REVIEW: ‘Hell’s Paradise’ Season 2 Episode 8 – “Chrysanthemums and Peaches”

It’s funny, for as good as the series has been – consistently is – Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 still manages to shock. Because this animation is on another level, fully surpassing everything it’s accomplished so far. Directed and storyboarded by Hajime Ootani, “Chrysanthemums and Peaches” explodes with dynamic art direction, stylized framing, and cohesive, engaging action, all propelled by an invigorating narrative anchor between two unlikely characters. 

One of the more interesting elements of the series, based on the manga by Yuji Kaku, is how the story unfolds very slowly over time. The further the story progresses, the farther Gabimaru (Chiaki Kobayashi) and co., the more they find themselves well within the clutches of the Tensen (Junichi Suwabe/Yūko Kaida), the more of the fundamentals begin to piece together. It’s not so much a forced need for secrecy or narrative ambiguity but a way to emphasize just how little the characters and, by the same virtue, we know about the island, its origins, and what makes the Tensen click. 

And through “Chrysanthemums and Peaches,” we begin to realize that the corruption and cruelty inflicted by the members of the Tensen aren’t entirely organic. While there are those predisposed to Rien’s brand of inhumanity, there are others, or, rather, two, who don’t quite reflect their teachings. Tao Fa and Ju Fa, raised together, never quite embraced the understanding of consuming other life forms for the sake of an unstable claim to immortality. And that is largely because, as a pair, they’re constantly looking out for one another, balancing each other out, and forced into growth and maturation for Rien’s sake. 

Tao Fa and Ju Fa paint an unlikely tragedy. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 offers a haunting look at the immortal lives of these beings, with Tao Fa and Ju Fa bearing the brunt of realizing what they’re doing isn’t right, even if they, too, strive to survive. The sequences in which their faces grimace and contort as they try to acclimate to what is expected of them deliver garish visual cues, signaling that all is not right in a world encased in evil and surreal, feverish nightmares. 

It all lays the groundwork for the present. Most of the big, central battle in Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 centers on Gantetsusai (Tetsu Inada) coming to understand his newfound ability to sense Tao. And even this grants us a brief flashback, revealing how he developed into someone seeking his own form of immortality through the longevity of his legacy. He’s always sought the strongest foes so that, if he wins, he goes down in history as a fighter. But, in his pursuits, he lost his way by trying to go too big rather than remembering the elements that truly sharpen the blade of any warrior. 

By limiting his own vision and having to rely on his senses mid-battle, Gantetsusai is reminded of his old master, zeroing in on his opponent despite her considerable strength. And, while Tao Fa and Ju Fa have always had to rely on one another – similar to Chōbei (Ryōhei Kimura) and Tōma (Kensho Ono)- Gantetsusai and Fuchi  (Aoi Ichikawa) have only just begun to trust one another truly. 

Gantetsusai and Fuchi working together pays off momentarily. 

This parallel makes for some wonderful, propulsive action as Fuchi uses his elemental attribute – metal – as a means to hinder Tao Fa. Tao Fa, who, up until down, despite Gantetsusai’s relentless cuts, has been able to heal and rebuild as he’s unable to deal a lethal blow. But, with Fuchi’s help, Gantetsusai lands the devastating slice through her tanden that renders Tao Fa helpless and in dire need of Ju Fa to help regain strength. 

From here, Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 reaches anarchic, post-apocalyptic visual heights, with blood-soaked visuals and demonic character designs. With their bond, Ju Fa and Tao Fa combine into a single Kishikai. Their design is horrific and visceral, striking a pained design that speaks to the unnaturalness of their configuration.

Their bodies are discombobulated yet powerful as the two sides try to strike a harmonious display of power, despite being too large to take to easy flight. Their winged form is monstrous, and, in keeping with Tao Fa’s descent into forced, euphoric madness, the creature rains down hallucinogenic florets that induce mania in whoever it lands on. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 indulges in pure carnage and spectacle. 

The two sides of the group – Fuchi and Gantetsusai, and the two brothers – must work together to defeat the Kishikai. The direction of the sequence where Chōbei tries to use his advanced powers to take the creature on solo is remarkable, truly launching us into battle alongside him and then tossing us bodily to the ground in a bruising, tangible sequence. There’s a cinematic lens to the entire episode that speaks to the singular, deliberate vision that understands how to take flight best while keeping things grounded and dynamic. 

There’s a confident versatility to how Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 is brought to life with lively, energetic animation contrasted with character stoicism. The kineticism of the fight sequences offsets the emotionless faces of Tao Fa, so that when her mask crumbles, it’s all the more striking.

Because, despite their inhumane nature, there’s some form of contorted humanity within Tao Fa and Ju Fa that makes their monstrous ascent feel all the more like a reckoning, condemning themselves to the fates that were designed for them, rather than justly chosen. 

“Chrysanthemums and Peaches” is the series at its very best. 

It’s a visual carnage and bloody spectacle, while maintaining an emotional throughline and doused in necessary humor through the traded barbs between Gantetsusai and Chōbei. Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 revels in the medium’s allowance for visual elasticity.

From the use of overdrawn lines in Gantetsusai’s power up, and the stripped down simplicity of his backstory set against some lush landscapes, to the over-lit nightmare of Ju Da’s recollection, and the hellscape of the Kishikai transformation, the levels of the building they all stand in, the episode reminds us of the many ways in which anime is a visual language. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 stuns in what is the series’s best installment to date. Between the crackling animation that grounds itself in weighted physicality before taking bloody flight and the narrative balance that underscores the current fight, “Chrysanthemums and Peaches” sees the series level up as it continues to unravel the truth behind what our protagonists are fighting. 

Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8 is available now on Crunchyroll. 

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