Entries for: March 2010

Hell Girl, the First Season and its Manga

March 2, 2010

I don't remember where I first heard about the anime series Hell Girl, probably the site formerly known as AnimeOnDVD. I watched it via Netflix back in June 2009, and will be picking it up on DVD soon. The 26 episode series aired back in 2005-2006 in Japan, and they have since made a second and third season. The second season was just licensed by Sentai Filmworks, and will start shipping in May. No word yet on the third season. There are also two manga adaptations for this series, the first spanning nine volumes which is currently being released by Del Rey manga (which has released six volumes so far), and a second which was slated to being in 2008 but I could find little else about it other than it seems to revolve around the events of the second season. So for our purposes, I'll be looking at the first season of the anime, and the first five volumes of the manga.

Both the anime and its manga adaptation follow the same basic premise: if you have a grudge against someone, you can access the Hell Correspondence web site at midnight and enter their name to request they be sent down to hell. If she is willing to hear the request, the Hell Girl, Ai Enma, will appear and offer to avenge you, warning though that the deal is a double edged soul. If you accept the contract, the object of your grudge will be immediately sent down to hell, but in exchange when you die, your soul will also go to hell to suffer eternal torment. In most cases, the requestor is given time to think about the request and given a straw doll with a ribbon. If they decide to accept, they pull the ribbon and the grudge will be carried out. Ai is added in her work by three companions: Wanyūdō, an old man who becomes the straw dolls as well as Ai's carriage; Ren Ichimoku, a seemingly handsome young man who can see anywhere by sending his large eye to the location; and Hone Onna, a sultry woman in a half-falling off kimono.

The first half or so of the series is fairly episodic, featuring a new case of someone wanting to send someone to hell. As the series progresses, two new characters are introduced, Tsugumi Shibata and her father Hajime. Tsugumi meets Ai one day, after which she begins going into trances and seeing Ai performing the contractual offers to her various "clients". Hajime is a reporter who has begun investigating the Hell Girl phenomenon. Hajime makes use of Tsugumi's abilities to try to track down Ai's clients so he can attempt to convince them not to seek revenge, but Tsugumi isn't sure if utilizing Ai's service is all that wrong. I think this is really a core theme and one of the best aspects of this series, beyond its beautiful animation and music. Each story leaves the viewer questioning whether seeking vengeance is right or wrong, if this method of revenge is acceptable in the circumstances, and if the price to pay makes it worth it. Some of the cases are truly horrible circumstances, such a victim of stalking whose stalker is ready to kill her, a young man seeking vengeance for his friend's murder, and a girl enslaved by a murderously disturbed woman after claiming the girl's dogs "bit" her. All of Ai's clients are not "victims" though, as is the case where one simply wants to remove a rival for the spotlight.

As the manga adaptation ran in the shojo magazine Nakayoshi, which is targeted at elementary and middle school readers, it has a somewhat different feel from the anime. It is not as dark as the anime, using primarily original stories rather than the more disturbing originals, but it is still considered to be one of the darkest, most serious series to run in the magazine. It adds in a few stories of more everyday occurrences that inspire folks to seek revenge, which I think really make the question of whether using Ai was the only option or the right choice a tougher one to answer. Some of its stories include a girl being bullied by a classmate under threat of losing her reputation and place in a good high school, a student being sexually harassed by her teacher, a high school girl used and hurt by a boy she liked after she surpasses him in test scores, and a seeming best friend betraying the trust of another out of jealousy. It does also include a four or five stories from the anime, though they each have some significant changes, however the entire subplot around the Shibatas is gone (per an author note, it would have been to dark to try to adapt to the manga without ruining its purpose). While it is certainly enjoyable, it is also almost entirely episodic for the first five volumes, with Ai and her companions having less personality and back story. Where the anime frequently shows them at their "headquarters" and interacting, the manga reduces them almost entirely to just appearing when needing and performing the sendings to hell. However, I have seen brief summaries of volume 6 that indicates that it does start exploring the personalities and backgrounds of Ai's companions, and volume three does present a slightly toned down version of how Ai became the Hell Girl. The artwork is well done, with artist Miyuki Eto doing a particularly nice job of incorporating Ai's floral motif into the series and in having a good varied appearance to the characters in each story.

On the whole, I'd have to say that I would highly recommend the original anime. The stories are thought provoking, if sometimes disturbing, and the thread with the Shibatas is well handled. As I mentioned earlier, the animation is just plain gorgeous, and the healthy production budget is easy to detect. The voice characters all handle their respective roles well, especially Ai's voice actress who states the line "Do you want to see what hell looks like" with the absolute perfect inflection. I hope the second season was able to keep the same cast. If you don't mind the more episodic nature, I also do recommend picking up the manga. The original stories are also well written and in keeping with the general idea of Hell Girl, even if they are somewhat tamer.

Anime Rating: A

Manga Rating: B+