Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku (Japanese: 地獄楽, Hepburn: Jigokuraku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku. Set in the Edo period of Japan, it follows the ninja Gabimaru and the executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri as they search for the elixir of immortality. It was serialized weekly for free on the Shōnen Jump+ application and website from January 22, 2018, to January 25, 2021. The chapters have been collected and published into 12 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha as of December 4, 2020. Viz Media has licensed the series for English release in North America. An anime television series adaptation has been announced.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku
Cover of the first tankōbon volume, featuring Gabimaru.
地獄楽
(Jigokuraku)
GenreAction, dark fantasy, psychological thriller[1][2]
Manga
Written byYuji Kaku
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics+
MagazineShōnen Jump+
DemographicShōnen
Original runJanuary 22, 2018 – January 25, 2021
Volumes12
Anime television series

Plot

Captured during an assassination mission, Gabimaru is sentenced to be executed, but nothing seems to kill him due to his superhuman body. Believing his love for his wife to be subconsciously keeping him alive, executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri offers him the chance to be pardoned of all crimes by the Shogunate if he finds the elixir of life on Shinsenkyo, a legendary realm recently discovered southwest of the Ryukyu Kingdom. After losing five expedition teams sent to the island, this time the Shogunate sends a group of death row convicts. The convicts are each given a Yamada Asaemon executioner, who they must return with in order to obtain the pardon.

Characters

Main characters
Gabimaru (画眉丸)
The strongest ninja from Iwagakure, where he was trained to kill from birth. He is known as "Gabimaru the Hollow" (がらんの画眉丸) for his lack of emotion during his gruesome work. However, he is very much in love with his wife, the daughter of the village chief, who treats him differently than everyone else due to her peace-loving nature. Planning to cut ties with the village to live a normal life with his wife, he was set up by his comrades and captured.
Yamada Asaemon Sagiri (山田浅ェ門佐切)
A master swordsman from the famed Yamada Asaemon family of executioners, where she is the only female executioner. She recruits Gabimaru for the expedition after seeing his talent and strong will to live.

Production
External video
Promotional video for the series.

The storyboards for the first three chapters of Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku were brought to the Shōnen Jump+ editorial staff in 2017. A big fan of Yuji Kaku's art since Fantasma in Jump Square, Hideaki Sakakibara enthusiastically volunteered to take on the series and became its second editor with chapters two and three. He believed that Hell's Paradise was the "mainstream battle fantasy" series that Shōnen Jump+ was still lacking and could become a best-seller in print.[3]

Sakakibara was initially concerned with the "multi-protagonist story" of the prisoners, executioners, and the island's creatures. Although he thought having the Battle Royale-style story in a manga would be interesting, he worried it would cause a badly paced story where they would have to split up the pages between characters and be unable to show the main characters' actions as much. However, he credits Kaku's genius at quickly and simply introducing characters and his drawing talent for making it all work.[3]

Kaku and Sakakibara planned out what was going to happen in sets of 10 chapters, or a whole volume. The editor gave Kaku free rein as far as illustrations were concerned. Sakakibara said that from the first chapter the series has had "extreme" illustrations, which has resulted in popularity among readers, but made it hard for new readers to get into. Towards the end of 2019, he and Kaku are were trying to earn more female readers. With Kaku having been a former manga editor himself, Sakakibara said it is easy to communicate things to him as the artist is quick to figure out what he means. However, Kaku admitted that this has caused him to unconsciously hold back creatively by thinking objectively like an editor.[3]

Kaku created details and backstories for every character in Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, regardless of whether or not they were actually included in the series. When Kaku first described the character Shion to Sakakibara, the editor imagined him like Kazuo Kiriyama from Battle Royale. But after talking it over, Shion became the kind teacher he is in the manga, while the crazy personality was given to Shugen instead.[3]

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku began weekly serialization on the Shōnen Jump+ application and website on January 22, 2018.[4] The series ended with the 127th chapter on January 25, 2021.[5] The chapters have been collected and published into 12 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha as of December 4, 2020. Shueisha also simultaneously publishes the series in English for free on the Manga Plus app and website.[6] Special chapters have been published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, in issue No. 27/28 on August 6, 2018 and issue No. 28 on June 10, 2019.[7][8]

A novel adaptation, Jigokuraku: Utakata no Yume (地獄楽　うたかたの夢), was written by Sakaku Hishikawa and published on September 4, 2019.[9][10] Jigokuraku ~Saikyō no Nukenin Gaman no Gabimaru~ (じごくらく 〜最強の抜け忍 がまんの画眉丸〜), a comedic spin-off manga created by Ōhashi, began serialization on Shōnen Jump+ on January 20, 2020.[11] It ended with the 21st chapter on June 29, 2020.[12] The chapters were collected and published into one tankōbon on September 4, 2020.[13]

Viz Media began publishing Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku in English digitally on their website for free on May 17, 2018.[14] They released the first volume in print on March 17, 2020.

Volume list
No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 April 4, 2018[15]978-4-08-881471-1March 17, 2020[16]978-1-9747-1320-2
  • Chapters 1–6
2 June 4, 2018[17]978-4-08-881502-2May 19, 2020[18]978-1-9747-1321-9
  • Chapters 7–16
3 August 3, 2018[19]978-4-08-881546-6July 21, 2020[20]978-1-9747-1322-6
  • Chapters 17–26
4 November 2, 2018[21]978-4-08-881601-2September 15, 2020[22]978-1-9747-1323-3
  • Chapters 27–36
5 March 4, 2019[23]978-4-08-881697-5November 17, 2020[24]978-1-9747-1324-0
  • Chapters 37–46
6 June 4, 2019[25]978-4-08-881803-0January 19, 2021[26]978-1-9747-1325-7
  • Chapters 47–56
7 September 4, 2019[27]978-4-08-882056-9March 16, 2021[28]978-1-9747-1877-1
  • Chapters 57–66
8 December 4, 2019[29]978-4-08-882148-1May 18, 2021[30]978-1-9747-1878-8
  • Chapters 67–76
9 March 4, 2020[31]978-4-08-882230-3——
  • Chapters 77–86
10 June 4, 2020[32]978-4-08-882338-6——
  • Chapters 87–96
11 September 4, 2020[33]978-4-08-882407-9——
  • Chapters 97–106
12 December 4, 2020[34]978-4-08-882523-6——
  • Chapters 107–116

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume. They were serialized on Shōnen Jump+.

  • Chapters 117–127

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in the eighth issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, which was published on January 25, 2021.[35]

Reception

In August 2018, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku was cited as the most popular series on Shōnen Jump+.[36] By June 2019, over 1 million copies of the series were in circulation.[8] A number that grew to 2.5 million by August 2020.[37] Volume two of the series sold 16,328 copies during its first week of release, while volume four sold 20,139.[38][39] Volume five sold 45,912 copies in its first week.[40]

An exhibition of Kaku's manuscripts and illustrations from the series was held at Tokyo Manga Salon Trigger from November 3–9, 2018.[41] Another exhibition was held at Tower Records in Shibuya from August 29 to September 22, 2020, where collaborative goods designed just for the event were sold.[37]

With 16,510 votes, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku came in 11th place in the Web Manga Category of the Next Manga Awards 2018, organized by Niconico and Da Vinci magazine.[42] The series came in fourth on Honya Club's Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2018 list, compiled by surveying 1,100 professional bookstore employees in Japan.[43] In the 2019 edition of Kono Manga ga Sugoi!, which surveys people in the manga and publishing industry, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku was one of three series tied for 16th place on its list of the best manga series for male readers.[44]

Publishers Weekly wrote that the mysterious first volume and Kaku's detailed illustrations, which are reminiscent of Junji Ito's horror manga and give the series an unsettling, gruesome charm, start the series off with promise.[45] Reviewing the first chapter for The Fandom Post, Chris Beveridge gave it a B grade for its artwork, interesting ideas and covering a lot of ground in its setup so it can move forward. The end reveal reminded him of the novel Annihilation. However, he felt the structure was a little awkward and expressed concern that it would fall into the "usual manga storytelling traps."[46] In a review of the second collected volume, Beveridge's colleague Richard Gutierrez said that while the nightmarishly beautiful images and action might be what initially draws in readers, its the "underlying complex character construction within this sadistic story which forces us to stay."[47]

Leroy Douresseaux called Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku volume 1 one of the best first volumes of a manga tankōbon/graphic novel that he has ever read in a 9/10 review for Comic Book Bin. He stated that Kaku enthralls readers with the mysteries of the island while his illustrations are "like taking some of the most shocking art from the legendary EC Comics' horror titles and multiplying it by the power of 10."[48] Kiara Halls of Comic Book Resources called the first volume a "great, emotional bloodbath" that provides "bloody, classic shonen action with uncommonly sincere emotional depth." She explained that while establishing the relationship between Sagiri and Gabimaru forms the crux of the volume, it's an uncommon one as their bond is "of mutual respect formed by an emotional connection," not of dominance or lust. That coupled with "solid, detailed art and supernatural intrigue," had Halls call the series a potential breakout hit.[49]

Reviewing the first volume for Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman and Faye Hopper both gave it 3.5 stars out of 5. Both critics praised the main characters Sagiri and Gabimaru and their relationship, with Hopper stating the way their struggles mirror and allow each other to empathize and grow despite their opposed roles is executed with "thoughtfulness and real power, and imbues a gritty, gory seinen with heart." Silverman felt that despite containing some elements derivative of other works, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku manages to make them into "a story worth paying attention to" and is entertaining. Hopper wrote that while the violent manga is not for everyone, it has terrific, macabre art, a solid hook, and rich characters, and she admires it for showing how "casual, uncritical brutality hurts the soul, and that revulsion to it is normal and should be accepted."[50]

References
  1. Santilli, Morgana (December 31, 2019). "REVIEW: A shot at redemption comes in HELL'S PARADISE: JIGOKURAKU". Comics Beat. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  2. ここは地獄か極楽か。謎の島で繰り広げられるダークファンタジー『地獄楽』の待望の最新刊！ (in Japanese). Asahi Shimbun. June 4, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  3. "The Making of a Jump Manga! vol.6 Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku". Manga Plus. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  4. [1話]地獄楽. Shōnen Jump+ (in Japanese). Shueisha. January 22, 2018. Archived from the original on January 22, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  5. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (January 18, 2021). "Hell's Paradise Manga Ends on January 25". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  6. "Shueisha Launches Free Global MANGA Plus Service". Anime News Network. January 27, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  7. 賀来ゆうじ「地獄楽」未開の島へと赴く道中描いた出張版がジャンプに (in Japanese). Natalie. August 6, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  8. 「地獄楽」番外編がジャンプに、藤本タツキが同作を語るインタビューも (in Japanese). Natalie. June 10, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
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  34. 地獄楽 12 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
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  49. "Review: Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku Vol. 1 Is a Great, Emotional Bloodbath". Comic Book Resources. March 17, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  50. "The Spring 2020 Manga Guide - Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku". Anime News Network. June 9, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
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