Who is the real villain in Hell’s Paradise?

Hell’s Paradise follows Gabimaru in his quest of acquiring the Elixir of Life to gain pardon and return home to his wife. Throughout the series, there are various evil characters he comes across – but who is the real villain in Hell’s Paradise?

Hell’s Paradise is a popular dark shonen series that was recently adapted into anime by MAPPA Studio. The stellar art, intriguing soundtrack, and varying powers are enough to draw viewers in. However, the most captivating element of the story is the fascinating characters.

The story draws a fine line between criminals and evil as those who have committed a crime aren’t necessarily evil. Likewise, those on the side of the government aren’t always good. Hell’s Paradise introduces new characters in almost every episode. 

Characters such as the Iwagakure Chief, the monsters, and even the Shogun are considered antagonists. And yet, none of them are the true enemies that are fated to stand in Gabimaru’s way. The real villain in Hell’s Paradise is hiding in the shadows and has yet to be introduced in the anime.

Rien is the real villain in Hell’s Paradise

The members of Lord Tensen are all considered the rulers of Kotaku – the name of the island commonly referred to as Shinsenkyo. However, Rien is not only the leader of Lord Tensen but also the real ruler of the island. 

She has created all the immortal beings on the island and even made several puppets of her own. Through centuries of experiments, the island became something out of a fantasy. 

Rien was born as a human and came to the island over a thousand years ago. Because she was a mortal, she had to create a puppet – which can have all her memories.

What is Rien’s goal in Hell’s Paradise?

Rien wasn’t the only one who came to the island over a thousand years ago. She followed her husband, Gofuku in his search of the Elixir for his lord. They set sail with 3,000 voyagers and settled on the island after Gofuku declared himself the ruler. 

He was a Buddhist priest, trying to unlock the secrets to immortality by following the principles of Taoism. He and Rien experimented with Tao and created abnormal, immortal creatures.

After his death, Rien preserved Gofuku’s body using arborification. Her goal is to simply revive her husband using the Elixir of Life. However, the Elixir never existed in the first place, even after researching for a millennium. 

Rien realized that humans with Tao are much more valuable for her experiments. They were the key to creating the “perfect” Elixir that could bring her husband back to life. Sadly, even after luring humans into the island, it wasn’t enough. 

Thus, she decided to transform all of humanity into Tan, which will arborify their bodies for eternity. In the end, even the perfect result was something incompatible with humans as it would transform them into a tree. 

Even though she is the main villain in Hell’s Paradise, Rien wasn’t truly evil. Even her puppet showed feelings of remorse whenever she would hurt one of her own. However, blinded by her desire to see Gofuku, Rien was responsible for the deaths of countless humans. She redeems herself in the end and heals Gabimaru and Sagiri before letting her disintegrate.

Hell’s Paradise can currently be streamed on Crunchyroll. In the meantime, check out our other TV hubs below:

Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 3 | Bleach Thousand Year Blood War Part 2 | Chainsaw Man Season 2 | BRZRKR movie | Jigokuraku Hell’s Paradise | Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 | Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Invincible Season 2