[Rewatch] Jigokuraku • Hell's Paradise Overall Series Discussion

**Hell’s Rewatch Host, subbed**

[Welcome back, everyone!](#michaelwink) Hope everyone had a fun time getting caught up ahead of season 2 starting tomorrow!

Huge thanks to everyone for participating in this! [](#elderlylove)

Today’s wallpaper features the 11 characters from season 1’s KV + Mei to make it an even number. I like how that turned out.

Now, to answer today’s Questions of the Day since this is the overall discussion…

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>Who is best boy and who is best girl?

It’s weird, I kind of just generally like most of the characters in this around the same so I also don’t have any clear *standout* favorite? [](#unsure)

>Did you like [the OP](https://v.animethemes.moe/Jigokuraku-ED1.webm) or [the ED](https://v.animethemes.moe/Jigokuraku-OP1.webm) more?

The OP has very creative visuals, but I like the ED more because of how beautiful the song is. [](#listen)

>What would you say was your favorite part about this show? How about your least favorite?

I think my favorite would be how good at being mystifying and terrifying the whole worldbuilding of Shinsenkyo is? It’s just a really neat setting and I love how vibrant the colors for the environment are.

Least-favorite, maybe how quickly the show killed off some characters? I get that the mangaka decided that some of the characters were *solely* meant to be introduced with a cool design and then killed off right away upon arriving at the island to set up stakes, but I can’t help but think Eizen and the priest guy in particular were really wasted. [](#thinkingtoohard)

>How excited are you for season 2 now? Is there anything in particular you’re hoping will happen in it?

[Very!](#rengehype)

>Which of the wallpapers that I made for this rewatch was your favorite? For reference, [here’s the full album.](https://imgur.com/a/NcEcQZy)

I had the most fun putting together [Gabimaru’s](https://i.imgur.com/Ar7UmB6.png) wallpaper. Getting that flame effect to look right was challenging, but very rewarding once I got it.

>What do you do at the end of the rewatch? Are you busy? Will you save me?

Need to get to work on my upcoming Iruma-kun rewatch now. [](#oilup)

**Rewatcher**

"The Tao that can be named is not the Eternal Tao."

Thus opens the Tao Te Ching, one of the foundational texts of Taoism. The very first thing it does is dispell any preconceptions that through this study you will understand Tao. It cannot be understood, because it is too vast and complex. It is, quite literally Everything. And I mean _Everything_ everything. It is more everything than you can ever imagine Everything to be.

Yet it is also Nothing, because any one thing cannot be defined without what it isn't, just as the shape of a vessel is more defined by the empty space within than by the material of the vessel itself. If Tao was only it's "affirmation" it would actually end up being way smaller and more comprehensible. Self contradiction is what makes it. Not an ultimate picture of truth, but an eternal paradox in constant flow to which all things are subjected to and part of.

This philosophy has gone on to inspire everything from political theory, to martial arts, to military science, to artists, even to gardening and more. It is not just about a code of conduct and morals but about a perspective on the mystery of life. You can apply it to any endeavor you take to.

It is difficult to summarize it, but if I had to I would say it like this:

There is a flow to the cosmos, consisting of all the competing forces within it complementing each other. Just like a fish in a river cannot be cognizant of the overall river, one can never understand this flow. But you can know it and experience it. You can align yourself with this flow, accepting all it's competing forces and the inevitable destiny to which they lead, and in this way, do more with what energy you do have. Of course, you are free to try to swim against the current, but it is an absurd endeavor. In the end, what has to happen will happen. You will reach much further going with the flow.

I think what really locked me in to this story is when Sagiri perfectly exemplified these principles during the fight with Rokurōta. Of course, I like the rest of Season 1 too, but, since it doesn't have a payoff yet, it really basically consists of some cool fights and, ironically naming what had already been intuited by Sagiri (Tao).

It was just so beautiful to see Sagiri realize that her gentility made her better at what she wanted to be, not worse. She had been trying to tell herself she didn't have that vulnerability because that's what is preached in her culture that an ideal warrior needs. But you can never escape yourself. She'd have been stuck running from her own heart her whole life until death like this. Swimming against her own natural flow, expending many times the effort for a fraction of the results. Instead, accepting her own weakness is what made her strong enough to cut down Rokurōta.

That's why she's the GOAT! I love her so much! I'm super excited to see what becomes of her in the rest of the story!

Incidentally on the topic of the power system, I really like the way the narrative handled it's reveal. As said earlier, the named Tao is not the Eternal Tao. So instead of leading with the theory, the story leads with the practice. First Sagiri understands the principles of Tao in her own flesh, and only afterwards do we get exposition on it.

It's a genius way to get an unfamiliar viewer to understand what Tao is about, in my opinion. I don't actually quite remember, but I think this show was my very first introduction to the idea. I always think back on it and how it taught me when I think of Taoism these days.

As for the more superfluous aspects of the show, well visually it's pretty good, despite the production issues. If you neglected my advice in episode 1 to search for the Blu-ray version, or if you watched it when it was airing, you may have noticed/remember the wildly inconsistent size of Yuzuriha's boobs lol.

It's been more than two years since then so I hope they took their time to reorganize their production efforts into something more dependable. But with the anime industry, you never know, so we can only wait and see.

Pretty good soundtrack though not that memorable or standout actually. I took a listen to it the other day and it's adequate for setting the mood and monstruos mystery of Shinsenkyou but as far as traditional-esque oriental soundtracks it doesn't appear to want to reach higher and leave its own mark on art. I also listened to the _Revenger_ soundtrack for those of you who remember that show and it's blend of styles is infinitely more interesting and captivating. Not to mention _Heike Monogatari's_ soundtrack of which some pieces are straight up a spiritual experience.

I don't want to harp on it, _Jigokurau's_ is not bad at all, it's just that for how awesome oriental instrumentation is I'm a bit disappointed it's not much more than adequate.

As for the characters, there are many and I don't wanna repeat here everything I've already said in the episodes, but I will now note it's a pretty well designed cast. Not just in the literal character design, but how the whole of it is balanced, they don't step on each other's toes and they never overstay their welcome (if anything we'd wish some of them would stay longer 😔).

Sagiri is of course my favorite, but I like everyone else too and even if not all get the same depth of exploration I never felt like I needed to. In fact with a cast this large and so limited time if the author tried to develop everyone to a comparable depth as our main characters we'd probably end up bloated, so it's in hindsight a smart decision.

So to end this, _Jigokuraku_ quickly became one of my favorite anime when Sagiri beat the fraud allegations and I'm very much excited for what's to come. Superficially of course it has a fun cast, cool fights and an unpredictable high stakes plot, but definitely the most memorable thing about it is how it gracefully weaves this somewhat esoteric and mystique-ridden philosophy into it's narrative so that anyone can understand it. If I think about it the story is actually very similar to an old spiritual journey, even if this Shinsenkyou is fabricated. It has a simple, very accesible, tried and true structure. I don't really think of it as I'm watching a Battle Shounen anime more like Im watching a sort of fable.

Of course it also helps that, even if you've never heard of Taoism, chances are you have experienced it's principles somewhere in your life already. Doubly so for an East Asian population. As I said at the start, this shit is eeeeeeveeywhere and it's had millennia to expand its reach don't think just because you're from the West you haven't seen it's influences! Shit I mean, at least y'all know of _Mulan_ right? Fucken textbook Taoism right there.

As usual, much thanks to our host and to everyone who participated, even if for some _Jigokuraku_ wasn't quite as liked I always appreciate sticking with it to the end! I mean, can't say you didn't like it if you didn't try it, right?

6Rewatcher

Dub

Right...this is a fun and deeply incomplete series, glad we get S2 to finish things up. 'Killing' a Tensen is a good stopping point. The amnesia is not but we will see. I hopefully will see many of you in the weekly threads.

QotD:1 Yuzu

2 Definitely the OP

3 I like the fights, I don't like the muddled Tao system

4 Quite

5 Sagiri

6 Come with me and drink the wine...

Still on a trip away from my computer. Writing this on my phone.

I won't have much time to write an extensive essay on my thoughts about that first season. I will eventually give the second one a try after its broadcast if the reviews are good enough.

Time run short, the location I'm in are filled with weird looking butterflies. Some giant monsters and several weirdos that tries to kill me because I'm not worthy enough to master the Tan.

Worst vacations ever. But thanks to our host Sky for that comfy rewatch !

**Questions of the day**

1) Best boy : Shion

Best girl : Nurugai

2) I prefer the OP

3) Best moment : The fight against the Tensen in episode 12/13

Worst moment : Gabi's amnesia

4) As I said, I'll wait for the whole broadcast, or I'll eventually check the manga. But I hope Gabi's amnesia won't last.

5) Yuzuriha's

6) Sorry, I'm now amnesiac after being attacked by two weirdos with their bug cosplay and I've forgotten to save you.

First Timer - Subbed

I knew going in that this anime would have an uphill climb for me: I haven't finished most battle shonen I've started, and the ones I have finished haven't exactly been my favorite pieces of media. So after 13 episodes, what're my thoughts?

Unfortunately, the problems that I normally have with battle shonen still apply here. There's no characters or storylines that have *really* engaged me, even though I acknowledge that the combat, for the most part, has been well sequenced and animated. I don't think there's been a point where I've thought "Wow, I want to know what happens next!" which is, uh, kinda deadly for my overall interest. No character introduction or arc had me invested, and without that everything else fell kind of flat.

1) ... Honestly don't really know how to answer this. I don't have a strong opinion on *any* of the characters, they're all on a meh level for me... If I absolutely *had* to answer... Uh... Shion and Sagari? It really is damning to me that the main character in Gabimaru doesn't interest me all that much.

2) I skipped them usually, but... OP I guess.

3) The action was my favorite part, I guess, which is *really* troublesome from me. Least favorite... Whenever they try to make me care about a person obviously about to die? Or anything that has to do with tao and tan? Because they're trying to operate on some framework of good and evil while at the same time having their magic system work on a system of complete amorality, which really doesn't gel all that well.

4) ... It might have gotten itself onto my negative enjoyment scale with the amnesia thing, I might want to watch it solely to see if it completely fumbles the handling of it... But no. Not particularly excited to see where it goes, because I'm not particularly excited about any of the characters' journeys or the mystery of the island.

5) The first one, the pink/purple in the flames really makes it pop out the most.

6) Not sure. Take a nap, maybe, grab some coffee or some tea... Still have the Arjuna rewatch to post in, we'll see if I get around to it...

### Second-watcher, subs

Like I said early on, my opinion did not changed since 2023. It might be part of the so-called "Dark Shonen Trio", where is the shortest of the three, but it is really different. I do believe this is not a classic battle shonen, because the real and strongest part is actually the worldbuilding, the lore, huge and deep mystery, how uses lots of Taoist imagery and philosophy (or Tao itself as a power system), the characters, historical settiong, and so on, not the fights really. Sure, the fights might not be the longest or the flashiest ones, but those can be also interesting as well.

No wonder why did I got hooked on this easily and as a result it did resonate with me well. Really enjoyed all of entirety. 9.5/10 from me.

> 1) Who is best boy and who is best girl?

Best girl is Sagiri, no doubt, but Yuzuriha also earned my respect. As for guys, now it a better question, all of them good, but maybe leaning towards Shion.

> 2) Did you like the OP or the ED more?

I liked them both.

> 3) What would you say was your favorite part about this show? How about your least favorite?

Like I said before, it is the mystery and the worldbuilding the most what amazed me. Least favorite, well, some of the cast who just got killed pretty much early on, they felt wasted potential to me. They would be really interesting if they would somehow survived for longer. Look at Eizen for example, he is supposed to be a top-ranked Asaemon, but he met demise shortly after disembarking. Moro Makiya, blonde seducer girl, some other executioners, same can be said.

> 4) How excited are you for season 2 now? Is there anything in particular you’re hoping will happen in it?

I think I am excited for it. As for what to expect, more mystery and secrets of Shinsenkyo especially Horai, the new Asaemons, or the Iwagakure intervention hopefully becoming true. In other words, I have high hopes for this.

> 5) Which of the wallpapers that I made for this rewatch was your favorite? For reference, here’s the full album.

Not looked at that one.

> 6) What do you do at the end of the rewatch? Are you busy? Will you save me?

It would be embarassing the next time we met.

Just like the show itself, so does this rewatch was really enjoyable, and I having a blast there. If it ends up being a full adaptation, then I might watch it again in entirety. u/Shimmering-Sky, thank you for hosting this, you did a great job for being a host, as always.

**Rewatcher**

I'll just say that rewatching the show now, it's given me a better appreciation of the show, as much as I enjoyed it the first time around. I really like the mix of action, character development (particularly for those who stick around for most/all of it, lol), action, and the world-building and mystery surrounding the island's nature. I will admit that I'm not that knowledgeable about some of the real-world mythology that this show borrows, but I got more out of that aspect this time around, even more so thanks to some of the comments in the discussions. And by extension, the themes of balance were interesting, and allowed for more well-rounded characters than one might expect coming into it. It also helps with the action, which was always very intense, but as we get further into it, it goes from the mindless brutality of the free-for-all in the second episode to a much more strategic approach as the enemies get stronger and weirder, and the characters learn more about tao (but it never less bloody and exciting).

**Questions of the Day**

QotD1: Best girl, Sagiri easily. Best guy... I think I'll go with Shion. And I'd say Senta, Gabimaru, and Yuzuriha would round out my top 5.

QotD2: Both are great, but I'd say ED is my favorite. And in fact, it's up there among my top anime EDs I've heard.

QotD3: Favorite was probably the theme of finding balance within yourself, and how it was applied to both the character development and action. Least favorite, maybe the lack of breathing room? Especially if you don't count the exposition, which is meant to add to the show's story/mythology. We do get some nice background for some of the main characters in particular which is nice, but I feel like some of the death and stuff might hit harder if we had more time with some of them, though they did about as well as they could given the circumstances.

QotD4: Very. I do have my reservations with some things, like Gabimaru's amnesia and possible non-existence of his wife (I'm still not 100% sold on this), but I'm open to seeing how they handle those things going forward. But there's a lot of interesting elements they can draw from going forward.

QotD5: Looking through the gallery, I'd say Sagiri's wallpaper. Though that could be partly due to my bias for the character.

**First-timer, subbed** (forgot this bit)


Not sure when I'll have time for writing anything long. And season 2 starts today! So I'll just quickly jot down some thoughts on phone itself (apologies in advance for all the autocorrect errors).


I really enjoyed this show and the rewatch. The discussions were very interesting and made the show even better. Thanks Sky for hosting and the rest of you for participating!


I came into this blind and the show blindsided me with how good the story and voice acting were in particular. Quickly became fond of most of the cast and promptly had my heart broken when they were suddenly killed off. I can't get over Tenzen still. 


I'm really invested in what happens to the survivors. Hoping against hope that Sagiri can keep her oath and get everyone out alive (unlikely, I know). Gabimaru's current condition and the possibility that his wife doesn't exist is worrisome. Eager to see how that's resolved.


I also want to go check out the philosophy videos that u/BosuW linked. I'd forgotten most of the stuff I learned about these concepts during my philosophy phase some years ago. Want to brush up and try to make connections to the story like others are doing. 



I'll probably have to wait until tomorrow to watch the season 2 premiere. See you all in the episode threads!


Edit: I missed the questions. Can't pick favourites since I came to love almost all the exploration party. Do want to say I love the OP though. Such a banger. It'll remain on my playlist. ED was nice but OP wins easily for me. Need to check out all these wallpapers. I don't read the OP post since I have these prewritten and just come to copy paste mostly and then read through the other comments. So I've missed the famous (as I learned recently from another thread) Sky wallpapers. Doh. Shall take a looksee when I'm back home.

Gotta have a lot of fun watching this again