Talk about flower power.
After a week off (I’m pretty sure it was a table tennis tournament but I wouldn’t swear to it) Jigokuraku returns with another violence-driven episode. There was a bit more tonal variety here at least though, as we got into the details of the Tensen a little bit. As introduced they’re a pretty boring antagonist, but if they were truly as infallible as they were made out to be we wouldn’t have much of a story here.
This time around Gabi takes matters into his own hands, reasoning that waiting around for Senta to figure things out would simply take too long. So he heads off to find Hourai, the center of the island where the elixir lives, on the way passing through a forest of immobile Houko-like beings seemingly chanting sutras (and with an uninvited follower in his wake). Eventually he finds his destination (no ordinary human indeed) and with it one of the Tensen guarding it. Naturally a fight ensues, and naturally Gabimaru does a whole lot of damage that heals more or less instantaneously.
There are a couple of takeaways from this broadly predictable encounter. One of Gabimaru’s attacks seemed to work, eliciting a different response from the Tensen, although he’s not sure which attack it was (its gender appearance seems to be involved). And when a Tensen is really up against it, they employ some sort of massive Little Shop of Horrors transformation that levels up their game in a big way. If it hadn’t been for Mei – who has some of the same powers the Tensen do – trailing Gabi it seems very likely that would have been that.
Courtesy of Houko we know a little more than that, namely that there are seven of the Tensen, but they’re al split off from a single ascetic. We also know that all of Houko’s kind started off as humans, and at some point transform into their final forms, and it’s the Tensen who supposedly decide if their souls get to enter Hourai (the true paradise). I think that conference among the seven also makes it pretty clear they’re neither truly immortal or indestructible – it’s consuming the elixir of life that makes them so. Take that away and I’m guessing they’d age and die just like a normal human (maybe even faster), if they weren’t killed in battle first (that also implies that if humans ever stopped coming to steal the elixir, the Tensen would be in real trouble).
Also of note is that at least one of the Aza Brothers, Chouhei, appears to have survived being dumped into the pit. And lest we forget, Gantetsusai and Fuchi are still alive, and they turn up after an absence of a what feels like several episodes. It’s nice to see a crack or two in the Tensens’ armor, and to have a little more meat on the bones of Shinsenkyo’s story. But we only have four episodes left, and it seems pretty clear that’s barely enough to make a dent in this premise. It’s widely rumored that Hell’s Paradise is a split cour, and that would certainly make sense, but until that’s confirmed we can’t discount the positively of a rushed – or read the manga – ending.
animealex
June 5, 2023 at 12:04 amJigokuraku, the only series, where you get a discussion among people-shaped flowers which gender they prefer and it makes sense in context. Sadly, this episode seems to confirm, that my favorite approach to this dammed island and it’s inhabitants, “Kill it with fire!!!” probably also wouldn’t work. Except perhaps, an absence of “normal” flowers on this island would also mean, no more elixir of life.
Scampi
June 5, 2023 at 12:41 pmFavorite episode so far simply for the fact they made Suwabe Juunichi talk to himself as the male Tensens for like 4 minutes straight.
Nicc
June 5, 2023 at 1:56 pmI too have heard that it because of a table tennis tournament last week too. We’re back to Gabimaru and company again as they ponder their next move. Gabimaru skips the pondering part and goes on ahead on his own. He has to get through the fog, finds some odd trees (Which are explained later) and then finds himself in front of Hourai. One of the Tensen find him, the same one that offed Tenza in the last episode. It seems to be a bit worn out from that battle and doesn’t really want to bother, but that’s not really an option.
In the ensuing battle, he gets much further with fighting a Tensen than anybody else thus far. Overcoming the regeneration is still a problem, so he just punches more and spurred on by the memories of his wife. It’s enough to put the Tensen down on the mat, but then it reveals a 2nd, decidedly not human form. It also gets a big power boost. Badly injured and exhausted, it’s more than Gabimaru can handle, but Mei, who has been following him all this time saves him. It seems that the Tensen knows who Mei is and it adds to the mystery of who she is and why she has some of the powers of the Tensen.
The morning comes and the group finds out that Gabimaru is missing. It takes some persuasion to get Yuzuhira to join the search party. On their way to Hourai, we get a lot of info from Houko. Right, his kind used to be human, but will eventually change into their true forms. Houko is the last of his kind and will be joining the others in that field someday. We also learn there are seven of those Tensen. I agree with the assessment that they aren’t immortal or indestructible (or, gods) and that the Elixir makes them so. How the chief of the Iwagakure Village managed to get his hands on some of that stuff is another mystery to figure out. The Tensen discuss how this group of humans are tougher than the rest, and indeed Gabimaru and at least one of the Aza brothers are still ticking. Gabimaru seems to realize that soloing the Tensen isn’t possible and comes across Gantetsusai and Fuchi, who you are right we haven’t seen in a pretty long time. Gantetsusai seems to be doing fine with just one hand. We still haven’t seen their abilities yet and I hope that we’ll get them soon.
A split-cour makes sense as there’s too much to get through in one cour. Considering that the manga already ended, I wonder if it’s on the way of getting a complete adaptation.
Kurik
June 6, 2023 at 12:46 amThe Tensen did mention that Gabi might be something special…I suspect he and his tribe has taken a sip of the elixir of life already and that’s what the Tensen was refering to. Can’t see how Gabi can survive all this damage if he isn’t himself somewhat immortal or have some form of regenerative ability. Good epsisode. Never thought we would see Gab beaten this badly but like that he realises he can’t do this alone.
Nicc
June 6, 2023 at 6:46 amYeah, the Tensen did mention if Gabimaru really was human. Maybe the giant Rokurota could have taken this much of a beating, but he’s hardly a normal fella either. After all that and Gabimaru was still able to sleep it off to a degree. You’re right that it could be that he has a bit of that potion in him (Indy took one sip from the Holy Grail and it gave him enough vitality for two more movies) and that has given him some crazy endurance.