While Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku isn't a romance anime, the protagonist's romantic life plays a pivotal role, as he embarks on a horrifying journey for a special someone. So, who does Gabimaru end up with in Hell's Paradise?
Spoiler Warning: There are manga spoilers below!
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Does Gabimaru End Up With Sagiri?
While Gabimaru and Sagiri end up developing a supportive friendship based on mutual respect, they do not develop a romantic relationship.
Initially, Gabimaru and Sagiri don't fully trust each other. Gabimaru goes to great lengths to preserve his reputation as a hollow ninja. However, their relationship develops throughout the island arc.
When Sagiri faces the doubts of a fellow Asaemon, who thinks a woman of the Yamada clan shouldn't be an executioner, Gabimaru tells Sagiri that she is stronger than anyone he knows, recognizing her resolve and integrity.
By the time they leave the island, Sagiri has grown attached to Gabimaru and the other prisoners who accompanied her, and saying goodbye makes her emotional.
In the epilogue of the manga, Sagiri visits Gabimaru and his wife but we don't get to see their reunion because Gabimaru is asleep.
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Does Gabimaru End Up With Yui?
After a long adventure, Gabimaru manages to escape with his life and return to his wife, Yui. Throughout the manga, several flashbacks reveal that -- despite his claims of the opposite -- Gabimaru and Yui's married life was wholesome and happy.
Gabimaru was the only person not to react poorly to Yui's scarred face, and she was the only one who didn't treat him as a monster because of his abilities.
Keeping Yui safe and happy was a major motivation for Gabimaru, and almost everything he does is an attempt to go back to her.
The reason Gabimaru finds himself imprisoned and sentenced to death in the first place is that he tried to quit his shinobi lifestyle to give Yui the everyday life she hoped for.
While Yui's father, the village chief, pretended to consider Gabimaru's request to leave, he instead betrayed him.
Since Yui never physically shows up until the epilogue, Yuzuriha theorizes that she might be a figment of Gabimaru's imagination.
The manga's final chapters defy this theory, as Gabimaru and Yui manage to reunite and, a year later, Sagiri finds them living happily together.
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Should Gabimaru Have Ended Up With Sagiri?
Personally, we don't think so, but many fans do ship Gabimaru and Sagiri. This is not unreasonable, given that we only ever see Yui and Gabimaru interacting in flashbacks, while he spends most of the story with Sagiri.
Their interesting dynamic, complementary fighting styles, and slowly developed friendship make some readers wish that Yui was indeed imaginary and that Gabimaru had stayed with Sagiri instead.
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Why Gabimaru and Yui Are Perfect Together
While Yui isn't as three-dimensional as Sagiri -- given that she's not around for most of the story -- we think that her existence makes Hell's Paradise a much more unique story.
Many shounen anime focus on a male character who goes away to grow stronger and partake in adventures before settling down with the closest thing the show has to a female protagonist.
When this is not the case, many anime resolve to harem tropes instead, treating every female character the protagonist encounters as a potential love interest.
In that sense, it's refreshing to have a male protagonist who has his romantic life figured out -- even if it's the only thing he has figured out.
Gabimaru and Yui bond over the shared trauma of growing up in a hyperviolent society with very strict gender roles and dare hope for a better future.
Their relationship is simple, but healthy relationships aren't meant to be dramatic or overcomplicated.
Although Yui is not a fighter like Sagiri, she knows what she wants. And while we'd like to have seen more of her, she's wholesome in her own right.
It's perfectly fine to ship Sagiri with Gabimaru, but it's equally nice to see a male and a female protagonist, one of whom already has a partner, develop a platonic relationship with no potential for romance.
Besides, many fans also ship Sagiri with Yuzuriha since they stick together after the main events of Hell's Paradise -- and we could see that happening, too.
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