Hell Girl

Hell Girl

The cover of eighth Japanese DVD compilation of the second season released by Aniplex on August 22, 2007
地獄少女
(Jigoku Shōjo)
Genre Horror, Mystery, Supernatural
Anime television series
Directed by Takahiro Omori
Written by Hiroshi Watanabe
Studio Studio Deen
Licensed by
Network Animax, MBS, Tokyo MX, Kids Station
English network
Original run October 4, 2005 – April 4, 2006
Episodes 26
Manga
Written by Miyuki Etō
Published by Kodansha
English publisher
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Nakayoshi
Original run November 2005 – September 2008
Volumes 9
Anime television series
Hell Girl: Two Mirrors
Directed by Takahiro Ōmori
Written by Ken'ichi Kanemaki
Studio Studio Deen
Licensed by
Network Animax, MBS, Tokyo MX, Kids Station
English network
Original run October 7, 2006 – April 6, 2007
Episodes 26
Television drama
Directed by Makoto Naganuma
Studio Izumi TV Production
Network Nippon Television
Original run November 4, 2006 – January 27, 2007
Episodes 12
Game
Jigoku Shoujo Akekazura / Mioyosuga
Developer Compile Heart
Platform Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2
Released September 27, 2007 (DS), September 19, 2009 (PS2)
Anime television series
Hell Girl: Three Vessels
Directed by Hiroshi Watanabe
Written by Ken'ichi Kanemaki
Studio Studio Deen
Licensed by
Network Animax, MBS, Tokyo MX
English network
Original run October 4, 2008 – April 4, 2009
Episodes 26
Manga
New Hell Girl
Written by Miyuki Etō
Published by Kodansha
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Nakayoshi
Original run March 19, 2009 – November 6, 2009
Volumes 3
Manga
Hell Girl R
Written by Miyuki Etō
Published by Kodansha
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Nakayoshi
Original run March 19, 2010 – July 15, 2013
Volumes 11
Manga
Hell Girl: Enma Ai Selection, Super Scary Story
Written by Miyuki Etō
Published by Kodansha
Demographic Shōjo
Magazine Nakayoshi
Original run July 20, 2007 - April 27, 2012 – present
Volumes 13

Hell Girl (Japanese: 地獄少女 Hepburn: Jigoku Shōjo), also known as Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell, is an anime series produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. It focuses on the existence of a supernatural system that allows people to take revenge by having other people sent to Hell via the services of the mysterious title character and her assistants who implement this system.[1] Revenge, injustice, hatred, and the nature of human emotions are common themes throughout the series.

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. A live-action television series adaptation started airing in Japan on Nippon Television from November 4, 2006. 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]

Plot

Each episode typically follows the format of a self-contained short story where a person has been suffering torment from an acquaintance to the point that he or she accesses the Hell Correspondence website and submits a request to get rid of the person. Ai Enma, the Hell Girl, appears, and presents a doll with a string that can send the named antagonist to Hell. When the string is pulled, Enma and her companions then torment the antagonist, offering a last chance to repent (which is usually refused), and ferries them to Hell. The price of the contract is that the person making the request will also have to go to Hell after his or her life is over.

Starting with the eighth episode, Hajime Shibata, a former journalist who has resorted to taking scandal photos to blackmail people, begins investigating the rumors surrounding the Hell Correspondence website, and discovers that people are literally being dragged to Hell. His daughter, Tsugumi, is somehow able to see Enma. As the series progresses, they become conflicted on whether they should intervene to save the people involved. In the second season, a mysterious young girl from Hell, named Kikuri, is introduced. Kikuri is able to travel freely between Earth and the Twilight realm where Enma 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" website. In the third season, Kikuri returns to recruit Enma's assistants along with a yōkai named Yamawaro, who accepts an old offer from Enma to become her fourth assistant. The story follows Enma's mysterious possession of a young schoolgirl, Yuzuki Mikage.

Hell Correspondence

The medium through which a client contacts Ai Enma has changed over the centuries. Initially clients would write the names of whom they hated on an ema, which later changed to sending a letter to the address appearing in a three-column newspaper advertisement only visible to those with enough hatred. Once the internet became available, people could access the "Hell Correspondence" website, otherwise known as the "Hotline to Hell." Soon after, the site was adapted into a mobile version that could be accessed from cell phones.[5]

Each medium can only be used 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, and their request is accepted, Enma Ai will take them to a realm of perpetual twilight where she offers them a straw doll, which is one of her companions, with a red string wound around its neck and describe to the client the details of their contract. Should the client pull the string tied around the doll's neck, Enma Ai will ferry the target of the revenge straightaway to Hell. However, once the client's life has ended, he/she will also go to Hell, and a black crest-shaped mark appears on the client's chest to serve as a permanent reminder of their decision to send someone to Hell. However, this mark is no guarantee that the person themselves won't be sent to Hell by another client.

Media

Anime

Part of a painting by Kawanabe Kyōsai, featured in the opening theme of 'Hell Girl'

The "Hell Girl" anime series is produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. It is directed by Takahiro Omori 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 second season premiered on October 7, 2006 across Japan on Animax. Animax also later translated and dubbed both the first and second seasons 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 and different several regions, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Latin America and Europe. The first season was also licensed for North American distribution by FUNimation. The U.S. cable/satellite channel IFC announced in September 2007[6] that it acquired "Hell Girl" from FUNimation, which then premiered on July 9, 2008.[7] Section23 Films announced that Sentai Filmworks has licensed the second season, with the first DVD set shipping on May 25, 2010, and the second set on July 27.[8] On June 24, 2010, Section23 Films announced that Sentai has also the third season of "Hell Girl," under the subtitle "Three Vessels". The first set was released on September 28, 2010,[9] followed by the second set released on November 30, 2010. Funimation later dropped the series from internet streaming and home media distribution after reaching the end of the license term in early 2013.

Music

A total of six soundtracks were released by Sony Music Entertainment. Two original soundtrack albums were released for "Hell Girl". The first album contains twenty-four tracks and was released on January 25, 2006.[10] The second album contains twenty-six tracks and was released on April 19, 2006.[11] Two original soundtrack albums were released for "Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori." The first album contains twenty-three tracks and was released on January 24, 2007.[12] The second album contains twenty-three tracks and was released on March 21, 2007.[13] Two original soundtrack albums were released for "Jigoku Shōjo: Mitsuganae." The first album contained twenty-eight tracks and was released on December 17, 2008.[14] The second album contained twenty-seven tracks and was released on March 4, 2009.[15]

Manga

A manga adaptation has featured art by Miyuki Etō (永遠 幸 Etō Miyuki). It has been serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi shōjo manga magazine since October 2005. The manga was published into three different titles. The first shares the same name of the anime and a total of three volumes were released from January 25, 2006 to October 6, 2008.[16][17] The manga was originally licensed by Del Rey Manga, and the first volume was released January 2008. The second volume was released in May 2008.

The second manga, titled Shin Jigoku Shōjo (新・地獄少女 "New Hell Girl"), released a total of three volumes from March 19, 2009 to November 6, 2009.[18][19] The third, titled Jigoku Shōjo R (地獄少女R "Hell Girl R"), released a total of eleven volumes from March 19, 2010 to July 15, 2013.[20][21] A single manga volume, titled Jigoku Shōjo Enma Ai Serekushon Geki Kowa Sutourii (地獄少女　閻魔あいセレクション　激こわストーリー Hell Girl: Enma Ai Selection, Super Scary Story) was released on April 30, 2014.[22]

Live action

Hell Girl was adapted into a single live-action television drama series that premiered on Nippon Television from November 4, 2006 spanning 12 half-hour episodes.[23] The series was directed by Makoto Naganuma. The theme song for the series is "Dream Catcher."[24] The live action adaptation features Sayuri Iwata as Enma Ai, Kazuki Kato as Ichimoku Ren, Aya Sugimoto as Onna Hone, Saaya Irie as Shibata Tsugumi, and Kazuhiko Nishimura as Shibata Hajime. Hisahiro Ogura, the actor who portrays Wanyundou in the live-action adaptation is also the Japanese male narrator at the beginning of every episode of the anime series. Eriko Matsushima retains her role as Enma Ai's grandmother in the live action series.[25]

Video games

"Hell Girl" has been adapted into a video game for the Nintendo DS entitled "Jigoku Shōjo Akekazura" (地獄少女 朱蘰), which was developed by Compile Heart and released in Japan on September 27, 2007.[26][27] Compile Heart made a PlayStation 2 version entitled "Jigoku Shōjo Mioyosuga" (地獄少女 澪縁) released on September 17, 2009.[28] A puzzle game has also been released on the Konami Net DX service for i-mode-compatible mobile phones.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Anime and memory: aesthetic, cultural and thematic perspectives", de Dani Cavallaro, page 53
  2. ↑ "Third Hell Girl Anime Series Greenlit for Production (Updated)". Anime News Network. 2007-12-28. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  3. ↑ "New Hell Girl Anime Named: Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae". Anime News Network. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  4. ↑ "Bandai Channel Official Jigoku Shōjo Page". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ Hiroshi Watanabe (2009-02-21). "Hell Professor vs. Hell Girl". Jigoku Shōjo: Mitsuganae. Episode 20. 15 minutes in.
  6. ↑ "FC Boosts Anime, Acquires Three Series". Reed Business Information. 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  7. ↑ "Hell Girl Anime Debuts on IFC's Linear Channel Tonight". Anime News Network. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  8. ↑ "Sentai Adds Asu no Yoichi, Eyeshield 21, Hell Girl 2". Anime News Network. 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
  9. ↑ "Sentai Acquires Xan'd, Hell Girl Season 3 Anime, Adds New Dubs". Mania.com. 2010-06-24. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Jigoku Shojo Original Soundtrack". Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  11. ↑ "Jigoku Shojo Original Soundtrack 2". Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  12. ↑ "Jigoku Shojo Futagomori Original Soundtrack". Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  13. ↑ "Jigoku Shojo Futagomori Original Soundtrack 2". Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  14. ↑ "Jigoku Shojo Mitsuganae Original Soundtrack". Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  15. ↑ "Jigoku Shojo Mitsuganae Original Sound Track -Soushoku-". Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  16. ↑ 地獄少女(1) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  17. ↑ 地獄少女(9) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  18. ↑ 新・地獄少女(1) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  19. ↑ 新・地獄少女(3) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  20. ↑ "地獄少女R(1)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  21. ↑ "地獄少女R(11)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  22. ↑ "地獄少女　閻魔あいセレクション　激こわストーリー" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2016-10-18.
  23. ↑ "Jigoku Shoujo Live Action" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-10-02.
  24. ↑ "Drama Detail Data: 地獄少女 JIGOKU-SHOUJO" (in Japanese). Furusaki Yasunari. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  25. ↑ "Jigoku Shoujo Live Action". Retrieved 2014-10-02.
  26. ↑ "地獄少女"にまつわる謎とは？ 『地獄少女 朱蘰（あけかづら）』 (in Japanese). June 28, 2007. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  27. ↑ 地獄少女 朱蘰 (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Hell Girl Hotline Opens On The PlayStation 2". Retrieved 2011-07-08.
  29. ↑ "アニメやマンガのヒットに続け　iモードで『地獄少女ぱずるだま』配信" (in Japanese). Famitsu. April 18, 2007. Retrieved 2011-07-08.
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