Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku

Honest Opinions:

A solid 8/10. If the end-game was executed better, this would have easily been a 9 or 10.

Story was a masterpiece in early to mid chapters(about 80-90ish). While definitely not breaking new ground, the story was cohesive, felt satisfying to observant readers when you were rewarded for actually understanding about the power system and character motivations, and the pacing was phenomenal. Characters all felt like stars of their own manga, and not one was wasted. Fighting panels were executed well, and looked really damn awesome.

However, that’s all thrown out of the window by the end-game. The power system becomes convoluted, story beats are mis-organized and felt rushed, there’s multiple cuts that draw you out of the action chapter-by-chapter, and the payouts for some character arcs felt- again- rushed.

A small spoiler: The climax with Rien just felt like an ass-pull. Not gonna elaborate just in case, but it really just felt like all the tension and build-up for her climax was just chewed and spat out for the sake of a “satisfying,” happy ending.