I don't have the right to call myself an anime fan. That's because I watch them very rarely. I think I've watched a total of 4 animes my whole life despite having a good number of anime obsessed humans as friends. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy watching animes. It's just hard for me to settle down and pick an anime, download it and watch. I know I'm being unfair to the anime fan in me, I'm sorry, lol😂.
Anyways, I happened to have an anime conversation with a friend of mine who is very persistent. And he saddled me with the responsibility of watching five japanese animated movies in two months. Although I don't know if I'll be able to meet up cause a month has passed and I'm just finishing the first one he downloaded for me. The optimist in me wants to believe that it's still possible.
So, among the five animations he got for me, one of them was Hell's Paradise. I don't know what inspired me to settle for it. I don't know how I got to start watching it. Maybe the anime lover in me was starving 😂. All I know is that I found myself watching something and when I realized what I was watching, I was already way into it. That was how interesting I found it.
Anyways, I watched Hell's Paradise and I'm here to share my opinion about the series with you.
Hell's Paradise is an action-fantasy anime that follows the story of young man - Gabimaru, a Shinobi born in the village of Iwagakure. He is married to the Chief's daughter but gets fed up with her and tries to leave the village. But no one is allowed to leave the village. When he is sentenced to death for trying to leave the village, all efforts to kill him proves furtive. But when a female Asaemon is assigned to execute him, his will to live becomes stronger. Then, he is presented with two options, either he goes to the underworld with other hardened criminals and comes back with the Elixir of Life and is granted an official pardon, or he continues with his death sentence. He settles for the former and embarks on the journey.
When they get to the island, they are faced with a series of unnatural happenings which forces them to question: Did the Elixir of Life really exist? What exactly happened to the other people sent to the island? What is the nature of the plants that seem to be existing in this other side?
So far, this is the most popular anime I've watched and I enjoyed watching it. Gabimaru was a witty, suicidal, strong and smart character. His relationship with the female Asaemon was admirable. Of course, it was platonic. He is believed to be married. They were portrayed as teammates who understood each other and were ready to help each other when necessary. They were also very mean to each other at times😂. They were the highlight of the movie for me.
Also, I loved that this show didn't dwell on unnecessary scenes. Our goal was to bring back the Elixir of Life, and that was exactly what each and every character was focused on doing. The complexity of the characters. Their strengths and weaknesses, I found it all fascinating. There were annoying characters too but I'm glad they turned out helpful at the end.
Then, there was this statement made by Gabimaru - You can't know how strong you are until you've experienced a lot for yourself. I'd be lying if I said i didn't find this quote captivating. Such profound truth embedded in a sentence.
As much as I enjoyed this anime, I found something quite unsettling. The sexist and masochist statements in this anime. 'A woman like you is not supposed to be an asaemon', 'Men are to wield blades, a woman's job is to have babies' Statements like these were made but nobody stood to correct it. Nahh, I didn't like that.
Aside the above, I loved watching this. It was a nice blend of humour and action. Although just one season consisting of 13 episodes is out, I look forward to watching the next season.
So, if you haven't watched Hell's Paradise, it's a very nice anime that I would recommend to those who are willing to overlook the flaw I mentioned above. Also, if you can't stand gore and nudity, refrain from watching this anime. But in all, it's a wonderful anime.
Sayonara
