Hell’s Paradise – 05 – Choosing to Live, and How

Hell’s Paradise is not a show I thought would remind me of Laid-Back Camp, but when Sagiri wakes up in a cavern recovered from the butterfly poison, she finds a campsite where Gabimaru is making dinner, Senta is mending clothes, and Yuzuriha is “supervising”, AKA relaxing in a hammock. Needless to say the group dynamic has changed appreciably since she was last conscious!

While foraging for ingredients for kikatsugan (“starve pill”, a ninja ration), Gabimaru scouted the area with Senta, but found no sign of the Elixir of Life as illustrated in the shogunate flyer. Senta adds that this place doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, either ecologically or spiritually, but is like a “sick mandala” of malformed deities and creatures.

Still, Gabimaru posits that if such strange creatures thrive here, it’s not any more unrealistic for the Elixir to be here too. I also like how Gabimaru tells Yuzuriha he’s never heard of the Elixir before now…that’s a need-to-know basis and let’s face it, while she’s a cutie, Yuzuriha can’t be trusted!

As the sun sets on their first day on the island, Sagiri’s senpai Genji tells her he’ll take over the guarding of Gabimaru, and she should return to the mainland. After all, she’s a “daughter of the Yamada clan first, and a samurai second.” Genji deems her insufficiently strong enough for this island and for guarding Gabimaru. She’s better off going home and tending to her “womanly responsibilities.”

Genji may be an unrepentant misogynist (and his beliefs ignore how strong Yuzuriha is), but he’s a product of his time and upbringing. Another Asaemon guard, Tenza, has a similar relationship to his prisoner Nurugai as Sagiri and Gabimaru. Only in Nurugai is actually only guilty of being the sole survivor of a remote village that defied the Shogunate … simply by existing.

Tenza is done with the island, and is rowing Nurugai through the fog and back to the mainland where he’ll plead his case, but he’s also a samurai of limited knowledge of sea currents, and they end up in a shipwreck graveyard that is home to a colossal kraken-like, many-tentacled monster. As the sole survivor of a village of people who lived for the mountain and the village, Nurugai no longer sees a reason to remain alive.

But Tenza does, and even though Nurugai doesn’t dodge the tentacles, Tenza protects him by cutting through them. Tenza may be a bit of a simpleton, but in this situation, Nurugai need only answer one question: Does he want to live? He thinks of his life at his village and with his gramps, and realizes he does, and fights alongside Tenza to get back to the island.

Once there, the two are bloody messes, and when they disrobe to wash themselves on the beach, Tenza learns that Nurugai is a girl. I love the Dororo-like twist that I should have seen coming, but I love the chemistry of these two characters even more. They truly complement each other, and it will be hard not to root for them even if supposedly only one prisoner will be spared beheading.

Back at Sagiri’s camp, nothing she says gets through to Genji, probably because he only sees her as a walking womb playing at being a samurai. Senta’s position is more nuanced; he’d prefer if she returned purely for her safety, but also believes there’s something about her and Gabimaru that makes her the best, and possibly only, Asaemon who can keep him in line.

That night when she has the wach, Sagiri knows why that must be: the little cathartic moment the two shared that got them both to calm down and agree to cooperate. She and Gabimaru, who is also awake, have a neat little moment where they speak at the same time after a pause. She lets him speak, and he thanks her for calming him down so he can plan for the Iwagakure and work to get back to his wife.

When Sagiri calls him strong, he shocks her by saying so is she; stronger than him, and with a very practical strength. His village taught him you don’t know how strong you are until you’ve been through some shit, and Sagiri certainly has so far. I’m really enjoying the growing bond between these two.

Gabimaru’s words help galvanize Sagiri to refuse to leave the island the next morning when Genji urges her to do so. She prostrates herself in deference to her senpai, but also insists that after a life of being caught between the Yamada clan and his Asaemon father and the ridicule she got for being a woman samurai, she believes it’s her right to choose how she wants to life … and she wants to live as a samurai. Like Gabimaru, she’s done running from those who get in her way.

Genji still isn’t moved, and in fact flashes a cruel grin before drawing his sword. If she won’t listen to “reason”, he’ll demonstrate how ill-equipped she is to be on this island with his sword. Only before he can complete a slash, the sword disappears from his hands and ends up in Sagiri’s.

When he protests for having his “samurai’s heart” stolen, she reminds him he just said this was a battlefield, and tells him procuring weapons on the battlefield is fair game. Then the giant who killed his Asaemon guard suddenly appears behind them, and Genji gets cut nearly in half by his massive bare hand.

I’m confident in predicting Sagiri will be fine, as the others in their camp aren’t far away and would have a decent chance of slowing this guy down with teamwork. Also, Gabimaru has shown he’s willing to protect Sagiri when needed, just as she’s willing to let him get back to his wife. He’s also, ya know, immortal, so even if the giant lops off a chunk of him, he’ll be fine. But it’s still a tense situation to end the episode.

P.S. The OP is probably the best banger of the season.

Arte – 10 – For Her Sake

When Katarina invites Arte to a meal, it’s more than just servants preparing everything for them. Katarina is in the middle of everything, working hard with the help, and not thinking of them as mere servants. Arte’s never seen her more happy. What gets Katarina down is the prospect of returning home to her parents’ house, which has never felt like home to her, so how can she be happy there?

A large part of that unhappiness stems from Katarina’s disgust for the nobility’s inclination towards always wanting there to be a clear difference between themselves and poorer levels of society. Her egalitarian attitude was developed by osmosis when she was raised far from Venice by her wet nurse Buona, who had a son Gimo with whom Katarina was close. When Buona suddenly died (as people did with far more regularity back then) she was thrust back to Venice, separated from the only home and family she knew to that point.

Yuri tells her about Katarina’s past in order to contextualize his opinion on the matter: Katarina finding her happiness depends on her ability to accept that she’s in the place she’s supposed to be, where that happiness is to be found, and that moving forward is the only way to find it. Even so, Arte can tell there’s a serious lack of closure, so she offers to take Katarina to see Gimo.

As Arte observes how both Katarina’s parents and servants act around her, it becomes clear that no one is really looking at the girl. When she overhears Malta complaining about how expensive her dowry’s going to be, and Sofia not challenging him, Arte recalls how her own parents argued spiritedly about her. The difference is, while they disagreed on the details, they were arguing for her sake.

Yuri tells Arte that Gimo is on Murano Island, and maintains his utmost faith not in her, but in his decision to choose her. It’s an interesting distinction, but Yuri didn’t become the rich and successful person he is by doubting his instincts.

On the island, Gimo regards Katarina coldly, but mostly out of deference to his mother Buona, who told him he couldn’t have any more contact with Katarina, since she was a noble. Their being a family was a beautiful dream, but that’s over.

Gimo tells her that there are times when he has to do things he doesn’t like, but because he was able to face forward properly and move on, he knows Katarina can do the same. When she does, he’ll look forward to welcoming her back with a smile.

Upon returning to Venice, Katarina ends up in bed sick for three days, and Arte is dismissed by Malta for failing to live up to her expectations. However, Katarina appears before her parents, performs all the requisite aristocratic gestures perfectly, and begs them not to fire Arte.

While Malta and Sofia are shocked to see their daughter behaving so properly, Malta still bristles at the idea of changing his mind, until Sofia, her hands trembling, speaks up and offers her opinion to her husband for the first time, agreeing that for Katarina’s sake, keeping Arte around is best.

Katarina’s home was a house of closed hearts, but thanks to Arte’s sentiments on doing things for someone’s sake, Sofia and Katarina’s hearts are now open. Like Arte, Katarina is a modern young woman with modern ideas, and they’re steadily learning together the ways to strike a balance between their modern values and the customs and obligations of their class.

Arte – 09 – The Tiny Gourmet

Katarina proves to be a handful to Arte, who is still disoriented by Venice, where not only do people dress differently but the very air she breathes smells different. While Arte received a crash course in Venetian etiquette from Yuri, to her shock Katarina is actually exemplary at etiquette; she simply chooses not to demonstrate it in public—or to her parents—because it’s “such a pain” and she’d rather spend her time napping.

Arte’s new servant friend Daphne tells her all the other tutors quit because of Katarina’s lousy attitude. Yuri admitted to Arte that painters are “a dime a dozen” in Venice, so she must assume he hired her more for her potential as a tutor to Katarina. But what does she, Arte, bring to the table that’s new?

Arte finds herself thinking and worrying so much about her fitness as a tutor that she gets pains in her stomach. But when Daphne takes her to a church so she can see and sketch the wonderful works housed therein, she’s approached by a couple men who praise her work then mock Florence for stooping to letting girls be artisans.

Much to Daphne’s shock, Arte not only takes their mocking in stride, but laughs about it. Those misogynist pricks showed her that not everything in Venice is different, and she’s not any different than the young woman who overcame overwhelming odds in Florence. She just needs to do her best here, like she’s always done. Doubt and anxiety won’t serve her.

The next day, Arte dithes the local garb and dons her workshop frock, which itself surprises Katarina. But part of Arte’s new wardrobe also meant removing the kid gloves: when Katarina tries to nod off, Arte plucks her out of bed and parks her in a chair, and in that chair she stays until she explains why she won’t practice the etiquette she knows in public.

She refuses, but Arte isn’t about to be discouraged now that she’s regained her confidence. She’s dealt with greater challenges in the past, and in a battle of wills between Arte and Katarina, I simply can’t bet against Arte.

That night, Arte makes a crude dress for Katarina to play in, and destroys a barrel so that they can go hoop rolling together, something at which Katarina is already an old hand. While this shows the girl that Arte can let loose and have fun, she can still smell her ulterior motive, and so her lips remain tight despite having had a genuinely good time.

Katarina’s mother Sofia tells Arte how her husband never wanted a daughter, and how all of her upbringing was to ensure she wouldn’t embarrass the family prior to being married off. Sofia believes that’s the reason Katarina hasn’t opened her heart to anyone in the house.

That night Arte visits Katarina’s room, having seen her light on late at night, and discovers her deep, dark secret, hinted at before: Katarina has a passion for cooking, deemed a job for lowly servants. Arte tries to reach out, but Katarina assumes she’ll rat her out, and demands that she leave at once.

The next day we see that Katarina has opened her heart to someone; namely her uncle Yuri, who unlike her father doesn’t see her as a burden to be married off, but a treasure whose passions should be nurtured. You can tell how close they are by the fact they’re cooking together without a care in the world…only Katarina is certain this will be the last time they do so.

Alas, when she returns home and her parents don’t broach the sore subject, it’s clear Arte didn’t snitch. Arte assures her she didn’t come to take what she likes away from her. Hell, she can relate to how Katarina feels, since her own mother burned her drawings.

Now that Katarina knows Arte is Good People, she’s willing to open her heart a bit when Arte joins her for dinner, when we’ll surely learn more about her “complicated past.” Until then, Arte’s basic decency, kindness, empathy, and determination—not to mention brute strength—contributed to coax Katarina into lowering her defenses. I came away from this episode liking both of them more!

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online – 09 – Lucky Girl

Pitohui seemed to be talking a bigger game than of that which she would’ve been capable last week, but she holds true to her avatar name, killing everyone she touches (and quite a few she doesn’t) taking out over twenty of the nearly thirty allied opponents all by herself. The episode is called “ten-minute massacre” but her work doesn’t even take that long, and just like that, seven teams and their leaders are taken out, thinning the SJ2 field considerably.

With the number of teams holding Pito and M’s attention dwindling fast, LLENN takes a safe and stealthy route to them through the inside of the Dome, which has a savannah theme of high grass perfect for hiding, especially if you’re tiny like LLENN and Fuka.

When their position is suddenly exposed, they use speed, pink smoke grenades, and a silencer on P-chan to defeat their foes. Fuka gets a bit too cocky and ends up emptying a clip from her handgun without hitting her target, but she draws from her fantasy RPG background to blugeon the guy to death with a rifle.

Throughout SJ2, we’ve gotten color commentary from the peanut gallery, which is a bit tiresome considering how misogynstic many of their comments are. However, I’m willing to tolerate it to a degree because this is, after all, meant to be a Boy’s/Man’s Game with women players seen as upstart outsiders.

In the cases of Pito, LLENN and Fuka, they’re showing they can not only hang with the boys, but dominate. Speaking of women dominating, “Sinon”, AKA Asada Shino, is mentioned as having cleaned up at the last BoB.

We meet a new woman character in Clarence who LLENN and Fuka initially believe to be just another lecherous dude, albeit a more androgynous one. Turns out she’s a pansexual woman IRL and wants to meet them both. LLENN just wants her magazines, since they’re compatable with P-chan.

She agrees to a kiss (a peck on the cheek) in exchange for the ammo and Clarence’s resignation. She gets both, but they’ve been chatting so long a team has manages to sneak right up to them and initiate an ambush. That team is MMTM, one of the contenders for the SJ2 win, which means LLENN will need every one of the bullets she got from Clarence (who promptly dies) as well as the hope she won’t run out of her famous good GGO luck.