Jigokuraku 2nd Season

Currently super underrated and understandably so, as more episodes still need to unfold. So far, the anime captures the story very well. The animation is eye candy and the fight scenes are spectacularly directed! Maybe viewers will better understand the true depth of the story once the final season unfolds and concludes. I think it will bring everything together.

I just finished the manga, and im blown away by how fkn BRILLIANT and PROFOUND this story is. It engages the mind and touches the heart so powerfully that I felt compelled to write this review. While reading the final volumes of the manga, ... i found my eyes welling up periodically. It absolutely delivers the concept of the Tao Te Ching, the I Ching, and other Eastern philosophies in its' own imaginative fashion AMAZINGLY. Just the title itself, "Jigokuraku" along with the opening OST lyrics of season 1, establishes the story's intent from the get go, not to mention the tune itself is lit af. I failed to grasp the weight of these nuances until I really tuned in as i rewatched seasons 1 & 2 and read through the manga.

Each characters' development/progression, changes in their beliefs, perception of their internal sensibilities & external views, and the unbreakable connection they develop with each other is the very essence of humanity. You are part of a greater whole. Everything/everyone is connected. Internally... manifesting the ideal life you desire is not achieved by means of force, but through acceptance of external factors beyond ones' control, adapting to it, and being at one with it, while maintaining a balance of your internal nature.... emotions, logic, and beliefs. In seasons 1 & 2, Gabi & Sagi can each sense a vague unspoken connection between them, but the final volume illuminates their recognition of just how profound their bond with each other is. One which transcends conventional notions of love or friendship. (It's a strange and inexplicable sensibility for sure. Im sure everyone has experienced that "feeling," of attraction or disdain upon meeting someone for the first time. In the traditional zodiac, I am an earth sign and the few real lasting friends i have, including 2 of my 3 siblings, are either water or earth signs, with whom i get along well and share a deep connection)
2 lines in the anime resonated with me deeply:
Gabimaru to Yuzuriha, "there are places only fools can reach."
Yui to Gabimaru, "You should rest when you're able, if you want to last in the long battle called life."

I am utterly stunned with the story’s sheer brilliance, humor and philosophical depth.
In my late teens through mid twenties, i read countless versions/interpretations of the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching. I read it daily as to ingrain it into my psyche. Also, training in martial arts which incorporated meditation & centering your chi to master emotional discipline and enable clear, logical thinking made this story more relatable. But over (MANY 20+) the years, as ive grown older & colder, i have lost the "way." Fighting against the tide of external factors, trying to force things into place in an attempt to achieve goals ultimately leading to disappointment & regret. Take it from Jikka, this is not the "way." Jigokuraku is a refreshing tale that conceptualizes the Tao Te Ching, I Ching, other Eastern philophies and martial arts philosophies (see Rickson's documentary "Choke" and his breathing techniques) in an exciting and dynamic way. Because, in all honesty, while anyone regardless of background, circumstances, or life experience can extract meaningful insight from the Tao Te Ching, it is boring af to read. Jigokuraku teaches without preaching. It embraces each character's beliefs, perception of oneself and the world by saying, "Listen muh dude. It's ok. You do you... One cannot be without the other." Weakness is strength and strength is weakness..... the rigid, unyielding ideology of the bushido code vs living in responsive harmony with circumstances.

Though Gabimaru is the protagonist, the story is faaaaaaaaaar from being solely about him..... And the ending (last volume)...... SO SO SOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL & SATISFYING!
I genuinely enjoyed Jigokuraku & this is merely my interpretation of the story's intent. I hope others find it as fulfilling and insightful in their own way. But more importantly, just enjoy the story in its' entirety.

The second season of Hell’s Paradise continues to remain an action-focused, entertaining experience, but lacks in various other aspects, particularly the writing. Positively, the production quality has improved significantly, and delivers some standout highlights and stylistic animation approaches. Some moments, encounters, and flashbacks had solid visual impact and weight. On the other hand, this addition struggles even more with storytelling. Extremely powerful adversaries are reduced to non-threatening levels, mortal wounds are inconsequential, fake-out deaths commonly force stakes, power systems, and related terms are convolutedly explained through dialogue, characters remain stationary while communicating during battles, and introductory antagonists have no relevance until the unwarranted cliffhanger finale.

Second season makes clear that Jigokuraku has always been just another generic shounen.
- Main characters are sidelined to make room for twenty backstories for every secondary.
- Every character has only backstory and is one-dimensional.
- Full chapter flashbacks for characters about to die.
- The show constantly tells you that they are about to die, they are dying right now, but the end of the battle solves blood loss, being a punchcard, having your throat slit, and other similar trifles.
- Battle commentarists are useless. Do something else if the situation is so life-threatening.
- Everything is shown, explained, or hinted as being one thing, only for it to ... be something else or just unimportant.
- Whole chapters' worth of details about the mystical power is useless when characters can just become stronger with emotions.
- They had the great idea of skipping the plannification to keep the viewer tense, but then explain it as they do it via flashbacks interrupting the action scenes. If the plans were no secret for the characters, why treat it as secret in the first place. There is no tension when deaths are arbitrary anyway.
- Random explanations that try to sound intelligent but are just stupid: you're telling me that a master of mystical power who has lived 1000 years practicing and controlling his power suddenly forgets to control and check his own power because "flashing lights make people lose their sense of time"... And it was obviously explained in a flashback why this works: it is because the mystical power-up transformation just happens to be a videogame ability with constant mana-consumption and a fixed duration, and it just so happens that the transformation into a monster keeps the same human perception/nervous system somehow... Quite convenient.
But the thing is that the transformation has a completely closed helmet, and all users of the mystical power can 'see' without eyes anyway.
- The number of copypasted lines from other generic shows is uncountable, the number of repeated scenes and sentences is mindnumbing, and the quantity of flashbacks surely made me lose my sense of time. They have to have saved quite a bit of money this way.
- There was clearly enough time in this second season to complete the story with a final showdown, but they just added even more tertiary characters to milk the cow dry.

This seems to be another 10 years of terribly used scenification and theatrics in anime due to the rules of 'cool looking' and 'easily sellable to teenagers'.