I recently made my early list of the top 5 spring 2023 anime that I look forward to. And Jigokuraku was one of them. I have talked about it in a couple of different articles now, I even made a manga recommendation for it. But, it didn’t get a proper news update or a proper article of its own like it deserves. So here we are today.
So welcome back to another news article. Today we are talking about Jigokuraku. This is an anime adaptation I’ve been really looking forward to. And while I have my qualms with Mappa, I have to admit this looks pretty awesome. As usual, I will combine the introduction and news sections and save my thoughts for later. With that said, let’s get started.
What do we know about Jigokuraku so far?
Jigokuraku or Hell’s Paradise is based on the manga of the same name by Kaku Yuuji. The manga is 13 volumes or 128 chapters long and was serialized in Shonen Jump+ from January 2018 to January 2021. It is a historical fiction story about a ninja who is framed by his fellow ninjas and is put on death row. But, he refuses to die; seeing this, Asaemon the Decapitor asks him for help on an expedition to an island south of Japan. If he can bring the elixir of life from the island, he will be granted a full pardon. As you might expect, it is no ordinary island.
Jigokuraku is set to come out in Spring 2023, so sometime in April. We don’t have a confirmed release date yet though. The project is being led by Makita Kaori at Mappa. They have worked on a lot of Mappa animes, Zankyou no Terror, Banana Fish, AoT, etc. Kobayashi Chiaki and Hanamori Yumiri will be starring as the main duo of the series. You can check out the PV for the anime right here.
My Thoughts
As I’ve pointed out countless times before, Mappa is stuffed this year. Jigokuraku will be out right after AoT Final Season Conclusion Arc Part 1, and Vinland Saga is ongoing all the while along with them. That is 3 big budget animes back to back. And then they have JJK Season 2 planned for later this year as well. That is a lot of workload.
My complaints about Mappa aside, I am genuinely excited about this anime. I can’t not be excited because the setting of this series is very unique and it will be fun to see it animated. The environment designs and the art style are really unique and from the trailer, it looks like they have a pretty good grasp on it. Jigokuraku is awesome and I hope we can wind it all up in one season because it is quite short. If they decide to split it, so be it. I’d totally understand the split if that happens given their work schedule.
Conclusion
That is all I have for now. Let me know what you think in the comments. I really recommend checking out Jigokuraku when it drops. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!!
