A Hellish Paradise
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is an incredible manga for fans of survival horror, East Asian mythology, and D&D.
*Warning: Body horror, gore, and some nudity*
I finally finished reading all thirteen volumes of Yuji Kaku’s dark fantasy action manga Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku and let me tell you, I was very impressed with this series.
Let’s start with an overview.
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku follows Gabimaru the Hollow, the most infamous shinobi from Iwagakure village. During an ill-fated assassination mission, Gabimaru is betrayed by his comrades, captured, and sentenced to death. However, even to Gabimaru’s surprise, all efforts to execute him fail.
While most assumed that he was using his supernatural abilities to mock his captors, a lone executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri believes that the love he holds for his wife is subconsciously keeping him alive.
She offers Gabimaru the chance to be pardoned of all his crimes by the Shogunate if he is able to locate the elixir of life on a the legendary island of Shinsenkyo. After losing multiple expeditions to the island, with all signs indicating that unnatural forces guard its secrets, the Shogunate decides to send Gabimaru and a group of death row convicts as the latest expedition. Each accompanied by a Yamada Asaemon executioner, the convicts must locate the elixir of life and return with their executioner in order to obtain the pardon. The stakes are high, as only one convict can claim the coveted prize.
If your impression of this series is that of a simple battle royal story, you’re wrong. Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is a ferocious, action-packed survival horror story.
*Minor spoilers ahead*
When the team of convicts and executioners arrive at Shinsenkyo, they quickly realize that the island is inhabited by monstrous hybrid animals, horrific giants, and plant-like humanoids created from twisted experiments conducted by Taoist hermits. As the convicts and executioners fight against one another and the creatures of the island, Gabimaru and Sagiri must determine who they can trust as they search for the elixir.
Yuji Kaku’s art and at times poetic writing immediately drew me into the series. Action sequences are dynamic, yet easy to follow. Each executioner and convict has a distinct look and backstory. Each monster is illustrated with a shocking degree of detail.
But what I found most intriguing about this series was how it blending Chinese and Japanese mythology and history. The island setting is inspired by the legendary mountain-island of Penglai, while the driving force behind the unnatural creatures is the legendary Chinese alchemist and explorer Xu Fu, who was tasked by the Emperor Qin Shi Huang to retrieve the elixir of life from the immortals that reside on the island.
Given that the protagonists of Hell’s Paradise come from Japan, the appropriate Japanese equivalents to the Chinese mythological elements are used alongside themes of xianxia cultivation and Taoism. Penglai’s Japanese mythological equivalent, Hōrai, is a part of Shinsenkyo while Xu Fu is referred to by the name Jofuku. Hell’s Paradise gets right what so many fantasy stories execute so poorly. Rather than blending cultural elements into a singular pan-Asian mythology, this series explores the foreign Chinese themes from the Japanese perspective of the protagonists. As the convicts and executioners survive the horrors of the island, they also become exposed to the philosophical and mythological elements of qi cultivation. It was an unexpected and very welcome element of the series.
If it wasn’t clear already, I LOVED this series. With an engaging story spanning 13 volumes, well-developed characters, strong mythological roots, and creature designs that would please any Hidetaka Miyazaki fan, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is an action-packed survival horror masterpiece.
Oh, and an anime adaptation will begin airing this year!
Excuse me sir I don't know if you read this or not could you please tell me how long they were on the island for please and thank you