Hell’s Paradise Episode 8

The Third Tensen

Hell’s Paradise Episode 8 was all about Tenza Yamada Asaemon. He’s the executioner assigned to Nurugai. And the episode opens with Tenza and Nurugai on the shores of Shinsenkyo, searching for a way to escape. Their last attempt ended in failure when a giant octopus monster attacked them.

So, they’ve retreated back to the island. But, Tenza doesn’t want to enter the jungle. He knows that the dangerous insects and demons reside there. By comparison, the beach of the island is a relatively safe place. So, the pair plans to continue searching for a current to take them off the island.

However, those plans are cut short when one of the Tensen descends from the sky. This is a different Tensen than the two Choubei and Touma came across in the jungle. And, at first, this Tensen seemed to be one Tenza could reason with.

Now, Tenza didn’t even attempt to reason with the Tensen. He immediately tried to both fight and flee. That may have been the wrong choice. When Tenza and Nurugai fled into the jungle, the Tensen asked “Why are you running?” To me, this seems to imply the Tensen had no intention of attacking them.

But, at the same time, there were also hints that this wasn’t the case and that fleeing was the right choice. For example, the Tensen was mad about the monsters on the island being killed. And the Tensen asked if Tenza and Nurugai were the ones who killed them.

Could Tenza have talked his way out of that? I’m not so sure. Also, later on, during their fight in the jungle, the Tensen mentioned “Tan.” That’s the Elixer of Life. And they said that humans need to still be alive to become Tan. That explains some things.

Student and Master

Episode 8 also introduced a new character, Shion Yamada Asaemon. He’s Tenza’s master — the one who took Tenza off the streets and trained him as an executioner. Before Shion came along, Tenza stole food, robbed people, and generally caused chaos. Shion was the first person to see Tenza’s potential.

But, I’m not really all that interested in Tenza’s backstory, to be honest. It was a fine backstory; nothing special. Shion, however, is someone I want to learn more about. We learned a little about his backstory via Tenza’s — like how he once had to execute one of his former students.

That explained why he was so adamantly against Tenza leaving the dojo and going back to the streets. Shion didn’t want him to become a career criminal who would need to be executed one day. But, there’s still more I’d like to know about Shion.

For now, my biggest question is how he got his scars. Shion’s defining characteristic is that he’s blind. He uses his senses of smell and hearing to navigate the world around him. But, it doesn’t appear that he was blind from birth. He has scars across his eyes.

There’s one horizontal scar that goes across both eyes. And each eye also has a vertical scar across it. That seems very intentional. Someone blinded Shion on purpose. But, why? Was Shion once a criminal like Tenza? Was blindness his punishment instead of execution?

Or, did Shion intentionally blind himself for some reason? We know he was blind even before he executed his former student. So, it wasn’t in response to that. But, there may have been something else in his past that he wanted to repent for. I’m hoping we won’t have to wait too long to get an answer.

Shion and Nurugai

Well, Tenza didn’t last very long. The Tensen who attacked him and Nurugai on the beach killed him at the end of the episode. But, at least Tenza was able to give Shion and Nurugai time to flee. And that means Shion and Nurugai are now a pair.

But, speaking of being killed by a Tensen, I want to go back to something I said earlier in this review. I mentioned that the fact that only living humans become Tan explained some things. One of those things it explained is why the other Tensen didn’t kill Choubei and Touma.

In Episode 7, we saw the Tensen throw Choubei and Touma into a pit. And within this pit, there were the bodies of other humans who had also been thrown in. We now know the reason for doing this is that if the Tensen killed them, Choubei and Touma wouldn’t become Tan.

Anyway, there aren’t many criminals and executioners left on Shinsenkyo. Unless I’m forgetting some characters, there are only five pairs left. There’s Gabimaru/Sagiri, Yuzuriha/Senta, Choubei/Touma, Gantetsusai/Fuchi, and now Shion/Nurugai. Though, as I stated in my Episode 6 review, I have a feeling Eizen is still alive.

Assuming Eizen isn’t alive, though, half of those sent to Shinsenkyo are dead. At this rate, it doesn’t feel like Hell’s Paradise is going to be a very long series. We also already know the general location of the Elixer of Life.

But, then I remembered something that someone (I don’t remember who) said earlier in the series. There’s another wave of criminals and executioners waiting to go to the island. So, at some point, I’m expecting an injection of a bunch of new characters. Oh, and the shinobi from Iwagakure are allegedly coming, too.

Conclusion

What do you think of Hell’s Paradise Episode 8? Could Tenza have reasoned with the Tensen who appeared before him and Nurugai? Did you like Tenza’s backstory? And, which of the remaining 10 characters do you think will be the next to die? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 9 is available now.