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Revision as of 02:07, 17 April 2009 by Silentwalker750(talk | contribs)(Plot summary is summarised, so the pointer about the plot summary being too long is removed)
Hell Girl (地獄少女, Jigoku Shōjo), also known as Jigoku Shoujo: Girl from Hell in Animax Asia's English-languagetelevisionbroadcasts,[citation needed] is an anime series, produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. It premiered across Japan on numerous television stations, including Animax, Tokyo MX, MBS and others, between October 4, 2005 and April 4, 2006. Following the success of the first season, the series was followed soon after into a second, Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori (地獄少女 二籠), which premiered October 7, 2006 across Japan on Animax.[citation needed] A live-action television series adaptation started airing in Japan on Nippon Television from November 4, 2006.[1] A third season of the anime, further continuing the series, was first announced on the mobile version of the series' official website Jigoku Tsūshin.[2] The official title of the third season was announced to be Jigoku Shōjo Mitsuganae (地獄少女 三鼎).[3] and began airing on Japanese TV October 4, 2008 [4].
Story
A website known as "Hell Correspondence" (地獄通信, Jigoku Tsūshin) or the "Hotline to Hell" may only be accessed at midnight by one who harbors a desire for revenge against their object of hatred. Should someone submit the name of someone against whom they bear a grudge or immense hatred, the Hell Girl will offer them a straw doll with a red string wound around its neck. If the string is pulled, she will ferry the target of the revenge straightaway to Hell. However, the client must agree to a pact where he/she will go to hell after their life has ended; a black crest-shaped mark will appear on the client's chest to serve as a permanent reminder of their contract.
Most episodes are self-contained short stories in which the series narrates the suffering of a different individual caused by one or
more antagonists. In general during each arc, the protagonists' dramas are explained in detail from the start of their grudges, through the escalation of their torment until it becomes unbearable and they resort to accessing the Hell Correspondence website. Although in general, the client gives the antagonist a chance, he or she usually ends up pulling the string on his or her doll and sending the antagonist to hell.
In the first season, the story soon follows a journalist named Shibata Hajime, a former blackmailer, and his daughter Tsugumi who shares a strange connection with the Jigoku Shōjo as they investigate the truth behind the Jigoku Shōjo. In the second season, a mysterious young girl from Hell, named Kikuri is introduced who is able to travel freely between Earth and the Twilight realm where Ai resides. Later, the plot centers around Takuma Kurebayashi, a boy who is blamed by his townsfolk for causing disappearances around the town that are in reality caused by the townsfolk using the Hell Correspondence. In the third season, some time after Ai's death, Kikuri returns along with a yokai named Yamawaro, who accepts an old offer from Ai to become her fourth assistant. The story follows Ai mysteriously revival from death and subsequent inhabitation of the body of a young schoolgirl, Yuzuki Mikage.
Characters
Main characters
Ai Enma (閻魔 あい, Enma Ai)
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Brina Palencia (English)
The primary protagonist of the series, who is arguably an anti-heroine as well. With long, straight black hair and ruby-red eyes and pale skin, she is a spiritual entity with a tragic past, who lives in a place frozen in time as it basks in eternal sunset, along with her grandmother. Through an old computer inside their house, Ai is able to receive the names the clients have typed on the website, and she delivers this revenge. She normally wears a black seifuku, or sailor uniform, but always wears a kimono with floral (or egg) designs when delivering the vengeance of a client. Ai started her career as the Hell Girl by her own act of vengeance on the villagers who sentenced her to a sacrificial death as part of their village's tradition. Her eyes, once a deep brown, turned red arguably at the point where Sentarou (her childhood friend and cousin who gave in under the villagers' pressure to bury her alive) gave the first shovel of soil onto her face. She broke out of her grave after a while, and took revenge on the entire village with her wrath, burning it to the ground. Her task of fulfilling other people's vengeance and ferrying people to Hell is her punishment, a task which she had performed for 400 years after that incident. The Lord of Hell who gave her new life to exact others' grievances, made a pact with her; in exchange for her immortal form, she cannot enter hell and must remain on the shores of Hell, acting as the deliverer of people's hatred and vengeance. In order to serve these tasks, the Lord of Hell demanded that Ai forget her own hatred, numbing herself to the sufferings of others and becoming a mere observer of any happenings. If she hadn't this punishment, the souls of her beloved ones would have forever wander in hell, lost for eternity. Having no other choice, Ai agreed with the Lord of Hell and became the Hell Girl.
Although this task is presented as atonement, it is unknown whether she will ever be freed of it. Wanyūdō noted she still had feelings, though, although she did not express them strongly, and it was later revealed that Ai had been ordered to close her heart by the Spider. But the experiences she has with the Shibatas reawakened her discontent with her terrible fate and later apparently reawakened other emotions, or at least Ai's ability to express them. When enraged, Ai demonstrates the ability to hurl great blasts of energy, as well as the power to create elaborate illusions and teleport. She also has the ability to show someone the future of a grudge, as she showed Yuzuki in Episode 16 of Mitsuganae.
In the second season, Ai becomes more expressive and shows more emotions, being more willing to interact with her "clients" and victims. She even puts up a "V for Victory" sign in front of her target by way of mocking him as he is dragged to his doom. She had also been seen reading from a fashion magazine while her compatriots watch over their client, and had showed concern towards a mother who willingly ended her life so that her daughter doesn't have to send her to Hell. As she witnesses Takuma Kurebayashi's disheartening persecution, Ai recollects her emotions pertaining to her own wrongful persecution and she defies her 'employer', the Lord of Hell, and becomes restored to human life, and killed shortly thereafter, when saving Takuma from his tormentors. After Ai's self-sacrifice, her body dissolves into sakura petals and drifts into the sky.
In the third season, Ai return to the series after. In the beginning of the season, she transports another girl, Yuzuki, to a strange illusion and dream state, where Ai possessed her. Eventually, her body is later released during The Six-script Lantern ceremony in her town in which the gate to hell is temporarily open allowing Ai to be released from her body. Ai eventually reveals to Yuzuki that she is destined to become her successor. Ai disappears without a word after Yuzuki becomes Hell Girl. She returns however, to take the roll of Hell Girl once again in order to spare Yuzuki from being sent to hell.
Wanyūdō (輪入道)
Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese); R. Bruce Elliott (English)
Wanyūdō is the first of Ai's three companions. He generally appears as an old man whose eyes remains shut, wearing a traditional yukata with a long-sleeved haori, and a red scarf around his neck. When needed by Ai, he takes the form of the black straw doll that Ai hands to her clients in the series. He also frequently takes the form of Ai's coach with burning wheels when she goes to the human world to claim a soul. The coach bears the same black flame-crest that appears on the chest of those people who contract with the Hell Girl. Despite appearing quite mild-mannered, frail and weak with age at most times, Wanyūdō possesses considerable skills in martial arts and is capable of hurling fireballs and performing feats of inhuman strength. Wanyūdō's name is derived from the yōkai of the same name and means "A wheel entering the road". In episode 12 of Futakomori, it is revealed that he was a princess' entourage carriage, which fell off a cliff. The coach caught fire and all aboard were killed. As a result, he became a yōkai terrorizing people in the form of a flaming wheel with his own enlarged, infuriated face as a hubcap, until he met Ai and she invited him to join her as her first companion. Wanyūdō revealed to Ai his ability to shapeshift.
Ren is Ai's second companion, and usually takes the form of a young man. He has the ability to see the inside of a building through projecting the eye on the walls and ceilings. The large eye can also be used as a weapon through projecting intense flashes of light. When required, Ren becomes a blue straw doll. Ren's name means "one glance company". He is sometimes referred to as "Moku" or "Ishimoto Ren". His powers in human form is a reference to Daidarabocchi, a type of mythological giant that is enshrouded in shadow. It is later revealed that Ren is a tsukumogami, a type of spirit that originates from an artifact which has gained sentence after a long period of existence. In Ren's case, he was once a katana, forced to be aware and watch whatever was done with him. He was given his current form(s) by Ai, who collected him after he was abandoned on a large rock after a battle, during which his most recent owner was slain. Ai thinks that he is looking for something and asks him to accompany her. He agrees saying that the rock he was abandoned in was getting pretty boring. Since that time, Ren has apparently grown quite fond of his human form, displaying considerable vanity from time to time. Ai claims she invited him to join her because there is something that Ren is looking for, a fact perhaps manifested in Ren's occasional puzzlement and inability to understand the things humans do. Alternatively, some of Ren's comments indicate that what he was looking for was companionship, something to fill the emptiness of his existence as a sword used for endless killing. Ren has apparently developed feelings for his colleagues, seeing them as family.
Hone Onna (骨女, Bone Woman)
Voiced by: Takako Honda (Japanese); Jennifer Seman (English)
Hone Onna is Ai's third companion, and she often takes the form of a woman in a kimono with its obi tied in front. She dislikes being called "old lady". She becomes the red straw doll when necessary by tossing her red obi jime, over her shoulder. Hone Onna and Ren investigate the people who make a contract and the ones they have a grudge against. She usually infiltrates human society in casual clothing to investigate cases, on these occasions she tends to use the pseudonym "Sone Anna". She has used throwing knives as weapons in the first season of the show, and has shown considerable skill with these weapons. Hone Onna also seems to have some skill as a contortionist, which allows her to squeeze into very small places. The name Hone Onna comes from the legendary creature of the same name, literally meaning "bone woman", which reflects her ability to expose the bones in her body to scare the victims of the revenge Ai delivers. It is revealed that she had been a prostitute named Tsuyu who was betrayed by a man whom she had fallen in love with after he sold her to a brothel to be able to pay off his own debts. Tsuyu was betrayed again when she attempted to arrange the escape of a fellow prostitute named Kion with a man who had come to truly love Tsuyu. Tsuyu and the man were later murdered by a yakuza, and that same yakuza cast Tsuyu into a river afterward. Spirits rising from human bones thrown into the river before merged with Tsuyu's restless spirit, transforming Tsuyu into the yōkai Hone Onna, in which form she later met Ai.
Ai's Grandmother (あいの祖母, Ai no Sobo)
Voiced by: Eriko Matsushima (Japanese); Juli Erickson (English)
She is never actually seen in the series, other than as a shadowy silhouette behind a paper screen that is always spinningthread in her room. She occasionally notifies Ai when a new client beeps on the computer and advises her, occasionally commenting on the cases she takes up. She doesn't talk to anyone except Ai, although in an episode in season one, she made the exception of talking to Shibata Hajime. A single human eyewitness in Futakomori who had observed Ai's grandmother ran in terror, implying that her appearance may be other than human. During the final episode of Futakomori she stops spinning threads for the first time and thanks Ai's three assistants for everything they have done. Ai's Grandmother doesn't appear in the third season until episode 14. That is due to the fact that neither of Ai's companions reside in the realm of Eternal Twilight anymore, and until that episode, instead of the usual ritualistic bathing and the grandma preparing Ai's nangajabun, Ai simply took over Yuzuki's body and appeared already dressed.
The Spider (人面蜘蛛, Jinmen Gumo)
Voiced by: Hidekatsu Shibata (Japanese); John Swasey (English)
An oddly-coloured spider with three eyes upon its abdomen, which appears in the sunset world where Ai and her assistants reside between assignments. It speaks with the voice of a man and is apparently Ai's superior, having been the one to pronounce sentence on her after she killed the people of her village. It appears to be holding the souls of Ai's loved ones (her parents as hostage). If Ai does not do the task she has been given, the spider has threatened that her parents would wander in darkness for eternity. The spider demonstrates an ability to pilot the ferryboat to Hell in Futakomori and tries to restrain Ai, having decided to take her to Hell after her feelings of rage reawakened and she violently attacked the Shibatas. Ai turned out to be too strong for it to hold her without her consent. The spider is neither liked nor trusted by Ai's assistants, with whom it in turn does not speak. In the last episode of Futakomori, Wanyūdō identifies the spider as the Lord of Hell. It can be inferred that the Spider deliberately exposed Ai to a situation reminiscent of her own death in order to test whether she would obey its will or act on her impulse to interfere with Takuma's plight. The Spider returns in season 3 to punish the newest Hell Girl, Yuzuki, after she breaks the rules and tries to send a grudge of her own to Hell. Ai then returns to save Yuzuki from being sent to Hell by The Spider, and she offers to replace Yuzuki as Hell Girl. The Spider accepts and restores Ai's position as Hell Girl.
Kikuri (きくり)
Voiced by: Kanako Sakai
An enigmatic girl introduced in Futakomori. Little is known about her except the fact she is not human. She can wander freely between the mortal plane and Ai's house in the sunset world, sometimes interfering with her and her companions' job; in one instance, she brought a human into the sunset world out of mischief. In stark contrast to Ai, Kikuri has completely purple eyes and her personality is far more childish than Ai's. She has stated that she likes Ai, and some of her actions and use of powers seem to be causing the greatest amount of suffering and fear possible. She seems to take delight in acts of low-level destructiveness, such as chopping off flowers or destroying anything that Ai cares for. She has shown incredible skills with her loincloth, using it to catch or hit objects with considerable accuracy and skill. Despite the fact that she wreaks havoc freely, she has only taken orders from Ai alone. This is seen when Kikuri touches Ai's grandmother's spinning wheels despite the woman's protests, ceasing only when Ai tells her to. In the last episode of the second season, it is revealed that Kikuri is a host for the will of the Spider, which can take over her body as it pleases. Hence, it becomes questionable how many of her malicious acts were of her own will and which were instigated by her master. Some of her acts could have been to ensure that Ai's clients would pull the string and send their tormentor to hell. Nevertheless, she is still compassionate, showing a brief bout of grief immediately after Ai's death. After Ai's death and the release of her beloved ones to wander as lost souls, Kikuri rides on the boat and says "It's over... that was Ai's answer... Well done". As she says those words, she pokes a cherry the color of Ai's eyes in her former childish way. In the third season, Kikuri possesses a wind-up doll that often needs to be rewound by Yamawaro. She also expresses a desire to become Hell Girl several times.
Yamawaro (山童)
Voiced by: Hekiru Shiina
A hell creature commanded by the new Hell Girl in season 3, who takes on the look of a young boy, though he can also become a yellow straw doll. In human form, he calls himself by the name of Huang (黄). Often quiet and having a gentle demeanor, not much is known about him as of yet. He follows Kikuri on their assignments in the real world, referring to her as princess. His name is derived from the same name given to a legendary mountain-dwelling creature in Kyūshū from Gazu Hyakki Yakō, an illustrated book on Japanese folklore demons. In episode 6 of Mitsuganae it is hinted that Yamawaro has the power to manipulate objects. In Episode 17 of "Mitsuganae", it is revealed that his name basis holds some truth. He was a ghostly boy who roamed a mountain but whenever he was seen by humans, he looked like a walking pile of mushrooms. It seems in his time before joining Hell Girl, he looked upon a family by the name of Ashiya. Their son Hikaru had gone missing many years ago. The father of the household was a scientist trying to obtain eternal life. Yamawaro stepped in as their son. Ms. Ashiya accepted him with no worry. Mr. Ashiya, knowing that Yamawaro was obviously not human, used Yamawaro for his "Caterpillar fungus" experiments which still manifests in him till this day. He stated it was "to extend his wife's life". After learning of this, Ms. Ashiya shooed Yamawaro away, hoping to spare him from the parasitic experiments at the cost of her own life. She contacted Hell Correspondence to gain revenge on her husband calling it "Hikaru's vengeance". Despite Yamawaro's begging, she pulled the string. Yamawaro watched as the Ashiya mansion swirled away into a cloud of dust. Ms. Ashiya along with it, clutching what seems to be a young boy. This was a key experience to Yamawaro.
Recurring characters
Hajime Shibata (柴田 一, Shibata Hajime)
Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (Japanese); John Burgmeier (English)
A former journalist who now earns money by blackmailing celebrities with evidence of their scandals. He began to investigate rumors about the Hell Correspondence website merely out of interest, but becomes more heavily involved once he realizes that it is more than just a rumor and people are actually being dragged into pit of Hell. Furthermore, his daughter Tsugumi seems to have a mysterious connection with Ai Enma, that allows her to see anything significant that Ai sees. Using Tsugumi's foresight ability, Hajime and Tsugumi begin trying to stop Ai's clients from damning one another. He believes revenge to be wrong, and thinks it only causes more pain. Hajime and Tsugumi are shown Ai's past when they nearly drown in a river. It is also revealed that Sentarou, Ai's only friend, is one of his ancestors. Ai wants revenge against Sentarou, so she takes it out on his blood line and attempts to corrupt Tsugumi in to sending Hajime to Hell. Much to Hajime's relief, Tsugumi refuses. In Futakomori, Hajime is shown to be Ai's biographer. A Detective in Futakomori, named Detective Meshiai, attempts to track him down for questioning, but ultimately fails in locating him; revealing Hajime to have disappeared mysteriously between the events of seasons 1 and 2. Tsugumi does not have contact with Hajime in the third season, as she briefly expresses her loneliness. Ai's assistants are unaware of what happened to Hajime, which reveals Hajime was not sent to Hell by Hell Correspondence. What has happened to Hajime remains unknown. In episode 24 of Mitsuganae, Tsugumi tells Yuzuki that after a while of trying to save people, Hajime had become exhausted and had finally given up in trying to stop people from sending one another to Hell. Sometime after that, he had written Ai's biography and disappeared without a trace.
Tsugumi Shibata (柴田 つぐみ, Shibata Tsugumi)
Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (Japanese); Luci Christian (English)
Hajime's daughter who often refers to him as Hajime, rather than father or dad. She sees Ai one day and has had a mysterious connection with her ever since. At first, she reports everything she sees through Ai to Hajime, but as the series progresses, she becomes more reluctant to do so as she begins to disagree with her father on whether they should try to stop Ai or not. However, after an innocent nurse is sent to Hell by a drug addict, she begins to realize revenge is wrong. At the end of season one, Ai shows Tsugumi visions of how her father and mother argued just before her mother's death, which lead her mother into leaving the house and dying, in an attempt to corrupt her into blaming Hajime for her mother's death, so she'd send him to Hell. Tsugumi however, refuses. She is briefly shown in the second season as a source of information for an investigator. She tells Detective Meshi to trust her father, then she runs off because she was called by Kikuri. It seems that she has a similar relationship with Kikuri in Futakomori that she had with Ai in the first season. She is apart of the medical staff in Yuzuki's school in the third season; her intentions, however, are not made clear. She is also completely obliviously about the fact that Ai's assistants are also staff members at the school she is a nurse at. During The Six-script Lantern ceremony she advises Yuzuki not to go in the Gates of Hell, and then disappears in the fog mysteriously when Yuzuki looks away. She appears to have uncanny knowledge of the supernatural, having known that Yuzuki wouldn't be able to come back if she entered the Gate of Hell. This knowledge may be due to her spiritual powers of foresight or to her connection with Ai and Kikuri. In episode 20 of Mitsuganae, Tsugumi, along with Ai and Yuzuki, are simultaneously lured into a mansion. Upon entering the mansion, Ai and Tsugumi greet each other, showing that that they have known each other for quite some time. The mansion that they entered is owned by a man named Mizuragi Shogo, who is holding a pact against Tsugumi. Just as Shogo begins pulling the red string off the straw doll, he is sent to Hell by one of his assistants who held a pact against him; thus sparing Tsugumi from being eternally damned. Upon leaving Mizuragi Shogo's mansion, she is confronted by Yuzuki, who questions how she avoided becoming Hell Girl, as she was fated to be. Tsugumi responds with saying she believes it is fundamentally impossible to avoid fate, hinting that she had become Hell Girl at one time. Tsugumi expresses how lonely she is several times, confirming that she has no longer contact with her father Hajime. In episode 24 of Mitsuganae, Tsugumi tells Yuzuki that like her father, she too had become exhausted in trying to stop people from sending their tormentors to Hell, and had given up just as Hajime did. Towards the end of the third season, she leaves her apartment to move out of town. After leaving her apartment room, she is confronted by Ren and Hone, who suspect Tsugumi is moving out of town because she was unable to save Yuzuki.
Hajime's late wife. Hajime devoted more time to his work than to his family, but with the intent to make his wife happy through earning large amounts of money to improve their lifestyle. In her loneliness, Ayumi had an affair with a politician that Hajime happened to be spying on. Because of that incident, he cast her out of the house and forbade her from ever seeing Tsugumi. A few moments later, Ayumi dies in a car accident. Tsugumi keeps her mother's earrings as a memento. Hajime still loves Ayumi very much, and regrets not forgiving her because he believes she would not have died if he had. On the other hand, Ai tried using her death to tempt Tsugumi to send her own father to Hell.
Takuma Kurebayashi (紅林 拓真, Kurebayashi Takuma)
Voiced by: Ayumi Fujimura
Takuma is a quiet boy who lives in Lovely Hills. He is misunderstood and often bullied by his fellow townsfolk who believe he's the "Devil's Child", much like Ai was in her village. When he first made his appearance, his mother was killed by a friend of his father, who was also seriously injured in the incident. As the murderer was about to kill Takuma, he was sent to Hell; but at this moment the police arrive, and the townsfolk end up thinking that Takuma is the murderer. It is unclear if he possesses as much spiritual powers as Ai, but he does have the ability of foresight and he has been observed by Ai for some time throughout the story. In the end, Ai saves him from the townsfolk, but ends up getting killed herself. At the end of the show it is revealed that his father has recovered almost completely and that his friend, Hotaru Meshiai, will soon wake up from her cold induced coma, as Takuma hopes.
Yuzuki Mikage (御景ゆずき, Mikage Yuzuki)
Voiced by: Satomi Sato
First appearing in season 3, Yuzuki is a 9th grader schoolgirl who currently studies at Saigawara 4th Junior High School. Although a normal everyday girl, she actually has deep relations to the Hell Correspondance website. While Yuzuki is in the bathtub one night, Ai appears before her, suddenly kissing her. After that event, Ai possesses her and uses her as a human vessel to carry out her duties as Hell Girl. When a person forms a contract with the Hell Correspondence, Yuzuki will become Ai to send the victim to Hell. Much like Tsugumi in the first season, she is able to see visions of those who have called upon Hell Girl; although it should be noted that many of the people are acquaintances of her. About halfway through the series, Ai releases herself from Yuzuki during The Six-script Lantern ceremony in her town in which the gate to hell is temporarily open. After Akie is sent to Hell, Yuzuki's eyes were seen to flash red for a moment, foreshadowing future events. After Akie is sent to Hell, she tries to keep Ai's clients from sending their tormentor to Hell. Despite the fact that the cycle of hatred is human nature and a part of life, she never stops trying to end it. Even after being shown visions by Ai proving that there's no way to stop revenge, she continues to try. Later, Ai reveals that she is destined to become the next Hell Girl. Later on, Yuzuki's existence begins to fade away. She becomes unable to contact her mother and finds her herself not being able to find personal possessions of her own, such as a student ID card that disappears into thin air. Furthermore, she finds that Tsugumi and the members of the Hell Correspondence are the only ones who can recognize her. Later, Tsugumi tells Yuzuki that she should just accept what is happening to her, just as she had done when disappeared from the world long ago. Yuzuki cannot accept this and desperately runs back home to her apartment, which is shown to be in terrible decaying condition. Upon entering her apartment room, she discovers the skeleton of a child hugging a stuffed animal. Ai appears with the Hell Correspondence, and confirms that this skeleton is indeed Yuzuki. Yuzuki did not believe the skeleton to be her, until Ai showed her that she had died as a young child a short while after her Mom, who had attempted to murder her, died. After Ai shows Yuzuki her past, she accepts the fact that it is destiny for her to become the Hell Girl. She puts on a kimono and her eyes turn red. Her first request is by Akie's Dad, who is begrudging Azusa, the girl who had sent Akie to Hell. However, Mr. Takasugi finds himself unable to pull the string. Yuzuki becomes angry and decides to take revenge upon Azusa herself, using her newly acquired powers. This revenge proves to be short lived after The Spider appears to rescue Azusa, discharge Yuzuki as Hell Girl, and send her to Hell as punishment for acting on feelings. Yuzuki is saved from being sent to Hell by Ai. Ai later proposes to replace Yuzuki as Hell Girl, and is accepted as her replacement.
Akie Takasugi (高杉 秋恵, Takasugi Akie)
Voiced by: Kanae Oki
Yuzuki's best friend since childhood, also a 9th grader schoolgirl at Saigawara 4th Junior High School. Unlike Yuzuki, Akie possesses an outgoing and broaded-mined personality. Her father is the commander of Saigawara Metropolitan Police. Akie employs a private teacher, Azusa, to help her with her studies. After Akie becomes emotionally intimate with Azusa, Azusa brings Akie home to show Akie her father, who had become paralyzed and bedridden due to a traffic accident, that was ordered to not be investigated further by Akie's father. Akie gets mad and moves out from her father, but then Azusa reveals her true intention, to bully Akie with rape and use the Hell Correspondence to send Akie to Hell to torment her father. Azusa finally chooses to send Akie after the Six-script Lantern ceremony. In the later episodes, Akie turns back from the Hell and to come to the aid of the new Hell Girl, Yuzuki. In the final episode of the third season, it is revealed that Akie was indeed in Hell and did not turn back and come to Yuzuki's aid. The Akie that supposedly turned back from Hell to aid Yuzuki was an illusion created by The Spider to tempt Yuzuki into trying to send Azusa to Hell.
Anime
Part of a painting by Kawanabe Kyōsai, featured in the opening theme of Jigoku Shōjo
The Hell Girl anime series is produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. It is directed by Takahiro Ōmori and written by Hiroshi Watanabe. The first season spanned 26 episodes and premiered across Japan on Animax between October 4, 2005, and April 4, 2006. The series' second season, premiered from October 7, 2006 across Japan on Animax. Animax also later translated and dubbed both the first[citation needed] and second seasons[citation needed] of the series into English for broadcast across its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and also aired the series across its other networks worldwide in various other languages, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Europe and other regions. The first season of the series was also licensed for North American distribution by FUNimation. The series began broadcasting on the U.S. cable/satellite channel IFC in July 2008.
OST
The first original soundtrack for the Jigoku Shōjo anime series was released on January 25, 2006. The second original soundtrack for the series was released on April 19, 2006.
Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori released its first soundtrack on January 24, 2007, and the second soundtrack on March 21, 2007.
Jigoku Shōjo Original Soundtrack
Untitled
Track listing
Track Number
Japanese Title
Translated Title
1
焦燥
Impatience
2
悪意
Malice
3
影差して
Differing
4
蜘蛛と老婆と少女
The Spider, the Crone, and the Girl
5
地獄通信
Hell Communication
6
少女降臨
Advent of the Girl
7
三藁捜査線
Three Straw Investigation Line
8
真昼の太陽
Midday Sun
9
いじめ
Bullying
10
朱に染まる
To Be Dyed Red
11
父と娘
Father and Daughter
12
復讐の行方
Direction of Revenge
13
あたたかいもの
Something Warm
14
芝居
Theatrical Play
15
うつろな穴
Empty Pit
16
覚悟
Determination
17
地獄流し
Hell Flow
18
満ちていく闇
Brimming Darkness
19
哀れな影
Miserable Shadow
20
暗黒イリュージョン
Dark Illusion
21
地獄ロック
Hell Rock
22
地獄の川流れ
Carried Away by Hell's Current
23
優しい気持ち
Kind Feelings
24
かりぬい(フルバージョン)
Basting (Full Version)
Jigoku Shōjo Original Soundtrack II
Untitled
Track listing
Track Number
Japanese Title
Translated Title
1
逢魔が時
Dusk
2
依頼人
Client
3
想い出
Recollection
4
袋小路
Blind Alley
5
憎悪
Hatred
6
柴田走る
The Shibatas Run
7
逡巡
Hesitation
8
幸せ
Happiness
9
狂い出した歯車
Crazed Gears
10
せつない思い
Painful Thoughts
11
地獄の仕事人
Worker of Hell
12
三藁熱血篇
Three Straw Hotblooded Chapter
13
一目連
Ichimoku Ren
14
火車
Fiery Cart
15
骨女
Hone Onna
16
満月
Full Moon
17
廃屋
Abandoned House
18
刻まれる音
Engraving Sound
19
地獄ワルツ
Hell Waltz
20
地獄少年
Hell Boy
21
さくらうた
Sakura Song
22
迷妄の果て
Edge of Delusion
23
六道郷
Six After-Death Worlds
24
火焔
Flames
25
桜吹雪
Sakura Snowstorm
26
地獄少女
Hell Girl
Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori Original Soundtrack
Untitled
Track listing
Track Number
Japanese Title
Translated Title
1
迷い路
Stray Path
2
深き淵より
Deeper than the Abyss
3
頚木
Neck Woods
4
あのころ
Back Then
5
暗雲
Dark Clouds
6
人間模様
Pattern of Humans
7
赤いマフラー
Red Muffler
8
きくり降臨
Kikuri Advents
9
地獄の舟歌
Hell's Boat Song
10
日常
Daily Life
11
きくり
Kikuri
12
不良のテーマ
Delinquent's Theme
13
小さな幸せ
A Little Happiness
14
悲しい話
Sad Story
15
企み
Plan
16
水面の月
Moon on the Water's Surface
17
沼に沈む
To Sink into the Swamp
18
覚悟2006
Determination 2006
19
二籠
Second Cage
20
地獄交響曲
Hell Symphony
21
地獄メタル
Hell Metal
22
彼岸花
Cluster Amaryllis
23
あいぞめ
Indigo Dye
Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori Original Soundtrack II
Untitled
Track listing
Track Number
Japanese Title
Translated Title
1
地獄絵図
Hell Illustration
2
刻迫る
The Moment Approaches
3
女の性
The Nature of Women
4
藁人形のテーマ
Straw Doll's Theme
5
正義
Justice
6
きくりのウインナー
Kikuri's Wiener
7
夜の三藁
Three Straw at Night
8
時雨
Autumn Rain
9
地獄の入り口
Hell Entrance
10
悪魔の子
Devil's Child
11
丘の住人
Hill Dweller
12
わが町ラブリーヒルズ
Our Town, Lovely Hills
13
裏切り
Betrayal
14
戦慄
Shiver
15
みずうみ
Lake
16
異様
Strangeness
17
復讐の連鎖
Chain of Vengeance
18
囚われた町
The Captured Town
19
あい
Ai
20
集団心理
Group Mentality
21
記憶
Memory
22
少女のうた
Girl's Song
23
あいぞめ (Piano version)
Indigo Dye (Piano version)
Jigoku Shōjo Mitsuganae Original Soundtrack ~Nikushoku~
The Jigoku Shōjo anime series was later adapted into a manga, which featured art by Miyuki Etō (永遠 幸, Etō Miyuki). It has been serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshishōjo manga magazine since October 2005. While the stories are mostly original, chapters 4 and 10 are adapted from their respective anime episodes (in the first season), while chapter 2 is adapted from anime episode 9. Chapter 17 is adapted from episode 8 of Futakomori.
Due to the difference in media, Ai's modus operandi in the manga is somewhat different from the anime. She has been seen attending the same schools as some of her student-clients. Also, the straw figurine with the string was not featured in the first few chapters. Subsequently, its appearance is no longer as ubiquitous as its anime counterpart. Ai's clients need only to accept the contract, and the victims' torture by Ai and her helpers would then begin. In some cases, the torture begins after she has rung her bracelet in front of her victim (and not before as seen in the anime). The appearance of the boat in which Ai uses to ferry her victims to Hell is reduced as well. Notably, although Sentaro Shibata is featured, Tsugumi and Hajime are not. Also, Kikuri has made appearances from volume 4 onwards.
The manga has recently been licensed by Del Rey Manga, and the first volume, titled Hell Girl, was released January 2008. The second volume was released in May 2008.
The Jigoku Shōjolive actiontelevision drama series adaptation premiered across Japan on Nippon Television from November 4, 2006 and aired 12 half-hour episodes. The director for the series was Makoto Naganuma. The theme song for the series is "Dream Catcher" by OLIVIA.
Hisahiro Ogura, the actor who portrays Wanyūdō in the live-action adaptation is also the male narrator at the beginning of every episode of the anime series. Eriko Matsushima retains her role as Ai's grandmother in the live action series.
Jigoku Shōjo has also been adapted into a video game for the Nintendo DS entitled Jigoku Shōjo Akekazura, which was developed by Compile Heart and released in Japan on September 27, 2007.
Kodansha
Del Rey Manga