Hell’s Paradise Episode 1

Hell’s Paradise Episode 1

Gabimaru the Hollow

Hell’s Paradise is one of the hot new anime of the spring 2023 season. It’s animated by everyone’s favorite studio, MAPPA (unless you’re a Shaft fanboy). And, based on the first episode, I can see this series potentially being the biggest of the season.

I had actually never heard of Hell’s Paradise, or its Japanese title Jigokuraku until it aired. So, this is a completely new series to me. But, after watching the first episode, I can see it appealing to fans of both Demon Slayer and Chainsaw Man. Considering the popularity of those series, I think this one will be a success.

And, yes, I know Hell’s Paradise is going to have to compete directly with Demon Slayer Season 3. But, this series has the benefit of being brand new. More people tend to tune into new anime than sequel seasons of anime.

Gabimaru covered in burning oil from the anime series Hell's Paradise Episode 1
Gabimaru covered in burning oil

Now, let’s get into the main character of the series, Gabimaru “the Hollow.” He’s a shinobi from Iwagakure. And, I already know you Naruto and Boruto fans are familiar with what that means. Iwagakure translates to “Hidden Stone Village.” That’s right, Hell’s Paradise is actually Boruto Part 2.

But, Gabimaru isn’t a current resident of Iwagakure. He defected from the village after he and the village elder had a disagreement. You see, Gabimaru wanted to stop being a shinobi. And the village elder’s response to that was, “lol no.” So Gabimaru had to escape from the village and ended up getting caught by some local lord.

The lord wants to execute Gabimaru, and this is where we learn the first of Gabimaru’s abilities. He has a very strong body — so strong that most things can’t kill him. They tried beheading, burning, quartering, and even boiling him to no avail.

The Executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri

Along with Gabimaru, the other main character we meet in the first episode is Sagiri. Her full name is Sagiri Yamada Asaemon. But Yamada Asaemon is more like a title than her actual name. She’s Sagiri of the Yamada Asaemon, which is a samurai clan.

The Yamada Asaemon work for the shogun. And due to their skill with swords, they’re often employed as executioners. While most people can’t behead someone in a single blow, that’s not an issue for the Yamada Asaemon. We’re also told that they work as sword testers — I wonder if that’s ever going to come up again.

But, the point of bringing up the Yamada Asaemon’s sword skills is to say that Sagiri could kill Gabimaru. And why is that important? Because that’s a staple of any modern shounen battle series. There’s always someone whose role it is to kill the protagonist if need be.

Sagiri Yamada Asaemon from the anime series Hell's Paradise Episode 1
Sagiri Yamada Asaemon

Allow me to give you a few examples. In Attack on Titan, Levi’s there to babysit Eren and kill him if he goes against humanity. In Jujutsu Kaisen, Gojo is Itadori’s babysitter in a similar fashion. Chainsaw Man? Aki will kill Denji if he goes rogue, as well.

Demon Slayer is slightly different in that nobody’s going to kill Tanjirou. But, they’ll certainly kill Nezuko if she and/or Tanjirou stop being on humanity’s side. You see, this is par for the course when it comes to this kind of anime.

What we’re likely going to see here is Gabimaru and Sagiri have this type of relationship. If Gabimaru goes rogue and decides not to find the Elixer of Life, Sagiri will be there to kill him. But, based on everything we know about Gabimaru, I have a feeling it won’t come to that.

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I’d Do Anything for My Dumb Wife

So, why did Gabimaru leave Iwagakure? It’s pretty simple. His wife is dumb as rocks. But, that’s not a bad thing. As everyone knows, dumb girls are cute. And Gabimaru’s wife, whose name is Yui, by the way, is no exception.

Yui is the daughter of the village elder. That’s a problem because all she wants is to live a normal life. But, in Iwagakure, the men are assassins and the women are child-bearers. They don’t get to choose what kind of life they want for themselves.

Gabimaru wants his wife to have the normal life she desires. So, he tells the village elder that he’s going to stop being a shinobi and live that normal life with her. And this is when the village elder decided that he’s not going to allow that. So, Gabimaru escapes from the village (without his wife) and here we are in the present.

Yui smiling from the anime series Hell's Paradise Episode 1
Yui smiling

Now, I should point out that Yui doesn’t appear to actually be dumb. When Gabimaru calls her dumb, he means that she doesn’t conform to Iwagakure society. Despite her position as the village elder’s daughter, she goes against tradition. She has a will of her own.

Obviously, the village elder doesn’t like that his daughter isn’t obedient. So, he took the perfectly reasonable approach of disfiguring her. He burned her face with a hot iron rod so that she could never live the normal life she desires.

Luckily for Yui, Gabimaru doesn’t care about her disfigured appearance. But, I have to say that Yui’s appearance would be a deal breaker for me. It’s not that she has a giant burn scar on her face, though. It’s that the giant burn scar on her face is in the shape of a penis.

Conclusion

What do you think of Hell’s Paradise Episode 1? Had you heard of this series before? Do you think it can compete with the likes of Demon Slayer Season 3? And, how far would you go for your dumb wife? Let me know in the comments.

Oh, and although this first episode review came out on Sunday, Hell’s Paradise episode reviews will be on Saturdays in the future.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 2 is available now.

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