Most Tragic Deaths In Hell’s Paradise/Jigokuraku

Hell’s Paradise or Jigokuraku follows the story of Gabimaru , a deadly young ninja who wants nothing more than to leave behind his bloody life and reunite with his wife. When caught and sentenced to execution, Gabimaru is offered a chance at freedom, that is if he can survive a mission to the mysterious island of Shinsenkyo. This island is said to hold the Elixir of Life, but it’s also crawling with horrifying, godlike monsters and dangers beyond human imagination.

Gabimaru is paired with Sagiri Yamada Asaemon, a skilled female executioner, and together with other death-row convicts (each watched by an Asaemon executioner). Now they must fight supernatural godlike creatures and also face rival convicts, while uncovering the island’s dark, divine secrets.

It isn’t a stranger to getting its characters killed in the most horrific way possible. In a manga where dead is lurking everywhere, it becomes certain that somebody’s getting killed when the story start focusing on them a bit too much. Here are some of the most tragic we’ve see in Hell’s Paradise.

⚠️Disclaimer: SPOILERS BELOW⚠️

10) Rien — the antagonist who became heartbreak

Rien’s final scenes flip the “villain” script. Her motivations (resurrecting Jofuku, the man she loved) are obsessive and monstrous, but Kaku spends time making her grief and its cost — intelligible. Rien’s death in the finale is cathartic and tragic because it ends a love story warped by obsession: she destroys herself trying to be reunited with her husband, and that human longing makes her fall especially painful.

9) Yamada Asaemon Tenza — the kind executioner

Tenza is introduced as a talented, earnest Asaemon who genuinely cares for his assigned prisoner, Nurugai. His decision to sacrifice himself rather than abandon her is simple and irrevocable, one of the earliest emotional gut-punches in the manga. Fans and critics frequently cite his death as the series’ most heart-breaking single scene. (It’s a pivotal early moment that defines the story’s moral stakes.)

8) Rokurōta — the “child giant” and its brutal end

Rokurōta is monstrous but written with tragic notes (he’s not evil by choice). When Sagiri beheads him after an exhausting fight and we later see her quiet, remorseful talk to his severed head — the sequence lands like a hammer: brutal violence + visible regret. It’s a death that forces the protagonists (and readers) to confront what “justice” costs.

7) Yamada Asaemon Fuchi — the grim, complex executioner

Fuchi’s arc flips expectations: he’s creepy at first but reveals genuine honor. His death (defending those he unexpectedly values) shows the character’s quiet growth and that makes his end emotionally resonant. Reviews and recaps highlight Fuchi as one of the losses that ’stuck’ with readers.

6) Shugen — devotion that breaks the body

Shugen is a fanatic samurai whose final act is equal parts duty and madness: he uses so much Tao in a single slash that his body gives out. Kaku frames this as the destructive side of devotion — someone who gives everything to a principle until there’s nothing left. The moment is gruesome but thematically perfect.

5) Tesshin and several Asaemon (flashback casualties)

Some deaths are framed in flashback (e.g., Tesshin) and reveal the cost of the Asaemon line. Those flashbacks build the weight of the present-day tragedy you feel those losses again when the next generation fights. (Fandom episode pages and the “list of deaths” breakdown have the full roster.)

4) Senta Yamada Asaemon— a small, sweet arc that ends sadly

Senta’s last scene (slowly succumbing to the island’s flowers after helping the group) is quiet and tender — the opposite of big spectacle, but that slow fade is emotionally corrosive. Epic recaps point to Senta’s passing as a scene that humanizes the cost of the mission.

3) Eizen & Genji — brutal casualties to Rokurōta

These deaths are grisly and underline the island’s cruelty: strong Asaemon warriors are not invincible. Watching skilled, principled fighters fall quickly helps sell the idea that nobody is safe. The list-of-deaths and character pages show the sequence of events.

2) Minor convicts & nameless victims (the cumulative tragedy)

Kaku uses mass or off-screen deaths to remind readers why the island is Hell: faceless bodies, executed comrades, and burned coffins. They’re not single-scene losses, but their accumulation makes the final chapters heavier. (See the “list of deaths” breakdowns for the full tally.)

1) Jofuku (motif death) — the ghost at the center of Rien’s story

Jofuku’s “death” comes before the main timeline, but his fate (and Rien’s attempt to undo it) is the narrative engine for the last act. The tragedy here is structural: a love that won’t accept loss produces the apocalypse-level stakes Kaku explores. So Jofuku’s absence is felt in every major loss thereafter.

Note: Death’s are not ranked accordingly

💭 In your opinion, which death in the manga/anime was most tragic and why? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Image Credit MAPPA