Hell’s Paradise – Season 1 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Gods and People

Episode 9 of Hell’s Paradise begins with Senta becoming overwhelmed by the number of mysteries on the island. They all fall asleep except for Gabimaru, who recalls Senta telling him they should gather intel about the Tensen and create a plan before traveling to the Horai region of Shinsenkyo that holds the Elixir of Life. Gabimaru decides to leave the others behind in the present and reach Horai using the information they gathered from Hoko.

Gabimaru reaches a misty area where the sentient trees are praying to something. Although Gabimaru knows it’s dangerous to travel alone without a plan, he’s determined to grab the Elixir and return to his wife. Before Gabimaru opens the gate to Horai, the plant-like Tensen who killed Tenza arrives. The being asks Gabimaru to leave because they don’t want to fight. Gabimaru asks the being if they make Elixir out of humans to trigger the Tensen. They engage in combat. Although Gabimaru wounds the Tensen, the Tensen whips out a new technique to wound him severely. Fueled by his desire to see his wife, Gabimaru trades swift blows with the Tensen, tearing off several of its limbs. He backs off, and the Tensen transforms into a flower-like creature.

The creature overwhelms Gabimaru to the point where he sees his wife in a dream. Even though Gabimaru wishes that what he’s witnessing is real, he’s glad he gets to see his wife again. The creature grabs Gabimaru, but he uses his last bit of energy to damage it. Before Tensen finishes Gabimaru, Mei rescues him, and they retreat. Meanwhile, Sagiri requests the others to help her find Gabimaru in Horai. Hoko agrees to accompany them because he feels Mei went after Gabimaru. During their trip, Hoko explains the origins of the Tensen to our group.

Meanwhile, the Tensen hold a meeting going over the news of humans arriving on Shinsenkyo. One of the Tensen named Ju Fa outs their member Zhu Jin for performing their watch duties poorly and Gabimaru forces them to use their Kishikai transformation. A purple-haired Tensen tells Ju Fa to stop toying with Zhu Jin because they’re family and says he’s the only one who can harm Zhu Jin. He reminds Ju Fa that he should’ve been monitoring his humans, Choubei and Touma since he found a dead creature in the area. The purple-haired Tensen tells his family not to underestimate the humans and plans to kill them all and use their bodies to make more Elixir.

Meanwhile, Hoko continues explaining Tensen’s origins to Sagiri and her allies. He says there are seven Tensen when there used to be only one. He lists their names and says a hermit who mastered their art and became a god split into these seven Tensen. They all look and sound the same, but they have different personalities. Hoko confirms he used to look like a human when he was a child alongside the other residents on this island. They prospered for many years but transformed into trees before they perished. Based on their faith, the residents believe by turning into trees near Horai, they ensure their souls get sent to Horai after death.

Meanwhile, Gabimaru wakes up next to Mei. He ponders his fight with Zhu Jin and says there must be a way to kill them. Suddenly, Gantetsusai and Fuchi encounter Gabimaru. The episode closes with Gantetsusai planning to kill Gabimaru.

The Episode Review

This episode was definitely worth a week’s break. The battle between Zhu Jin and Gabimaru was intense and gave our protagonist a needed reality check. At the same time, fans who were upset with Tenza’s demise in the previous chapter will find Zhu Jin’s beating satisfying, even though Gabimaru doesn’t walk away from the bout the victor.

Based on Gabimaru’s new line of thought, it appears he’ll want to forge an alliance with the remaining criminals and Asaemon on the island. It’d be their best bet considering how strong the Tensen is in comparison. If Zhu Jin manages to leave Gabimaru in an invulnerable state, then there’s no telling how powerful the other members of this god-like group are.

Nonetheless, it’ll be intriguing to see if the other criminals or Asaemon will accept his offer. While Nurugai and Choubei may consider it, he may need to use more than his words to convince Ganketsusai. In addition to giving us more intel about Hoko’s people and the Tensen themselves, this episode contained enough content to leave viewers satisfied. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead for our criminals and the Asaemon during their hellish journey.