emily.baumbach - 2014-10-26 20:58:47

Summary: Somewhere in the vast sea of the Internet, there's a website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Known as the Jigoku Tsushin, rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, the Jigoku Shoujo will appear and drag whoever torments you into the inferno. Very little is known about the girl—all we know for sure is that she lives with her equally enigmatic grandmother, that three magical straw dolls accompany and serve her, and that whenever a posting on the Jigoku Tsushin moves her, she becomes the Jigoku Shoujo.

Story:   The story of Hell Girl is very simple and episodic.  You can pretty much watch most of the episodes in each season out of order. Also you don't even need to watch all the seasons in order to get the full story. There are minimal references to previous seasons in season 3 or season 2. The main focus of each episode is the person who makes a contract with Ai and why they made that contract. I will discuss the story of each season individually. Season 1. This season is very episodic up to the half way point where a story kicks which involves a reporter trying to stop people from making a contract with Ai. This is the season I found to be the weakest because the half of the season that dealt with that reporter wasn't that interesting. By the end of the season we learn more about Hell Girl Ai. Season 2. Unlike Season 1 Season 2 is more episodic in nature. It does tell the back story of Ai's servants and the last 6 episodes are were the story per se take place. I would consider this the best season of the 3. As the contracts that people make with Ai are all very interesting and each episode was fun to watch. Finally, Season 3. Which is similar to both season 1 and 2. It is both episodic and has an overarching story. Season 3 though seems to reuse a lot of ideas for contracts that were in season 1 and 2. While still interesting I think it could have been better. 

Animation: The animation isn't great, its average. There are a lot of characters in this show that look similar to other characters. Granted this is  a 78 episode spanning show so I would assume the budget may have gotten a bit tight at times. Overall the animation is ok.

Sound: The soundtrack for Hell Girl really sets the mood. In both the opening and music during each episode. It gives off a good dark feeling. I also like both the English voice actors in season 1 and the Japanese cast in season 2 and 3 as they are not dubbed. I feel that the main cast did a great job. 

Characters: There is really only a handful of re appearing characters in this show throughout the three seasons. And they are Ai and here servants. The show overall doesn't expand more then a little on each person. You do learn about Ai's backstory and you learn about who here servants are but thats about it.  Ai herself doesn't show a lot of emotion and is very stoic throughout the show.  This actually really works well since in her line of work emotions could get in the way of the job. I also feel Ai and her servants are really likable characters and a joy to watch. 

Enjoyment: This show is not for everyone. Mainly because of its episodic nature and minimalist plot. I also would not recommend marathoning the show as many episodes are vary similar especially in season 3. Overall though, I really liked it. It was a fun series and what it did well was gave each of Ai's contracts an episode to shine and most of them were very interesting.

jerad66 - 2014-06-30 23:58:57

Background

Jigoku Shoujo or Hell Girl was adapted from a shoujo manga of the same name. It was produced and animated by Studio Deen. Known for Rave Master, Fate/Stay Night(2006) and  Vampire Knight. As for the director Takahiro Omori he is known for animes such as Baccano! and Durarara!!.

Setting and Story

Hell Girl is set in modern day Japan around the early 2000s having pretty much no main overlying plot as in its episodic. Consisting of different characters that usually contain a victim and a culprit with the exception of Ai Enma, and her correspondents as well as Hajime Shibata and his daughter Tsugumi Shibata the main cast aren't constantly affecting the episode and are rather observers until someone pulls the red string or is about to.

The premise and the idea behind Hell Girl is you must first contact her and you must contact Hell Girl through the Hell link at 12:00 AM and type the person's name in. The person then gets a visit from Ai Enma or Hell Girl and receives a straw doll that has a red string and is given the details of the covenant. At that point the person thinks it through and only when pushed by the aggressor they pull the string as self defense. Which gives them a mark which indicates eternal damnation for what they did. Once the string is pull the person is sent to the correspondents which act out a hell that fits the person. They are tortured and forced to admit to their crimes. At that point Ai Enma will say her lines sending the person to hell as she guides the person on a boat to the gates of hell. However, the price of sending a person to hell is after death the sender will also go to hell often emphasized by Ai. Often the characters that choose to send people to hell is for vengeance due to the theme of the show is you will find the vengeance you couldn't achieve alone. But, the anime has cases that show people who send people they themselves or their families were never wronged by. Emphasizing that Ai Enma isn't a an ally of justice rather a broker for vengeance that will send anyone to hell as long as the person who pulls the red string pays the price after death.

Character

To start let me begin with Ai Enma or what the people of modern japan call her Hell Girl. Ai Enma is a thirteen year old looking girl usually found wearing a black school uniform. She appears in many of the scenes that follow the characters in the episodes often in the background. Which makes her an observer. As for her personality it is a Kuudere archetype which is that of Evangelion’s Rei Ayanami or Haruhi's Yuki Nagato. But the reasoning behind it is explained so I won't go into it since its a spoiler.

As for the correspondents, they play more of a role in every episode. Unlike Ai Enma they are active but usually background characters. They sometimes do directly interact but once the case is over people forget. When it comes to their role in the episode they usually are the investigators until the string is pull which leads them to in a way give that person who was send to hell at that moment a version of their hell until they confess. While Ai plays the observer only acting in the last moment to send someone to hell. They play a role in the moments before the person is truly in hell.

Then we have the two humans who appear later in the show(If you consider introductions of characters past episode one as spoilers go to the next section otherwise continue as I will try to limit the spoilers)  Hajime Shibata and his daughter Tsugumi Shibata. Hajime is a freelance reporter who lost his wife in an accident. He tries to be as much as a father and as good as a person as he could for reasons that are SPOILERS. Often in the anime he shows himself as the the person who believes that going to Ai Enma is the wrong way even if it is justified sometimes. As for his daughter Tsugumi she is shown to be a pretty matured seven year old who seems to be too smart sometimes. She also has a connection to Ai who often sends her visions cause again SPOILERS. She argues with her father that Ai Enma does good in a way because she helps those who can't avenge their love ones.

Animation

The animation in Hell Girl is not good. As Studio Deen truly lacks in doing a good animation job even in their more famous series Fate/Stay Night(2006). It isn’t to say the animation is bad. Hell Girl’s animation is just above average with the pretty animations here and there. For its time could’ve been better just too average.

Sound

The soundtrack for Hellgirl proved to be pretty well done. It has its moments that fit what happens very well. But when it comes to listening to it outside of the anime it doesn't have the same effect. As for the opening it grows on you probably due to the vocals. That's pretty much all I have to say about it.

Enjoyment and the Verdict

Hellgirl is one of those animes that one picks up because they usually like this type of genre. So when it came to me I recently picked it up again due to not seeing it since like six years ago and wanting to finish it. To me Hell Girl is a mixed bag depending on the person. I personally didn’t truly enjoy it until the seventh episode and most people decide after the third or fourth episode should they continue. When hell girl reached the climax that was really one of my personally favorite moments. It did get me to watch season two. So when it comes to enjoyment to me this anime isn’t good or bad its just somewhere in the middle and that is what hell girl is to me. I personally wouldn't recommend it to everyone rather I would recommend it to people who like mystery and the supernatural as such here are my scores for Jigoku Shoujo or Hell Girl.

Story: 8

Animation: 6

Sound: 8

Characters: 7

Enjoyment: 6

Overall: 7

nitzsche.meghan - 2013-07-23 19:06:40

Jigoku shoujo anime is one of mystery and terror, where a journalist tries to look for the main character (enma ai) to tell him that lead people to Hell is wrong.

Enma Ai lives with her dolls and her grandmother and lead people to hell. People who go to hell their name was written on the website hotline to hell. When a person writes the name of a person on the site will make a pact with enma ai consisting in taking the tie to a doll, when the loop is taken from the dummy person who had the name written on the site will be taken directly to hell but who wrote the name on the site also will go to hell but only after her die.

[contains spoiler] enma ai 500 years ago was buried alive to make a prayer to God.

In revenge Enma ai hell and back to avenge his entire village.

Soon after she starts getting people who do evil to hell with the help of their puppets and the god of hell.

[My opinion] I liked this anime but had scary parts and put people thinking about why happens after death.

I do not recommend this anime to people be thinking about why happens after death.

dubuque.douglas - 2013-07-05 09:25:09

Jigoku Shoujo takes place in modern Japan where the internet has filled the lives of many people in this bustling world of technology and sins. This anime portrays the cruelty of the human race, and shows that there are many people in this world that suffer terribly and that, indefinitely, most people wish those that are making their lives miserable would just die and go to hell. And, of course, Jigoku Shoujo, or Hell Girl, is there to exact their revenge.The storyline is wonderful. The anime itself is mainly episodic, and each episode focuses mainly on one person, and the suffering they're experiencing due to one person. As you read more into the character's lives, and just how badly they're treated, you, yourself, will want to see that red string pulled, just so that person can suffer what he/she's had coming to them, and you'll be anxious to see their horrifying experience before they're ferried off to Hell by Enma Ai, the Jigoku Shoujo.You won't always see the the person's experience in hell, nor will you always see the person being carried off by the Jigoku Shoujo. The main experience of this anime is coming to know and feel sorry for the characters that are desperate enough to call forth the Jigoku Shoujo to end their suffering. If you're looking for humor, this isn't a series to watch. Though it does have it's moments, it's more for the people that enjoy supernatural and paranormal related anime, such as Ghost Hunt and XXXHolic. In fact, if you enjoyed either of these, though the two of them are more humorous than anything else, I recommend putting Jigoku Shoujo, and Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori on your plan-to-watch list.Anyway, this anime is one of those where you'll either love it or hate it. This is a series that got me hooked on the first episode, but if you aren't enjoying it by the third or fourth, then you most likely won't get into it. I hope this review has helped you and convinced you to look into this wonderful anime. Have fun and enjoy.