Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku is MAPPA's contribution to the Spring anime lineup and thus far, it is shaping up to be one of 2023's best. With its engaging plot and interesting cast of characters, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku serves as a brilliant final adaptation to complete the so-called "Shо̄nen Dark Trio". Speaking of characters, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku as a narrative has brought characters together and thrown them into the danger pit that is Shinsenkyо̄, an island that teeters the fine line between paradise and hell.
Each death-row convict is assigned a samurai executioner from the Yamada Asaemon clan of sword-testers; however, as the Hell's Paradisde: Jigokuraku narrative has developed, there has been some kind of emerging trend: these Asaemon-Criminal pairings seem to have some kind of rationale behind each of them. Seeing how Gabimaru's relationship with Sagiri has opened up a torrent of development for both of them, the remaining pairings have a similar element of "fate" to them. So, what's the rationale behind the pairings of each Yamada Asaemon and their assigned criminal?
Pragmatism
The whole reason for Yamada Asaemon being assigned to a convict is to prevent dissent from the criminals who would obviously take an opportunity to be free if it were presented to them, but also to improve the odds of success regarding the expedition to find the Elixir of Life. Granted that the shogunate understood the various criminals eventually recruited into the Vanguard Party as elite criminals who have abilities comparable to literal superpowers in some cases, the executioners are the most likely to stand a chance if such individuals were to engage them. This is the most obvious and pragmatic reason to assign top swordsmen to escort top criminals; however, when it comes to the individual pairings themselves, the reasons go far beyond pragmatism.
Some examples of pragmatic pairings include the pairing of Eizen, the top-ranked Asaemon, with a criminal as unpredictable as Rokurōta, the Beast of Bizen whose physical strength is unparalleled and unrestricted; the pairing of Shion, the blind samurai with the sexual provocateur and cannibal courtesan who'd be able to seduce her way into an advantageous position with an attendant who can see. One of the best examples of this; however, is the pairing of the Aza brothers Chōbei and Tōma. Having infiltrated the Yamada Clan after Chōbei's arrest, Toma made use of his position to recruit his brother, who'd been placed on death row, to go together with him on the expedition to Shinsenkyō. This prison break attempt is evidence of the brothers' strong bond, but also of their undying desire to establish freedom for themselves, on their own terms.
Folly
Some of the pairings seem to have been for the sake of a level of irony. In the case of the criminal conman Makiya Moro's pairing with Genji, an Asaemon who was suited only for battle and not much else, the dynamic was effectively setup to be that of an intelligent slimeball and his slow but well-meaning nemesis who fails to see the plot as it unfolds in front of him. The consequence would be a kind of exhibition of Makiya's skills as a deceiver; however, Makiya himself was seduced and used by the far more conniving Yuzuriha, whose own intelligence is shown to be leagues ahead of his. This is because she not only decommissions Makiya, but manages to seduce Genji to use him to the same effect he would have been: as a litmus test of his paired criminal's ability. Either way, Genji was set up to fail as his simplemindedness would've made him susceptible to Makiya's trickery on one hand; Yuzuriha's seductive charm and trickery on the other hand. Genji's underestimation of women also made him even more susceptible to Yuzuriha, and less likely to simply decapitate her upon discovering what she'd done to Makiya because of the way he saw women.
On some level, Eizen's pairing with Rokurōta falls under this category as on the surface, pitting a strong samurai against a strong criminal makes perfect sense; however, the giant's developmental disabilities made him impossible to use as an effective member of any expedition party because he could never follow instruction to begin with. His presence on Kotaku would then, by that logic, have been a disposal attempt, and therefore, pointless to send him to his death with a friend. A tiny but hugely important element that Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku has been throwing into the mix over the course of the past eight episodes is the internal workings and politics of the Yamada Clan particularly when it comes to succession. Eizen, as the 1st ranked Yamada Asaemon, was the first in line to be the next head of the clan; however, combat prowess is the last considered facet of any candidate's eligibility – meaning that the Rokurota-Eizen pairing was never necessarily a pairing of a strong samurai with a strong criminal. Eizen never had a chance, and his death may have been a simple mistake, or a well-planned assassination.
Birds of a Feather
One major trend in the pairings is that of similar origin. First introduced with Gabimaru and Sagiri, and the manner in which Sagiri's presence was much like a mirror held up to the ninja in his denial, and then vice-versa when it came to Sagiri's struggle with her pensiveness around killing people, the pairing between the main duo of Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku worked as a means to develop both of them as characters and exhibit them as two sides of the same coin: two individuals raised as killers grappling with the weight of their actions over time, trying to forge ahead in their own lives on their own terms. Gabimaru is also reminded of his wife by Sagiri from time to time, as they share similar values and ideas about life, which deepens the level of connection and the manner in which they act as catalysts for each other's development.
Similarly, Nurugai and Tenza are birds of a feather, having both been outcasts at some point in their lives and living at the mercy of an Asaemon who came to pity them. After Tenza's death in episode 8; however, the similarity between him and Nurugai will also extend to having had Yamada Asaemon Shion as a mentor of sorts. With Gantetsusai and Yamada Asaemon Fuchi, the similarities aren't so obvious; however, they are both passionate to the point of it being excessive, and despite his logical approach, Fuchi is as insane and daring as Gantetsusai is when he is really pushed to the brink. The personal transcendence that Gabimaru and Sagiri achieve over the course of their relationship both before and during the expedition is something that Senta and Yuzuriha come to experience in the coming arcs of the story, and despite their differences, Senta's ability to understand Yuzuriha's true intentions becomes the basis of the development of a major relationship for them both.