Synopsis

Hell's Paradise sends a death-row ninja to an island that wants to kill him, and makes the trip gorgeous. Gabimaru "the Hollow" is a legendary shinobi assassin so empty inside that no execution can seem to end him — until he's offered a way out: sail to a mysterious island rumored to hold the elixir of immortality, retrieve it for the shogun, and win a full pardon. The catch is that the island is a lush, blossoming paradise crawling with monstrous beings and strange, serene threats, and the only thing keeping Gabimaru alive is his reason to return home: his wife. Yuji Kaku fuses samurai-and-shinobi action with body horror and a dreamlike, flower-strewn setting, staging brutal survival against enemies unlike anything in a normal battle manga. Paired with his stone-faced executioner escort, Gabimaru's search for a reason to live gives all the carnage a surprisingly tender center. The manga tells a complete, tightly focused story and the anime is a striking adaptation. If you want something darker and stranger than the usual shonen — beautiful and deadly in equal measure — Hell's Paradise is a bloom worth picking.