Deceit, Lies, Mistrust, Heartlessness–all words that describe things that are inevitable in today’s world. People who fall victim to these acts sometimes have their lives changed forever, usually for the worse. If you are in this position, there is always one place you can turn.
Enter the life of Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl), one who will seek revenge on someone by sending them immediately to hell. There’s a catch: you will go to hell also, but only after you die. A website called Jigoku Tsushin (Hell Correspondance), which can only be accessed at midnight, is where Enma Ai’s services are requested. Every week (almost), a new story of the unfortunate is told, as well as Jigoku Shoujo’s involvement in “conflict resolution”.
Enma Ai understands her job, she’s been doing it for over 400 years. Her character is quiet, calculated, and all business–since revenge is a dish best served cold. Mamiko Noto is the perfect voice actress in this type of role because of her very soft, sweet voice. Ever heard of, “Walk quietly and carry a big stick?” Yeah, it’s just like that.
Ai has three helpers to get her job done, one named Wanyuudou, an older man who can change into a straw doll with a red string. Jigoku Shoujo gives her clients this doll and asks them to pull the string if they wish to send the person of their choice to hell.
As with every entertaining story, there’s more than one side. Around episode 8, two characters of importance are brought into the spotlight: A journalist Hajime and his daughter Tsugumi. Together, they are able to predict who is the next victim of revenge in order to stop Hell Girl’s attempts. Later on in the story, you find out that their relationship with Jigoku Shoujo is more than just on the surface.
That being said, I highly recommend this series if you enjoy an interesting story that’s twisting and turning new directions every week. I truly enjoyed it and looked forward to every next episode. I’ll admit, at first, the show starts off at a near standstill and can sometimes be a “yawner”, but toward the end, you reap the rewards for watching. The character designs are also very well detailed and have their own degree of reality, much different from what I’m used to.
With a second season of Jigoku Shoujo coming in October, there will be no need to seek revenge on the show’s staff, I will be too busy watching.
