Kaku Yuuji’s Hell’s Paradise is a tale filled with unrelenting tension. The story follows Gabimaru’s journey into a version of a deceptive heaven. When he faces execution, Gabimaru claims to be over life and eager to die, but his actions prove otherwise. The decapitator, Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, reveals the mystery behind Gabimaru’s reluctance to die: his wife.
This revelation is surprising to even Gabimaru, who thought he was empty and devoid of emotion, calling himself “hollow.” But the newly defined love for his wife is enough to send him to the island of Kotaku, along with other criminals facing execution, searching for the key to an official pardon from the Shogunate: the Elixir of Life. Kotaku plays a significant role in this story, so here are ten things to know about the strange island.
This article contains spoilers from Hell's Paradise manga series.
10 Kotaku Is Ruled by Lord Tensen
Lord Tensen, a group of seven beings, rules Kotaku and practices Tao to achieve immortality and create the Elixir of Life. The Hōko think of them as gods and believe a split Sennin made them, but this is only a legend by Lord Tensen to study the Hōko.
Their goal is to carry on with Jofuku's studies and produce the Elixir of Life while attaining eternal bodies through the practice of Tao. Their plan involves releasing Paradise Butterflies in Japan and transforming people into Waitanhua flowers through Arborification. By doing this, they will create the Banko and harvest more Elixir.
9 The Name Literally Means Divine Paradise
Kotaku also goes by the name Shinsenkyō, which means "Divine Paradise" literally. Hell’s Paradise is full of metaphors, evidenced even by the anime title. The metaphors add layers of meaning to the story and fill it with subtle themes and lessons.
The name, Divine Paradise, reflects the island's role in the story, suggesting the island's beauty with the creatures and nature present there. It also adds a sense of mystery and isolation that mirrors the island's unique and otherworldly nature. The name's significance contributes to the effective worldbuilding seen in the anime.
8 The Monsters On Kotaku Were Created by Jofuku
Kotaku’s beauty is rivaled only by its danger. It is full of monsters whose presence adds some tension to every interaction in the anime. These monsters range from small-sized insects with human faces to gigantic Sōshin and Mōnshin.
These monsters were created by the explorer, Jofuku, whose discovery of the island years ago kickstarted the events in the anime. The monsters were the result of Jofuku’s experiments regarding immortality, and among other roles played over the years, they primarily served to attack any intruders on the island.
7 Kotaku Is Surrounded By Dangerous Aquatic Animals
In addition to the tiny insects with human faces like the Paradise Butterflies, and the strangely looking Sōshin and Mōnshin, there are also the Wadatsumi, monsters who play a slightly different roles. They are also gigantic like the Sōshin but reside in the sea surrounding Kotaku.
They have large eel-like bodies equipped with tentacles and claws. Like the other monsters of Kotaku, they are strange looking, with distorted faces and human heads. They were created to keep visitors on the island, preventing any escape by sea, if not from Hōrai's floodgates.
6 Kotaku Is Home To The Hōko
Jofuku’s experiments were not limited to the monsters he created. When he first arrived in Kotaku, he was accompanied by a crew which he then proceeded to run experiments on to lengthen their life span. He was successful at this, creating the Hōko race.
The Hōko are identical to humans except in the area of life span. After their creation, the race lived for a thousand years in a Kotaku village until they began to experience ‘aborification,’ the uncanny condition where people turn into tree-like creatures.
5 Kotaku Holds A Special Flower Called Waitanhua
The island of Kotaku is home to many familiar plant types and some unfamiliar ones, giving it a quality that could be surreal to some and disturbing to others. Among these plants is the Waitanhua Flower, created by Lord Tensen to withdraw Tao from humans and transform them into Tan.
An even more special Waitanhua Flower is large and stored in Hōrai, Kotaku’s center. The Tao obtained from these flowers can also produce special abilities like strength and healing. The Waitanhua Flower can be considered one example of the symbolic imagery that Hell’s Paradise uses to convey the theme of transformation.
4 Kotaku Is Split into Three
Kotaku is split into three regions called Eishū, Hōjō, and Hōrai. Eishū is the area first seen on the island, the outermost portion holding the beach and forest, rich with plant life because of blooming samurai corpses. Eishū is where the Sōshin monsters attack intruders.
Hōjō is beyond Eishū and is a valley surrounding Hōrai, the innermost part of Kotaku. Hōjō was the home of the Hōko until their ‘aborification.’ The final region, Hōrai, is centered on the island, houses Lord Tensen, and is the location of their many experiments.
3 Kotaku Is Similar To An Island In A Japanese Folktale
A character in the anime, Yamada Asaemon Jikka, compared the island of Kotaku to the island of Onigashima featured in a Japanese folktale. The folktale tells the story of Momotarō, a special child delivered to a childless couple through a peach they tried to eat.
When Momotarō grows up, he travels to an island inhabited by the demons terrorizing his home. On his way, he makes some friends who help him take down the demons and their chief. After his victory, Momotarō returns home with the fruit of his journey: treasure and the captured demon chief. Hell’s Paradise was meant to be about a journey to the same island of Onigashima.
2 The Outline Of The Island Is Inspired By A Sci-fi Novel
The fan book for fans of Hell’s Paradise, Hell's Paradise New Text on Anatomy, mentions that the island of Kotaku is inspired by the 1896 science fiction novel by H.G. Wells titled The Island of Doctor Moreau. Being Kaku Yuuji’s favorite novel, The Island of Doctor Moreau inspired Kotaku's layout and the entire story of Hell’s Paradise.
The novel tells the story of Edward Prendick, a shipwrecked English man who lands on a strange island. A biologist called Doctor Moreau lives on this island, and his experiments with animals and humans raise suspicions for Edward Prendick.
1 Only One Human Has Survived Kotaku Twice
Kotaku island is notorious for its deadly nature, with only thirteen people officially surviving and escaping it. Among those thirteen, Yamada Asaemon Jikka stands alone as the only person to escape twice. As the head of the Yamada clan, Jikka was assigned to monitor the criminal Hōrubō during an expedition to find the coveted Elixir of Life on Kotaku.
When Hōrubō was murdered on the way, Jikka got the opportunity to return to the mainland. Eventually, he returned to Kotaku with another group to continue the mission. On his second attempt to escape, Wadatsumi attacked him. Jikka managed to kill the monster and return home with its head, hoping to warn others about the island's dangers.