Hell’s Paradise: Jigokurakuhas been an enjoyable ride thus far withproduction courtesy of MAPPA, the series has various elements that work in its favour and make it a contender for one of 2023’s best. As an adaptation to Yūji Kaku’s manga, the series has done well and as of the fifth episode, it began delving into the meatier part of its story through slowly introducing the series' villainous faction: the so-called gods residing in “paradise”, immortal beings known as the Tensen.
The Tensen are a major part of the overarchingHell’s Paradise: Jigokurakunarrative, and embody much of the series' core themes; such as the line between infinite beauty and horror, the price of immortality, the perversion of the pursuit of wisdom, among many others.Hell’s Paradise: Jigokurakuinterrogates gender and the gender binary through its cast of female characters; however, it is the genderfluidity of the series' villains that exemplifies the series and its interrogation of gender roles. The Tensen areboth male and female, alternating between either extreme at will, and this ability to be both or neither is integral to their positioning as perfect beings; as gods. Here’s why their fluid expression of gender is relevant to the series overall.
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Tradition
As a series that is set in the time period of Edo Japan,Hell’s Paradise: Jigokurakugenerally presents cisgendered characters and a traditional understanding of gender roles. The characters of both Sagiri, and Gabimaru’s wife, Yui, showcase the nature of gendered expectations, with Sagiri frequently being undermined or underestimated by her fellow Yamada Asaemon, oftentimes strictly on the basis that her womanhood negatively affects her ability to exercise her duties. In the eyes of various members of the clan, Sagiri is a skilled warrior, but she would be far more aligned with her “real” purpose if she abandoned the blade and served as a vessel to give birth to more Yamada Asaemon warriors.
Sagiri’s emotions, which are largely hidden from view, are seen as a fatal biological flaw, and since emotion is reflected in the blade, Sagiri is seen as an executioner who cannot perfectly do her job. As seen in the second episode ofHell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, Sagiri struggles to abate the guilt that she experiences for taking the lives of other people, and hesitates in the crucial moment, leading to imperfect, insecure slashes – imperfect executions. Yui, on the other hand, is subject to the patriarchal rule of her father, who branded her face in order to take away any chance she could have of living a normal life. Despite the sanctions and rules placed upon them by their respective communities,both Yui and Sagirifight against the status quo in their own ways and seek to live life according to their own standards.
Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls
Characters like Yuzuriha and the deceased convict Akaginu present a very different form of femininity to that of Sagiri and Yui, with an emphasis on sexuality in contrast to the demure, “Nadeshiko-ness” of Sagiri and Yui that they present in their more traditional expression of femininity. Yuzuriha and Akaginu are pariahs like they are, but because they violate the rules imposed on women in different ways, both of whom have learned to weaponise their sexuality to survive. Akaginu is perhaps further along the scale when it comes to the use of sexuality and seduction as tools, presenting a far more sexually aggressive (and far more perverse) form of the same brand of “femme fatale” characterization.
Finally, Nurugai exists elsewhere on the scale ofHell’s Paradise: Jigokurakufeminine characters and the extent of their deviation from traditional femininity and patriarchal expectation as she not onlydoes not appear traditionally feminineand is mistaken for a boy for much of her journey with her Yamada Asaemon attendant, Tenza. As a feminine body that is androgynous in its physical presentation, Nurugai’s personality, speech pattern and general characteristics are more masculine, which further solidify the first-impression that Nurugai is male. As a member of the Sanka people, Nurugai’s position as a racial minority and part of a people that were in touch with nature coincides with this androgyny, as the expectation of her conformity to the binary notions of gender expression would come alongside their destruction by a force seeking to create uniformity.
Best of Both
The first instance of the genderfluidity of the Tensen in the series is seen in Chōbei and Toma’s encounter with the duo of Tao Fa and Ju Fa, who are first presented whilst wrapped around each other in the throes of passion. Upon seeing the Aza brothers, Ju Fa is immediately hostile, changing from the feminine body they had assumed during their intimate time with Tao Fa, who in contrast to her partner, is cheerful to a fault and never in a bad mood. Essentially, as a pair, the two are the first Tensen introduced almost as to introduce “Tensen” with “duality” and have the contrasts between masculine and feminine,happy and angry, hostile and peacefulpresented in unison, as if the Tensen themselves are synonymous with a perfect balance and understanding of “extremes”.
The reason for that is not yet presented by the time the Tensen are introduced to the anime, since the narrative is slowly revealing the layers of possibility that exist on Kotaku. However, the upcoming development of the series' inherent “power system”, Tao, will be integral to any understanding of the significance of the Tensen’s ability to assume whatever gender identity they want. This is because to awaken to the abilities granted by Tao, an individual must assume a state that observes and accepts the two main opposing forces in their own hearts – which is referred to as knowing “the middle way”.
The Interstice
The principle of Yin-Yang, which is the central Taoist understanding, presents reality as the manifestation of two extremes. The Middle Way is the acceptance of these extremes, the assumption of a so-called “middle ground” which, in the context ofHell’s Paradise: Jigokurakuand its understanding of Taoist and Buddhist principles, is the position which enables one to tap into the essence that makes up all life force: Tao. The Tensen, as perfect beings who have mastered Tao from various different positions and achieving their sagehood through different trials, are the veryembodiment of the Middle Way, which lines up with the understanding that the Tensen inHell’s Paradise: Jigokurakuare based on the Eight Immortals of Chinese mythology, who are revered by Taoists as beings capable of bestowing life, or destroying evil. As such, the genderfluidity of the Tensen is a core component ofHell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, working as a device that echoes some of the ideas that are central to the construction of theJigokurakuuniverse, particularly in the understanding of the “middle way” and the series' attempts to grapple with gender.
