Why was Hell Paradise so overwhelming?

Key things

• The Hell's Paradise anime fell short of high expectations due to lackluster animation.
• Mappa studio's reputation for stunning animation did not carry over to Infernal Paradise.
• Despite a strong premise, the anime failed to live up to fans' expectations for visual spectacle.

Hell's paradise was a new Shōnen anime with a lot of potential and hype, yet for some reason it fell short of fan expectations and went largely unnoticed in terms of overall conversation and praise. It is one of what fans call the “Dark Trio” of Shōnen Jump, consisting of Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisenand Hell's Paradise. But fans have seen the story of the manga and the author.

When they found out that the anime adaptation would be done by Studio Mappa, the same people behind it A man with a chainsaw, attack on titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, the excitement was overflowing. However, as the anime premiered and progressed, fans became increasingly disappointed with the adaptation. Why was the anime for Hell's Paradise so underrated and underappreciated by fans?

Hell's paradise has fallen

Great expectations fell flat

Hell's Paradise follows the story of Gabimaru the Hollow, a young ninja who is seemingly unable to die. After being captured during an assassination mission, he is sentenced to death, but every attempt to execute him fails due to his superhuman body. Gabimaru meets the executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, who offers him forgiveness for his crimes from the shogunate if he completes a very special mission.

Gabimaru must find the elixir of life in the legendary realm of Shinsenkyo. But he is not the only one who was sent to the Island. A large group of death row inmates accompanied by executioners just like Sagiri, and whoever finds the elixir and brings it back alive with the executioner will be pardoned for their crimes.

The premise of the anime is a fresh and darker idea that immediately engages the audience, Shōnen Jump has seen a revival of much darker manga serialized in magazines, with Hell's Paradise, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen being prime examples of this. With the rise of dark anime-like Attack on Titandarker anime is often widely accepted and even favored by fans, but a great concept alone is not enough to guarantee a successful series.

My own life has the highest priority and I have no plans to die. My whole goal is to survive and get home. Home to my wife. I'm not going to lay down my life. But otherwise I will sacrifice anything. My ideals, reason, meaning, even my humanity.

There are many other series that have less or just not as compelling premises, but have been hugely successful in the anime realm over the past decade. It shows how Demon Slayer or Jujutsu Kaisen were often accused of getting carried away with their animation, suggesting the idea that their stories were nothing special, but the incredible animation done by their respective studios did wonders for the stories' success and audience appeal.

These days, thanks to the success of Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, whenever fans think of Studio Mappa, they think of spectacular and breathtaking animation, so when it was announced that Hell's Paradise would be animated by the same studio, there were very high expectations already in series. And when the time came, Hell's Paradise just didn't do the job that Mappa's previous installments did. In today's anime industry, a good story is simply not enough to guarantee the success of a series.

Now more than ever, audiences prefer good animation and art over anything else, for better or for worse. While Hell's Paradise had a good premise and a good story, the lackluster animation compared to its predecessors simply fell short of what fans expected from it. Although it was still appreciated and collected many fans, Hell's Paradise simply did not live up to the promises that were set in the name of Studio Mappa. Most of the conversations simply relied on superfluous aspects, such as the character of Yuzuriha, who became incredibly popular due to her seductive design and personality.

And while a second season of Hell's Paradise has already been announced, it's safe to say that the first season went largely unnoticed and was underwhelming for most anime fans who expected a visual spectacle similar to Studio Mappa's other modern action anime shows. It will be until the second season of the story to fulfill the expectations of manga fans and new anime fans.