Hell’s Paradise – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

The Samurai and the Woman

Episode 5 of Hell’s Paradise begins with Sagiri waking up from a nightmare about her father. Gengi tells her they’re in a cavern on the island and that she got poisoned by the butterflies’ scales and lost consciousness. Sagiri meets up with the others as they discuss their current predicament while eating a fancy meal.

Gabimaru tells the others he scouted the area and didn’t find anything noteworthy. He did uncover something strange about the flora present on the island though. Specifically, he found several flowers resembling the samurai who had become flowers and never returned home. Senta believes it’s possible people live on this island, but Sagiri argues against it due to the monsters she’s fought while being here.

Sagiri describes their appearances to the group, and Senta claims they could be malformed gods. Gabimaru believes this all points toward the Elixir of Life’s existence due to the monsters having no internal organs and slight immortality.

Senta says they should monitor the monster’s ecology as it’s their only clue regarding the Elixir. Genji approaches Sagiri later and tells her to take a boat back to the mainland. He explains Sagiri should tackle a task deemed for a woman and let him handle Gabimaru since his criminal’s already dead. Sagiri refuses.

Genji admires Sagiri’s determination but argues she doesn’t have the guts to kill Gabimaru if he acts out of line. He criticizes Sagiri’s ability and says she lacks exceptional skills in battle. Senta arrives and says it wouldn’t be easy for Sagiri to flee the island even if she wanted to.

At the same time, we see an Asaemon and his criminal, Nurugai, attempting to flee the island. They stumble upon an abandoned ship and get attacked by a tentacle monster. The anime delves into Nurugai’s past as they run from the beast. Nurugai brings some lost men to her village, and the men realize Nurugai and her fellow villagers are Emishi.

Emishi are people who refuse to submit to the shogunate and live as unique cultures in the mountains. The men capture and imprison Nurugai and slaughter his people. However, the Asaemon she’s accompanying in the present vows to help her escape.

Nurugai submits and doesn’t want to live. Her Asaemon tries reassuring her while slaying the tentacle monster’s arms. Nurugai and her Asaemon find a spare boat and flee. Unfortunately, they arrive on Shinsenkyo, and Nurugai thinks all currents flow back to the island.

After a humorous squabble, Nurugai and his Asaemon plan to gather allies and leave the island. Meanwhile, Gabimaru and Sagiri discuss strength, the Iwagakure, and other things. Sagiri tells Genji that she’ll be staying on the island and asks him to see her as a samurai. The episode closes with Rokurota attacking Genji before he harms Sagiri.

The Episode Review

This episode has Gabimaru and the company take a backseat to the action to discuss more about the Elixir of Life and the monstrous inhabitants they’ve encountered so far. It gives viewers a lot to ponder concerning Shinsenkyo and its potentially horrifying origins. However, it appears that drama is already stirring within the group concerning Genji’s stance on Sagiri.

Many will find his views on Sagiri unlikable. Despite losing to Gabimaru and finding herself in defenseless circumstances, Sagiri’s managed to hold her own in battles. Her swift achievement toward the end of this chapter demonstrates what she’s capable of when she’s not stuck in an internal dilemma. It’ll be great to see her develop more as we approach this season’s conclusion.

Nurugai and her Asaemon are an interesting pair. It’s likely they’ll want to join Sagiri’s group despite sharing different goals. How their chemistry with Gabimaru and his allies will turn out, begs to be seen. However, it’d be in Nurugai and her Asaemon’s best interest to team up considering the dangers that await them in Shinsenkyo.

Overall, this was another great episode of Hell’s Paradise. It gives viewers some compelling action, and great dialogue, and presents them with more questions that will hopefully be answered as the series continues. It appears the next episode will open with some exhilarating action sequences based on the cliffhanger we receive this week.