The Aza brothers once again took the spotlight for the first half of the episode, with Chobei seemingly became the very same plant monster like in the island as he recovered despite being dealt with a fatal blow by the Doshi. He was already inhumanely strong, now he became even stronger after, from what I presumed, to have awakened his innate Tao senses from his near-death experience in the pit of human flowers. This might be the case of how humans unleashed their hidden potential in the face of crisis, but I actually wondered if his new regenerative ability also had something to do with him consuming the meat of the monsters he previously defeated before.
And now, here comes the part that I’ve always found both uncomfortable and disturbing in Hell’s Paradise. As it turned out, Mei was not really a little girl as she appears to be. She was originally a Tensen until she disapproved of their practices that led her being punished, which turned her into a child in the process and scarred on her body as a mark. However, neither being turned into a child nor scarred were the worst part of the punishment. The worst part was that she was sentenced to engage in Bochu Jutsu with the Doshi, which required her to have a sexual intercourse with them, whether she wants it or not. Yeah, that’s no different from rape, like hell Mei would ever want to experience that! Ugh, one thing I hate most about Hell’s Paradise is this part! Fortunately, there’s never a rape scene, but the implication was still disturbing to hear, especially being a woman myself. Though I could tell that the Doshis had no evil intent like many sexual predators, it’s still sickening that they could easily suggest to do such a thing to Mei! DISGUSTING! UTTERLY DISGUSTING!
I am forever grateful that Gabimaru and Gantetsutai were there for Mei. Each of them have their own goals and have no obligation to help each other, but they were not heartless enough to just leave Mei to a terrible fate. Gabimaru was the most angered after hearing Mei’s history as it reminded him of his own wife who got scarred and understood how afraid she must be. Gabimaru’s quick decision to protect Mei once again showed how he’s no longer the Hollow he used to be. And Gantetsutai, my opinion on you has grown more. PROTECT THE PRECIOUS MEI YOU TWO!
In regards to Bochu Jutsu, it was the process of joining the Yin and Yang of two people through sexual intercourse, which kinda explained why the Tensen from before were shown having sex out in the open. They’re not just doing it because they liked it or simply for the sake of it, but also because they’re in the middle of joining their Yin and Yang into one. Normally, people possess either Yin or Yang, however, all of the Tensen possess both energies that allows them the freedom to switch their genders. In return, by having both Yin-Yang inside their bodies, the Tensen’s Tao is greatly augmented and can be use to recover their lost Tao.
Another thing, we also learned that Tao was a balance between weakness and strength, meaning that for someone to master and see Tao of others, they must accept both weakness and strength as part of them. This was something that Gabimaru lacked before because he didn’t acknowledge his weakness. Accepting one’s own weakness was something that normally difficult to do. People tends to believe that the moment they accept their weakness equals being weak. In fact, it is by accepting weakness that someone can better understand what they are caused from and how to improve upon them. For a ninja like Gabimaru who grew up not allowed to show or even think about weakness, it was understandably a complicated thing to do. It was a great moment when Gabimaru finally able to acknowledged this, which precisely allowed him to defeat his opponent.
In Sagiri and the others’ side, I wasn’t surprised when they encounter another Tensen. Considering how the other characters have encountered a Tensen, it’s only a matter of time until Sagiri and the others also encounter and fight one. Now, I wonder how Sagiri’s group fight against the Tensen would be like animated. XD
