Jigoku Shoujo

What an outstanding anime! Ok, so many reviews brought up the fact that the anime is more like a "verse" instead of having a very detailed storyline, and that's what makes it bad. Although I share the same opinion, I think that it displays so many problems of the human behaviour that I cannot help but like it. The fact that it is very fragmented is a way to show that anyone can hate, reasonable or not, and that hatred is a matter of perspective. The characters simply make sense. I mean, it may look weird for someone that is new to anime or Japanese culture, but if you have a bit of cultural experience, everything makes sense. Most of the main characters, however, do not evolve or suffer from an inner fight. Probably the most interesting point of view to follow is Enma Ai's (which was totally expected), but I sure as hell like that little Tsugumi girl. As for the sound, I must say the soundtrack was chosen wisely. I definitely love both the OP and the ED (been listening to them for a few years now, yet I never knew they were part of an anime), and the BGM fits. The art is also debatable. Many told me that it looks somehow unnatural and that it is not the "classical" anime look, but damn, I love it! So yeah, I guess it's a matter of taste... All in all, I really enjoyed the series and it made me think a little bit more about behaviour and feelings in general. I definitely recommend this to everyone who has had too much of the plotless, fun to go animes and wants something different and eye-opening! ^^

I have already noticed the show Jigoku Shoujo long before I decided to watch it. I knew about Enma Ai already, but only the fact that she was the main character. Because the ongoing animes were so disappointing, I decided to take a break from it and watch an entirely different show. After seeing that there was full episodes of Jigoku Shoujo on Youtube, I decided to watch that and give it a go. Jigoku Shoujo is about different people who wants to take revenge on someone they hate; whether it be a bully, an annoying coworker or even a murderer. They can take revenge and send that person to Hell, via the Internet (how amazing is that?). The site is called Hell Correspondence, and it rumoured to be only available to access at midnight and to those who want revenge. It is then Enma Ai's job as the Hell Girl to fulfill her client's request with the help of Hone Onna, Wanyuudo and Ren Ichimoku. Jigoku Shoujo's plot is pretty much straight forward - short stories that lasted around one episode usually containing a person they would focus on and an antagonist. The person would ask help from Enma Ai, and throughout the episode would reveal the backstory of that individual and why they want to send someone to hell. By the end of the episode, the antagonist usually dies and sent to hell. This worked quite well for a few episodes, but then started getting a little bit repetitive. It was the same thing over and over again, and in some cases even had the same sort of plot as an earlier episode. However, I do commend them for their creativity in being able to portray different scenarios per episode and except for the few occasions where it was kind of the same, it was generally very well done. At a later stage of the anime there became a distinct plot of Enma's background and why she became the Hell Girl. Another recurring plot was that of Hajime and Tsugumi's and why Hajime tries to do the opposite of Enma and to stop the people from committing revenge. Plot wise, I think Jigoku Shoujo does what it is supposed to, and the finale of the first season was definitely excellent and opened up the possibilities of further seasons. Now the characters of Jigoku Shoujo were quite diverse. There are new characters introduced each episode, but of course, they don't really appear again. However, there are recurring characters such as Enma Ai, who appear every episode. Now, it is really not possible to develop the main characters since pretty much all the episodes were focused on the minor characters each episode. The last 5-10 episodes were the only ones used to really develop them and to provide history on the main characters. Of course, the most interesting character out of the bunch is no other than Enma Ai herself. I asked a lot of questions involving her character and towards the end, I feel like some were answered in great detail, but some were still left a little fuzzy. The other one that struck me the most is Hajime. he is really a love or hate character, and for me, I really hate him. It might not be him and his actual background, but his role as the stereotypical type who wants to "save" the people around him. Moreover, he utterly terrible at saving people so I thought, why bother with it? But towards the end, I guess I did start to like him a little bit. Just a little. Now, Jigoku Shoujo's art is amazing in some parts, but not all the time. Now, I don't know why this is the case though (*cough* Studio DEEN *cough*) but overall it was pretty mediocre. Nothing really stood out for me, but nothing was really horrible about it. I gotta say that the character designs of Hone, Ren and Enma were superb and loved it whenever they were on the scene, especially Hone. The animation as well was pretty mediocre - except Enma's nagajuban. I mean, how can one not like moving flowers on her dress? The musical score of Jigoku Shoujo was impressive too, ranging from the soothing calm nature to the action scenes towards the end of each episode. The opening song wasn't terrible exciting, and really gives off a different feeling to the anime and portrays it so differently, one might think it came from a different anime. As for the ending, I thought it was really entertaining to listen to and loved the transition between the final scene of each episode into the ending song. Overall, I think that Jigoku Shoujo was an interesting anime to watch. Although it is a little repetitive at the beginning, the ending is truly worth it. The art and animation is mediocre, but doesn't really disturb you from enjoying the show. The musical score is very wonderful and was a pleasure to listen to. Watch it if you like bad guys going to hell :D Rating: A (81/100)

I was hooked on the first episode. I have wanted to watch the anime but forgot about it for a while. I went out one day, planning to look for a Code Geass DVD but it was not yet out, so I decided to buy Jigoku Shoujo instead. I'm glad I did. Jigoku Shoujo is one of the best anime I have ever seen. The animation was wonderful. The characters, including the extras, were drawn beautifully, it made me admire both males and females (^_^). Hone Onna is one of the most beautiful characters I've ever seen. Enma Ai is soooo cute and I love her voice (Mamiko Noto) especially the "How would you like to see what death is like" part. And Ren is just gorgeous ^_^. The stories show the realities/harshness of life and how people think. Sometimes it just shows how stupid people are. There were times when I emphatized with the characters, I understand why they did what they did and I feel their guilt when they realize they did it for nothing. There were lots of times when my chest constricted and my eyes watered. All in all, Jigoku Shoujo is one of my all-time favorites.

Jigoku Shoujo is an anime who since the first episodes made me restless. Only in the last nine episodes the history is really good and show off all potential. The first part of the anime (ep1~7) tell us closed histories, who honestly,are totally disposable and repetitives. Is only in the second part of the anime (ep8~16) who he show us a plot but he continues repetitive. Only in our third and last part the anime become nice, and finally develops our plot, even though this is a little confusing. In my opinion you can start the anime in the 8º episode and after seeing him jump for the 17º episode. How I already said the first part of the anime is very disappointing. The anime tells us seven different histories without any plot. The second and the third part (ep8~26) compansate this. In this part the anime show us all the plot, discussing about the valor of the life, selfishness and regrets. Beside it the anime show us news characters who made the history more interesting In my opinion the 14º and 21º episodes are better than all others episodes of this anime. If all episodes were equal these two, and the plot start from the first episode, of course this anime would be better. If you watched the anime until the end you saw a giant development of the plot and characters, even if the last part of the story is a little confusing. Now let's talk about the situations of the characters. This is really absurd and unrealistic. The world of the history is like our world, but a lot of situations never can be see here. The animation is like the script, don't help the anime be great. The sound don't help too, is little impactant. The end of the anime don't answers a lot of quests about the history and let a mention for the nexts seasons. For finish, if you don't like histories who make you angry and are repetitive don't watch this anime. The anime would be better but, the script don't help him. Because that I give 4 for Jigoku Shoujo.

Alert!! The review may have some really slight spoilers! - Story - 9/10 At first, the story may look like it is just about a mysterious website that only shows its self at midnight and only to people who has hatred to someone, but in fact, the story is more than that. In every episode, there are repetitive moments and therefore you may find it boring, but repetitive moments are there to show us what Enma Mai's life looks like. Grieving people, hateful people, desperate people and sinners all over and every day is the same. not only that, she is also immortal. We learnt that there are evidence about her from Azuchi–Momoyama age ( 1573–1603 ). All these years she lived in an endless nightmare, and the only thing she could do to help people was taking revenge on their behalf. as much as doing this hurts herself, there was nothing she could do about it. As I said at the beginning, episodes are a bit repetitive to shows us a piece of what Enma Ai lived so far. It is there in order to make the ambience better. - Art - 10/10 Even though there are some cliche features about character's physical appearance, It is still well done. Protagonist's emotions are well reflected and there is no repetition of among the characters. - Sound - 9/10 There is not much to talk about. Ending and opening lyrics are really deep and fits the anime. Also without Enma Ai's theme, atmosphere would be incomplete, - Characters - 10/10 Most of the characters are temporary, they are just there to shows us the real face of the world we living in. And when it comes to main characters, most of them are really unique. Most of them are from Japan culture, mythological people, therefore they fit each other so well. Even the Jigoku Shoujo, Enma Ai, just a character from mangaka's imagination looks like she is also a mythological person because of the story and character cast. - Enjoyment - 8/10 I know the reason why most of the episodes are repetitive and stationary and I am finding them necessary but still, to be honest, I can not say that they were really fun, they were necessary to make ambience and story complete. Other than that anime was great. - Overall - 9/10 I find the anime great because of protagonist's mental and physical features and the ambience itself. And I would recommend to people who is into slow paced mystery animes or people who like gothic, haunted themes, ( for example anime called Another )

For such an original and intriguing premise, I found myself a little disappointed with how Hell Girl turned out throughout much of its run. This is a series with signs of a grey moral line through the actions of Ai and her companions as they use their Hell Correspondence site to send those tormenting the main character of an episode to hell. This raises some questions on whether or not there is justification in exacting vengeance on someone who causes you to suffer. The series mostly runs in an episodic format where we are introduced to a random character suffering from the actions of an antagonist and Hell Girl gives said central character the choice of banishing the subject of their misery to hell at the cost of being sent there themselves at the end of their life. Said character ponders over the decision until they get to a breaking point and then sicks Ai and her group on the antagonist of the episode. This is what ultimately contributes to one of the show's major flaws. While there are twists in some of the episodic stories and two characters (Hajime and Tsugumi) later become entangled in the affairs of Hell Correspondence, the developments essentially play out the same in nearly each episode and they can get repetitious. Also many of the targets of vengeance by a central character in each episode come across as so shallowly evil, that the show forces you not to care for them as they get tormented by Ai's companions before being banished to hell. Pushing through such repetitious developments does have its rewards though. The connection with the two characters introduced to Ai is slowly unveiled throughout the show as they become more familiar with the affairs of Hell Correspondence. Hints are dropped about Ai's past which are eventually fully revealed later in the series to give the viewer enough sense as to why she exacts vengeance for those desiring it, the same also in the case of Hajime and Tsugumi. Some episodes even cast aside the black and white morality setup from most of the show's other episodes reflecting on characters victims of their own tragic circumstances which Ai is shown to have regrets over casting into hell. There isn't any background mentioned about Ai's three companions in the Hell Correspondence, but I guess that is what sequels are for. Hell Girl features gorgeous looking clean visuals with bright colors, vast scenery and plenty of detail with settings and character designs. Animation is mostly consistent shown particularly well with settings as wind is blowing around branches and Ai's group are using their powers to torment the sufferers they are recruited to banish to hell, though some animation frames appeared to be reused kudos to the repetitious plot developments and repeated use of flashbacks hinting to the pasts of Ai and the Shibatas. Overall, I did enjoy Hell Girl, despite running into its major flaws, as the hinted focus on Ai and the Shibatas combined with the grey morality that comes up with the job of Hell Correspondence makes it a decent romp if you can press through the repetitious developments of the earlier episodes.

I am not lying . This anime is truly a masterpiece . If you guys have already watched death parade and you guys liked it , this is another anime that is quite similar to death parade except that death parade is much well-done cause of its art and everything . Jigoku Shoujo which means "Hell-Girl" tells us a lot about how the story is going to be like. Well , its not really much horror . Every episode almost have a story to tell and which make this anime series really fun and interesting to watch on . There will be some episodes to tell background stories about "Hell-Girl" and so on to explain her existence. This series is more like a roller coaster ride with all feelings on it . You have to truly feel the characters , what they are feeling in order to feel the punch in your heart and in order to experience the fun in this series . Nevertheless , its a top-notch anime series and is really good to watch. I would recommend you guys watch this immediately. Every anime , there will be people who do not like and i truly can understand that . After all , we are all humans we different preferences and so on . This is just my opinion . If you are into slice-of-life stories i think this suits you really well . After all , the story of every episode is almost about what people are going through and what people experienced . ~Plot~ The plot is supposed to be like revenge. "Hell-Girl" is supposed to revenge your grievances . This means like people want to seek revenge and you just have to tell "Hell-Girl" and she will revenge for you. Its quite similar like death-note , just that these people do not die instantly . We were able to witness their pathetic sides and their true human form (except for some). Slowly , instead of revenging . It become hatred. There will be some cases like just because that person hate that person , they decided to call hell-girl. And , worst still . Some random people just curse some random people innocently. There will be 2 other human main characters going through a journey with those people from hell . It makes things become even more interesting when we want to find out about that girl who is link to Hell-Girl. What exactly that human girl is related to Hell-Girl ? Find out more in Jigoku Shoujo 2 ! Go Go Go !

Jigoku Shoujo. Hell Girl in English. Jigoku Shoujo is the answer to the question of "What if we made the grim reaper weeaboo bait as fuck?" But no that's actually really inaccurate despite your titular character sporting looks that could just bring some japanophiles to hell. Hell girl is an episodic train of 24 episodes, each fleshing out instances of "People in power". The "victim of the week" (quoted because they're no saints themselves) is given a choice to send their nemesis to hell on the spot. No form of high horse, no "necessary evil", told like how it is; nobody is a saint. That's where majority of the show's story point's stem from. (I give the show a 9/10 in that aspect) Every episode is chock-full of down-to-earth despair like Think of a bowl of curry. Add prawn paste chili, wasabi and jalapenos and for good luck cook it in Godzilla's fires. If hell girl was curry that would be what hell girl is. Taking despair and giving it power alongside a troublesome decision.(Oh hey I just summarized 90% of the show.) What's keeping it from the perfect 10 is well, the fact that a curry metaphor summarizes 90% of the show. It's rather linear. It's almost a legitimate argument that you're watching the same episode again and again with a few anomalies until the the final effort to give the show closure of sorts which is great and all but is it perfectly paced? Haha no you need more than 3 episodes if you wanna wrap the show up properly. The Art gets a 10/10 just look at the fucking eyes drawn god do you see Enma's lovely red jewels no I don't mean her nipples look at her eyes I actually feel like having intercourse with those rubies and nothing else those red eyes are EVERYTHING about Ai *ahem* The sound's a downer here at a 7/10. While the the Opening and ending songs (ED especially Karinui is amazing) are solid the show provides very little variety of an OST and what's present isn't too powerful on its own. It's (understandably) in relation to the show's "One-dimensional" but that doesn't change the fact that it's grating to hear the same pieces when there's at least the decency to come up with new scenarios every episode. The characters are at a 10/10 here considering if the hell correspondence was an actual thing there would be events that unfold as written in the anime. That's enough to justify the 10/10. What do I say about the enjoyment part? I like watching people get shit on by the Hell correspondence team in their Executions and I especially love all that human jazz that goes on before the victim finally pulls the string. What's stopping me from giving it a 10/10 for enjoyment? Overall while I'll have it as rationally a 9 I'll always frame it up as a 10 on my list because I'm a faggot lol

This is my first anime review, hope you like it. I tried avoiding spoilers the best I could. I started watching Jigoku Shoujo with very high expectations. My friend had praised this anime to heavens and the general idea about a girl who takes upon people's revenge and ferries the wrong-doers to hell is very intriguing. Story: Jigoku Shoujo should be reviewed in two parts, because the second half of the show is just so much better than the first half. The first half of the show is episodic and specially the first episodes until about 10th episode or so, are quite repetitive in their plot. About 2/3 of the anime is quite episodic, with each having their own plot and side characters. It is really interesting to see how much people are suffering and what they have to go through in order to contact Ai Enma (Jigoku Shoujo / Hell Girl) and send the person they hate to hell. It often feels even good when the suffering person pulls that thread off the straw doll's neck, sending the wrong-doers to hell. Despite this, the anime is sometimes even a bit dull with the ever-repeating plot line. Towards the second half of the anime, the cases start to differ more from the basic formula and the cases get even quite bizarre. It isn't always necessarily the evil people who get sent to hell, and for good reasons. This brings up lots of questions about Ai Enma and her past, why is she doing the job of the Hell Girl? By the middle of the season, two of the other main characters begin appear more often as well. The journalist Hajime, and her daughter Tsugumi, who has psychic abilities regarding Ai Enma. They are trying to find out the truths behind the Hell Girl's past and reasons for why she's taking people to hell. More and more questions about Ai Enma start to pop up. The story starts to build up in depth and intensity towards the last quarter of the season. The episodes past 20 saved the anime for me. Ai Enma's past is revealed and the story loses any of the repetitive dullness it had until that point. After the slow start of the story, the ending wraps it up quite well. Many of the questions about the backgrounds of the characters are answered. Still, many questions remain even after the anime ends, which asks for watching the next two seasons as well. Art: Art in Jigoku Shoujo is quite good, even if it's not something never seen before. The art fits the "dark" theme of the anime really well and creates the atmosphere the show deserves. Characters: Sadly, Ai Enma and the people (the three magical dolls) surrounding her are pretty much the only interesting characters in Jigoku Shoujo. Because most of the show is episodic, there isn't much of a background created for the ever-changing side characters. The two other main characters, the journalist Hajime and her daughter Tsugumi, who are pursuing the Hell Girl have quite big role in the show, but personally I dislike them, specially Hajime. I despise him specially after his past is revealed. More questions about Ai Enma start to arise as the story progresses. Why is she doing her job as the Hell Girl and why does she always take the people to hell, even if they are not bad people? Why is she so emotionless? The past and reasons behind the existence of Hell Girl are intriguing and towards the end of the show there's rapid development in her character and past. Ai Enma is one of my favorite female characters of all time. Her line "Care to give death a try?" gives me the shivers every single time. Sound: The soundtrack (including OP & ED) of Jigoku shoujo is great. I can't say it's one of my favorites, but it fits the show perfectly. I can't really imagine how the music could be better for this show, it really brings the feeling of the anime up a notch. Overall Jigoku Shoujo was a really good anime. Without the slow 2/3 of the story I could have scored this anime 10. The first half wasn't bad but it was a bit too slow for the show to be perfect. Ai Enma and the story surrounding her are really interesting, I just wish they had got deeper into the pasts of the other characters too. I love all the mysterious and symbolic things in Jigoku Shoujo, the music and art are very good as well. The show wrapped up the end well, answering most of the biggest questions. Despite that, it left too many unanswered questions which I hope will be answered in the next two seasons.

Cliche Pattern ANIME HORROR Is a horror anime that uses repetitive sinful stories to tell the same story over and over until Like a fixed story Such as giving the protagonist revenge by relying on a website Abyss daughter to take revenge on those who bully him. And it ends with the protagonist becoming Villain instead of the ending I'm bored with the process And presenting the issue of bullying alone Without talking about any other matter I don't like that some of the characters are not villains, but go to hell because of their irresponsible human self-indulgence. Even with the conditions he ultimately had to be sent to hell. But for me, I do not agree with the actions it affects other people. I think has a more novel way of presenting and interesting actions. It might make me like this a bit more, but For me now, I would say that it is bad.

Just like many others here, I was recommended this series and the premise is what catches most people's attention at first: "it is an anime about a girl who will avenge you sending someone you hate to Hell, however on doing so, when you die, you will also be sent to Hell". Most of the episodes will follow the same pattern someone will feel they have been wronged (each with different reasons, some more compelling, others not so much), they will get in touch with Ai Enma, she will explain the whole "when you seek revenge you should dig two graves" and if they agree they have toi pull the red string of the straw doll, something will keep them from pulling and by the end of the episode they pull. For the first 7 episodes, we will see Ai Enma doing the same thing, from the eighth episode onward another protagonist, Hajime Shibata, is introduced: one that finds out about her and wants to stop people from seeking revenge. This give a bit of fresh air to the series so, despite the same "I can avenge you, but you will go to Hell too" it keeps pushing you to see if Hajime will be able to do anything against Ai Enma. I must tell you that sometimes even this "fresh of breath hair" feels a bit rotten too, it is just frustrating seeing how the writing on this is so bad. There is not much to talk about the protagonist, we have 4 beings working for Hell: Ai Enma, responsible for making the contracts, she is cold and tries not to get involved on human matters, but a few times some cases sadden her, her character develops too late; Wanyuudou is both the carriage that transport Ai to reap revenge and the straw doll that bond Ai to said revenge, he seems to care a lot about Ai, even though sometimes tries to hide; Ichimokuren and Skeleton Woman (Hone Onna) mostly work on the illusion right after the person to be taken revenge on takes part, (it seemed like the original writer wanted to at least allow that person to recognise their mistakes, but I guess they dropped that idea) so Ai can say her iconic phrase, after some sort of enchantment, "care to give death a try?". Then we get Hajime and Tsugumi Shibata, father and daughter, he tries to stop people from getting their revenge because revenge isn't the answer, Tsugumi is trying to understand the whole revenge business and somehow functions as an antenna capturing Ai's steps, we are shown some backstory on them, but little to none character development. No point talking about supporting characters since 99% of them will be shown only once. The art on the protagonists are great, maybe even for today standard would be considered good, but the supporting characters that only appear on every new contract between them and Ai are bland and some even look like each other - even if they aren't related at all. So kudos to the protagonists and outside scenarios, other than that it is quite bad. I didn't like the opening, I would skip every single time, it doesn't "match" the anime, the ending fits perfectly, a morbid melody to it. I wished they tried to bring more variety to the episodes, maybe even a quicker pulling on the string and showing more of the consequences of it, or how some characters regretted their choice, or characters trying to trick Ai somehow (having someone pull the string for you), something more, it just felt so predictable, I liked though some cultural references, like in episode 17, however if you don't know Japanese culture - and I'm not claiming I do, I am sure I missed a lot of things - you will miss some details that will make the episodes even better.

When it comes down to the subject of revenge, I'm pretty black and white - you either deserve to be punished, or not. When I picked Hell Girl to be my next watchable anime, after the glory of Death Note, I was pretty sceptic, to say the least. Revenge, as a base of the story, can be done either so, that it's bearable at best, or insufferable, at worst - said in short, I tend to hate revenge-stories. Lucky for me, Hell Girl was that lucky bastard, that slipped between the radar, and managed to actually be something... well, out of this world, to say it humbly! The story, for a 26-episode- show, is actually pretty devided. The first half is episodic, with no actual story involved what so ever, but more like a plot-based formula. Firstly, there's a person, usually some poor, unfortunate high school student, who for some reason or the other, get deep with the sharks. He/she suffers alot, pleads for salvation for their predicaments, hears this rumor about a Hell Girl, who takes revenge on those, whos name she's given, Hell Girl offers her goods and services, but always for a price - nice touch - and the rest, is up to our victims. Take their revenge, or be a good/stupid person, and endure their suffering, as well as the consequenses. Needles to say, that never has revenge not been served - evil is always sented to Hell, and covenant with Hell, is thus made. I truly liked this first half of the story. It was simple, intriguing in both it's morality, themes and it's consept. Revenge comes with a price, but is there ever such time, when the price is too much to pay, no matter what the circumstances? And what if the vengeance doesnät bring that long-waited salvation, but even more suffering, than before that? Most of the victims, wishing for a revenge, were just mere children, and it really made me think, would I ever be in a situation, where I would wish for a revenge, with a price being to be sent to Hell myself, after I was dead? Propably, yes, but still... pretty impressive, I'd say! The second half of the series... not so good. Actually, no good at all! There's now this pesky reporter, with his admirably black and white- moralled/naive daughter, searching for anyone, who's even somehow connected with the Hell Girl, and as expected, sticking their ugly noses in where they don't belong, saying that revenge is never a right thing to do, no matter what the cause, or the circumstances! Okay, bullshit on that one! I hated this reporter, and his naive morals, from the bottom of my heart, and I hated, how by intoducing him, we also lost this wonderful, formulaic experience, with it's somewhat perfectly black and white morals, that fortunately, up until now, left out all the hypocrisy, and preaching on and on about values and morals of humanity - I feel like I'm back in 90's for crying out loud! If I were in any of these predicaments, wowing for a vengeance for my grievance, I sure as Hell wouldn't want any goody-two-shoes to stop and tell me, that despite all the wrongs and pains in my life, forced upon me by some sadistic/sosiopathic lunatic, my tormenter doesn't still deserve to be sent to Hell, because "it just isn't the right thing to do"! What a absolute rubbish! Atleast the girl was nice supporter for me, saying it straight like it is. If you're a bad person, doing something bad to another, you should be punished, and sometimes, revenge is all that is needed, to cleanse the soul, in order to move on. Another serious beefer that I had, during the second half of the story, was the Hell Girl herself. I liked her more, in the first half, when she was just this very emotionless, quiet, lifeless, and overall lacking any kind of free will, motives, or desires, thus being almost completely with no real personality. Sounds crazy, I know, but in order to support this morally black and white story, I truly liked a protagonist, who was just a mere entity, instead of a actual person, not really saying much, nor doing much, only appearing when needed, building up this bearly unseen moral ground of choise, and consequense, and if so chosen, sending people to Hell, for vengeance. I didn't want her to have a tragic backstory, with lost love and sad death! I didn't want to learn her reasons and motives for what she's doing! All I wanted to know of her, was that Hell Girl, is just some not-evil-not-good entity, that'll come to you, who seek for a revenge, gives you a chance to do so, while still demanding full payment afterwards, of course, and sends our tormenters straight to Hell, with no chances for them to atone! That's the Hell Girl that I liked! Not some bitter and vengeful spirit, who misses/hates her lover-cousin! Yeah... japanese, man! Geez... Overall, despite all it's errors and some unneeded minor details that I never really wanted to learn, I really liked this anime - can't you tell, by the score?! It's serious - definitely not for a weak-minded, or animal-lovers! - with some truly grotesque little stories and tragic, poor unfortunate souls. It's morally interesting, and has some truly facinating points and highlights of humans as a species, that'll always seek for a revenge, no matter how much we want to believe in truth and justice - for some, revenge is justice. Hell Girl isn't really anything groundbreaking, for not ever taking any actual time to process nor judge it's own morals, or ways to deal with sorrow, loss and despair. It just gives us this "suffer and endure"- scenario, with a chance to get rid of your griefances easy and simple, with a little price to pay, after you die. It could have worked a lot better as a episodic piece, with no actual story in it, but as it is, it's pretty impressive, considering the themes, morals and values alone. Despite the problems, wound in the second half, this is actually the best revenge-story, that I've ever seen, and I would gladly recommend it to anyone, who has a taste for a little vengeance. Story: 8 Art: 8 Sound: 7 Characters: 9 Enjoyment: 9 Overall: 9

This is my first review here, so I'll make it quick. I've just finished watching the first 3 season's of Jigoku Shoujo. By only watching 2/3 episodes a day, I was able to go throw 75+ episodes of this show without having to drop it mid way. I must say, I'm surprised that I was able to last this long, considering this was a huge disappointment for me. Story : 2/10 - Basically, a girl known as the "Hell Girl" allows people to send someone they hate to hell. And apart from that, there is no main story. Every episode, apart from maybe a couple of ones, centers around new character's that were just introduced in the same episode. Only the main character and her gang appear on almost every episode, repeatedly for the same reason, addind nothing new to the show. Art : 3/10 - I can't ask for something much better, considering this show is pretty old. But even then, it shouldn't be this bad. You will find yourself viewing the same scene and the same animation on every single episode. Same character pose, same reactions, etc. Sound : 4/10 - There is maybe one or two soundtracks that aren't really that bad, I can say that at least. Now for character's voices, I can't say the same. Across every single episode, you will hear the same lines of text, with the same tone as well. It gets really, really boring, and I ended up skipping it plenty of times. Character : 2/10 - Now, you have heard a lot of bad things till now,and you might be asking if at least the character's can same the show. But nop, they really can't. Every episode features a new set of character's that will be irrelevant to the rest of the show. Since those are just supporting character's, I'm not able to judge those. So I will mainly focus about the main character of the show, Enma Ai (Hell Girl). She is the type of character that doesn't show any emotion at all. Add that to the repetitive dialogues and the same tone across every word, and you get a really boring character. It's a disappointment, considering she is the main character of her show and doesn't really get any development at all during it. And when asked a question, she just stays there with a dead look in complete silence, not even speaking at all. She is more of a doll or a machine rather than an "ex-human". Overall: 3/10 - So what saves this show? I've started watching because I found it interesting to see what reasons someone would have to send someone to hell. It could be anything from bullying and physical/mental pain, to something really poor like "meh I just don't like seeing his face". And considering that every episode featured new cases, there were more opportunities to create more scenarios. But sadly, all the previous stated points didin't contributed in order to make this show a good experience. And that finishes it. Overall I found this to be a pretty boring show, with nothing that really helps making it even watcheable for some people that just don't have the patience for it. I will advice you to see a couple of episodes if you are really interested to try it, and that would be enough for you to know the answer, since every episode is the same thing, over and over again. This was my honest review on the show, and many will disagree with me on this one. But I just wanted to point it out anyway.

So have you ever wanted revenge towards someone, so much you would sacrifice your soul and send them to hell? Story The story is basically about different people in each episode who decide to do what I have asked as my opening question. Anyway while this is going on a "reporter" seeks to stop it. In all the story is very unique and very tragic. Depending which episode almost anyone can relate. my one problem which was only small, was that some small things like someones dog dying and a girl sending a soul to hell for it, along with her own soul. I mean I love the story but it is nonsense no one in their right mind would do this. I did like the fact they used real like examples of people out for vengeance. Art I loved the art! it could be creepy, sad, and happy all at once. It stood out a lout and it was just plain out amazing. I do however wonder why the decided to draw a school girl dress on Ai through out every episode. She didn't really go to a school. It is just small, but overall the art was amazing. Some things I wished had more variety than drawing the same thing over and over, however like I said it was still a great style of art. Sound Now just the same as the Art, but I find the music fit perfect in every episode. I loved the music when a creepy, happy, sad, or just every scene when it played. It stood out to me a lot. I especially loved the i intro and ending. So that was a big plus. I can't say much for sound or art but I said what I think so it is good enough. Character Every character that continued to show during the series had some kind of character development. I do think that the development could have been better for some. the build up was wasted at the end I find. I may be saying this because certain characters don't continue on to season 2, but I really thought that the ending would have more impact considering all the build up. I still liked all characters though. All the supporting characters too. Enjoyment Well what can I say? I found almost everything perfect. I realize my score is a little rough but I have my reasons. I still really enjoyed watching, I can still remember watching the first episode and feeling so exited to have found such a wonderful anime. This will always be one of my favorites and so will the next couple of seasons too I hope. Overall Well, why are you still reading this? Get on to the anime! This anime was nearly PERFECT. I believe everyone should give Jigoku Shoujo a try.

This review will be about all 3 of the Hell Girl series, since despite a few small differences (for example a notable graphics improvement over time) all 3 series are pretty much similar. And by similar I mean DEPRESSING AS F£$K. The protagonists do change as well, but you could say that the protagonists actually play the sub-plot part whereas the random people appearing for one episode play the main part. The anime's theme is about a site, which you can only access if you feel deep hatred inside your heart... In other words everyone can easily access this, and it even becomes a telephone app. (no, really, it does). This was never explained but it is assumed that each person can only use this site once. If you write the name of a person you hate on that site, you receive a Hell Doll. If you pull a string from the doll, the person whose name you wrote immediatly goes to a hell trial (supposedly you can avoid going to hell if you succeed in those trials. Throughout the series noone ever did.) which is pretty much the "ironic punishment" section before literally going to hell. After that, the site's user gets a tattoo, meaning he/she (usually a she) will also go to hell when they die (without their soul having a chance to go to heaven etc etc), though "when" they die isn't affected. Each episode usually stands on its own, with the main protagonist of each series working and scooping around on the background, but otherwise remaining a minor character. The real protagonist is usually the site's user of each episode. We see him getting tortured by his harsh reality (oh and I DO mean harsh), how usually it's a specific person's fault (bullying, buckets of it) and how the protagonist decides that his/her soul is not worth it if his/her life is that miserable. While in the first few episodes the anime does fool us that if your name is written on that site you're one sick psycho, as the episodes go on it starts becoming MUUUUUCH more complicated than that. People make mistakes, sometimes the people who they send to hell even protected them from worse things to come, sometimes it was just misunderstandings, sometimes it is the evil psychos who use the site and innocent people go to hell for no apparent reason. What you start believing is a mechanism for justice soon becomes muuuuch more complex and questionable. In addition the outcome isn't always what each episode's protagonist thought it would be. As the series go on, you don't get used to it, it actually becomes worse. The Hell Girl herself (basicly hell's employee for commiting the "murders" and collecting the souls) has a phenomenally depressing backstory. Her helpers also share gruesome tails. And lastly the main protagonists... For the first season it's pretty sad. For the second season's protagonist story it is pretty darn depressing. For the third season it is "well here is the rope, you know what to do". Since (when I was 13-14) I made the mistake of watching all three series in a row, I actually went through depression for 1-2 months. To sum it up, what I really liked about Hell Girl is that it actually promotes the value of human life, and therefore shows how big a dillema it is to actually kill somebody. Even better there is no fear of getting caught since the protagonists of each episode never have to actually interract with said "to-be-missing" person, so it's just a matter of conflicting ethics and emotions most of the time, as well as comparing the happiness your own soul MIGHT achieve one day compared to how miserable your current life is. If you want a good way to get depressed or some read food-for-thought, there you have it!

This anime...oh my goodness...this anime is truly ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN. It is just...wow...from the opening theme song you're hooked. I warn you once you start this anime it is impossible to stop. This is truly deserving of the word masterpeice. The artwork is fantastic and the voice actors have done a phenomenal job portraying a host of characters you can't help but fall in love with. This anime is a bit lengthier than most but honestly you are left feeling a bit cheated because you'll want more. The only unsatisfying thing about this anime is the ending(which is ok because there are two more seasons). All the mini stories will captivate you pulling you further and further into Ai Enma's world. You'll be sure to pick a favorite substory and a favorite villain; there are PLENTY to choose from. (mine is in the second episode). Plot twist after plot twist, page turn after page turn Hell Girl will have you going up to the end. Thank goodness there are two more seasons! A must see for any anime lover or even anyone who slightly enjoys it. Please PLEASE watch this.It does NOT disappoint.

Oh, Hell Girl...how I have re-watched you so many times... First things first. Hell Girl is NOT a horror anime..so if you fear blood and gore, don't worry. Hell Girl features little to none of that. Just the occasionally skulls and blood splatters is all. Secondly, I loved this anime so much. Its interesting and keeps your brain going. There's always a twist no one expected right around the corner. I have re-watched it about 4 times. Once I even watched it in reverse order....(don't ask....) In the first 12 episodes or so nothing is really given except that Hell Link is a website of which anyone can access at midnight to enter in the name of their abuser for Ai Enma (Hell Girl) to come in contact with the person and propose a contract. But undoubtedly, each episode which contains a new persons story is always entertaining and interesting. After you get past those beginning episodes, new characters appear that add on to the story that is figuring out who this "Hell Girl" really is. You then begin to learn the story of Ai and the others of whom help her with the Hell Link. ALL IN ALL~ FUNimation did an excellent dubbing of it. The Animation and art is beautiful. The story line isn't plain or meaningless. I recommend this to anyone who loves surprises and twists in an anime. It is also for the more paranormal kind of people. I highly recommend this to anyone who is okay with an anime not being happy go lucky moe kawaii desu ne.

Jigoku Shoujo is a rare find when it comes to story telling and managing to keep you hooked. Each episode has a great story of different "sins" and the outcomes of those involved. Some episodes will leave you feeling happy for the main character while others will make you feel like crap due to the injustice coming from the wish hellgirl grants. She isnt on anyone side and is simply here to observe and later guide those to hell. While she's just a entity living among us (hehe) she has a dark past that lead her to becoming what she is now. You learn about her story as the episodes progress but you never get the real story till the end. Her assistants or her helpers are also great and add alot to the story. The reason I gave this anime a 10 was because all the elements just seem so unique. Its a great watch alone or with friends.

✪ Genre: contemporary fantasy/dark fantasy, drama, seinen ✔ Positive Aspects ✔ ◧ Decent animation, with clear character designs, with colors of medium to low saturation and of medium to high vibrancy. Unfortunately, there was not much detail in facial expressions, body language, buildings, and landscapes. ◧ A very interesting concept for a series, bringing together supernatural elements from very different traditions: Greek mythology, Judeo-Christian eschatology, and Japanese folklore. ✘ Negative Aspects ✘ ◧ Virtually nonexistent soundtrack - absolutely nothing stood out. ◧ Up until the 8th episode of the series, there was absolutely nothing even resembling a central plotline. Nonetheless, what eventually appeared was not so much of a plotline but 2 characters somewhat connected to the Hell Girl and her crew, but not something as enticing as it may sound. Essentially, every episode had (almost) the exact same plot: someone has a grievance, he/she communicates with the Hell Girl, the Hell Girl provides the said person with a straw doll who takes some time to think this decision through up until the point he/she eventually unties the knot. ◧ The character development was limited to the main characters of a respective episode, not really about our protagonists. Only the last 4 episodes of the series provided some biographical information, which was itself limited to the Hell Girl, not so much about her crew. Overall: A giant waste of time.

this anime was surprisingly good. it starts out the first couple of episodes take you through unique repeating scenarios of hell girl avenging the wronged in a glorious way that satisfies a person's sense of justice but a hidden detail is that each time hell girl repeats this in each episode it gradually changes. there is the repeating formula and theme but there are hidden details that change and more information gets revealed each episode and you learn more of the motives and intentions of the characters. the episodes start from an ideal situation but range in outcome and events and bring up the question of is it right to seek revenge? i struggled to keep interest through the repeating events and im sure most will but for me what got me through the repetition was the hope that something will change and be different and that the story will progress and it finally does. it introduces wildcard that change the formula and bring the momentous repetition to a halt. i don't care for that format but hell girl pulled it off. if you can make it through the repetition and notice the changes to the pattern and realize the back ground story elements you will realize this is a far richer experience than most other anime. this was a master piece not because it panders to peoples wants but because it makes the audience actually think about its key themes and ponder the nature of revenge.