Netflix Dark Bloody Fantasy Anime Is Not For The Faint Of Heart
Anime fans who love monsters, ninjas, and Japan’s feudalism period should give Hell’s Paradise a shot on Netflix. The animated TV show blends monsters and mystery as a group of prisoners and their guards are sent to a nearby island to investigate mysterious occurrences there and obtain an elixir that turns mortals into immortals. It doesn’t take long for the group to realize they are in danger due to the island’s population of monsters, but they find themselves stranded and relying on each other for survival.
A Strange Island
The anime series takes place during Japan’s feudal period, which is when samurais and lords mostly ruled the lands of the island nation.
The convicts sent to investigate the mysterious island while supervised by their elite prison guards are members of Japan’s former Shogunate ruling class that was removed from power and imprisoned. The mystery island is located southwest of Ryukyu, and it doesn’t take long for the group of prisoners and their elite guards to realize they are in mortal danger.
Gods & Monsters
The island’s residents are monsters whose creators are immortal beings and don’t want the visitors to leave the mysterious island alive. Hell’s Paradise refers to the island’s seemingly idyllic setting but with monsters lurking nearly everywhere.
It doesn’t take long for the guards to realize they are de facto prisoners of the immortals and their monsters, so they unite with the imprisoned Shogunate to stop the immortals from expanding their control from the small island to the nearby Ryukyu kingdom and the rest of Japan.
Hollow
The animated television show features several characters with specialized training and finely honed defensive skills. Among the main characters is Gabimaru, whom a village chief long ago removed from his parents to train him to become the strongest and most ruthless ninja in feudal Japan.
His abilities earned Gabimaru the “Hollow” due to his lack of emotion while defeating and killing those whom he was ordered to harm. Although he is ruthless and “hollow” when killing his prey, Gabimaru is deeply in love with his wife, who is the daughter of the village chief who took Gabimaru from his parents and trained him to be a ruthless killer.
The Cast
Other characters in Hell’s Paradise include Sagiri, an accomplished and much-feared swordswoman from a well-known family of executioners called Yamada Asaemon. The female executioner was one of just two women executioners in the Yamada Asaemon clan of assassins and its lowest-ranking member.
She recruits Gabimaru to join the expedition to the mysterious island after witnessing his brutality and undying will to live.
The cast includes several death-row inmates who have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Most are specially trained ninjas and master swordsmen who once posed a threat to those in charge in Japan but now must work with their jailers and prison rivals to overcome the island of monsters and the immortals who control it.
Stream It Now
Season one of Hell’s Paradise airs on Netflix and is sure to become a favorite among anime fans and those who love stories with ninjas, monsters, and the supernatural. The deadly tone makes the series an especially dark one that is not suitable for all ages due to its violence and gore. The show has been well-received, earning an 81 percent favorability score on IMDb and an 84 percent audience favorability score on Rotten Tomatoes.
