The third episode of Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku showed how different characters find their resolve, but for everyone, strength has a hefty price.
The third episode of Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku saw the Vanguard Party’s arrival on the mysterious island known as Shinsenkyō, further developing the emerging plot and character dynamics, as well as giving near indisputable proof of the existence of the series’ MacGuffin, the Elixir of Life. With the motivation of a full pardon for their crimes, the criminals are each fully prepared to do whatever it takes to not only ensure their own survival, but the retrieval of the fabled elixir.
According to the predictions of Yamada Asaemon Kishō, attendant to the now-deceased Twisted Keiun, the number of criminals who are alive to even perform the search will be cut down dramatically within a few hours and by the day’s end, the Shōgunate will have to send another group on the dangerous expedition. By the end of the third episode of Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, Kishō’s prediction seems to be coming true, and even briefly inspires Gabimaru to cast aside the rules and attack his own attendant, Sagiri. Survival on Shinsenkyō requires strength, and thus far in the narrative, strength is depicted as something that has high and varying prerequisites. So, what’s the price of strength, according to Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku thus far?
RELATED: Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku – What Really Happened to Gabimaru’s Parents?
For the series protagonist and deuteragonist, their respective journeys regarding their understanding of the path to power are quite similar and because of this, Gabimaru and Sagiri begin to develop an understanding that reached a major milestone during their bout in episode 3. For the both of them, upbringing and environment have brought them to the conclusion that the only way to become strong in the ways that they need to be to achieve their goals or live up to an internalized expectation is to cast aside emotion. Gabimaru was taught from infancy that weakness comes from harbouring emotions like love – even when it is love between a parent and child. Such feelings are, according to the Chief of Iwagakure, antithetical to strength and ironically, those feelings make it impossible for one to protect the things that they hold dear in the first place. On top of this, Gabimaru’s rigorous training saw countless fellow ninja lose their lives, meaning that the path to power is paved in blood – one’s own, and that of one’s contemporaries.
