#gabimaru the marshmallow

[adoranymph]

Unofficially dubbing Gabimaru the "tiny murder marshmallow". You can even toast and roast him.

[summercreolefanfictioner]

Well, I can understand how's that Jigokuraku anime-only watchers jump into the assumption that Gabimaru and Sagiri would end up together. I mean, their dynamics are strongly exposed episodes to episodes. In the current episode, they seems already understanding each other. Meanwhile Yui only appears in Gabi's memory. Although Gabimaru still mentioning his wife like always, it gave the "okay, something isn't right with our MC that he's overly obsessed to his wife, there must be something fishy about his wife" vibes. Moreover, in the opening theme we saw a scene where Yui is bowing and multiple doors slam right before her. Also that scene where Yui and Gabimaru are standing face to face, then suddenly Yui is replaced with Sagiri. That's dragging people to conclusion "so the wife is going to disappear?" "Ohhh sure they will get seperated". It must be spend years to get all the episodes animated. I hope people would take their time to read the manga since it worth reading (and remove their bad thought about Yui's existence).

(tbh I agree with you on the last part since I would love if people would just read the manga but alas some of them have no patience)

in my honest opinion, I like both ships (gabiyui and gabisagi). it's just that I don't ship sagiri and gabimaru romantically and I know well they won't develop any romantic feelings for one another (I have canon evidence for this). and even if I didn't read the manga, I would be aware that gabimaru is fixated on being with yui as soon as possible and this is evidenced by episode 1 up until episode 6 (I am writing this in a time where episode 6 is the latest ep)

episode 1 already hinted abt yui being closed off from the public after gabimaru was arrested. she doesn't talk to anyone. she doesn't eat the meals prepared for her. she is basically locked up in the house she shared with gabimaru in iwagakure, waiting for his return bcos she knows he will return to her. remember, they already had this one convo that if ever he wanted to leave the village and stop killing, she will stay and follow him.

and gabimaru, realizing that she was still out there waiting for him (as per sagiri in episode 1), decided to embark on this whole shinsenkyo journey. hence why this toasted marshmallow of a guy (huhu I am sorry) is like "let's go find the elixir" "I can't waste more time" "I need to return to my wife" to the point of almost killing sagiri bcos he has to get the elixir before the other iwagakure ninjas make landfall. in short, as much as possible, gabimaru wanted this shinsenkyo trip to end quickly (as evidenced in episode 6). the only time he made a stop on rushing their journey is when sagiri fainted due to her injuries and inhaling poison (w/c was gabimaru's fault so yeah nothing romantic there)

and I don't think there's anything suspicious abt gabimaru thinking or mentioning his wife or something. dude has nothing after all other than yui. remember, the only good thing in iwagakure that gabimaru has is his wife and with her, he learned a lot of things (like saying thanks, praying to gods, cooking like a normal couple, emotions called love and hatred and weakness).

as for sagiri, well she has a lot on her plate given how men always look down on her being a samurai and that she should just be a woman and go home and bear children from the next yamada head. hence why she was always in a constant "I am a samurai and I will not back down just bcos you see me as a woman" thing. but hey episode 6 has highlighted her in a new light so yeah I am glad people are now changing their opinions abt sagiri bcos she ain't weak as what they deemed her to be. plus given how she's has not been sent off to the battlefield before shinsenkyo, it makes sense why some people look down on her.

I know there's a lot of emotional development and learnings gabimaru and sagiri have with each other throughout the series, but I don't think it's something that will turn romantic (even Mappa emphasized in the ending song abt sagiri's wish for gabimaru and yui to be reunited and this also speaks abt the song). one thing abt Hell's Paradise that I like is that they make all romantic ships SO OBVIOUS AND STRAIGHTFORWARD. like viewers won't have to think "I think this person will fall for this person" or "there's sexual tension" bcos the show will let you know if there is romance blooming.

besides, just bcos two people develop emotionally together, doesn't mean there has to be something romantic between them. you can grow emotionally through a reliable mentor, a close friend, a stranger, a scene from a movie or drama. in short: NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO DO WITH ROMANCE.

plus I take Hell's Paradise as gabimaru's redemption arc but also sagiri's new beginning arc. bcos after this trip, gabimaru will finally have his happy ending while sagiri will embark on her own journey (they just met in the middle to teach each other an important lesson)

and I didn't know people take the opening like that hehe. tbh yui bowing with the doors closing kinda signifies gabi's journey in kotaku tho. like there are 3 sliding doors and kotaku has like 3 areas??? that they all need to bypass before getting the elixir. and getting the elixir means getting the pardon which is equal to being free and being with yui. that also seems to be the case with yui being replaced by sagiri like he has to face this trip first before meeting her. again this is MY TAKE on the opening.

maybe we should just ask Mappa why they animated it that way so we won't have further assumptions.

bottom line: while I do get annoyed at gabisagi shippers who think of the pair romantically, I get uhh 'sadder' than 'annoyed' bcos some of them tend to romanticize stuff just bcos a guy saved a girl or they comforted each other. the thing is, if people always romanticize every interaction between gabimaru and sagiri, then they are missing the whole point of these two characters' self journey.

(but if you still ship gabimaru and sagiri romantically without accepting canon evidence and basing everything on all your delusional beliefs, then uhh idk bout that)

[sagirn]

random and fun sagiri facts:

sagiri grows an intense fear of insects after returning home

collects wood block painting and carvings of actors she likes

has a secret candy stash somewhere in her bedroom

sour candy is her favorite and she does not care for anything with marshmallow in it

sagiri is the only person alive that knows gabimaru's real name