At the end of the Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku property from Yuji Kaku when the series drew to a close in Japan back in January 2021, we learned that a new anime adaptation was coming for it with plans for it to be a TV series. The series saw an April 1st, 2023 debut and now Crunchyroll via its German store is listing the first series for home video release. The 13-episode season is set for a May 16th, 2024 release where it’ll be priced at 39,95 € on DVD and 44,95 € on Blu-ray. Both are limited edition releases that include a 40-page booklet and a poster as pack-in releases while on-disc extras include the clean theme songs. The show is in Japanese and German with German subtitles.
Kaori Makita will be directing it based on the series composition by Akira Kindaichi. Koji Hisaki is on board handling the character designs.
The Japanese cast includes Chiaki Kobayashi as Gabimaru, Yumiri Hanamori as Yamada-asaemon Sagiri, Ryohei Kimura as Aza Chōbei, Kensho Ono as Yamada-asaemon Tōma, Rie Takahashi as Yuzuriha, Tetsu Inada as Tamiya Gantetsusai, Aoi Ichikawa as Yamada-asaemon Fuchi, Chikahiro Kobayashi as Yamada-asemon Shion, Yusuke Kobayashi as Yamada-asaemon Tenza, Makoto Koichi as Nurugai, Daiki Yamashita as Yamada-asaemon Senta, Makoto Furukawa as Eizen Yamada-asaemon, Volcano Ota as Yamaada-asaemon Genji, and Toki Shunichi as Yamada-asaemon Kishou.
The dub has Mike McFarland as the ADR director working from the scripts by Katelyn Barr. The English cast includes Alejandro Saab as Gabimaru, Marisa Duran as Sagiri, Nazeeh Tarsha as Chobe, Matt Shipman as Toma, Jill Harris as Yuruziha, Reagan Murdock as Shion, Ben Balmaceda as Tenza, Cassie Ewulu as Nurugai, and Jordan Dash Cruz as Senta.
The show has Ringo Sheena and Millennium Parade handling the opening theme song “WORK” while the ending theme song is “Kamihitoe” from Ringo Sheena and Millennium Parade.
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: The series focuses on Gabimaru, once exalted as the strongest ninja, but who has now quit his trade, violating the laws of his village. After being captured, he claims he has nothing left to live for. However, due to his superhuman levels of training, he has inadvertently survived multiple executions, from attempts at beheading to burning at the stake. The executioner Sagiri Asaemon tells him that he has a lingering attachment to life, and issues him a mission to win his acquittal: to find the elixir of immortality.
