Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae DVD Vol 3

Title: Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae DVD Vol 3
Catalog No.: ANSB-2483
Produced by: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 25 February 2009
Price: 5,775 yen
Contains: Episodes 7 to 9
First press premium: Nekura newspaper, jacket pinup, 3 postcards and three-fold case
Total run time: 72 minutes

Tsukihana by Kitade Nana (OP of Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae)

Title: Tsukihana
Artiste: Kitade Nana
Catalog number: SECL-737
Produced by: Sony Music Entertainment
Number of discs: 2
Date of release: 4 Feb 2009
Price: 2000 yen (inclusive of tax)
Limited edition includes a straw doll.

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae DVD Vol 2

Title: Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae DVD Vol 2
Catalog number: ANSB-2483
Produced by: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 28 Jan 2009
Price: 5775 yen (inclusive of tax)
Contains: Episodes 4 to 6
Total run time: 74 minutes

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsugane DVD Vol 1 Info

Title: Jigoku Shoujo Mitsugane 1
Release date: 17 Dec 2008
Price: 5,775 yen (inclusive of tax)
Catalog number: ANSB-2481

Includes:
Ep 1: Ubawareta Shoujo「奪われた少女」
Ep 2: Kago no Tori「籠ノ鳥」
Ep 3: Kusatta Kajitsu「腐った果実」



1st press premium:
Oka Mariko's special illustrated BOX
Dark News (Jacket illustration pinups on the reverse)
Depression postcards x 3
Super Picture Label
Event application form (Those who buy the first press editions for both Vol 1 and 2 can use the form included to apply for a special event.)

Footage premium:
Jigoku Shoujo Gekimation First Night
Ending Theme "Ichinuke" video clip featuring Noto Mamiko
Promotional CM clips

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae 地獄少女 三鼎 to be back in Oct'08

Jigoku Shoujo's Part 3, Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae will be back in Oct 2008. It will be shown at 2.25am via MBS on Thursdays. Besides the main cast compromising of Enma Ai, Ichimoku Ren, Hone-onna, Wanyuudou and Kikuri, there will be two new characters introduced i.e. Mikage Yuzuki, a junior high student who has an unknown relationship with Jigoku Tsuushin and Yamawaro, a new subordinate of Ai.

Nightmare by SNoW (Theme song of Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori)

Title: Nightmare
Artist: SNoW
Lyrics: Yamano Hideaki
Melody: SNoW & Shindo Yasumitsu

ima nanji ka oshiete yume to itte dakishimete

haikyou no machi ni miboe ga aru
anata to mekutta shashinshuu no naka

doushite hitori atashi wa hitori
sugu ni sugu ni yume nanda to kizuku

gareki wo hashiru nani ka ketobasu
yume kara sameru deguchi wo sagasu no

hayaku ikanakya hayaku ikanakya
doko ka de anata no koe ga shiteru no

ugoite iru toki no naka shika
eien nante mienain da...

ima nanji ka oshiete yume to itte dakishimete
tomari kaketa atashi no kokoro wo ugokashite onegai
tonari ni anata ga iru
tabun chigau yume wo mite
taiyou nanka iranai
anata no egao ga ima koishikute

anata wo omou konna ni omou
sonna atashi wo yume de mitsuketa no

motto shiritai motto shiritai
anata no koto wo motto motto shiritai

nan toka shinakya shikkari shinakya
donna sekai ni mo setsunasa ga afureru

toki ga itoshii naze ga itoshii
ima wa motto anata wo shiritai

wasureteta yo shinji nakereba
donna koto demo hajimaranain da

ippun ichibyou demo zutto zutto dakishimete
warui yume wo mite ita dake to tsubuyaite kudasai
tonari ni anata ga ita
ima mo kitto soba ni iru no
araamu ga nattatte
anata no koe shika todokanainda

toroketain da
atama itain da
kimi wo mamoru toka tama ni kikitain da
hajiketainda
warette itainda
hajimetainda

ima nanji ka oshiete yume to itte dakishimete
tomari kaketa atashi no kokoro wo ugokashite onegai
tonari ni anata ga iru
tabun chigau yume wo mite
taiyou nanka iranai
anata no egao ga ima koishikute

Romaji lyrics of "Sakasama no Chou" by SNoW

Title: Sakasama no Chou
Artiste: SNoW
Lyrics: Hideaki Yamano
Melody: SNoW/Yasumitsu Shinto

itsuka hikari no mukau sakasama no chou
kimi to kami wo kiru kagami no naka
juugyou chuu no rouka hibiku ashiato
taezu ame no oto ga tsuite kuru yo

kanjiru mama no katachi wa mabushii
amai hana ni naru doku no mi ni mo naru
kyou mo ame ano hi to ima wo sora to sora de tsunagitai no

In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no omoi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
hitotsu no omoi wo bokura wa doko made mamoreru darou ka

kimi wa oboeteiru no sakasama no chou
meeru no yaritori wa toritome mo nai
nagasarete itemo oyogereba ii
taezu hito no koe wa nami no you ni

shinjiru mama ni tsutaeru merodi
yasashii rizumu naki dashi sou ni naru
itsumo ame ima ga mirai e to tsuzuku sou omoitai yo

In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no katachi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
sorezore no katachi wo bokura wa dokomade mamoreru darou ka

kotoba ni nari tagara nai kimochi ga arimasu
hito ga ikura te wo nobashitemo
hito no naka ni todokanai bassho ga aru
koe ni naranai hitori hitori no omoi ga suki dakara
nani ka nara nakutemo itsu no hi demo kawarazu

In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no omoi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
hitotsu no omoi wo bokura wa doko made mamoreru darou ka
In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no katachi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
sorezore no katachi wo bokura wa dokomade mamoreru darou ka

In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no akogare
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no kagayaki
In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no tokimeki
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no kandou
In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no manazashi
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no guuzen
In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no nukumori
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no yakusoku

Animes to watch in Autumn 2006

As usual, here's the list of animes I will watch for the upcoming autumn 2006 season. I know I've not been posting my reviews as often as I would have liked, primarily due to my personal commitments but I'll try to catch up as much as possible.

1) Death Note
NTV, Tuesdays, 24:56, Starting from 3 Oct
This is the No.1 most anticipated anime for me this season. Without doubt. Being a fan of the manga, I've been looking forward to watching the real-life movies and the anime. I can hardly wait to watch the anime which starts today! Frankly speaking, I'm more of a fan of L rather than Light because I didn't like how Light had changed towards the later stage of the story. Initially, I did agree with some of his views and applauded him for his intelligence and wits but I guess L won me over at the end of the day. Nevertheless, I'm still looking forward to their battle of wits played out on TV even though I know the developments quite well. The thing is, this anime has only 37 episodes so this means that Melo and Near may not get to appear in the anime. And this just goes to show that the anime will not show the entire storyline of the manga?

2) D Gray-man
TV Tokyo, Tuesdays, 1800, Starting from 3 Oct
I've heard a lot about this manga but was never interested in it at all. Then a colleague strongly suggested this to me again. After watching the trailer, I decided that it's time to give this a shot and see if it matches the accolades I've heard about this. I'm usually not too receptive to stories which have a strong sci-fi feel but seeing Okiayu Ryoutarou, Sakurai Takahiro and Konishi Katsuyuki's names in the cast list gives me added motivation to try it out, at least for a couple of episodes.

3) Ghost Hunt
TV Tokyo, Tuesdays, 0100, Starting from 3 Oct
Although I'm usually not too interested in ghost films, the trailer seems quite interesting. Hopefully, it's not a episodic type of story where there's minimal focus on the main characters, their relationships and reasons for forming this organisation to resolve supernatural happenings. Character-design looks quite good too. There are only 2 familiar names in the cast to me i.e. Hamada Kenji and Kugimiya Rie who played George in Paradise Kiss and Al in Fullmetal Alchemist.

4) Shounen Onmyoji
Kansai TV, Tuesdays, 26:15, Starting from 3 Oct
I have a deep interest in Abe Seimei ever since watching Otogizoushi and this has also led to a fascination with the Heian period. This anime happens to satisfy my interest in both areas although the focus is on a 13-year-old kid who is still a half-baked onmyouji under the tutelage of Abe Seimei. The interesting thing here is that Seimei will change from an old man image to a young man at times as and when he likes so I'm looking forward to seeing that. Besides that, I see many familiar seiyuus names here including Kaida Yuki who plays the lead character Abe Masahiro, Konishi Katsuyuki, Ishida Akira, Takahashi Hiroki, Suzumura Kenichi, Minagawa Junko and Seki Toshihiko which increases the level of anticipation I have towards this anime.

5) Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Iroha ni Hoheto
GyaO, Fridays, 12 noon, Starting from 6 Oct
It's kind of similar to the anime below in the sense that this is set in the olden days and there's fighting involved. However, this anime is set at the Bakumatsu era marked by chaos and the characters involved have an ultimate aim of sealing the "Dagger of the Tyrant" instead of fighting monsters. Character-design looks quite refined and appealing too. Last but not least, seeing the names of Suwabe Junichi and Namikawa Daisuke is also enough temptation to get me interested in this title. I just hope that the story will be good enough to sustain my interest and the fighting scenes done properly which I believe will make a siginificant portion of the plot.

6) Tenpo Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi
MBS / TBS, Saturdays, 1800, Starting from 7 Oct
The story is set during Tenpo 14th year when the streets of Edo are infested by monsters from the other world. A group of warriors gather to fight these supernatural creatures and are conferred the title of Ayashi. Besides the story which seems quite interesting, I see a number of my favourite seiyuus in the cast list i.e. Fujiwara Keiji and Ueda Yuji which increases the level of interest I have in this anime. The characters also have distinct traits e.g. a man who has only one arm and some special powers to fight the creatures after wandering into the other world by mistake so I think the development of each individual character is also something worth checking out which should prevent the story from being something solely based on fighting monsters.

7) Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori
MBS / Animax, Saturdays, 26:55, Starting from 7 Oct
This is the sequel of the Jigoku Shoujo series whereby we have Enma Ai and her associates dishing out punishment to the people whose names are entered into the Jigoku Shoujo website by those who nurse a grudge against them. Although I'm quite bored with the same format over time, I think further development and exploration into the main characters like Ai, Shibata Hajime and Tsugumi would be essential in determining whether I will finish watching this anime.

8) Hataraki-man
FujiTV, Thursdays, 24:45, Starting from 12 Oct
Apparently, this is a very popular manga by Anno Moyoko which I believe should have heard about. The main character is Matsukata Hiroko who loves to work and is so passionate about her career that she's nicknamed Hataraki-man (Working Man) by her colleagues at Shuukan Jidai. Besides having to cope with gender discrimination, Hiroko also has to deal with people who do not see her rationale for working so hard and manage her relationship with her boyfriend, Yamashiro Shinji whom she can easily forget about when work is concerned. This looks like a very realistic type of anime which shows society trends to a certain extent and distinguishes it from many of the fictional or far-fetched fantasy stories we've been seeing a lot of these days. By the way, this is the anime which takes over from Hachimitsu to Clover in the Noitamina slot and it will only run for 11 episodes before Nodame Cantabile comes on next Jan.

9) Bartender
FujiTV, Saturdays, 26:25, Starting from 14 Oct
In a bar named Eden Hall located in Ginza, genius bartender Sasakura Ryuu who has the nickname of "Kami no Gurasu" (The glass of God) attracts many customers with his unique cocktails which seems to have the unexplainable power of helping them solve their problems. Sasakura is a bartender who has won awards overseas but little is known about his background or his private life. Joining him as the regular cast for this anime is Kurushima Miwa, the granddaughter of Kurushima Taizo who owns Hotel Cardinal. Miwa manages the bar department of the hotel and becomes a close friend of Sasakura as a result of her constant visits to Eden Hall.

10) Kekkaishi
NTV, Mondays, 1900, Starting from 16 Oct
The trailer on the official site was what got me interested in this anime. I remember hearing about the manga before but didn't know much about the storyline. To summarise, there are two families i.e. the Sumimura and Yukimura clans which are entrusted with the task of protecting the land of Torimori. However, due to the dispute over who is the real successor to continue with this task, both families have been at loggerheads for the past 400 years. As such, the young successors-to-be i.e. Sumimura Yoshimori and Yukimura Tokine are also not spared from this feud. However, things change when Tokine saves Yoshimori from harm and suffers serious injuries as a result. This makes Yoshimori vow to protect Tokine and marks the beginning of his journey to get better and win the heart of Tokine who's 2 years older than him.

11) Mahou Shokudou Chara Pontan
WOWOW, Tuesdays to Thursdays, 8.08am, Starting from 1 Nov
This is an original animation produced by WOWOW with food as the theme. The cuisine featured in the anime is meant to be simple enough for everyone to reproduce in their home kitchens so the recipes will also published in the lifestyle information magazine, "Orange Page" for viewers' reference. In short, this anime is set in a world where monsters and magicians co-exist and there's a restaurant by the name of "Chara Pontan". Here, customers with all sorts of problems seem to have a strange affinity with Chara Pontan managed by a young girl and a cuisine magician of few words and come here for special dishes which inevitably helps them solve the issues bugging them. As such, there will be different guests for every episode.

What interests me is the fact that they have food which is capable of being reproduced in reality so this lends a realistic touch to the anime whereby the setting seems a bit far-fetched. Although the design of the characters leave much to be desired, I'm hoping that the storyline and recipes will make up for that. The only issue is whether I can get hold of this anime though.

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 07: Hibiwareta Kamen (The Cracked Mask)

Kurenai Midori, the owner of a theatre group is at a party with her adopted daughter-cum-successor Ayaka when they are greeted by an manager from a talent agency and an upcoming actress Kurushima Kaoruko. Kurushima expresses her interest in Kurenai's new production, "The Actress Detective" before excusing herself. Upon hearing Kurushima's comments, Kurenai reminds Ayaka that she should work harder so as not to disappoint those who are looking forward to the performance.

At night, Kurenai lashes out at Ayaka for being unable to meet her expectations during the practice which leads the other members of the theatre group to wonder if Kurenai adopted Ayaka for the sake of bullying her or to let her be the successor. In the eyes of the onlookers, they pity Ayaka for suffering under the autocratic ways of Kurenai.

Unable to take the torture, Ayaka accesses the Jigoku Tsushin website and types Kurenai's name in it. Ai appears before Ayaka and explains how the system works. Although Ayaka wants to pull the red string on the straw figure, she gets cold feet once she hears that she will go to hell and asks Ai for some time to consider.

Ayaka is sitting at a playground where she thinks over how Kurenai treats her after the adoption and gets so angry that she is prepared to pull the red string. Just then, her friend from the orphanage, Takeshi calls out to her and asks Ayaka for a loan of 100,000 yen. Ayaka gets the idea of getting Takeshi and his gangster friend to kill Kurenai instead of relying on Jigoku Tsushin and sacrifice her afterlife. Ayaka agrees to the loan with a condition which the guys agree readily.

At night when it is raining heavily, Kurenai returns home where Takeshi and his friend barge into the house to ask for money. However, Kurenai knows some self-defence skills and manages to overcome one of them easily. Seeing that the situation will go out of hand, Ayaka steps in and signals at her friends to leave. Unknown to them, Hone-Onna and Ichimoku Ren are sitting on the fence of the house and comment that Ayaka is no simple woman.

Kurenai asks Ayaka bluntly if the robbers are her friends from the orphanage. Ayaka admits that she has been blackmailed by those guys and puts on an act in front of Kurenai. Although Kurenai is sceptical about Ayaka's words, she does not show it and tells the latter to rest since it's very late at night. Meanwhile, Ichimoku Ren says that they have to report this to Ai and Hone-Onna wonders what Ai will do in this case.

Ai sneaks into the theatre group and tries to find out more on Ayaka's background and relationship with Kurenai. One of the members tells Ai that Kurenai adopted Ayaka for her acting skills and the latter is likely to be selected as one of the leads for the new play and take over the theatre group when Kurenai retires.

Just then, Kurenai calls for a meeting where she announces that the young girl role in the play will be taken on by Kurushima Kaoruko. Ayaka is stunned by this development and hates Kurushima to the core for snatching away what should have belonged to her.

Unable to take this lying down, Ayaka confronts Kurenai about this decision who tells her directly that she's not good enough. In addition, Kurenai points out that she has seen through Ayaka's pretence and tells her to stop making a fool of herself. When Ayaka walks past the dance studio, she gets the idea that the role would come to her once anything happens to Kurushima and hatches a plan to get rid of her rival. She then calls Takeshi for help and promises to give him double the original remuneration.

Kurushima is hurt by the tacks placed in her shoes where Ayaka pretends to stand up for her so as to earn her trust. They head for drinks and then to a game arcade. Kurushima wants to go home as it's getting late but Ayaka would not hear of it. Takeshi and his friend then grab hold of Kurushima while Ayaka walks off without a care for her well-being. The guys drag Kurushima to a deserted building and force her to drink some unknown liquid which causes her to lose her voice.

Ayaka is certain that the role will come to her now that Kurushima is unable to speak. However, Kurenai calls for a meeting and announces that she will cancel the performance and disband the group at the same time. Last but not least, she will sever all ties with Ayaka. Kurenai points out that Ayaka is responsible for what has happened so far and refuses to accept the latter's explanation. Being unable to contain her anger, Ayaka scolds Kurenai who tells her that she is doing this for her own good. Ayaka wouldn't hear Kurenai's rationale for doing this and declares that she won't pretend to be a good daughter if she's not getting Kurenai's inheritance.

Ayaka makes up her mind to kill Kurenai via Jigoku Tsushin but is shocked to see the red string missing from the figurine. Ai appears before Ayaka and reveals that she no longer has the right to take revenge on Kurenai. It turns out that Kurushima had accessed Jigoku Tsushin and pulled the string to exact vengeance on Ayaka instead. Ayaka is horrified to find herself on stage where there's an evil face revealing her true thoughts as she tries hard to conceal that. Ayaka then gives up trying to lie and scolds Ai and her associates instead. In the end, Ai sends Ayaka to hell for the misdeeds that she has done...

The major discovery in this episode about the Jigoku Tsushin system would be the fact that the order of when you get the straw figurine is not the determining factor when it comes to the handling of the revenge requests. In this case, Ayaka got her figurine first but Kurushima pulled the string earlier thus resulting in her being the target of revenge. This leads me to think of another issue though. Ai and her associates are well-aware of Ayaka's evil intentions but they probably won't do anything to her unless someone asks them to do so. If Kurushima had not asked Jigoku Tsushin for help, that would probably have meant that Ayaka will get her way and Kurenai will die as a result. As such, justice doesn't seem to be a consideration factor when accepting such revenge requests since the intention of the applicants is what gets Ai and associates moving.

In this case, Kurenai had kind intentions for Ayaka as it's so obvious that she was putting on an act. Even someone like me who knows nuts about acting could have seen through the unnatural behaviour so to a veteran actress like Kurenai, it's impossible to fool her. It's just too bad that Ayaka wasn't able to appreciate Kurenai's efforts and in turn brought about harm to herself.

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 06: Hiru Sagari no Mado (Window of the Afternoon)

Yasuda Haruka is walking home with her mother in the afternoon after shopping for groceries. As they walk past the Totaka residence, Haruka's mother happens to look up to the second floor where the curtains are not drawn and stops in her tracks. Haruka wonders what has gone wrong as her mother is in a trance while a courier man emerges from the Totaka residence. Unknown to them, Mrs Totaka is looking at Mrs Yasuda with hatred in her eyes.

That night, Mrs Yasuda is not her usual self as Haruka helps her with the preparations for dinner. She tries to pretend that nothing is wrong and goes to see who is at their doorstep when the bell rings. To her horror, Mrs Yasuda finds the same courier man who was in the Totaka residence bringing a plate of cherries at Mrs Totaka's orders. The man threatens Mrs Yasuda that she will be in deep trouble if she dares to reveal what she had seen in the Totaka residence earlier in the afternoon. Mrs Yasuda is so freaked out that she throws away the cherries which makes Haruka feel weird about her action.

The next day, Mrs Yasuda bumps into Mrs Totaka when she takes the rubbish to the common dumping ground and the latter asks how the cherries tasted. Mrs Yasuda lies that they were delicious. However, Mrs Totaka deliberately mocks Mrs Yasuda for making gyoza which were very smelly due to the latter's over-usage of garlic. The neighbours also join in by saying that Mrs Yasuda has no consideration for her neighbours since she just moved in from the rural area. When Mrs Totaka mentions that Haruka is in the same class as her daughter, Yuriya. Mrs Yasuda shudders to think what will happen to Haruka as the neighbours caution her about Mrs Totaka being a dangerous figure to offend since her husband is the manager of the branch which their husbands are working at.

In school, Yuriya gangs up with her buddies to mock Haruka for smelling of gyoza. When Haruka asks her mother if she has offended the Totaka family in any way, Mrs Yasuda freezes with fear and doesn't go to open the door for her husband because she's scared of the courier man turning up again.

Mr Yasuda complains that he was scolded by Mr Totaka for no reason and questions his wife if she had done anything to Mrs Totaka. Mrs Yasuda tries to explain that she isn't in the wrong but her husband tells her to stop making trouble so as to make his work life easier.

Mrs Totaka calls Mrs Yasuda and says that she has sent a guy to "entertain" the latter and that she should enjoy herself. Mrs Yasuda is shocked to see a gangster-looking man turning up and banging on the door so loudly that it attracts the attention of the neighbours. She can only slump to the floor and cry as the man continues to be a nuisance.

On the way home, Haruka is stopped by Yuriya and her friends where they accuse her mother of being flirtatious and inviting a man into her house. She also finds the neighbours gossiping about her mother. Haruka is horrified to find her mother committing suicide and doesn't understand why Mrs Totaka has a part to play in her mother being so distressed.

At night, Haruka accesses Jigoku Tsuushin to seek help. As she looks at how the Totaka family is enjoying themselves while her mother is hospitalised, Haruka is seething with rage. Ai appears before Haruka who asks her to find out what had happened between her mother and Mrs Totaka. Ai gives her the drill as usual and shows her the reason for Mrs Yasuda's suicide.

Haruka finds out that her mother happened to see Mrs Totaka having an affair with the courier man which led to a series of bullying actions. Mrs Totaka even got a man to rape Mrs Yasuda and took photos of the act. She threatened to deal with Haruka next if Mrs Yasuda tells anyone about her affair.

Ai says that it was unfortunate for Mrs Yasuda to see something she shouldn't have but Haruka refuses to accept this because Mrs Totaka is in the wrong. As such, Ai explains that this is the reason for her existence i.e. to seek vengeance for the wrongs in the world.

Haruka goes home to find her father scolding her mother for making a cuckold out of him and refuses to hear his wife's explanation. Upon seeing her father beat her mother, Haruka makes the decision to take revenge on Mrs Totaka by pulling the red string from the straw figure.

Ai and her associates spring into action with Ichimoku Ren appearing before Mrs Totaka as a courier man. She is immediately smitten by Ren and invites him into her house. However, Mrs Totaka is shocked to see her husband and tries frantically to explain herself. She finds herself being surrounded by people mocking her for being the loose woman in the neighbourhood before Ai sends her to hell.

After the ordeal is over, Haruka wonders if she had done the right thing especially seeing how Yuriya is mocked by the neighbours after the latter's mother was said to have eloped with a man. However, seeing that her mother has returned to normal, Haruka can only assure herself that the decision has not been made in vain...

Mrs Totaka is certainly obnoxious but somehow I feel that sending her to hell is just letting her off too easily. She deserves more than that. However, the job of Ai and gang is to send people to hell so I doubt there will be any variations to the treatment of the bad guys in the story other than Ai rowing the boat personally headed for hell.

It's normal for Haruka to feel undecided over the choice she made because she sees the same thing happening to Yuriya. Having been through that, I don't think she wishes the worst for Yuriya who did nothing particularly wrong except to follow her mother's lead in bullying Haruka. However, when I saw how Haruka's mother joined the neighbours in the teasing, it just makes me wonder if she deserves to be rescued from the mental torture with her daughter's after-life because this seems like she was taking revenge on Yuriya for what Mrs Totaka did. I can't blame her for feeling this way but it made me a little uncomfortable to see Mrs Yasuda behaving this way. It just goes to show that there isn't always a fairytale ending after taking revenge.

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 05: Takaitou no Onna (The Woman of the Tall Tower)

Ai and her associates keep receiving messages asking for help via the Jigoku Tsushin website on a daily basis and are convinced that this is the work of a prankster. As such, they choose to ignore these messages but Ai seems concerned about this matter.

Meanwhile, at the stroke of midnight, Urano Chisato is trying to access the website under Kaibu Riho's orders but to no avail. Riho decides to call it a day and instructs Chisato to come to the office tomorrow morning. When Chisato explains that she can't do it because of the end-of-term exams, Riho "reminds" her that Chisato can continue with her studies thanks to her. As such, Chisato cannot say anything and has to oblige reluctantly. Chisato leaves the office in low spirits and greets the security guard who is actually Wanyuudo in disguise. When she reaches home, Chisato stares at the office building of Deadline Enterprise from her apartment's window and sighs in despair.

The next day, Hone-Onna enters Deadline as a part-time worker to find out more on Riho and the company. The company was set up by Riho with her friends during her schooling days but she is the only person managing it now. The employees are full of praise for Riho's computing and management skills which has made Deadline a famous online shopping company in just 4 years. While they are talking, Riho happens to pass by and introduces herself to Hone-Onna with Ai looking on from the side.

During the board meeting, a staff mentions that the director of Midori Tsushin is against the collaboration project with Deadline but Riho tells him to proceed with the negotiations and she hints at something happening which will make the director change his mind. Later, when she brings up the proposal of changing the company's host server, the directors leave it to Riho since they are convinced that she's more familiar with such things as compared to them.

When Riho enters the office, she complains to Chisato that the directors are just a bunch of fools who know nothing. At the same time, Hone-Onna tries to find out the identity of Chisato from the staff who reveal that she's a distant relative of Riho and her parents had passed away. For the sake of gaining work experience, Riho had arranged for Chisato to work part-time in Deadline but apparently, Chisato is said to know nothing about computers.

In the evening, news of Midori Tsushin's director's death is reported on TV and Riho instigates Chisato to forge a document so as to transfer the shares of Midori Tsushin to her. Before Chisato hacks into that director's computer to put the document inside, she asks Riho on whether she should change the file directory and server but Riho says that she doesn't care since she is actually the one who knows nuts about computers.

Just then, the clock strikes midnight so Riho tells Chisato to access the Jigoku Tsushin website again. However, nothing happens so Riho gets furious and orders Chisato to investigate the webmaster's details. Chisato explains that this isn't possible since their computer system was counter-hacked when she tried to do it a few days back. Riho does not buy her explanation and threatens to expose Chisato's shoplifting deeds in the past if the latter does not listen to her. Although Chisato is angry about being threatened, she is unable to do anything in retalliation.

Ren goes to a franchise shop under Deadline and tries to find out from the shop owner as to why the company employs women only. According to him, the company used to have male employees like him but when Riho took charge, the guys were sent to the subsidiaries thus leaving only female employees in the company. In addition, Ren also finds out that there was a weird order passed by Riho one year ago where she instructed all shop owners to report shoplifting cases to her first before going to the police. In fact, Chisato was one of those caught at his shop.

Ai and her associates gather at the shop to watch the surveillance video of Chisato's shoplifting act where Ren reveals that Chisato is actually a computer expert contrary to what the company employees assume her to be. On the other hand, Riho knows nothing about computers. Besides that, Wanyuudo also finds out from the town office and police records that Chisato and Riho are not relatives. Hone-Onna shares her findings about Riho's ex-boyfriend being a computer expert but they were said to have broken up before Deadline developed into the way it is now. As such, it is clear that Riho was trying to find a computer expert to fill the void of her ex-boyfriend so as to boost the growth of her company thus explaining why she is making use of Chisato.

In the middle of the night, Chisato is awoken by Riho's call to her mobile phone where the latter tells her that someone has threatened to expose her company's secrets and demanded 100 million yen. Riho orders Chisato to check the identity of the person before she turns up for work tomorrow. Chisato has no choice but to go to the office at 3am. The next morning, she passes the report to Riho who allows her to go to school. Riho also mentions that she will leave the matter of Jigoku Shoujo aside for the time being because it's bad for her skin to stay up late. Chisato leaves the room and smiles to herself in a evil manner.

A man is killed and dumped inside a drain and he turns out to be the guy whom Chisato had named in her report as the blackmailer. Unknown to Riho, Chisato had installed a surveillance camera to record footage of her giving orders to the yakuza to kill that man. Just when Chisato thinks that she can finally break free from Riho, she finds out from Riho that the latter had also killed her father when he had tried to go to the police after being blackmailed by her.

Chisato is seething with anger when she realises that Riho has found out about her identity right from the start as Chisato entered the company purposely to take revenge. When Riho's subordinate tries to kill Chisato, the latter activates the water sprinkler and makes use of the chance to run away. Upon hearing the clock strike at midnight, Chisato uses the computer to enter Riho's name into the Jigoku Tsushin website. She is then transported to Ai's world and given the usual drill on how the system works. Chisato removes the red thread from the figurine without hesitation.

This sends Riho back to her past where she relives the nightmare of killing her boyfriend and good friend who cheated on her. When she finally regains her senses, Riho finds herself being sent to hell by Ai...

Chisato inherits the company as well as Riho's assets and she recalls the latter's words about enjoying life until the day she dies. As such, she decides to follow Riho's principle since she's going to hell anyway and has a smirk on her face...

Well, Riho might be a villian but I have the feeling that Chisato might become a worse person since she doesn't have any reservations about committing evil deeds. Given that she will head to hell anyway, it doesn't make sense for her to be a good person so that seems to be a logical explanation why she has decided to go by Riho's ways despite them being the very reason why she was in so much anguish. In this case, Ai and her associates may not have gotten rid of an evil person from the world but rather aided in the creation of a worse version. It just goes to show that the so-called revenge mechanism in Jigoku Shoujo is not without its flaws since this depends very much on personal feelings of hatred rather than an objective assessment of who's really good or evil.

I know I'm falling behind in the progress of covering some of these anime series especially for some which had already finished their run. With the upcoming season within a few weeks' time, I am going to end up with a bigger backlog but I'll try to complete as much as I can while trying to maintain a certain quality in the reviews.

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 04: Kikoenu Sakebi Koe (The unheard screams)

Kanno Junko is waiting anxiously outside the consultation room where she is called by the clinic assistant, Sekimoto to see her pet dog Candy for the last time. The vet, Honjou announces that there is nothing more he can do for Candy which makes Junko break down as she calls Candy's name repeatedly...

Days later, Junko is still mourning Candy's demise as she recalls how it was given by her parents who died when she was just 10. As such, she has regarded Candy as her only family member all along and is very affected by the loss of her beloved. She is unsure of how she should face the future alone and keeps crying.

One day, Honjou is going out for a house visit when Sekimoto comes to inform that one of their patients is bringing his pet dog which suffered a fracture to the clinic. However, Honjou can't be bothered about it and tells her to take good care of an actress' dog instead before driving off. On the way back to the clinic, Sekimoto bumps into Junko who thanks her for taking care of Candy while it was alive. Junko wants to thank Honjou too but he is not around. When Sekimoto hears Junko's praises for Honjou, she feels extremely uncomfortable.

Sekimoto recalls how upset Junko was with regards to Candy's death and decides to ask Junko out. She reveals to Junko about Honjou practising preferential treatment towards his patients by favouring the rich and famous. As such, Candy's death was caused by Honjou delaying treatment while he was on the phone chit-chatting. Sekimoto apologises for not being able to get Honjou to save Candy first which gets Junko very agitated. She blames herself for bringing Candy to Honjou's clinic and accidentally overhears some female students talking about Jigoku Tsuushin.

At midnight, Junko accesses the site and keys in Honjou's name. Ai receives the message and meets Junko to tell her how the procedure works. Upon hearing that she will be sent to hell when she dies, Junko starts to hesitate about pulling the red string.

Junko happens to see a news report on TV about medical malpractice and asks Sekimoto for help to get evidence on Honjou's misdeeds. However, Sekimoto says that the clinic is frequented by many celebrities and politicians thus the matter will not be reported by any TV station. Nevertheless, Junko refuses to give up as she doesn't want any more victims to die like Candy. As such, Sekimoto agrees to help Junko search for incriminating evidence against Honjou.

At night, Sekimoto brings Junko into the clinic to look for information. Just then, Honjou returns to the clinic and finds out what they are doing. However, Honjou refuses to admit his mistake and even taunts Junko to ask the animals in the clinic if he is a lousy vet. Knowing very well that the animals can't speak, Honjou is not scared of Junko's threats to expose him. When Honjou insults Candy for being a mere stray which has no right to live, Junko is furious and pulls the red string to take revenge.

This sets Ai and her team to get to work. Honjou is caught in an accident and suffers a fracture on his leg. He is pushed into the ambulance roughly by Ichimoku Ren and Wanyuudo. Later, when Honjou comes to, he finds himself trying to get the attention of them and Honne-onna who claim that they do not understand what he is saying. Honjou refuses to admit his mistake and is sent to hell with animals clawing all over him...

The format of the show tends to get repetitive i.e. someone hates a person, seeks the help of Jigoku Shoujo and hesitates, gets angry and pulls the red string. It can get boring over time but this episode is still fine because the villian really got on my nerves and the way he was punished proves that there is something called retribution after all. However, I'm not sure if I will continue to watch this if the format remains unchanged. I surely hope that the story can get deeper than what the current situation offers. It would be best to provide an insight on Ai and her subordinates' backgrounds since I think this would be more interesting.

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 03: Yogoreta Mound (The dirtied mound)

At the baseball playing ground, Hanakasa the school ace pitcher is in the midst of practice when girls are screaming to get his attention and professional scouts come to observe his performance. Fellow team members Iwashita and Muroi are marvelling at his abilities and popularity and wish that they could be like Hanakasa.

Unknown to everyone, Hanakasa uses his position in the team to carry out physical abuse against the other members. He beats up Muroi with a baseball bat and forces Iwashita to send Muroi home. Hanakasa even wants Muroi to hide this matter from everyone and claim that the injuries were caused by a fall due to his carelessness. Iwashita wants to voice his objection with regards to Hanakasa's actions but Muroi stops him. If this gets around, not only will Hanakasa be held responsible, the team will have to be suspended from the tournament. For the sake of the team, Muroi chooses to keep quiet like the others but Iwashita is still indigant over letting Hanakasa have his way just because he's the ace pitcher.

When Iwashita sends Muroi home, the latter's mother scolds Iwashita for pushing her son down while they were fooling around. As Iwashita promised Muroi to keep the beating a secret, he can only apologise while Muroi tries to convince his mother that this is not intended.

However, Muroi dies as a result of those injuries thus Iwashita tells Hanakasa to own up to his wrongdoing. Hanakasa can't be bothered about this and dares Iwashita to expose him if he has the proof. He reminds Iwashita to be more concerned about his own situation which leaves the latter bewildered.

Iwashita goes to attend Muroi's funeral where the police questions him for pushing Muroi down. According to the autopsy report, Muroi had died of injuries caused by beatings from a bat so they wish to find out more on this matter. Just then, Muroi's mother rushes out of the house and accuses Iwashita of murdering Muroi. Despite excruciating pain on his deathbed, Muroi still said that Iwashita was innocent. Iwashita gets angry at Hanakasa who is putting on an act in front of Muroi's altar but his father grabs hold of Iwashita and beats up him. Iwashita's parents apologise to Muroi's family as if they believe that Iwashita had killed Muroi. This makes Iwashita realise that nobody will listen to him thus he runs away before the police can arrest him.

Iwashita returns to the school and uses the computer to access Jigoku Tsushin at midnight so as to take revenge against Hanakasa. Ai appears in front of him and explains how the procedure works after giving him the straw figure with the red string.

The baseball team is banned from taking part in the tournament as a result of Muroi's death. Iwashita calls Hanakasa out and wants him to admit to his deed. However, Hanakasa refuses to do so since nobody will believe Iwashita anyway and he doesn't feel guilty about killing Muroi. He even remarks that thanks to Muroi and Iwashita, he won't have to take part in the tournament so that he can rest well for his professional career. This proves to be the last straw as Hanakasa is admitting that he deliberately caused trouble in order to get the team suspended. Iwashita takes the plunge by undoing the red string which sets Ai and her team into action.

At night after a discussion with the scouts, Hanakasa is left alone in the playing ground. Just as he is feeling thrilled at the possibility of being a professional player, he hears chants of him being a murderer and is shocked to see the surroundings change. He is treated to a game of horror baseball but he still refuses to admit to his mistake. As such, Ai sends Hanakasa to hell as per Iwashita's wishes...

After Hanakasa's disappearance, Iwashita decides to transfer to another school so as to get over the entire episode. However, he knows that it will be some time before he can do so...

Actually, among the "baddies" in Jigoku Shoujo so far, this really got me quite irritated because I couldn't help but feel like strangling Hanakasa who thought he could get away with anything just because he is talented. Being at the top in a particular area doesn't give anyone the right to gain something at the expense of others. Besides, he was unrepentant about causing someone's death so he really deserved to be sent to hell. I just feel sorry for Iwashita who has to live with the blame and that he will go to hell once he dies. He wasn't in the wrong, neither was Muroi. Both were just victims in this game of manipulation played by Hanakasa.

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 02: Miirareta Shoujo (The possessed girl)

Takamura Ryoko is startled when her handphone rings. She fumbles with her computer and manages to see the Jigoku Tsushin website at the stroke of midnight. Ryoko is flustered as the handphone keeps ringing persistently as she seeks help from the Jigoku Shoujo. At the same time, Ai's computer receives the request and her grandma tells her about it. Ai replies that she will attend to it immediately...

Ryoko is shivering in fright as the phone in her home rings. The caller sings a song for Ryoko and her parents hang up in anger. When her father rushes out to find the culprit, he finds someone driving away. Ryoko reaches for her ringing handphone again and sees an acknowledgement email from Jigoku Shoujo.

Ryoko's father, Takamura goes to the police and makes a complaint about their inefficiency to Akimoto. Just then, Kisaragi enters the room and tries to calm Takamura down. He then asks Akimoto to leave them alone and buy coffee for him. Kisaragi drops a bombshell by saying that Akimoto is the pervert who is pestering Ryoko and says that it's hard to catch Akimoto since he's also a policeman. Takamura is shocked at this revelation where Kisaragi promises that they will catch Akimoto soon and asks for his cooperation.

Takamura sends Ryoko to school and promises to fetch her later. Hone-onna comes to look for her and brings her to meet Ai. Ryoko is also surprised to see Ichimoku Ren and Wanyuudo there. However, when she knows that Ai is the Jigoku Shoujo, she reveals that she has been pestered for the past year where this person sent her disgusting gifts and seemed to know her whereabouts. No matter how many times she has changed her contact numbers, that person would still call her. Ai then explains how they work and gives her the straw figure. Ryoko is worried about the consequences that will befall her and decides to consider first.

After school, Takamura drives to the school to wait for Ryoko. However, he sees a suspicious character outside the gate and grabs a golf club to attack that person. He is horrified to see that Akimoto has been murdered. Before he can do anything, he is attacked by another man who has been hiding in the bushes...

Ryoko boards Takamura's car and apologises for being late. She is surprised to see Kisaragi in her father's car where he says that they have caught the culprit and he's here to send her to the police station. However, Ryoko spots the handphone strap from Kisaragi's pocket and is suspicious about him...

Kisaragi brings Ryoko to a secluded place and reveals his identity to her. He is the real culprit and had pushed the blame to Akimoto so that Takamura would not suspect him. Kisaragi professes his affection for Ryoko and this makes her feel disgusted at his behaviour. She even says that he is the reason for her agony which makes Kisaragi angry. Ryoko finally decides to untie the red thread on the straw figure which results in Ichimoku Ren appearing. This scares Kisaragi and he runs away immediately.

Ryoko goes to the hospital to visit her father who is injured. Unknown to them, Kisaragi has also entered the hospital secretly and prepares to take revenge. However, Kisaragi finds himself falling into the trap set by Ai and company which gives him a big fright. He is still unrepentant about his actions so Ai proceeds to send him into hell.

After the ordeal, life returns to normal for Ryoko and her family. However, she knows that she is not the same as before as there is a sign on her chest to indicate her agreement with Ai...

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 01(Hell Girl): Yuyami no Kanata Yori (From the other side of twilight)

At an all-girls junior high school, a class has collected 100,000 yen for the donation drive where the funds are passed to the monitor, Hashimoto Mayumi. However, at the end of the day, she finds that the envelope containing the money has gone missing despite her placing it into her bag. Suddenly, she sees her classmate Kuroda Aya standing at the door and asking her what has happened...

Due to the class donating the most funds, they receive an award which Mayumi hangs on the wall. In actual fact, Kuroda had lent money to Mayumi first so that she could submit the funds for the donation as the money was lost. Mayumi returns the money to Kuroda but she demands for interest. When Mayumi raises her objection, Kuroda threatens to expose Mayumi's loss of the money and forces her to buy drinks for her and her lackeys.

At the vending machine, Mayumi overhears some girls talking about Jigoku Tsushin whereby someone can enter the name of the person he/she hates at 12 midnight so that revenge will be taken on the target. However, you would have to pay for this with your life. When Mayumi brings the drinks to Kuroda's gang, the latter pours it away and blames Mayumi for not getting her a carbonated drink even though she does not like to drink it normally. After school, Mayumi is bullied again by Kuroda's gang and she cannot retalliate at all because they have a handle against her.

Mayumi's mother says that they have been losing cash in the household of late and wonders if this has to do with a burglar. However, Mayumi does not respond to this and goes back to her room.

At 12 midnight, Mayumi enters the name of Kuroda on the Jigoku Tsushin website but cannot bring herself to click the "submit" button as she's concerned about the repercussions of her actions. Just then, Kuroda call her mobile phone and forces Mayumi to go out in the middle of the night.

The next day, Mayumi hears rumours of her loitering outside at night. In addition, her form teacher asks her about this matter but he thinks that it's unlikely that Mayumi will do such a thing. Mayumi realises that Kuroda is behind this matter.

When Mayumi returns home, her mother is shocked to see that her face is bruised and asks whether she has taken the money lost recently. Mayumi finally makes the decision to enter Kuroda's name on the Jigoku Tsushin website and gets a fright when she sees an acknowledgement email in her mobile phone.

However, nothing happens after that which leads Mayumi to think that the Jigoku Tsushin website is just a hoax. Kuroda forces Mayumi to pick up guys from the streets and she is hugged by a man before she runs away in fright. Mayumi is shocked to know that Kuroda had taken a picture of what happened and the latter threatens to send the picture to the school if Mayumi does not give her more money.

Out of despair, Mayumi decides to commit suicide by jumping from a building. However, during her fall, she sees a girl beside her and finds herself at an unfamiliar place. The girl introduces herself as Enma Ai, the Jigoku Shoujo and she was summouned by Mayumi. Ai gives Mayumi a straw figure with a red thread around the neck where she can undo the thread as a confirmation of their contract and the target will be sent to hell. However, the tradeoff is that Mayumi's soul will go to hell when she dies and suffer indefinitely. When Mayumi regains consciousness, she finds herself sitting on the floor with the figurine in her hands.

In school, Mayumi runs away from Kuroda which leads the latter to expose the photo she took of Mayumi being hugged by a man. This proves to be the last straw for Mayumi as her teacher reprimands her for betraying his trust and that she will not get the recommendation next year to a senior high school. Mayumi goes to the rooftop and removes the red thread from the figurine which disappears, leaving the thread in her hands.

Meanwhile, Ai is preparing for this mission with her subordinates.

Kuroda receives an email from Mayumi to meet at the school gate at 10pm. She is surprised to see Mayumi running into the school and goes inside to look for her. However, what awaits Kuroda is a series of scary encounters including her lackeys being sucked into the wall. Finally, she sees a simulation of how she stole the donation funds from Mayumi. Kuroda refuses to admit her mistake despite Ichimoku Ren, Hone Onna and Wanyuudou bearing witness to what she did. In the end, Ai comes to take Kuroda into hell via a river...

Life returns to normal for Mayumi as if nothing had happened. However, Mayumi knows that something has changed as there is a tattoo on her chest to represent her agreement with Ai. Somewhere, there is a candle with her name representing her lifespan along with many others...

I rarely watch horror animes and this seems quite interesting with a new story in each episode. No doubt the quality of the animation seems to be less than satisfactory, I think the storyline, seiyuus and the BGM to build up the horror atmosphere can make up for this defect. The ED by Noto Mamiko was OK but it didn't leave a deep impression on me. Maybe I'll listen to it again in the later episodes.

Familiar seiyuus here include Noto Mamiko who is Nina Fortner in Monster and Mizuki Nana who is Wrath in Fullmetal Alchemist. Although I see Ueda Yuji's name on the official website, his character has not appeared yet and I'm looking forward to hearing his voice again. Noto is playing Enma Ai and I really like her voice which sounds so gentle and appealing.

As for the storyline, I like the concept of retribution emphasized in this series. In this episode, Kuroda may have been in the wrong right from the start because she stole the money first. I really felt like thrashing her up because she's so obnoxious. However, as what Ai said, to curse someone would mean that you are also in the wrong so Mayumi has to pay for the peace she desires when Kuroda is removed from her life. Thus, you can't justify your revenge in this manner and have to offer something in return. Sounds like the rule of fair exchange in Fullmetal Alchemist? In addition, the idea of using ideas to represent your lifespan is somewhat like what I usually see in Chinese dramas/movies where the flame will go off once you die. I wonder if the Japanese also believe in this concept to represent life or if this is taken from Chinese folklore. I guess more would be known about Ai and her subordinates in time to come since there wasn't much mention of them given that the emphasis was on how the Jigoku Tsushin concept worked.