"That's not weakness. It's a type of strenght."

I'm really impressed with Jigokuraku, I didn't expect that much from a shounen, since shinobi fights are not my favorite style. But this one got me.

This review should begin talking about the characters.

When they say this is a story about Gabimaru, or an adventure-fantasy-fight story, I tend to disagree. It's about every character, their relationships and their redemption. While the shogun must give one pardon, we are open to pardon all of the worst outlaws from Japan. Those characters are beautifully shown to us through flashbacks, casual moments and fights. No, the fights are not simply fights, but an excuse to show what's happening at the character's mind - and we would hardly know them if it was not the fights. Forget the condemnations, the bushido. Now they are exposed, we can see them clearly. We can see their motivations, the flow of their thoughts, and because of that, the change is evident. Most of them are not plain; they change wonderfully and humanly, almost tangible. The terrible Gantetsusai, or the egoistic Yuzuriha, Gabimaru the Hollow - they are not the monsters we think they are. They can change, and they are good, but their development is hard, not a miraculous that turns the bad guy into a good guy. They must suffer, love, hate and see other's suffer, and only then they can change. On the other hand, we have those strict, close-minded samurai, who walk through the same path of suffering until they can open their mind to see goodness inside criminals - in such a way they even renounce their samurai duties! Because they are more than samurai who follow rules - they are human,, and see how the criminals are similar to them. I can't forget the villains, who also show a potential of changing. Of course, not all of them could be good, but the glimpses of humanity that those immortals deities reveal is an indicative that they are also open to change, and they could be good if the conditions were different. It doesn't mean you'll love them, or every character, but your judgement won't be that limited.

Next, the story: to summarize, Jigokuraku is about a group of condemned to death super-criminals who are sent to an island - from where it's impossible to come back - where, supposedly, they could find the elixir of life. The one who brings it to the shogun will be pardoned. With each criminal, there is a highly-trained samurai to kill him if necessary. The problem is: the island is ruled by immortal deities who control the Tao, and whose immortality comes from a juice made from humans. If the criminals and the samurai want to come back to Japan, they have to fight together, kill those deities and their monsters.

I must admit, I didn't expect the story to be so deep. I mean, I thought it would be a battle royale of criminals and samurai. But it's about how the criminals and the samurai must adapt to defeat immortal beings. It can be a bit complex, because taoistic references are everywhere, and westerners may not understand it well, so you'll have to pay attention, or you'll get lost. Besides the characters, other subjects made me very glad: the author doesn't explain everything about the power of the characters. Oh, why are the shinobi that strong? Oh, how can they can see Tao? Oh, how the samurai can be that strong without knowing the Tao? It doesn't matter. Actually, it would take more time and brain cells to explain it. This is not Naruto, you'll have to suspend your disbelief and let things go. The narrative technique of telling character's past through flashbacks during fights is really nice, and the story doesn't seem rushed; the flashbacks can hold the fights, explain the characters, and then give the fight a deeper meaning. On the other hand, I didn't like how the fights were developed sometimes; the willpower saves them more than I could deal with, and there should be more deaths if it was not because of that. Maybe I have said before that it's not necessary to explain everything, but "the Tao" is not the answer to everything! It's just deus ex-machina. The fights should have another rhythm if the villains should die. What balances this problem is how hard things get through the story, with more problems coming until the end. They always have a dilemma to solve, so the psychological pressure on the characters is always at the peak.

Now, the art. It's gorgeous. Even when the manga is black and white, I can see the colors through that psychodelic hell's paradise. The characters design is really remarkable, and reflects well their personalities. The contradiction between beauty and brutality in the scenery fills our eyes, and we can understand why the characters say it seems "artificial". The influences of Chinese and Japanese aesthetics, as well the Taoistic and Buddhist imageries turned into monsters and scenarios is astonishing. You see how Eastern this manga is. The eroticism is also attractive, but not vulgar, what means it's done correctly; and this same eroticism counterparts the brutality and blood, following the concept of yin and yang. Finally, remember to spend some time admiring the watercolor paintings before each chapter, and the huge canvas covering entire pages.

I don't think that is necessary to waste more time talking about the enjoyment, as I stated my impressions through this review.
Story: 8/10
Art: 10/10
Character: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Overall: 9/10