Season 1 of Hell’s Paradise premiered last year and made quite the impression with its stunning visuals and intense storytelling. Those who have not read the manga the 2023 anime series is based on may not know that not only is the manga complete, it is also not very long. Finishing with a total of 13 volumes, the first season of the anime covering approximately five and a half of them, Hell’s Paradise may be wrapped up by the end of next season – and anime fans haven’t even met all of the major players yet.
With numerous criminals, ninjas, and monsters running around on Shinsenkyo, one of the key groups of the story is the Yamada Asaemon. A clan of sword testers and executioners, they were sent to keep an eye on the prisoners seeking the elixir of life on the island. Many were quickly dispatched, either by their charges or by the many threats present on the island, while others impressively held their own against intense odds. So who are the Yamada Asaemon who so bravely journeyed to the island from where no one has returned alive? Warning: This article contains spoilers for season 1 of Hell’s Paradise.
Yamada Asaemon Sagiri
Sagiri is the deuteragonist of the series. If Gabimaru the Hollow is the main character, she certainly occupies the runner up spot. Born into the Yamada clan as the daughter of the clan’s current leader, Sagiri chose to pursue the art of the sword instead of remaining home and marrying. She was bullied as a child for her family’s macabre profession, and she has struggled to reach the level of skill she wishes to due to her hesitancy when taking a life. She possesses a kind heart, as seen by her interactions with the strange little girl Mei, who the group encountered on the island, as well as her willingness to see the good in Gabimaru despite his crimes. When confronted with the idea that she should leave the island because it is too dangerous for a woman, she rejects this and insists that, if she is capable, then she has earned her right to remain in the fight she walked into willingly. She is one of the four to survive a head to head fight with one of the Tensen, and she has the ability to control her Tau (the life force that acts as the source of power in the story). While not the physically strongest of the Yamada clan, Sagiri shows an inner strength and great skill with her sword that has not only made her invaluable to the rest of the characters so far – it has kept her alive against great odds.
Yamada Asaemon Senta
Senta is the other Yamada Asaemon viewers spend the most time with in season one of the anime. Introduced as the monitor for the other ninja on the island, Yuzuriha, Senta is a seemingly meek and bumbling member of the party. He is incredibly smart and possesses a vast amount of knowledge regarding world religions, which ends up being more important than anyone on the expedition could ever have guessed. While not able to uncover exactly what was going on, Senta was often able to provide ideas and parse out the many clues as to the truth behind Shinsenkyo. He is also still a valued member of the Yamada clan and thus is perfectly capable when it comes to swordplay, despite his appearance. Senta was a sensitive child who enjoyed art, but left behind his passions to become an executioner. He holds Yuzuriha in high esteem for her ability to be herself when he sees himself unable to do the same. While he was an integral part of the fight against the Tensen known as Mu Dan at the end of season one, Senta was unfortunately a casualty of the fight, giving up his life to protect that of Yuzuriha.
Yamada Asaemon Shion
Introduced a few episodes into the season, Shion is one of the higher rank Asaemon on mission to Shinsenkyo. Originally assigned to guard the Cannibal Courtesan, he quickly ended up without a charge after she tried to seduce him and he executed her. Blind in both eyes, it is first explained that Shion is able to function and fight as well as he can due to sounds and smell, but it is later revealed that he has long been able to sense Tao, although he refers to the energy as waves instead. An incredibly skilled fighter even without the use of his eyes, Shion also possesses a rare dry humor that lends to his likability. He was the master of Tenza, another Asaemon on the island, and clearly has a gift for teaching. While he refuses to train Nurugai, Tenza’s assigned criminal, he is willing to allow her to fight beside him and learn that way instead. His arrival in the fight against Mu Dan turns the tide for Sagiri, Senta, and Yuzuriha, and it is him that delivers the killing blow to the creature. He is a good person to still have around considering there are several more Tensen to face before the journey’s end.
Yamada Asaemon Fuchi
Fuchi is an interesting member of the Yamada clan. Relatively small in stature, he has a big personality – and it’s kind of creepy. He is a lover of science and fact, and while he sees the danger of the creatures and monsters of the island, he is also endlessly fascinated by their anatomy and wants to dissect them at every chance. While the Yamada clan are most known as sword testers and executioners, they also develop medicines by studying corpses, which is the function of the clan Fuchi clearly has the most passion for. Like the rest of the Asaemon, Fuchi is a master swordsman, and carries two swords in addition to tools for dissecting. Despite being assigned to one of the bigger and more physically imposing criminals on the expedition, Tamiya Gantetsusai, Fuchi shows no fear in his presence and is a tougher opponent than he looks at first glance. He is last seen in the first season of the anime with Gantetsusai, Mei, and Gabimaru after fighting the Doshi, alive and well.
Yamada Asaemon Tenza
Tenza was the assigned monitor of the young criminal Nurugai, and was trained directly by Shion. He was born into poverty and was found by the master swordsman, who saw potential in him and invited him to join the Yamada clan. While resistant to the training at first, Tenza eventually comes to understand his master and throws himself into training in order to serve the clan and bring pride to Shion. On the island, he wants to help Nurugai escape and return to the mainland, especially once the dangers become obvious. He is sympathetic after hearing her story, thinking she does not deserve the death penalty she is facing. Upon failing to find a current off the island, Tenza and Nurugai run into Shion. He proceeds to defend Nurugai in the face of his beloved master, just before one of the Tensen shows up. Tenza does not go down without a fight, successfully buying enough time for Nurugai and Shion to escape the Tensen attacking the group. His death allowed his companions to survive.
Yamada Asaemon Toma
Toma is a very interesting member of the Yamada clan, since he is secretly the brother of one of the criminals being sent to the island. He infiltrated the Yamada clan in order to join his brother, Chobei, on the journey for the elixir and help him be the one to return. Toma joined the Yamada clan under the pretense of wanting to become a sword tester and executioner, but his entire goal was to get Chobei to be a part of the quest to the island after he watched his brother be arrested and sentenced to death, as he was aware of the pardon being offered by the Shogun. Once separated from the rest of the criminals and monitors, Toma casts off the pretense of being a member of the clan and reverts to his role as the younger brother, allowing the much bolder and stronger Chobei to take the lead on the island. Despite his apparent skill with a sword (he was able to make enough of an impression on the Yamada clan to be one of the people sent on the mission, after all), he is shown to be deferential to his older brother and have little self confidence in his personal abilities.
Yamada Asaemon Genji
Genji’s time on the island is relatively brief. As the monitor of Moro Makiya, one of the criminals most quickly killed on the island, Genji quickly has no reason to remain on the quest. However, he runs into Sagiri and her companions before attempting to leave the island. Upon seeing Sagiri, he insists she return to his place, while he would take over the monitoring of Gabimaru. To Ganji, Sagiri’s place as a woman of the Yamada clan is not that of a samurai, but back in the safety of their home to have children. Especially upon the realization that the dangers of Shinsenkyo are significantly more extreme than anyone was prepared for, Genji tries to force Sagiri to leave. However, before he can press the matter more, the giant criminal Rokurota appears and attacks Sagiri. She is saved by Genji, who is mortally wounded. In his final moments he makes his peace with Sagiri’s choice to walk her own path of both strength and weakness. He gifts his Yamada clan sword to her upon his death, entrusting the mission to her.
Yamada Asaemon Eizen
Ultimately playing a minor role in the present of the story, Eizen looms larger for his fellow Asaemon than he does for the viewer. Shown mostly in flashbacks, Eizen is the highest ranking member of the Yamada clan on the island when the convicts and monitors first arrive. He is assigned to guard Rokurota, the giant who ends up killing Yamada Asaemon Genji. However, Rokurota did first have to take out Eizen, which he seemingly does with ease only moments after landing on the island, cutting Eizen’s time in the anime very short. Before his death, it is established that he, like many others, believed Sagiri should not be a samurai due to her status as a woman, but still acted professional and kind in most cases. Despite his death, his presence remains felt not only by the characters that have been introduced thus far, but by characters still to come.
Yamada Asaemon Kisho
Another character with relatively little screen time, Kisho was an assertive and opinionated member of the expedition. The criminal he was originally assigned to monitor challenged Gabimaru early on and was defeated, only to be executed by Kisho anyway after surviving his encounter with the ninja. He attempts to get Sagiri to kill Gabimaru and leave the island, as the mission is incredibly dangerous and there is no need for them to risk their lives. He departs and seemingly attempts to return home since he has no one to monitor, but it is later revealed that he was infected with arborification (his body was taken over by flowers) at some point during his attempt to leave the island, which killed him.
They are an eccentric group of people to be sure, and this isn’t even all of them. Fortunately, season two of the anime has been confirmed, so hopefully fans won’t have to wait too long to be reunited with the (few remaining) Asaemon we know and love and be introduced to several new and exciting members of the clan. The first season of Hell’s Paradise is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, and for those interested in getting ahead on the action, the manga is officially complete and can be read in its entirety. The anime also received several nominations for the 2024 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, so be sure to keep an eye on that to see if this exciting new anime series walks away with any wins.
Loved this series and am looking forward to more, all of the characters are very interesting in their own ways. I enjoy how the Yamada Asaemon all have their quirks just like the criminals do, they’re not just a bunch of staunch “lawful good” samurai types and all seem to have their own interpretation of how they should fulfill their duties (or not in the case of Toma). Makes the entire cast a fun mixed bucket.