‘Hell’s Paradise’: Does the Elixir of Life Exist & Do They Find It?

Hell’s Paradise has become a major hit in the world of anime and manga thanks to the recently-premiered anime series, which doesn’t really surprise us, as we’ve seen what a great show it actually is. In light of that fact, fans have, naturally, begun to ask questions about the series and its lore, and one of these questions has actually inspired this article today. Seeing how the Hell’s Paradise series is truly one of the season’s biggest hits, we have decided to dedicate yet another article to the wonderful world of this manga and reveal some additional information about one of the major concepts of the series – the Elixir of Life. As you know, the shogun’s search for the Elixir of Life is what actually kickstarted the whole series, and we think that it is time for us to tell you whether it actually exists and whether the protagonists find it in the end.

The Elixir of Life is the name for a completed Tan elixir that supposedly gives the drinker immortality. The Tan is actually a prototype of the final product, and the Elixir of Life is derived from it. It is known that the Elixir, in small doses, can grant the drinker a powerful healing factor, but since drinking larger amounts causes Arborification, it is unknown whether the Elixir actually lives up to its reputation. The protagonists actually found it and managed to retrieve it in the end.

The rest of this article will focus on the Elixir of Life and its role in the overall lore of Hell’s Paradise, as well as the importance of this strange drink for the story of the manga. The Elixir of Life is the principal element that kickstarted the plot and the main thing that everyone is looking for in the series and is the center of all its happenings, so we will tell you everything you need to know. Be careful, though, as the article will be filled with spoilers.

The Elixir of Life does exist, but you have to know that it’s not Tan – Tan is something different

Now, before we get directly to the topic, let us just go back to the beginning of the story, as we think it is necessary to do so if we want to fully elaborate on the importance of the Elixir. As every fan of Hell’s Paradise will know by now, the story starts off with Gabimaru, the protagonist of the series and a very peculiar character at that, being sentenced to death. A former shinobi, Gabimaru the Hollow, is introduced as a convict scheduled to be executed.

But, due to some supernatural abilities, he cannot be killed by the magistrates, surviving numerous execution attempts and methods, including decapitation, burning at the stake, and hot oil.

While he is waiting for the next unsuccessful execution, we see him talk to a girl who seems to be recording his story in written form. She is actually the royal chronicler and executioner, Yamada Asaemon Sagiri. Sagiri is the one who ultimately deduced that Gabimaru doesn’t want to die, i.e., that he is lying that he cannot be killed because he wants to see his wife again. After discovering that and proving that he can be killed, Sagiri offers him to go on a mission for the shogun, a dangerous one, but a mission that could provide him with a full royal pardon. Gabimaru accepts and is then taken away by Sagiri.

In a meeting with the shogun himself, Gabimaru discovers that the main mission is to locate a so-called Elixir of Life, a mysterious potion that would, supposedly, grant immortality to its drinker. It is understandable why the shogun would want it. The Elixir is supposedly located on a mysterious and dangerous island called Kotaku, and the Shogun is sending the criminals there to retrieve it in exchange for a royal pardon because they’re expendable, and he does not want to lose any more of his men. Seeing this as an opportunity to see his wife again, Gabimaru excepts, regardless of the perils.

They met and defeated numerous monsters on the island before meeting Mei and Hoko, a talking tree. Hoko provided them with information about the island and its geography. They also revealed some valuable information about the monsters on the island, themselves, as well as their future enemies.

Hōko also confirmed that the elixir, known as Tan, really does exist, showing its effect on himself as he pulled out his own arm, which then simply grew back. At this moment, the existence of the mysterious potion was confirmed, and Gabimaru and the others knew what they were looking for.

Now, what is the Elixir exactly? Well, Hoko referred to it as Tan, but while Tan grants the drinker amazing regenerative abilities (we’ve seen the Tensen drink it), it is not exactly the Elixir of Life – it is only a prototype. The Tan elixir is harvested from Arborified humans, as was confirmed later in the story.

When exposed to Tan, humans usually don’t survive the Arborification process, so they can be used to create the potion, but that potion, as Rien knew, was not the final product. Only after numerous experiments on Aza Chōbei, Rien succeeded in creating the proper Elixir of Life in that aspect. This was her long-time goal, but it wasn’t until the plot of the story that she managed to finally do it.

So, what are the effects of this Elixir, and does it live up to its name? Well, we don’t actually know. Namely, the Elixir was initially taken from Rien by the second landing party; Shugen then drank a small amount of the potion to check for poisons and discovered that he gained regenerative abilities, but it did not seem like he had become immortal at that moment.

The Tensen recaptured it and brought it to Rien once again, but it was taken by the humans, as Gabimaru and the others finally found it and returned to Edo with it. At that moment, no one knew whether it was the real deal or not.

Before trying it, the shogun actually had the seemingly immortal Iwagakure chief taste it to see its effects, and the villain actually turned into a tree. This is how we found out that the Elixir, when ingested in larger amounts, causes complete Arborification. So, the Elixir acts like Tan in smaller amounts, but when ingested in larger amounts, it causes complete Arborification. So, does it grant immortality? We actually don’t know.

After the Iwagakure chief became a tree, no one really drank more potion. They feared its effects, and while it is possible that the potion actually doesn’t work, it might also be that it works only for those who can survive the Arborification it initiates. This means that if one’s strong enough to survive through the Arboficiation, they could very well become immortal. But, sadly, we will never know that.