Gabimaru and many other criminals have been sent to a monster-infested island to find the "elixir of life." Upon achieving their goal, the nation would pardon their crimes. Every criminal has an executioner to monitor them. Gabimaru’s is Sagiri. She is a blank slate, a hard-working, disciplined rule follower known as an Asaemon. Sagiri's internal monologue spoon-feeds Gabimaru's character development. If they want us to understand how emotionless yet emotional he is, she will tell us painstakingly. Let's just say neither of them will make any "Best Character of the Year'' lists. It's not only Sagiri, either. Half of the screen time is devoted to people dumping exposition onto one another or, worse, the viewers. For an anime with such mature content, it treats us like children! We can handle visual storytelling, natural dialogue, and context clues. Is that asking for too much? Aside from its overly literal nature, the script is blander than an unseasoned boiled chicken breast. I like humor, wit, charm, irony, sarcasm, or flavor. There's none here!
If there's one thing Hell's Paradise does better than its contemporaries, it's how it doesn't waste too much time on world-building. It keeps its terms comprehensive. The monsters on the island are just called monsters. The energy that monsters harness to fight is called Tao. Gabimaru’s ninja flame powers are efficiently named 'ninjutsu'—all pretty basic stuff. Aside from the Mcguffin storyline, I didn't care about the generic world. It's an exciting anime for the violent death island and increasingly grotesque monsters. There's some lore behind how the monsters came to be, but it's mostly an excuse for big bug battles and giant killer statues. Body horror lovers won't be disappointed. The most challenging enemies heroes encounter are the Tensen—seemingly immortal flower/human hybrids. The Tensen control the island's monsters and use Tao to slice and dice human trespassers. Early in the series, the writers establish that cutting off a Tensen's heads doesn't kill them, yet no one seems to share this information, leading to predictable outcomes. One of the side characters chops off a Tensen's head, then it regrows, and now they're disadvantaged. Marvelous, what else do you have for us?
Hell's Paradise embraces a recurring theme of women's empowerment. A significant moment occurs when one of Sagari's superiors tries to belittle her by suggesting her weakness as a woman. He also urges her to leave the island. However, Sagiri courageously stands her ground, and it is refreshing to see the show firmly supporting her stance. As one of the few female Asaemon, she must demonstrate her combat prowess to silence misogynistic criticism. There are other female characters in the anime, and the overall portrayal can be deemed feminist in its approach.
Caring about Hell's Paradise characters could be an Olympic sport. After a few minutes of development, the series dispatches them so quickly that you may wonder what's the point. The supporting character development resembles Demon Slayer's worst aspect—they develop right before dying. Usually in the form of a badly-timed flashback meant to make you pity or sympathize with the short-lived fighter. This first season offers plenty of unique faces with likable personalities. It's a shame it's over right before you get to know them. Thankfully, they don't do this with the Tensen monsters. Flashbacks work in moderation, but their overuse here looks like lazy writing. The series' only alternative to quick flashbacks is inserting a character whose sole purpose is to spew background information. Like Sagiri, random people will appear just when we need to hear about the person's life story. You'd have to be blind not to see the played-out formula.
Speaking of played out, it's no surprise the production is mediocre. As the compositing shows, Hell's Paradise was a less significant production for MAPPA. Whether their productions will come out well is a coin flip. One of the problems is overexposed art and excessive brightness—this results in a loss of detail and a washed-out appearance like a low-budget anime. Additionally, the characters seem alien to their surroundings due to a significant disparity between the background art and characters. Instead of seamlessly integrating the characters into the environment, it looks like stickers haphazardly placed on wallpaper. The issue is made worse by slow fights. Combat constantly pauses for flashbacks, basic observations, or monologues. The battles aren't particularly well choreographed, relying on wild camera movements and close-ups to avoid animation. It's a lot of build-up for a fight that ends up being lame.
Hell's Paradise falls short in many aspects, especially character development, scriptwriting, and art. The forced exposition and dependence on flashbacks hinder the story's natural progression, leaving little room for viewers to form a genuine connection with the characters. The lack of humor, wit, and charm further detracts from the overall enjoyment of the anime. However, the series succeeds in concise world-building and delivers on the promise of violent battles and grotesque monsters. The body horror elements and the Tensen enemies provide genuine excitement. Hell's Paradise deserves credit for highlighting the strength and determination of the female deuteragonist, Sagiri. Hell's Paradise falls short in production quality and writing competence, resulting in an irritating sense of disappointment.
