. Every dangerous criminal might get a second chance thanks to a special pardon decree. Special because it puts the convict under the personal protection of the shogun, thus cannot be arrested by no one. But it might be a dual-edged blade because what will happen if the pardoned person start going to the path of crime again? The twist is: sending to an arduruous journey to a mysterious island to get the Elixir of Life, something that grants eternal life and youth.

And that island is Shinsenkyou, like if it's Heaven on Earth. A mysterious island covered in fog, eerie fauna and flora. It has the feeling that the island itself is so alive. There were multiple expeditions, none of them return alive, except one. That boat fully covered with flowers. Those men who approched that to inspect closely suffered a huge price for it, as making any kind of contact with those flowers caused them bloom from their bodies. A very horrific sight which equals to a capital punishment (not a pun). And that is an obvious message from the island itself. So it's more like Hell on Earth. Flowers havce importance onm that island, it must have any deep meaning that the first thing we saw this episode was a flower.

And what is the shogun's plan: gather dangerous criminals to send to Shinsenkyou, and that journey on the island itself is equals to their execution. Or it can be considered as their form of execution they got. Beggars, I mean death row convicts can't be choosers by the way. The Elixir of Life whether existing or not is a different matter.

Gabimaru have to fight for his life in order to reunite with Yui.

Where can be Shinsenkyou located: they say it is southwest from the Ryukyu Kingdom. And what is southwest from there: Taiwan, the Philippines and the Malay Archipleago. That is to say, in my opinion this island is found somewhere at the Philippine Sea or the South China Sea.

As for the Yamada Asaemon: It might be a reference to the manga series Samurai Executioner (or Kubikiri Asa), which is the name of the protagonist, a sword tester/executioner ronin. Sword-testers by beheading was actually a real thing.

I liked the OP and ED, probably because the former has the action, and the ED is just being beautiful which trying to be emotional.


> 1) Which of the execution methods in this episode do you think was the most brutal?

I think the oxen one.

> 2) What would it take to make you be willing to travel to Shinsenkyo in search of the Elixir of Life?

Why risking life in a dangerous place for something barely known?

My niece recommended this to me on Christmas, though I had it cued up already for this rewatch. Anyhow, I liked the first episode, and find the concept interesting.

Q1 - Burning at the stake.
Q2 - Not much, as I tend to do stupid things.

Aaahh I was at work all day so I'm late to the thread!

Third or fourth time rewatcher, sub

I would say that I'd forgotten how great the op is but I haven't, because that shit's been in my commute playlist since it aired the first time, I love that banger.


I'd forgotten how much they focus in on the characters' eyes, they are all so expressive and it's such a great detail.

Here we go again!

I'm mostly a first timer;

I watched the first episode and maybe 1 or 2 more I'm not sure... All I remember beyond this episode are 2 characters [Jigokuraku]>!Ninja-type girl who will probably be my best girl, and some giant dude!<

Looking forward to see where this is going!

Initial thought #1: Whoever finds the elixir could just tell the Shogun to fuck off, and use it for himself; If he's immortal, what are they gonna do about it?

Initial thought #2: Is Gabimaru really using Ninjitsu/'resisting death'? Or has he somehow been on the island before, and did exactly that (find and use the elixir)?

Anime about an elixir of life/immortality, and main guy is seemingly immortal..!!!

(I suppose there's a few problem with this theory, i.e. the pro executioner DID manage to cut him, so this would hint at the other guys just being bad at it, BUT perhaps their conversation planted a seed of doubt in him or made him want to 'prove his desire to die' so he let himself get cut on purpose?)

>Questions of the Day: 1) Which of the execution methods in this episode do you think was the most brutal?

Burning alive is terrible but fwiw I do not think it does what they said (muscle breaking your body and all)...

Then again I have never been burned alive (shocking!) so who knows.

I think being pulled apart by bulls would be atrocious.

(as a former edgy kid who read a lot about torture methods/execution methods, none of these would make the "top 10" worst methods, to be honest!)

>2) What would it take to make you be willing to travel to Shinsenkyo in search of the Elixir of Life?

A cute wife(u)!

But hmm... It's a hard question to answer, because in HIS situation, I'm immortal so I wouldn't give a damn about any of these guys...

So if I went, it would not be 'for my freedom', as an immortal being can earn his own freedom for himself.

So they would need to offer me something more than that, and I'm not sure what. If nothing can kill me, there's not much that can sway me, I mean... Money? I could rob a entire castle by myself and kill everyone in there... Power? Same thing... They will make me a lord? Sure, or I could just kill the king and take his throne.

Short answer, I would only go if I needed to go, for my own reasons.