Hells Paradise Volume 3, by Yuji Kaku, was the best of the first 3 so far. After discovering the village, Gabimaru, Sagiri and the rest of the main group of characters find the first set of friendly islanders. From them they begin to learn more about the island and the existence of the elixir of life is finally confirmed. However, they are also warned about the true leaders of the island, the Tensen, who finally begin to make their appearance.

The art style is as good as the previous volumes. I found myself still enjoying the fight scenes and I like how consistently good the art has been this volume.

The story this volume had a lot be revealed about the island. The reveal of the confirmation of the existence of the elixir was a scene I enjoyed a lot as we get to see Gabimaru’s conviction reaffirmed in returning to his wife. It was also really revealing to see how much doubt and uneasiness the whole situation had on him. Kaku manages to convey the sheer palpable sense of relief in this scene through his art excellently.

Finding out the structure of the island via the drawings was a good choice that explained everything well. I found it very interesting to think of how much research must have been put into the making of this manga, as seen in the fashion corner showing how detailed the designs of the clothes of the characters are for historical consistency.

The story remained well paced with the amount of progression shown here. I was not expecting more characters to die until the end of the manga, but this volume show’s Kaku’s dedication to making none of the characters, except Gabimaru and Sagiri as the main duo, feel safe. The introduction to the Tensen was well done, with them being well established as a major threat. It was good how Kaku made them dislikable as well as entertaining as they all seem to have an interesting dynamic with each other.

The characters so far feel well developed and distinct personality wise. As this is a more ensemble cast of characters this is a massive strength. I like how flashbacks are being used here to deepen Gabimaru’s character. I hope next volume we get some more from Senta and Yuzuriha.

The manga felt set up as a battle royale story at the beginning, but I do see all the prisoners and executioners teaming up moving forward against the bigger threat. I see some setup that Gabimaru’s wife is not as she seems, so I do look forward to seeing if my speculation leads anywhere.

To sum up, this volume was very well done, and I enjoyed it a lot. A lot got revealed this volume, providing a lot of much needed catharsis and the main villains are finally fully introduced.

I look forward to volume 4, I’d give this a 4.7/5

You can check out this volume of Amazon via my affiliate link here.