REVIEW: ‘Hell’s Paradise’ Season 2 Episode 4 – “The Samurai Code and Carnage”

For all of its flowery fever-dream aesthetics, Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 reminds us of the visceral, bloody results the series is capable of. And not through the chaotic combat between larger-than-life figures and otherworldly, hell-borne monsters. No, the real threats of this world – the real harbinger of doom and wielder of such impossible brutality – stem from the humans themselves. Humans who, in the process of giving themselves over to some higher belief or power structure, have stripped their own individuality and humanity away in the process of serving some form of “other.” 

This is evident in the two groups leading the charge for the second enlisted team sent to find the elixir of life for the shogun. The Yamada Asaemon are led by Shugen (Ryōta Suzuki), whose idea of upholding his role means executing anyone who could serve as a means to achieve a revolting sense of justice. We bear witness to this when, in a flashback, he kills not just the clan led by a corrupt yakuza, but everyone associated with them, including the elderly and children not yet old enough to walk.

By the end of Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4, we see how paper-thin his resolve for purity and goodness really is, though. Because yes, he’s powerful. And yes, he’s on the side of “good” regarding social expectations. And yet the moment he sees a fallen comrade, he’s damaging his blade with the intent not just to kill, but inflict suffering on all his victims. Something that is in direct conflict with how the Asaemon are trained and something that, since childhood, Shugen has struggled to understand. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 plunges into new darkness.

On the other side, there’s the shinobi of the Iwagakure clan – the clan that Gabimaru (Chiaki Kobayashi) first associated with. The shinobi are ruthless and dedicated to their mission, believing that, when under contract, they will kill anyone and everyone whom they’re ordered to, including themselves. 

This is made painfully clear when a member of the shinobi, Kumokiri, kills himself when asked by the unranked Asaemon, Kiyomaru, who clearly believes he’s calling a bluff. The moment is shocking in its chilling effect, not just in the act itself but in Kumokiri’s willful nonchalance. He sings while committing the act, making it all the more gruesome as it draws the action out through both visuals and sound design because it prolongs his death by his own hands in a way we’re forced to endure. 

But it’s this moment, plus the flashback, that highlights the inhumane brutality of Shugen’s actions and demonstrates the threats coming from both angles. Because, as Shion (Chikahiro Kobayashi) points out, highly aware of Shugen’s strict and uncompromising moral code, there’s a likelihood that Shugen will want to kill all of those still dubbed as “criminals” and will also not see those trying to defend them favorably. 

The balance of good and evil is murky and morally gray in this world. 

This balance of threats and the tides of evil best expresses the series’ central thesis. Evil, here, is both deeply human and wounded and inhuman, and both are seeking the same thing – immortality – but for contrasting reasons. How they meet in the middle is what creates this fantastic thematic tension.

Gabimaru’s group, meanwhile, acts as something like an anchor. Somehow, because of the competing personalities in the group, their goal seems more achievable. The Tensen, shinobi, and Shugen’s team surrounds them with differing levels of intensity and reminders of who they were and who they can become. Past and present, yin and yang, and so be it. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 introduces many interesting ideas and solidifies a major adversary, and some of the action is absolutely superb. But it struggles to escape the large amount of exposition it needs to cover. Especially as it moves all the key figures into place now that the second team is on the island.

Characters like Shugen introduce interesting new layers to the MAPPA adaptation. 

The thematic undercurrents make it enticing. And Shugen is undoubtedly a fantastic, deeply flawed, and imposing character, but the pacing struggles to maintain energy throughout the setup. 

Regardless, it’s hard not to note the beauty in the detail of Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4. Elements such as the wear and tear on the shinobi masks and the fact that none are alike. Shija (Ayumu Murase) in particular cuts an engaging, chilling figure, due to the peaks of their facial expressions, however minute, we glimpse through the crack in their mask. 

While it’s not the most exciting installment of the series, Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 still manages to immerse us in this unsettling world of bloodshed and moral corruption. While we spend a little too long away from our main characters, especially considering that they, now, act as a balm against the plummeting darkness of other areas in the series, there’s no denying the effect of Shugen’s arrival, and the reminder that sometimes the worst monsters are the ones who seek justice for the sake of brandishing their swords, rather than a means to find peace.

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 is available now on Crunchyroll. 

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