Welcome back to Anime Rants with Mono. I haven’t had as much time for writing lately, so this post is slightly late. Today, we’re covering Hell’s Paradise Season 2 Episode 8, or episode 21 cumulatively. It was an incredibly awesome but also sad episode. As you probably know, Ju Fa is styled after a Chrysanthemum and Tao Fa is based on peach blossums. If I had more time, I’d write about the traditional symbolism of Chrysanthemum flowers and peach blossums, but alas, I don’t have the mental energy at present. Here are the notes that I managed to take on episode 8 (21).
Episode 8: Chrysanthemum and Peach
Episode Rating: 9/10
We start with a flashback to when Gantetsusai was younger. (I’ve been calling him by his last name, Tamiya, and I’ll keep using both names interchangeably.) He remembered a certain strange old man who he could never beat no matter how he trained. Tamiya was a young man who wanted to be the best swordsman in the land and win honor so he could basically do whatever he wanted. I don’t vibe well with characters like this. But I’m sure there are plenty of people who can relate. Anyway, the old man often said strange things while peering down with one huge, creepy, dead-looking eye. Like Gantetsusai, I didn’t comprehend a word the old man was saying, but I think we’re supposed to assume that he was talking about Tao and could see it with that eye. Thus, he was unbeatable.
The words were not all nonsense. There was something the old man said that made perfect sense in terms of Gantetsusai’s life. The more you have, the less you can see. In other words, shedding what you don’t need will allow you to see the world in a new way. This fits in well for Tamiya’s character arc. He literally tore out his eye so he could see Tao, and that was after losing one of his hands on the island. This episode was one of my favorites of the season due to the character development for Tao Fa and Ju Fa, but I must also admit that the character writing for Gantetsusai was excellent, despite the fact that I don’t like him personally. Again, I’m sure he has plenty of fans out there as a strong and passionate man who wants the world for himself.
Fuchi was quite impressive in this episode as well. I love the little guy. He hatched a plan to defeat Tao Fa by combining his efforts with Tamiya’s. Fuchi grabbed Tao Fa around her middle and told Gantetsusai to cut her Tanden without slicing him, too. His reasoning was that his metal attribute would hinder her wood attribute by touch alone. So as long as he was touching Tao Fa’s Tanden, Gantetsusai could deliver the actual killing blow, which on its own did not have the Tao attribute needed for hindering. The plan was a success and Tamiya expertly sliced Tao Fa in half at the middle. This is where the episode became most interesting to me, as Tao Fa called out to Ju Fa in a pathetic voice and joined with him to form a gigantic, winged flower monster. The focus turned to Ju Fa and his memories with Tao Fa, whom he loves more than anything.
(Side Note: Before we discuss the flashbacks focused on Ju Fa and Tao Fa, I just want to point out again how much I love the relationship between Choubei and Touma. Choubei once again said that all he needed was to have “this one” by his side, while indicating Touma. Interestingly, Ju Fa agreed, because he felt the same about Tao Fa. I usually don’t go for incest ships, but Touma and Choubei are clearly romantic with each other! At least, it seems so to me. Even though it’s not canon, you can’t stop me from imagining!)
We saw a long series of flashbacks of Ju Fa growing up with Tao Fa. This was the most interesting part of the episode for me. It deserves a lot of discussion and is ripe with ideas for fanfics about the Tensen growing up on Shinsekyo. But today, I’m just rushing through the basic ideas. From a very age young, Ju Fa knew that he and Tao Fa were different from the rest of the Tensen in terms of dynamic. While everyone was family, Ju Fa and Tao Fa developed a romantic connection, with Ju Fa wanting more than anything to protect Tao Fa’s smile and keep her from being hurt or driven mad by life on the island. For many years, the five young Tensen studied Tao as instructed by Rien and Mei.
Eventually, Rien lost his kindness. He forced Ju Fa and Tao Fa to start practicing Bochu Jutsu with each other, and he made everyone take their Tao from imprisoned Houko. At first, Tao Fa was deeply upset about taking the lives of Houko because she had empathy. Ju Fa said he agreed, but there was nothing they could do. Before long, Mei disappeared from the palace. As the years passed, all the animals on the island were killed off for their Tao and the Houko village fell into ruin. Nobody wanted to plant crops or live the right way. Finally, the Tensen resorted to luring humans to the island and making them into Tan.
The most powerful and tragic moment in this episode was when Ju Fa saw Tao Fa preparing a boat full of flowers to send out to the human world. When he asked if she was really alright with doing this, Tao Fa smiled eerily with her Tensen eyes darkened. She said, “It’s totally fine.” (Japanese: “Zenzen ii yo.”) I think Ju Fa’s heart broke in that moment as he realized he wasn’t able to protect Tao Fa from becoming twisted. But instead of arguing, feeling pressured by the other Tensen, he reassured Tao Fa that they could use humans however they wanted. Humans were less than livestock. Tao Fa still wept over it, and Ju Fa held her close. This scene was so damn sad! Ju Fa was sort of right when he said that the world was insane – but it’s only insane if you expected it to be fair and easy. At some point, most of us realize that life is neither of those things and that we need to be the ones to take control of whatever small changes we can make; still, I understand Ju Fa’s bitterness and lashing out at the cruel world.
After this depressing scene, we returned to the present, with Ju Fa and Tao Fa combining to form a distinctly ugly flower monster with multiple faces and two petal-like wings. Fuchi said the creature looked like love itself – but then again, Fuchi likes insides and dissections, so perhaps his idea of love is a bit different from most. Anyway, the flower monster rained down spores that infected the mind once they latched onto skin. Gantetsusai was temporarily infected, but Fuchi pulled the spore off his neck. Choubei tried to fight the enemy alone and quickly got knocked back. It was difficult for Tamiya and Choubei to get along, but as Fuchi pointed out, working together was the only option. Thus, the four fighters readied themselves to battle as a team. To be continued.
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
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