Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku (Manga)

Synopsis

During the Edo period, Gabimaru, an emotionless shinobi assassin, known far and wide as Gabimaru the Hollow, serves his village, Iwagakure, by killing the targets he has been assigned to without a shred of remorse. After proving his worth to his village leader, Gabimaru was rewarded with marriage to the chief's daughter. As he spent his time with her, Gabimaru developed feelings for his wife. This was made apparent by the village leader after Gabimaru asked that he give up his life of crime and be given permission to live a normal life with her. Before he was given an answer, Gabimaru was ordered by the village leader to carry out one last mission, which he accepts. However, Gabimaru found himself betrayed by the village after they left him to be arrested and sentenced to death. Gabimaru undergoes many forms of executions after subconsciously resisting and surviving each one. At the same time, he's interviewed by a woman reporter but later reveals herself to be Yamada Asaemon Sagiri; a member of a clan of highly skilled executioners called the Yamada clan. Sagiri initial attempts to execute Gabimaru but, after hearing about his past, gives him the chance to be free of his wrongdoings and live the normal life he desired with his wife by offering him a mission requested by the shogun. She explains that the shogun is looking to gather a group of death row criminals to compete for a pardon he is willing to give away if one of them can retrieve the Elixir of Life. Its location is at a recently discovered island believed to be Shinsenkyō. However, Gabimaru is warned that the island is dangerous since five expedition teams had not made it back and the only thing that ends up returning is a boat with a man in bloom. With the thought of seeing his wife again motivating him, Gabimaru accepts the mission regardless of the dangers ahead and becomes one out of the ten criminals sent to the island along with the ten Yamada Asaemon's to monitor them. Jigokuraku follows the character development of the surviving criminals and executioners as they try to take on the dangers the island has in store for them. After they all gathered together, they see that working with each other is their best bet in survival to complete the mission and return back to Japan. Lord Tensen, a group of seven immortals, are presented as the main villains throughout the series. Later, a second landing party puts themselves in the middle of the conflict with little regards for the first team's current situation.