Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 23 – Quick Summary
In Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 23, “Master and Student,” Shion came up with a unique say to take out a Tensen: keep cutting it into parts before it could fully regenerate. On paper, it seemed like a good strategy. In practice, though, it neglected to factor in the damage that Shinon took as he attempted his attacks. It made matters more complicated that Nurugai could contribute little to support her teacher. Which will give out first – the Tensen or Shinon? And will Sagiri have any luck convincing another Tensen to stand down?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 23
Shinon could still remain cool after all he’s been through. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
It’s important to know how a character responds to taunts. It’s even more fun when you have a sense of who the character is, so you think you know how they’ll respond. But you’re not sure, so there’s suspense.
Shinon just put to rest any concerns I might have had about his ability to respond to taunts. Any doubts were minor; but it’s still nice to have them put down!
An emaciated Zhu Jin had just thrown a ton of hacked up Zhu Jin parts to bury Shinon. Stupid Zhu Jin started gloating. That stopped abruptly when Shinon sliced himself free – an act that impressed Nurugai. Zhu Jin berated Shinon for doing so much for someone who had died (Tenza, may he rest in peace). Zhu Jin demanded to know why he’d do so much – the taunt being that he was an idiot to do so.
He redefined the attack, saying (05:43), “I haven’t done anything yet. I can’t mourn him or feel sadness yet. I can’t even be angry while you’re still alive. I’ll do it all once I’ve killed you. The despair and sadness can wait until after that.”
Shinon wasn’t even boasting. He was laying out his intentions to his enemy, and he fully intended to follow through. Understated badassery is the best badassery.
Favorite Moment from Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 23
Tenza died on his terms. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Shinon’s Upright Life
The episode did a great job of setting up Shinon’s grief. By that, I mean the show didn’t beat us over the head with it. They let it flow naturally from his memories of what happened that day when Zhu Jin had killed Tenza.
We’d known that Shinon had been his teacher. We knew that there was mutual respect there. What we didn’t know what how guilty Shinon felt for leaving Tenza behind to save Nurugai. That was exactly what Tenza had intended. Shinon knew that.
I’ll tell you what, this line of Shinon’s hit me hard: (15:20) “Even while losing someone I loved, I made the right choice. I can’t forgive myself.”
Shinon blamed himself for something that wasn’t true. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
You know the feeling. You did the right thing. Probably, you even thought it through. But still, someone got hurt. An investment went bad. A low probability risk materialized. It happens, and it sucks. But imagine how Shinon had to feel! After all, not only did he lose his precious student. He thought Tenza had gone done feeling alone and scared.
But Shinon didn’t know the whole story. I’ve never liked the lone wolf trope. The voice in the wilderness motif was huge while I was growing up. Just look at the Dirty Harry movies. At the time, I loved seeing Clint Eastwood dispense his own brand of justice. It was only in retrospect that I understood the real message. It was anti-establishment, at least, which is something I can understand. But it was very anti-teamwork, to say the least. That’s less healthy, from the perspective of a thriving civilization.
Delivery: Nurugai’s Emotional Clarity
My favorite moment in this episode is when Nurugai showed Shinon the rest of the truth – the piece he had missed. Convinced Tenza had died feeling scared and alone, Shinon had decided he was going to die to avenge Tenza and silence his own guilt.
“He didn’t suffer or die with regrets,” Nurugai said (19:59).
Hoping it was the case, Shinon asked, “I’m wrong?”
“When you carried me away, I saw him. He smiled. He saw us running away and smiled.You’ve been suffering because you didn’t know that. It’s because you had to carry me. I’m sorry. It was a nice smile. Sad but cool.”
“Sad but cool,” she said. This was hard on her, too. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Tenza died knowing he’d helped save Nurugai, and that his teacher had worked with him to do it. Even better? After delivering the news that put Shinon’s feelings in context, Nurugai herself burst into tears. After all, she knew that Tenza had died in no small part to help her live. She appreciated it; but it hurt like hell.
And may I just say that the healing hug Nurugai gave Shinon was one of the most heartfelt I’ve seen in years?
What did you think of Sagiri trying again to convince Gui Fa to cease hostilities? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to share in the comments!
Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 23: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Jigokuraku Season 2 • Hell’s Paradise Season 2 – Episode 10 discussion
- Anime Rants: Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 10 Review
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 14: Dawn and Confusion
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 15: Reality and Fantasy
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 16: Immutability and Change
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 17: The Samurai Code and Carnage
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 18: Humans and Sages
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 19: Hindering and Restoration
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 20: Two People and One Person
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 21: Chrysanthemum and Peach
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 22: Love and Karma
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 23: Master and Student
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 24: Ephemeralness and Fire
- Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 25: Endings and Beginnings
My favourite moment was Nurugai saying what she did to Shion.
As for the rest of my thoughts I have this time, they are moreso based on a previous episode since when I believe there are questions unanswered, I think back to them often given I take a holistic approach to interpreting a story.
Given Rien was able to destroy Mei’s tanden and ovule without killing her even though he has a Tao attribute that hinders hers (Earth Tao hinders Water Tao), I believe Rien could become like Mei and effectively become similar in nature to a Hōko if his tanden and ovule were to be destroyed. This is backed by Choubei saying that Rien’s different from the other Tensen.
That’s not to say that the heroes will allow Rien to live, just that it’s possible for such an outcome. Personally, I believe Rien is too evil to be allowed to live, so they’ll probably defeat him next season, but given Mei would age and turn into a tree due to her missing her tanden/ovule if she used Tao, I believe the same happening to Rien is physically possible.
I also think someone with Metal Tao may have healed Mei, allowing for her to escape from Hōrai after Rien cut into her, so either Gui Fa, a Doshi, or Ju/Tao Fa with natural remedies, the least crazy Tensen, were the ones likely to have done it, but I doubt a Doshi did it since all they wanted from Mei was to do Bochu Jutsu with her, so it’s unlikely they would’ve rebelled against Rien. I know given the Tensen are part human that Mei healed naturally given her scars, but I believe someone helped her escape.
That was a cool moment!
Interesting thoughts. I agree that Rien is too evil to allow to live. He’s done too much.
Also interesting ideas about the possibly of a Tensen (probably) healing Mei and helping her escape. Given that the Tensen aren’t all of like mind, that’s possible. It’d make an interesting plot development, too!