Hell’s Paradise 2×12 Review – Endings and Beginnings

Hell’s Paradise anime season 2 episode 12, titled ‘Endings and Beginnings’, brought the highly enjoyable sophomore outing to a close as fans await news about a possible season 3 to conclude Gabimaru’s journey.

With Shugen’s group breaking into the Tensen’s castle at the end of the previous episode, the finale gave way to a full-on war involving our main characters, Shugen’s group, the ninjas, and the Doshi, with each group following certain orders.

Shugen’s people were going to kill the criminals and anyone else who posed a threat to them. They would also kill the surviving Yamada Asaemons if it were determined they were siding with the criminals instead of sticking to the law. The ninjas were to do the same, without attacking anyone from Shugen’s crew. And the Doshi were sent by Rein to kill the humans, which meant they wouldn’t attack Mei.

I liked how the main cast realized that the best course of action was to stick to their initial plan of collecting the Elixir of Life and escaping the island instead of engaging in yet another battle. The Doshi and the ninjas would keep each other busy. There was no reason for the main cast to involve themselves in the current blood-filled war. As Gantetsusai put it, war was an ugly sight that, more often than not, accomplished nothing of value. The people who usually survived it were those who ran away or those who ordered soldiers into battle instead of stepping onto the battlefield themselves.

However, things weren’t going to be as easy as hoped. Shugen wasn’t interested in taking prisoners. He was way into his feelings after witnessing the dead bodies of his people upon arriving on the island. As far as Shugen’s concerned, the criminals deserved to be executed, and so did the Yamada Asaemons who had aided them. The finale set up some interesting battles for season 3 that I’m already excited about.

Gantetsusai and Fuchi would face off against Shugen. Chobei and Toma would need to survive Jikka. Shion and Nurugai got stopped by Kiomaru. And Isuzu tried to get Sagiri to step away from Yuzuriha.

Yeah! Much to my joy, Yuzuriha survived her battle from the previous episode and had managed to regroup with Sagiri and Mei after tending to her wounds. I have no doubt she and Sagiri will be able to defeat Isuzu and even make her understand why they needed to put their differences aside and focus on stopping Rein from enacting his plan to transform people on the mainland into Tan.

As for the rest of the characters, I do hope Shion and Nurugai get to leave the island together. Shion saying how he vowed to protect Nurugai until his dying breath, while suggesting they both ventured into the mountains to find a village that Nurugai might feel welcome in, made for a heartfelt moment between the two.

Coming to Rein, he was annoyed by the sudden disruption of his plan. However, in a surprising turn of events, the leader of the ninjas decided to take him on instead of Gabimaru. Apparantly, the Iwagakure Chief had tasked the female ninja to kill Gabimaru and take on the mantle. I had no idea that Gabimaru was a title that could be passed between shinobi. So, yeah, the female ninja aimed to become the new Gabimaru. However, she had other plans when it came to disposing of the current Gabimaru instead of simply murdering him. It’s revealed that she shared some childhood memories with Gabimaru. Her emotions were depicted as a crush, but knowing Hell’s Paradise, it’s likely something darker.

I highly doubt she will manage to defeat Rein. But I think such a fight was necessary to showcase some of Rein’s powers instead of having Rein go all out while battling a core cast member.

Coming to Gabimaru, the infection continued to take over his body as he tried to regroup with his team while making his way through deadly ninjas. I could be wrong here, but I think the narrative is moving toward Gabimaru finding a way to use the Divine Beast Banko flower to his advantage somehow. I say this because while the rest of the characters were busy pointing their weapons at each other, Gabimaru’s next battle seemed to involve the Divine Beast Banko flower that Zhu Jin had managed to fuse with. Ugh! Shion should have made sure to kill that annoying Tensen!

I’m so glad I decided to get on the Hell’s Paradise bandwagon. It’s a well-written action anime that features cool visuals, queer representation, and fleshed-out female characters. I have my fingers crossed for a third chapter. I want to see Gabimaru reuniting with his wife.

Did you watch Hell’s Paradise anime season 2 episode 12? Are you hoping for a third season?

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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary