Episode 14 kicks off right after season one—literally three days after season one began. We’re back in Japan: No word has come back from the crew sent to investigate the mysterious island, so the shogunate is ready to send out a new exploration party. Then we’re back to Gabimaru and his…well, not exactly friends, but allies for the moment. Last season ended with two brothers surviving an attempt to turn them into the elixir of life, and now one of them sports incredible healing and resilience. He goes head to head with Gabimaru, who seems far weaker than the fights we’ve seen him in before, as even the other characters note. At the end of last season, he started losing his (possibly fake) memories of his wife, the one person who keeps him loyal to his superiors and drives him forward in combat. Without those recollections, he’s lacking something of his fighting strength, as the girl Mei points out: Weakness is the seed of strength, and by losing his one weakness (his bond with his wife), he’s lost the power to call fully on his strength. In desperation, he pulls out a trump card, which may very well cost him his life as flames begin pouring from his body…
Season two throws us back into the story without so much as a recap to hold our hand. I did have to do a quick web search to refresh my memory on certain characters and details, but that’s fine. The new OP, “Kasukana Hana” (Tatsuya Kitani feat. BABYMETAL), doesn’t hit me quite as powerfully as the syncopated tones of “Work” (Ringo Sheena and Millenium Parade)—yet it’s quite solid, and the visuals are beautiful. In a way, this reflects my reaction to episode 14 as a whole. The episode feels less energetic than much of season one did, which makes sense: The power of the story largely hinges on Gabimaru as a character and on the mysteries of the island. With many of the mysteries cleared up, it seems, and with Gabimaru losing his strength and the main personal relationship that has defined him so far, there’s less to pull the story forward—for the moment. I am hopeful, however, that the season as a whole will come into its own soon enough; this first episode gives the impression that the story is continuing the same story arc, rather than kicking off a new one, and so this may just be a lull before more rising action (and which somewhat unfortunately happens to fall at the beginning of the season). Also, “lull” isn’t quite the right word—there’s plenty of action, blood, and flying body parts, just like before. My hope is simply that the story doesn’t come to rely on such details to carry the story along as the plot twists are revealed. So long as the story can find and maintain the same energy and sense of discovery as season one, we’re going to be in for a treat.
Hell’s Paradise can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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