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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:4631#1552] |
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Jigokuraku features a group of criminals observed by shogunate executioners in feudal era Japan to search a mysterious island for an elixir that can grant its drinker immortality in exchange for their freedom. However the groups get more than they bargained for when they encounter monstrous beings with the ability to regenerate. The mystery surrounding the true nature of the island for the criminals and executioners becomes the main focus of the series, giving it a sense of mystery and supernatural thriller as both groups have to set aside their tasked mission in order to survive the island's threats. This also lends the series some brutal and engaging action scenes with the various fights that the factions have against one another and also the monsters, as they are quite fluid and engaging to see unfold. Handling of characters is a mixed bag. Major ones like Gabimaru and Sagiri get a good deal of focus and development as the dangers of the island lead them to undergo changes in how they approach their fighting in order to survive their ordeals and come off as genuinely changing. Others either get limited development or, as typical and shoddily done in a fair number of shounen action titles, get their back stories fleshed out just before they are killed off hence reducing any audience investment in those focused on. Also the series does end inconclusively as its story is still ongoing with the enemy threat to contend with, though a second TV season is reportedly in development that should be able to adapt the remainder of the manga series that concluded back in 2021. In short, the series is decent with its elements of action, mystery, and supernatural thriller involving the nature of the island that the criminals and executors are unwillingly thrust into. It does have its issues with focus on some characters and lacking a proper conclusion. But I wouldn't necessarily say I regret the time I devoted to it for the Spring 2023 season and look forward to seeing more of the series when it resumes again down the line. Last updated Saturday, July 01 2023. Created Saturday, July 01 2023. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:4631#628] | ||||||
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(Three episodes watched): Gabimaru is a seemingly unkillable ninja--numerous techniques are used to try to execute him, but none works. That would mean he has already swallowed some of the fabled elixir of immortality, right? He is recruited to be part of a Dirty Dozen-like team of condemned convicts being sent to investigate what is supposed to be the paradise of Shinsenkyo. Six previous attempts have all ended with every person taking part winding up not just dead but having been partially transformed into flowers if I understood correctly. So, weird. There's no guarantee that this will be good--Mappa productions that begin with guys on motorcycles don't have a fantastic success rate in my opinion--but episode one has succeeded in making me want to know WTF is going on here so I will continue to watch for now. But I fear that all the magical touches (like Gabimaru's seeming immortality) will just go completely unexplained in the end. No attempt is made to do so in episode one. I would guess that this show has at best a 50-50 chance of being any good. I was hoping the mission would promptly get underway, but episode two consists of recruiting the rest of the team. They are the scum of the earth, murderers and sadists, with maybe a couple of principled fighters like Gabimaru. What was the point of having them slaughter each other to narrow down the list of candidates? I would have preferred if they had been given some personality rather than show how vicious they can be. Gabimaru says he doesn't want to kill, then kills several others. We see a survivor of the last mission to Shinsenkyo, a zombie-like man with flowers sprouting from places in his body. Sagiri, the female Samurai, is troubled by disturbing images she sees reflected on her sword's blade, but it wasn't clear to me what message I was supposed to be getting. Has she figured out the solution already? Let's get on with it. In episode three we are on Shinsenkyo. The convicts mainly take the attitude that they should kill all rivals then go find the elixir and get credit for it. So, more violence instead of character development. Hasn't it occured to them that avoiding the fate that the last expedition met might depend on there being more than one of them? Gabimaru turns on Sagiri, but both find some strange reluctance to kill each other. Why is not clear--surely he wouldn't have decided to bushwack her if he had not completely made up his mind. I found this confusing and frustrating and began to wonder if continuing to watch would be worthwhile. With the characters not getting very deep I can't care all that much who comes out on top (as if there was any doubt). Last updated Monday, May 15 2023. Created Monday, April 03 2023. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official Japanese Series Web Site | http://www.jigokuraku.com/ |
