Hell’s Paradise 2×02 and 2×03 Review – “Reality and Fantasy” and “Immutability and Change”

Hell’s Paradise anime season 2 episode 2, ‘Reality and Fantasy’, and episode 3, ‘Immutability and Change’, did a lot to bring Gabimaru back to his senses while also continuing to layer the lore.

With Gabimaru having lost his memories of his wife, as well as the possibility that his wife might be a figment of imagination (due to a twisted psychological tactic used by the Iwagakure leader to control his ninjas), the second episode focused on Gabimaru’s battle to the death with Chobei. Due to being unable to access his Tao, Gabimaru was fighting a losing battle. And even though Chobei was using a whole lot of Tao, which was making him lose control, Gabimaru didn’t have enough stamina to outlast him. I was expecting Chobei’s brother Toma to play a role in calming him down, and that’s exactly what happened.

Toma didn’t want to lose his bro to whatever monstrosity Chobei was transforming into. Also, it was clear that the outpouring of Tao would prove fatal. The narrative took a moment to focus on Chobei’s relationship with Toma. Chobei had always been the fighter in the dynamic, with Toma offering support or simply standing on the sidelines while Chobei handled business. Toma used to think that it was because Chobei wanted to protect him. But the events occurring on the island had made Toma aware of the lack in his power levels. Toma now thought that the reason Chobei always wanted him to stay back from a fight was that Chobei didn’t want someone as weak as Toma to get in the way.

Not wanting to lose his brother, Toma found the strength to face Chobei, even getting impaled by one of the monster’s tentacles. I mean, it was obvious Toma wasn’t going to die. At least, not yet. So, Toma was able to reach out to Chobei’s psyche, causing his bro to calm down.

Their dynamic continued into ‘Immutability and Change’, with Toma asking Gantetsusai to train him to become stronger. Toma even cut off his long locks to demonstrate his sincerity. The two didn’t have to like or trust each other, but Toma realized that Gantetsusai was stronger than him and could teach him become better. Gantetsusai isn’t going to take it easy on Toma. So, I’m looking forward to their training sessions.

As for Chobei, after being separated from Toma and the rest, he encountered Rein. I know that Gabimaru’s supposed to be the main lead, but I have to say that I’m kind of finding myself becoming a fan of Chobei’s fighting style. Chobei’s very quick at picking up his enemy’s movements. He was also aware enough not access too much of his Tao as not to turn into a monster again.

Rein’s battle with Chobei revealed that Chobei was using Tao of the Waitanhua Flower. That particular flower was meant to transform into Tan for the Tensen to consume. However, Chobei’s stubbornness to not die and and innate ability to adapt to circumstances had led to some kind of mysterious mutation to occur inside Chobei. It was something Rein had never seen before, and I liked how he looked at Chobei as an interesting specimen he wanted to learn more about.

Rein continued to be an intriguing character to me because instead of torturing Chobei, he decided to learn more about him by sexually combining their Tao. Of course, Rein appeared in his female form, but Chobei was aware of what was going on, and wanting to adapt to changes to find the opportunity to strike back, he was willing to go along with Rein’s plan. Again, he was doing all of this to protect Toma. And yeah, he remembered Toma during female Rein’s advances. I mean, make of that what you will. The narrative in Hell’s Paradise is really something.

As for Gabimaru, his party finally reconnected with Sagiri’s crew in episode 2. However, as expected, Sagiri realized that something wasn’t right. The ninja in front of her wasn’t the Gabimaru she knew. I liked how it was Sagiri who helped an injured Gabimaru to come to his senses. We got to learn that compatible Tao could be used to heal one another without the sexual component (that the Tensen were fans of) playing a role.

With Gabimaru realizing he was interacting with people he could kind of trust, I liked it when the block surrounding the memories of his wife was brought up. Even after listening to the theory about his wife not being real and how they should work together to leave the island before the Tensen found them, it made sense for someone like Gabimaru to stick to the mission. Whether or not his wife was real, there wasn’t much Gabimaru could do.

But what he could do was find the Elixir of Life, get pardoned, and then head back to his village to see if his wife existed or not. The only thing Gabimaru was sure about was his love for his wife. And that love was so intense that Gabimaru couldn’t risk not being able to be with her because he didn’t meet the requirements for his pardon, in case she was real.

Also, Gabimaru remembered that his wife’s name was Yui.

Episode 3 had Gabimaru ask Toma, Gantetsusai, Shion, and Nurugai to attack him together as a way to train his Tao. The quick battle was enough for Gabimaru to come up with a strategy to defeat the Tensen. He didn’t have the luxury to train his Tao for thousands of years like the Tensen. He was also unsure if a human could even reach Tensen’s levels of Tao manipulation. So, instead of consuming a whole lot of Tao and damaging his body, Gabimaru was going to use his foe’s Tao against them as a countermeasure.

As for more lore stuff, we had Mei share information about the creation of the island as well as the Tensen. The female version of Rein also shared information with Chobei. So, from what I could understand, the island was created by a guy named Shufu/Jofuku insearch of ways to manipulate Tao and reach immortality. A huge reveal was how Rein and Mei were the first Tensen created by Jofuku. However, with Mei not wanting to stick to Jofuku’s sinister teaching, Rein attacked her, causing her to transform into a little girl with a damaged core. The more Tao Mei used, the faster her transformation into a tree.

The Tensen continued to live on the island to continue experiments necessary to create the real Elixir of Life. Apparently, the Tan created from humans was a prototype. Even the Tensen needed to consume Tan to replenish their Tao levels. Also, there’s a possibility that Jofuku’s still somewhere on the island, trying to create the Elixir of Life.

As for the types of Tao, there’s wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. I was surprised how air was a type, but oh well. I’m looking forward to seeing different kinds of attacks related to the Tao types. If I were to assume, Chobei seems to be wood. Gabimaru’s fire. Mei’s earth. And Sagiri’s water. I don’t know if specific humans will be tasked with facing certain Tensens based on Tao types, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens.

With episode 3 focused on the creation of Tensen and Mei’s past, the emotional weight was via Mei’s relationship with Hoko. Not wanting Mei to turn into a tree, Hoko offered up his lifeforce to heal Mei. Hoko feeling guilty over how he had kid Mei play the role of his deceased daughter while fully knowing Mei wanted to leave the island was handled well by the writers. Hoko’s actions were selfish, but having said that, he loved Mei as a daughter, and she loved him back. To Mei, Hoko was her father. As I said, the entire thing was handled well by the writers, and the complexity (or problematic nature) of their relationship felt human.

Episode 3 concluded with Mei sensing Shugen’s arrival on the island (accompanied by a bunch of ninjas from the Iwagakure Clan). The troubles for our protagonists keep stacking.

Sigh!

But also, yay for more well-choreographed action!

Also, before I end my review, I have to mention how I laughed out loud when Gantetsusai referred to Gabimaru as Shortymaru and Catmaru.

Did you watch Hell’s Paradise anime season 2 episodes 2 and 3? What did you think of them?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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