Hell’s Paradise: Is Yamada Asaemon Tenza Really Dead?

Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku by Yūji Kaku is filled with some amazing and memorable characters, and in this article, we have decided to talk about one specific character in the series – Yamada Asaemon Tenza. Nurugai’s retainer proved to be a pretty layered character, and his fight against Zhu Jin revealed a lot of details from his backstory, but also his ultimate fate in the series. Yamada Asaemon Tenza was defeated by Zhu Jin, seemingly sacrificing himself so that Shion and Nurugai could escape. In this article, we will reveal whether Yamada Asaemon Tenza died in Hell’s Paradise or whether we can expect more of him in the future.

Yamada Asaemon Tenza is, sadly, dead in the series, and while he might appear in some later flashback scenes in Hell’s Paradise, he did, indeed, die during the fight with Zhu Jin. His death was noble, as he sacrificed himself to rescue his mentor, Yamada Asaemon Shion, and his “criminal,” Nurugai, with whom he had built a very friendly relationship. He also proved to be a powerful swordsman, but he was nowhere near Zhu Jin’s level.

The rest of this article will focus on Yamada Asaemon Tenza and his fate in the Hell’s Paradise series. Yamada Asaemon Tenza was a very intriguing and much-beloved character in the Hell’s Paradise lore, and it only makes sense that the fans want to know what happened to him, so we have decided to compose this article. This article will contain some spoilers from the Hell’s Paradise manga, so be careful how you approach it.

Tenza rose from a horrible past to become a noble warrior

Anime fans will know that light novels rarely end up being adapted into anime format, but Episode 8 of the Hell’s Paradise anime actually provided us with a chapter from the Jigokuraku: Utakata no Yume light novel, released back in 2019. The anime showed us what happened in Chapter 4 of the light novel, the penultimate chapter, which was titled “Cherry Blossom Garden” (Japanese: 桜咲く庭, Sakura Saku Niwa), and which gave us an insight into Tenza’s training with Shion.

The episode in question provided us with an in-depth look into Tenza’s history while fighting the Tensen Zhu Jin. It revealed how he had parents who did not want to care for him and had to steal and live like a criminal to survive. At one moment, he was taken in by the Asaemon to train as a swordsman, but due to his rebellious nature, he could not really align himself with the strict rules and wanted to leave.

His teacher, Shion, told him that he could leave but asked him to do it only after he managed to hit him in training. Tenza wanted to leave the next morning but was found by Eizen, who took him for a walk and showed him the grave of Shion’s former pupil.

Eizen revealed that Shion was not a good teacher back then and that this particular pupil also left them because of his stubbornness. After that, he resorted to a life of crime and was found and sentenced to death; Shion was the one who executed him, which was a sad moment for him.

This story actually influenced Tenza a lot, and he decided to remain with Shion, becoming his pupil. This is why Tenza was so loyal to Shion when they encountered him on the island and why he ultimately did what he had to protect himself and Nurugai. So, what happened there?

While Tenza and Nurugai explored the island before they met with Shion, who would tell them his story, Zhu Jin met them and attacked them. Zhu Jin was the first Tensen who appeared, and while they looked human, they proved to be more powerful than any of the monsters the characters encountered on the island. Zhu Jin was faster, stronger, and more powerful than them.

They had some special abilities, and while Shion and Tenza managed to injure them, they recovered quickly, which proved to be an absolute shock for everyone. It quickly became quite obvious that the two Asaemon and Nurugao stood no chance against Zhu’s Yang form, and it was only after Shion intervened to help them that they managed to escape.

They ran away and seemingly escaped the Tensen, thinking they had killed or injured them gravely. Be that as it may, they thought that Zhu Jin was not a threat then. But they were wrong. Not long after that, Zhu Jin appeared quickly behind them, and another fight broke out.

Once again, Zhu Jin did not go all out on them, but they managed to slice Shion’s neck, complimenting the Asaemon for surviving the attack, as Zhu Jin thought that they had completely sliced off the Asaemon’s neck. With Nurugai taking care of the bleeding Shion, who managed to stop the bleeding with a piece of cloth, Tenza was the only one who could stop the Tensen. This was when another fight broke out and when we actually saw why Tenza was so close to Shion and why he called him his master (teacher).

But, while the memories were filled with hope and growth, the battle was not. Zhu Jin started fighting seriously, and it became obvious that Tenza would lose, as he couldn’t really hit Zhu Jin properly, and even if he did, Tensen would simply recover. On the other hand, Zhu Jin’s strength and agility proved to be too much for the Asaemon, and he was quickly, fatally wounded by Zhu Jin.

Still, Tenza managed to retain some of his fighting spirit, and he continued to fight even though he was on the verge of dying. This was, of course, done to give Shion and Nurugai time to escape, as Tenza decided to sacrifice himself to save the lives of his master and Nurugai. Shion wanted to help, and even Nurugai wanted to jump in after Tenza was fatally injured, but Shion stopped her, and the two of them escaped.

Even while practically dying, Tenza used all his remaining strength to fight Zhu Jin and successfully stalled the Tensen. His sacrifice was ultimately proof of his noble personality. It showed that he cared for Nurugai and that he respected his master, Shion, incredibly. He was willing to give up his own life in the fight against an opponent he knew he could not defeat just to save the two of them, which was the noblest thing he could have done.

It hurt Nurugai, who seemed to have fallen for Tenza during their time together, and she was – because she was also noble – willing to rush into the fight, despite knowing that she would have died, but Shion stopped her, implying that Tenza’s sacrifice would, in that case, have been in vain. The two used the opportunity to escape; thus, Tenza’s plan was ultimately successful.

Zhu Jin was stalled long enough for Shion and Nurugai to escape, and after recovering once more, Zhu Jin did not have the will to search for the two and simply went back to the Hōrai, where they would ultimately meet and fight Gabimaru, almost killing him; Gabimaru was, luckily, saved by Mei, also a Tensen, which was a move that surprised Zhu Jin, who would ultimately get scolded by the other Tensen in a later meeting.

So, getting back to Tenza, is the Asaemon really dead? Based on the gravity of his injuries and what we’ve seen in the series, he certainly does seem to be dead, but anime fans will know that this doesn’t have to be a guarantee, as even characters who have been subjected to heavier injuries managed to survive. But, for all those of you – yours truly included – who enjoyed Tenza as a character, especially in terms of his growth and evolution, we have to state that, sadly, he is, indeed, dead.

He died at the hands of Zhu Jin in this battle in one of the series’ saddest battles, but it was also one of the series’ noblest moments which showed just how great Tenza actually was.