‘Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku’ Season 2 Sets January 2026 Premiere with New Trailer

Studio MAPPA has unveiled the second season of ‘Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku,’ scheduling its premiere for January 2026 on Crunchyroll outside Asia. The announcement, made during a stage event at Jump Festa 2025 on December 22, includes a teaser trailer showcasing intensified battles on Kotaku Island, where executioners and criminals hunt the Elixir of Life amid supernatural horrors. The 13-episode first season, aired from April to July 2023, adapted Yuji Kaku’s manga up to chapter 27, leaving the Lord Tensen arc unresolved.

The trailer highlights Gabimaru the Hollow, voiced by Chiaki Kobayashi, unleashing fire-based Tao manipulation against vine-wielding foes in darker, more visceral sequences rendered with upgraded fluid animation. Returning cast includes Shion Wakayama as executioner Sagiri, Aoi Ichikawa as Yui, and Kenjiro Tsuda as Aza Chobei, with new additions like Natsuki Hanae voicing Yamada Asaemon Shugen, a blind swordsman joining the island expedition. Production retains director Kazuya Nakanishi and composer Yuki Hayashi, who layers traditional Japanese instrumentation over electronic pulses for heightened tension in 14 planned episodes.

Kaku’s original manga, serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump from January 2018 to January 2021 across 13 volumes, sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. The story follows death row inmate Gabimaru, offered pardon for retrieving the elixir from the mythical Shinsenkyo, guarded by immortal Tensen warriors who command elemental Tao powers. Season 2 dives into the Tensen’s hierarchy, introducing antagonists like Zhu Jin, a shape-shifting elder voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, escalating body horror with grotesque mutations and regeneration battles.

MAPPA’s workload, including ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ and ‘Chainsaw Man,’ delayed the sequel from initial 2024 projections to 2026, but the studio allocated 40 percent more budget for VFX, partnering with DNEG for 800 effects shots emphasizing bioluminescent flora and dismemberment physics. The teaser, clocking 90 seconds, features a 30-second cold open of Gabimaru’s clan versus Tensen minions, using 3D-assisted 2D hybrid for dynamic swordplay averaging 120 frames per second in key clashes.

Crunchyroll’s simulcast strategy mirrors the first season’s global rollout, which garnered 150 million streaming minutes in its debut week, topping charts in 85 countries. The platform reports a 25 percent subscriber uptick from dark shonen titles, positioning ‘Hell’s Paradise’ alongside ‘Attack on Titan’ in its catalog. Executive producer Hiroyuki Nakano emphasized fidelity to the manga’s unfiltered gore, rating the series TV-MA for nudity, violence, and psychological trauma.

Complementing the anime, Good Smile Company’s survival RPG ‘Hell’s Paradise: Paradise Battle’ launches November 10, 2025, for iOS, Android, and PC, featuring gacha mechanics with 50 playable characters from the roster. The free-to-play title, developed by GCREST, includes co-op raids simulating island exploration, with microtransactions projected at $5 million in first-month revenue based on similar MAPPA tie-ins.

Fan reception to the announcement hit 2.3 million views on YouTube within 24 hours, with 92 percent positive sentiment on social metrics. The trailer’s cliffhanger teases a Tensen ritual merging human and plant forms, adapting chapters 28 to 55 across the arc’s 12 major confrontations. Voice actor Kobayashi noted in a post-event interview that Gabimaru’s arc explores paternal redemption through 15 new episodes focusing on his pregnant wife’s safety.

This return cements ‘Hell’s Paradise’ in the “dark shonen trio” with MAPPA’s ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ and ‘Chainsaw Man,’ each grossing over $100 million in merchandise since 2020. The manga’s conclusion in volume 13 resolves the elixir quest with a twist on immortality’s cost, but anime producers hint at potential OVAs for side stories like the Asaemon clan’s history. Streaming data from season one shows peak viewership during midnight releases, with U.S. audiences comprising 35 percent of totals.

As production enters final polish, Nakanishi confirmed 70 percent completion on keyframes, utilizing Atlanta’s MAPPA branch for compositing to meet the winter slot. The series’ blend of historical Edo-era aesthetics and eldritch fantasy has drawn comparisons to ‘Vinland Saga,’ with Rotten Tomatoes holding at 95 percent for season one from 120 reviews. Crunchyroll’s licensing extends to dubs in 10 languages, including English led by Aleks Le.

The January window aligns with a crowded 2026 lineup, including ‘My Hero Academia’s’ finale, but ‘Hell’s Paradise’ eyes 200 million minutes in premiere week per internal forecasts. Kaku, who debuted in Marvel’s ‘Moon Knight’ #3 in 2024, expressed support via social media, praising the trailer’s capture of his gore-infused panels. This escalation promises deeper lore on Tao philosophy, where characters harness life-force for godlike feats, challenging Gabimaru’s ninjutsu limits in prolonged duels spanning multiple episodes.