Yes, I finally managed to watch Hell’s Paradise, I know it took me quite a long time, but better late than never, right?
Today’s topic is about the Elixir of Life, and we will get to that, but before that, we need to know why the Elixir of Life is important in the story of Hell’s Paradise.
Also, it is paramount to know about the true Elixir of Life.
There are two different interpretations of the Elixir of Life in the story of Hell’s Paradise, they are stated below.
- First is, a fruit known as Tokijiku no kagu no Mi, which is said to have the mystical ability to give the consumer an immortal body. According to the protagonist, that fruit was eaten by his village chief and thus he gained an immortal body.
- Second, a musical liquid known as Tan, which if drunk in moderation, gives the drinker longevity, and a youthful body. but drinking in large amounts could cause Aborification, which is a metamorphosis that causes living beings to sprout flowers from their bodies and enter into a blissful trance.
To know about all those stated above, we need to understand the plot first, and then understand the protagonist with his/her goal.
After that, we will discuss how the Elixir of Life fits into the story, and finally, we will discuss the real Elixir of Life.
Table of Contents
Plot Of Hell’s Paradise
Gabimaru the most capable ninja(shinobi) of Iwagakure Village, was taken into custody for breaking the ninja code and was put on death row.
Gabimaru had given up on life and longed for death because after walking a long and bloody road of his apathetic life and being named Gabimaru of the hollow, he had very little attachment to life.
But the problem is, none of the execution methods were enough to kill him, be it trying to cut off the head, burning on a steak, burning with oil, or trying to pull apart using oxen.
A documenter/exicutioner was dispatched from the capital to record his side of the story, her name was Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, and she discovered the discrepancies between his words and actions.
She offers Gabimaru a chance to get acquitted, which he could earn by completing a mission for the shogunate.
The mission was to go to a mystic island named Shinsenkyo and obtain the Elixir of Life for the shogun.
But the problem is, that Shinsenkyo is not only a mystic place, but also a dangerous one, and the shogun had sent scouts to that island before, but none of them returned except some of them in inhuman form.
So not wanting to waste the lives of his officials and soldiers, the shogun decided to send death row criminals to that island for such a mission.
Gabimaru accepted the deal and was sent to the island with other death row inmates while being observed by Sagiri and other executioners of the Asaemon clan.
Why Did Gabimaru Subconsciously Resist Death?
Gabimaru may have given up on life and was waiting for death, but it was next to impossible to kill him, all the methods of execution were filled on him.
There was no other option but to ask the expert executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri to cut his head off.
She had a track record of severing heads of death row criminals in a single swift swing of her sword each time.
Even though Gabimaru was strong, Sagiri’s blade could slice through his skin also, thus making him understand his true feelings.
After recording Gabimaru’s story, Sagiri learned that he had a wife.
According to Sagiri, Gabimaru lied to himself saying he had no longing for life.
In contrast, subconsciously he was using ninjutsu to protect his body from harm at each execution attempt.
In reality, he had a strong attachment to life, as he longed to live the rest of his life peacefully with his wife.
So, it was evident that Gabimaru subconsciously resisted death for the reason, stated above.
What Was Gabimaru’s Goal?
After being relieved of attempted executions, Gabimaru finally could concentrate on his goal, which was to return to his wife and live a peaceful life.
However, to achieve that goal, he had to first go to Shinsenkyo island and get the Elixir of Life for the shogun.
So his primary goal was to find the Elixir of Life.
Elixir Of Life, Did Iwagakure Chief Have That?
Even though Sagiri brought the proposition of finding the Elixir of Life to get acquitted of the death sentence, she was skeptical of the existence of such a mystical object.
However, Gabimaru on the other hand believed in the existence of the Elixir of Life, to be precise a fruit, and he had known it by the name of Tokijiku no Kagu no Mi.
According to him, in his childhood, Gabimaru saw the chief of Iwagakure Village in his immortal body, as none of the weapons could snuff out the flame of his life.
It was said that the chief had eaten that fruit, which increased his vitality and regeneration ability.
But, later another criminal/female ninja(kunoichi) Yuzuriha, told Sagiri in the absence of Gabimaru, that the scene Gabimaru saw in his childhood could be an illusion shown to young Gabimaru to gain his loyalty.
Well, we can’t know for sure.
Shinsenkyo And The Existence Of Tan
After Gabimaru and Sagiri entered the depths of the island Shinsenkyo after fighting with monsters, monstrous insets, and other criminals, they met a human in the form of a tree Hoko, and a mysterious girl Mei.
There they learned that the entire Shinsenkyo island, originally named Kotaku is divided into three areas, and the innermost area named Horai contains the Tan, the closest thing to the Elixir of Life they know of.
There also exists Tensen, guards of Tan, with their immortal and forever young body.
But there is some difference that may make Tan an incomplete Elixir of Life, as one can only drink a little bit of it, otherwise, they will be Aborified, especially humans.
Well, Tensens are not exactly human, they used humans to synthesize Tan.
They used their mystical power Tao to turn humans into Tan and consume that to prolong their lives, so it can be said that Tan is not a complete product but a prototype of it.
Tokijiku No Kagu No Mi Or Tan Which is The Real Elixir Of Life?
Now the argument remains that Tokijiku no Kagu no Mi or Tan which one among them is the real Elixir of life.
To find the answer to that, we first need to know the pros and cons of both those items.
- First, let’s talk about the Tokijiku no Kagu no Mi, it gives the consumer an immortal body, which has a tremendously powerful regeneration ability. However, the con is, that none, except Iwagakure Chief, has ever seen it, so its existence couldn’t be proven only from the words of Gabimaru, since he could have shown an illusion to incorporate loyalty in him.
- Secondly, it is Tan, we are sure of its existence, since Hoko has shown his regenerative ability as proof, and we have also seen many Tensens with their ever young body with unlimited regenerative ability. However, the con is humans can only handle a small amount of it and they will become Aborified after a long period of time, however, if they take it in large amounts, Aborification will start almost immediately.
After, comparing those two items, the scale tilts towards Tan more than Tokijiku no Kagu no Mi.
Final Thought
After going through the comparison between the two given mystical items, we came to the conclusion that Tan is most likely the Elixir of Life mentioned in the Hell’s Paradise series.
However, there remains the question, if it is the perfect Elixir of Life, then why only Tensens can use it without any side effects, or the other question, is why do they have to use the lives of humans to synthesize it?
If you are interested in Seinen anime, then check my blog post on 7 Great Seinen Anime To Watch In 2024.