Hell’s Paradise episode 6 aired on Saturday and gave us a heart-pumping scenario for Gabimaru and Sagiri while finally setting sail for the new phase of the story. From here on out, the series amplifies its mysticism and overall weirdness to 11 so don’t expect anything for any reason to be normal from here on out (I can’t freaking wait). For those of you who watched the episode and were disappointed by the production, mainly the composition, of the episode, then stick around until the end of the article where I dive further into it!
There’s nothing that stood out to me more than Sagiri’s defining moment in this episode when she slashed Rokurota’s head clean off before he even noticed what happened. The way the entire scene was shot was beautifully done with exceptional direction. Sagiri’s change in attitude and steeling her resolve mixing with that slight bit of emotion for Rokurota, just slightly, gave way to that calmness that Sagiri herself represented. A moment of panic from a giant and pure calmness from the most doubted, and most skilled, Asaemon collided
Sagiri receiving praise from Gabimaru and her fellow Asaemon in the final moments of the battle was bittersweet in a way. Sure, they expressed how they truly felt about Sagiri and her abilities. And yes, Sagiri going off unlike any other time before was enjoyable to watch. But I can’t help but have the feeling of wishing one of them told Sagiri how the Asaemon truly see her skill and potential. Either way, Sagiri continues to be a strong half between her and Gabimaru carrying this series backed by a wonderful story. This isn’t about Sagiri taking a path already paved, it’s about taking a look at the fork in the road and carving her own between the two she only knew.
Don’t let what I say take anything away from Gabimaru, he adds more value to the story as is and presents an existential threat at any given moment. He constantly keeps the story on its own toes and having him even praise Sagiri’s strength (again) just elevates how strong she really is. That’s what I love about the two, they’re constantly building up each other’s strength as if they’re each other’s hype man despite their current positions in the story. They’re the spaghetti and meatballs of Hell’s Paradise — one just feels wrong without the other at this point
Hell’s Paradise started the Spring 2023 anime season off with one of the best series premieres. And while that hype may have seemed to die down a little after this episode and last week’s, it’s because the series is transitioning into its next big phase — the ending of episode 6 should be clear of that. However, Hell’s Paradise is currently on the level of Dr. Stone right now where the series is just on a consistent level of very damn good. There are no bad moments, but there are no moments that’ll just skyrocket the series to being the best of the season…yet.
I understand that Gabimaru ripping his way through the convicts on the beach was the highlight of the season so far. But since then, Hell’s Paradise has remained busy making fans take note of who is all still on Shinsekyo and what they’re really about. Even at the end of episode 6, we see all those that are left still standing on the island that first arrived. Yet, while that may seem kind of lame with how I put it, Hell’s Paradise is still consistently a very good anime. Despite not hitting a peak moment yet (in storytelling terms, not anime Twitter slang), episode 6 was just further proof that Hell’s Paradise is set to deliver something new and exciting every week.
This series loves giving us little tidbits of information regarding the island and all of the characters on it. The biggest moment of this episode regarding such came between Yuzuriha and Senta’s discussion about who Senta might really be. Yuzuriha, who is the captain of information on this wild boat ride of a series, having information on Senta that she’s withholding from both Gabimaru and Sagiri creates wonderful dramatic irony for the story going forward.
Of course, the ending of the episode was rather odd and may have felt out of place to viewers but I promise you that if you thought that was weird then you’re in for a wild surprise going forward. Now that we’re introduced to the characters Tao Fa and Ju Fa, it’s safe to say right now that Sagiri and Gabimaru are in a way better position than Aza and his brother are but for different reasons. This is where Hell’s Paradise takes that first leap forward.
If you read the first paragraph of the article and came straight here, then welcome. If you read through everything before this point, then thank you. Now that we’re both here, let me just claim that if the composition made this episode unwatchable for you, then just drop almost every anime you’re watching right now. No, I don’t mean that in a way that every anime you’re watching has bad composition. What I mean is that it’s a stupid reason to stop watching the series. Bad directing and script writing can’t be fixed, composition can. Luckily for us, we have the opposite of the former.
I’m simply not going to take part in debates about the production of Hell’s Paradise when the direction and script for the series that relies heavily on it are still flourishing. The voice acting is still some of the best in the season out of any series airing right now and the animation itself in many sequences these past six episodes has been great overall shattering expectations. So if you want to sit there and listen to a rant about production flaws with Hell’s Paradise, find your muse somewhere else because it’s not going to be in these articles or any others going forward. Episode 6 was fantastic and that’s from an overall objective viewpoint.
Hell’s Paradise episode 6 wasn’t the best episode of the series nor will it be deemed the worst either. It was a step up from last week’s episode but will probably by no means go down as one of the top three episodes of the season. It was another great, all-around episode from a directing and action experience and was everything you could want for an enjoyable 20 minutes of Hell’s Paradise. Doesn’t get much more straightforward than that. Sagiri carried the episode (again). We got an appetizing mystery with this episode and a main course of great action. Then it was all wrapped up with a wild cliffhanger for dessert,
Episode 6 rating: 8.5/10
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Screenshots via Crunchyroll
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