Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie Review

Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 begins the action-adventure with a bang. Created by Yūji Kaku, Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 begins the epic journey. Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 features animation production by MAPPA (In This Corner of the World, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill). Featuring theme music performances by Millennium Parade (opening), Ringo Sheena (opening), and Uru (ending). Featuring a lead voice-performance by Chiaki Kobayashi. Additional voice-work by Yumiri Hanamori as Sagiri Yamada Asaemon. Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 will appeal to anime fans seeking a more sophisticated production.

Gabimaru (Chiaki Kobayashi) is a deadly assassin – one of the best in the entire game. Despite being one of the elite assassins for hire, Gabimaru ends up facing his most dangerous task. To fail to accomplish his goal could result in Gabimaru losing his own life.

The assassin finds himself on death row for his villainous crimes. Can Gabimaru survive his latest mission and avoid the death penalty? In the land of Iwagakure, things sometimes seem beautiful at first glance but the line between heaven and hell’s paradise aren’t so far removed.

The character artwork is remarkable. The aesthetic of the character designs makes a big impression on the production. The character designs by Akitsugu Hisagi (Attack on Titan The Final Season Part 2, Kids on the Slope) are noteworthy. The designs by Hisagi certainly make an impressive impression on the production. The aesthetic is well-done in spades.

The animation on Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 is one of the best qualities of the sleekly produced anime. Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 is a beautifully animated anime series and one that certainly stands out as something compelling and visually unique. The art direction is by e-caesar (Classroom For Heroes, Jujutsu Kaisen 0) and it similarly impresses.

The animation overseen by chief animation directors Datto-kun, Koji Hisaki (Attack on Titan The Final Season, Banana Fish) and Ryōta Arima (The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie, Mayonaka Punch) adds a lot to the series aesthetic, too. The animators bring a lot of special qualities to the series. The animation team provides a sense of sophistication to the background animation and the line artwork. The series evokes a more high-class art style compared to many other productions and the quality of the animation plays a distinct role in the artistic direction. The animators brought their A-game to the anime series and this added to the aesthetic wonders of the production.

The cinematography by Hyo Gyu Park (Yasuke, Dorohedoro) is a highlight and one of the strengths of the series. Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 presents a visually lush and imaginative aesthetic. The cinematography makes a solid impression overall and certainly does a good job emphasizing the artistic qualities of the production and the animation.

The score composed by Yoshiaki Dewa (Call of the Night, IRODUKU: The World in Colors) adds a lot of wonderment to the production. Composer Dewa is a talented composer and the music adds to the splendor of the production. The score is a quality one and it adds charm to the production. An impressive effort by Dewa.

Written by Akira Kindaichi (Bakugan Battle Planet, to the abandoned Sacred Beasts), Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 begins the saga. Fans of the action-adventure genre will find some worthwhile elements to explore. Kindaichi explores the series more sophisticated production style with solid writing that adds to the production.

Directed by Kaori Makita (Twittering Birds Never Fly: The Clouds Gather, Banana Fish), Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 surpassed expectations. Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 clearly is ambitious and has a lot of great production qualities. The animation is spectacular and the director brings out good qualities in the production aesthetic and overall style. Hell’s Paradise: Season 1 certainly has a good fanbase for a reason: the series aims high and brings something unique to the table.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Crunchyroll, Hell's Paradise Season 1 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The presentation impresses with crisp and colorful animation. The high-definition visuals are excellent and add to the quality of the video presentation. Crunchyroll provides a colorful and vibrant aesthetic to the production. The result is outstanding. These qualities certainly shine through with the action and the visuals provide a nice impression – the encoding capably working well for the animation.

One of the strengths of the Blu-ray format is the superior encoding quality. Physical media and the Blu-ray disc format provides some distinct advantages over streaming video. Streaming video services are usually lower-quality with a more compressed image. For enthusiasts with nice home theater gear looking for the best possible quality obtainable, the disc format does reward even if sometimes a modest boost. Even though the quality difference is not always night and day and sometimes it is somewhat scientific, there is some assurance in knowing it's a quality option.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 (with English subtitles). The selection of lossless audio options is something to celebrate. A worthwhile package with more to offer fans. The English 5.1 surround sound track has a somewhat more robust soundstage with the rear channels a bit more robust for those wanting that extra 5.1 soundstaging – which can add a bit more detail in the tear channels especially with the score and sound effects. The Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio option is crisp and clear sounding. Dialogue is well reproduced. The English subtitles are well done and are free from egregious spelling errors.

For audiophiles, the lossless audio encoding can sometimes make a significant difference. This is especially true for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts with expensive home theater audio equipment and gear. For example, I own a bit-perfect Marantz audiophile receiver with a top-end DAC, something only found in the most expensive gear. I also use high-resolution certified speakers. These aspects can bring out the subtle nuance in the audio.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release is a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack. The first print run of the release includes a slipcover and unique artwork underneath the slipcover. The effect is "dual artwork" and it makes a solid artistic impression. These types of design elements add a lot to the packaging quality. Something worth celebrating about the package design.

On disc extras include:

Promo Videos (HD, 2:57)

Textless Opening Song (HD, 1:32)

Textless Closing Song (HD, 1:31)

Unfortunately, the release has a smaller supplemental package than fans may have hoped for. The on-disc supplements are sparse. The set only provides some promo videos and textless closing theme videos. Where are the in-depth supplements? There are none. The set could have used some additional supplements ranging from audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, cast/crew interviews, roundtables, photo galleries, and more.

These types of bonus features can often make a difference between one deciding to simply stream a series and move on from it or add it to their permanent collection – more than companies sometimes seem to realize. For bonus features fans looking for exciting extras on a favorite anime, the supplements should be well-rounded. Unfortunately, the supplemental package by Crunchyroll is underwhelming to say the least.

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku: Season 1 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hell's Paradise: Season 1 begins the journey of the epic action-adventure anime. Fans of edgier anime series will want to check it out. The anime has some impression animation and wonderful production merits. The quality of the series is above-average. The Blu-ray release also provides a nice video and audio presentation alongside a small selection of extras – though the bonus features could have been more robust.

The packaging is nice, though – and the dual cover art adds to the package collectability. Fans of the series wanting permanent ownership and a nice box-set for their collection will certainly be tempted to consider a purchase. Others may wish to sample it first with streaming, although some may consider a blind buy, too.