One of my Japanese friends and I were talking about sword-related anime or manga. She's crazy about Touken Ranbu and I just started reading Kagurabachi that time. We often talk about things related to Japanese culture and history... and then, she mentioned Jigokuraku or Hell's Paradise to me. She didn't watch it (since she's not keen on watching bloody stuff), but she know I'd like it... and yes, she's right!
I finished watching the first season last night, so let me talk about it. :)
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The story is about a ninja, Gabimaru, who initially wanted to be executed and an executioner Sagiri.
Despite Gabimaru's claim about wanting to end his life, doing various types of execution didn't work on him. He's unconsciously trying to live and Sagiri noticed it.
Sagiri then offered him a chance of full pardon from all the crimes he had committed, but of course, it won't be easy.
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To assure his freedom, he is to travel to an island called Shinsekyo to find the Elixir of Life, which grants immortality, and hand it to the shogun.
He isn't alone in this quest, though. He's to go to the island with nine other criminals alongside an executioner to monitor them and execute them when things go wrong.
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However, the other criminals and the executioners were the least of his worries. Almost nobody who went to the island has ever returned. If there is, they're either dead or good as dead.
Having no idea on what would happen, Gabimaru accepted the offer in hopes of being with his wife again.
Above is the official trailer of the said anime... and as you can see, it's from MAPPA, so the animation style is obviously great! The effects and fight scenes were done pretty well as expected. ;)
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Story-wise, it was to my liking. There are bits and pieces of information related to Japanese history, religion and the like, so it's a bonus for me.
There were also a lot of interesting characters (both from the criminal and executioner sides) that caught my attention. They have their own amusing and/or heartwarming backstories that would really make you feel a connection with them. Sadly, not all of my faves survived. ugh!
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Despite that, I just couldn't stop watching. There isn't an exact date for the second season, but it has already been officially announced that there will be... but yeah, I'm impatient...
I just caught up with "Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri" manga a while ago, so it's time for me to read Jigokuraku... and the manga is completed! So, I'm pretty excited... I'm still looking forward to watching the second season even though I read the manga. ^^
If you're up for a bloody adventure, then this anime is for you. :)
Thanks for checking out my post. See you around! (^^,)/