Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 is one heck of an episode. Not only do we finally get to witness exactly how bloody the Asaemon are willing to get while wielding their swords, but also how far the Shinobi are willing to go once they have a mission. “The Samurai Code and Carnage” definitely delivers on both of these elements. But the result isn’t entirely successful.
Shugen (Ryōta Suzuki). Shugen, Shugen, Shugen. What are we going to do with you? In an episode that shifted its focus several times, it always came back to Shugen. If anyone was under the assumption that the Asaemon were all purely good, Shugen proves that wrong. His desire to uphold justice comes at a bloody price. So much so that we learn he was willing to kill the children and elderly connected to the head of a yakuza clan to achieve his eroded sense of justice. This situation, as it’s referred to, pushed Shugen to a different level within the Asaemon clan. Additionally, the shogun gifted him new robes and a sword as a reward for executing the entire line.
Interestingly, Shugen’s grief manifests as him damaging his blade when he realizes that Eizen has died. Through flashbacks, we learn that Eizen is the person he looked up to. He’s also the person who tells Shugen that he will polish his blade for him, no matter how often he damages it. Hell’s Paradise hasn’t dealt much with the grief that comes with losing a comrade because of the breakneck pacing of the story. Using Shugen as that window humanizes the characters we have forgotten, and Shugen as well.
Learning more about the Asaemon and the Shinobi.
Worth noting is the addition of a new woman to the Asaemon mix. Isuzu is finally introduced by name in Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4, and we learn that she’s an unranked Asaemon. It’s easy to forget that Sagiri only got to be a ranked samurai because Shugen vouched for her. Still, Isuzu’s introduction reminds the audience of the gender discrimination within the group.
From what we know about Isuzu, she deserves to be a ranked samurai. But until she has a higher-up Asaemon vouch for her, she won’t be eligible. Taking into consideration that most higher-up Asaemons are men who most likely share this way of thinking, it’s clear to see what her future might look like. Which, ultimately, is unfortunate for the Asaemon. Gender is an underrated thread throughout the Hell’s Paradise world as a whole, and it always shows itself when we least expect it.
Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 also divulges more about the shinobi outside of Gabimaru. This plotline, in particular, is one I’ve been waiting to see animated since the announcement of the season. The Iwagakure shinobi are canon fodder for the Asaemon. They admit as much when Kiyomaru starts poking at them on the boat ride over, and one kills himself to prove the group’s loyalty to the Asaemon. Unknown to the Asaemon, though, is that the group’s loyalty is solely to the head of the clan, who wants Gabimaru dead. This unknown difference between the two groups pushes the episode forward, even as the shinobi help the Asaemon take down monsters on the island.
Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 struggles under the weight of worldbuilding.
The lack of focus on the main party is necessary to get through all the episode’s worldbuilding. Unfortunately, with the group in so few scenes, the episode falls flat. The main party is really only here for exposition reasons — and while it was fun to both hear and see Sagiri’s connection to Shugen, it almost felt like she was being used as plot fodder.
When an anime has to do a lot of lore expansion over the course of a few episodes, one of those will succumb to being lackluster. Episode 3 was a success narratively because of its pacing, while Episode 4 struggles to maintain that balance. The pacing rushes the plot, overloading the story in a short runtime. On the one hand, it’s nice to learn more about Shugen and the other Asaemon. On the other hand, that narrative doesn’t have much time to breathe before the next thing happens. It was awkward, especially when considering how well-paced the rest of Season 2 has been.
Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 delivers great worldbuilding but falls victim to the weight of its own exposition. With so much happening, especially following the lore bomb that was Episode 3, “The Samurai Code and Carnage” falters in its quest for greatness. But these missteps are inevitable with week-to-week adaptations. With so much on the line for the ensemble, the series will undoubtedly get back on track as the story evolves.
Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
REVIEW RATING
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Hell's Paradise Season 2 Episode 4 - 7.5/10
7.5/10
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