REVIEW: ‘Hell’s Paradise’ Season 2 Episode 5 — “Human And Sages”

There comes a point in certain stories where you have to stop and wonder just how on earth the protagonists are going to get themselves out of their current situation. Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 5 throttles us with the implausibility of Gabimaru (Chiaki Kobayashi), Sagiri (Yumiri Hanamori), and the rest’s plight as they enter the domain of the Tensen.

Ever since being sent to steal the Elixir of Life, the characters, especially the convicts, have plunged forward with an unmistakable cadence of a death march. It is do-or-die at every step. And, unfortunately, there’s never been a moment as fraught with as severe a threat of death as the end of “Human and Sages.”

By the end of Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 5, one thing becomes clear: everything leading up to this point in the second season has been set up. Everything going forward? Pure action. Unless there’s some major shakeup, our team of misfits, executioners, and shinobi is in for some dramatic stakes as the Tensen confront them, dividing them up into pairs to attack and drain them of their Tao and commence with a ceremony to bring them greater power. 

It’s never been clearer just how dangerous their objective is, no matter how well-trained or skilled they are. Especially when you look at the whole group rather than simply isolating Gabimaru and his sheer inhuman strength. And yet, despite the peak of tension they teeter on at the end of “Human and Sages,” the episode begins with unexpected, necessary levity and humanization.

We like Gabimaru and co.—this raises the stakes.

To understand their path ahead, to root for this group of outcasts as they run what is, effectively, a seemingly suicidal mission, there have to be stakes that go beyond missions and goals that linger off the island. We need stakes that tie to the personal. 

And the personal part is that we like them. Gabimaru is obviously an endearing protagonist despite his killer instincts and ability to dislocate his own neck or stop his heart momentarily. Still, the entire ensemble surrounding him adds color to the narrative. Yes, there’s his obvious balance and folly with Sagiri. Still, there are also characters like Fuchi (Aoi Ichikawa), who, at the start of the series, seemed too on the fringes of the narrative to care about deeply. 

As they all undertake a swift training-and-planning montage, these pops of personality better draw us into their circle. Beats such as Yuzuriha (Rie Takahashi) and Gabimaru both teach Sagiri, Fuchi, Tōma (Kensho Ono), Tamiya Gantetsusai (Tetsu Inada), Nurugai (Makoto Koichi), and Shion (Chikahiro Kobayashi) to mask their Tao work on face value simply because of the eclectic characters. But there is an added layer of dark humor when Yuzuriha is clearly wearing Senta’s glasses. And this is doubled down when Gabimaru too dons them later. 

Power systems and training only make the inevitable more daunting. 

It’s silly beats like this that help establish the group’s shared history in Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 5. Moments like Gabimaru lifting Mei to explain the inner design of the Tensen palace don’t work just because it’s a cute visual, but because the Gabimaru we first met was cold and aloof. Now, he’s thoughtful and capable of working with a team, something that seemed, to him, at least, an impossibility at the start of his journey. 

They’re all relying on one another. And it makes Gabimaru’s promise to Mei hit with greater emotional poignancy. She could have escaped the island—still could, even. But, instead, she wants to see Rien (Junichi Suwabe/Yūko Kaida) and the Grand Master one more time. She wants somehow to be able to piece together just how they warped from beings she believed to be kind and good into ruthless killers obsessed with nothing more than their own immortality. 

He will clear the way so that she can have her final look at her memories and the truth of their characters, and either achieve peace or seek reckoning. But while so much of Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 5 sets up the power system of the world to best get the jump on both obtaining the elixir and finding an escape, it all was for naught.

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 5 ends on a note of tense dread.

At the very least, the info-dump helps us understand who they’ll be going up against and how those fights might play out, based on which attributes are strongest (fire, earth, water, metal, etc.). It also helps to understand how the group is split into teams that best complement one another’s attributes and skills. Gabimaru and Yuzuriha are leading the charge to infiltrate because of their ability to mask their Tao, but also because their attributes—fire, earth, and wood—all amplify and strengthen one another. 

Chōbei, while being horrifically experimented on, gives Rien the intel they need to capture the remaining team of humans. Not because they’re comrades or friends. He still views them all, aside from Toma, as enemies. And he’s willing to do anything to ensure both his safety and his brothers, even if he’s incapable of understanding just what evil lengths the Tensen are willing to go to. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 5 offers hints of humor before ramping up the tension, ending on a breathless moment as we watch our protagonists being split up among the Tensen. The series and its writing beautifully set us up for this sinking sense of doom. Because no matter their strength, their plight currently seems like a lost cause. The magic will be how the series repurposes any semblance of hope through the ensuing fight, as not one of Gabimaru’s team seems keen on taking their own advice to run if unscalable danger presents itself. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 5 is available now on Crunchyroll. 

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