A review by kristinasshelves
Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, Vol. 2 by Yuji Kaku

4.0

3.5 stars.

The story picks up exactly where the first volume left off, with Gabimaru The Hollow on an enigmatic island with a band of vicious criminals. As established in that first volume, Gabimaru s a skilled ninja who is incapable of dying, despite witnessing several torturous methods of execution attempted against him. He was sent to the island to compete for a pardon to be released from his ninja duties and live a normal life. It is clear that the insidious creatures on the island are no match to Gabimaru in the initial chapter, but he may meet his match in the newly introduced Yuzuriha and her feminine wiles.

We then meet more individuals on the island and learn their backstory in flashbacks. I always enjoy the use of flashbacks, so that was a good edition to this volume. There is an interesting underlying theme of one’s internal motivations for living and the actions they choose. Gender roles also play a role in the character’s lives in a prevalent way. There is a good deal of violence and combat in this volume, but not as much as the first installment. There is also nudity featured in this one.

I enjoyed the first volume in this manga series and was excited for further installments to be published. For me, this collection of chapters 7-16 in the story was not as enjoyable as the first volume as it felt slow. I know second books in series are often not as good due to having to set the stage for more to occur later, but with nine already published volumes, I would have thought this would have been more similar to the first book in terms of content and underlying meaning. This does end on a cliffhanger and as I’m still invested in the story, I’ll be on the lookout for volume three.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a PDF of this title for review.