Previously on Jigokuraku, Gabimaru and others discovered a mysterious village in Shinsenkyo. Aza Chobei and his brother Toma had discovered strange creatures that had human form but were far from being one.
Spoilers Ahead
Episode 7: Recap: Flowers And Offerings
The episode began with Aza and Toma finding the creatures who were indulged in love-making. Their steamy session got disturbed and now Aza and Toma find themselves in trouble as the shape-shifting creatures recognize human presence and go in for the kill.
Gabimaru and the others worry about going further into the village. Gabimaru wasn’t concerned about discovering actual hermits. He focused on discovering whether the people living there would act as friends or enemies. He wasn’t exactly certain that it would serve them anything to risk going into the village, which looked menacing as it is, surrounded by a thick mist. A foreign presence loomed over them, but neither Gabimaru nor Sagiri could sense it at first, but after a slight disturbance, Gabimaru turned to find a young girl looking right at him.
Gabimaru ran towards her but she was being guarded by a giant monster made completely out of wood. It took a swing at him to stop him from catching the girl but Gabimaru smashed him to the ground and went to hunt for the girl. Why was he so willing to get a hold of her? It was because the village could hold creatures that were invincible. A little girl, who has the human form, roamed around freely which could only mean that she knew how to survive on the deadly island. She could have had a taste of the Elixir itself. Gabimaru went into the chase to get Elixir’s location from the little girl.
The girl proved too swift for Gabimaru and when he made an extra effort to catch her, she maneuvered him into a martial arts move and put him on the ground. Gabimaru was indeed stunned by her abilities. How could this little girl manage to do what she just did? Was she even human?
Sagiri couldn’t have left Gabimaru alone. She cared too much about him. So leaving Yuzuriha and Yamada Senta to fight the giant themselves, she ran off behind Gabimaru.
Yuzuriha, not afraid in the least, from his monitor, took poor Senta’s eyeglasses away and decided to use Ninjutsu against the log-swinging monster. Back in the forest, Sagiri succeeded in doing what Gabimaru couldn’t. Her simple declaration that she simply wanted to talk to the girl made her stop or so Sagiri thought.
When Sagiri reached the girl, she turned and with a fist glowing with the aura as if it was made of gold, tried to pack a deadly punch. Sagiri saw it coming but Gabimaru came in between them to receive the blow. First the martial art and now this almost-fatal punch from such a little girl really pissed Gabimaru off. Why couldn’t anything on this island be simple just for once, Gabimaru questioned himself. Even little girls now could land a fatal blow. Gabimaru had enough of it, and tied her using the hanging roots of the trees.
Expecting another shocking move from the girl, Gabimaru stood absolutely stunned when she began to cry. He looked at Sagiri for answers. Sagiri looked at him and couldn’t believe that Gabimaru was seeing a killer even in the little girl. Well, she did try to kill him, but in front of those tears, no reasoning could stop Sagiri from untying the girl.
Yuzuriha spotted them after neutralizing the giant and when they discussed what to do with the girl, it spoke for the first time to let the girl come back to it. Everybody is shocked to hear the giant wooden tree trunk of a monster speak in their tongue. He offered them good food and a nice bath if they let the girl go. Hearing of a bath, Yuzuriha got so excited that nobody could convince her otherwise. Everyone, trusting the monster despite their reservations, decide to let the girl go and follow it towards the village.
After a relaxing bath, critical information is shared. Eisha, Horo, and Horai were the three levels on the island. The outermost part where much of the action happened, was Eisha, the middle part was Horo where everybody currently was and the Elixir would be found in the innermost part called the Horai. Gabimaru got his heart pumping for it was now certain that the Elixir existed and he really had the chance to go back to his wife. The opportunity was finally a true one. He asked for proof from the monster nonetheless. From then on, a series of spine-chilling details were given about the Tensen.
Who Were The Tensen?
The creatures spotted by Aza Chobei and Toma at the beginning of the episode were the Tensen. Perfect in their form with the ability to shape-shift, they are the most powerful beings on the island. No one survives in a battle against them. The ones who got punished by them turned into flowers. Aza Chobei didn’t know this when he chopped one of the Tensen in half that he would grow it back and then punish him for overstepping his bounds. He ends up in a pit with Toma as punishment.
Episode 7: Review
The episode had a very strong background to it. With human-like Tensen already shown in the previous episode, this one managed to nicely structure the details so as to make it engaging. With the three zones of the island clear to Gabimaru, the series becomes exciting just because he will finally get to galvanize all his willpower and strength to get the Elixir. In his way stand the Tensen who are made to feel like invincible gods. The upcoming episodes will surely be a blast. Meanwhile, you can catch this one, it’s streaming on Crunchyroll.