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Recap / Hell Girl S 1 E 5 The Woman In The High Tower

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In the sunset world, Ai receives a message from Misato Urano. Ai’s minions, in straw doll form, mention that Ai has rejected her requests. Meanwhile, Riho Kaifu, the CEO of a computer company, sends Misato home after the request is rejected. The next day, Hone Onna gets a job at the company and introduces herself as “Onda.” In a meeting that afternoon, Riho tells the company’s board of directors to continue negotiating with a stubborn shareholder. Meanwhile, Hone Onna is asking around about Misato and the other office workers tell her Misato is related to Riho and is computer illiterate, but that they’re trying to give her some work experience.

That evening, Wanyuudo is in the security office watching news coverage of the shareholders' death while Riho makes Junko forge a will and place it on the shareholder’s computer and fake a timestamp for ten days before. Riho all but outright says that she’s the one who doesn’t know a thing about computers which is why she’s having Misato do all of the shady computer work. Riho tells Misato to send another request to the Hell Correspondence and exaggerate it this time. Wanyuudo sees the whole thing on surveillance, which confirms Ai’s suspicions the Riho was sending the requests by proxy. He also finds out that Riho has been blackmailing Misato since the latter was caught shoplifting to get an illegal advantage over her competitors. Riho tells Misato to crack the Hell Correspondence site, but Misato says that the last time she tried, it threatened the company’s network security. The next day, Ichimoku Ren investigates the company itself and comes across a store that is owned by the company and finds that Riho transferred the male employees away from the main office while Wanyuudo looks for records about Misato. Ren takes the cashier of the shop for a drink and to ask more questions about any incidents shoplifting. The cashier mentions a memo to report any shoplifters to Riho directly instead of the police and then hits on Ren. That night, Ai’s minions discuss what they’ve discovered, namely that Misato is just a student that Riho is blackmailing and using to cover for her computer illiteracy and that Riho and her boyfriend started the company together, but broke up. Misato receives a call saying that a would-be blackmailer is demanding money not to release company secrets and she wants it sorted out.

The next day, Misato brings the blackmailer’s information to Riho, who says that they’re not going to bother with the Hell Correspondence anymore and then calls a hitman to kill the blackmailer. Misato makes a video of Riho making the call, but Riho catches her and orders the hit man to kill her and says that she knows Misato is looking for evidence that she murdered Misato’s father, who she blackmailed into helping her with falsified charges. She also reveals that Misato’s last name is actually Tamura and that Misato got caught shoplifting intentionally to get close to her, then compares life to a game. Misato runs away and activates the fire sprinklers. She submits Riho’s name to the Hell Correspondence and pulls the thread on the doll’s neck right away.

Riho walks through the office door and finds herself at her boyfriend’s old apartment, where she relives murdering her boyfriend and a woman he found him with. The two corpses then become copies of Riho and try to kill her. Running out of the apartment, Riho runs into Hone Onna, who says that they’re at the gateway to Hell and transforms into another copy of Riho while Ren and Wanyuudo look on. Riho tries to run away as Ai banishes her to Hell. Ai ferries Riho through Hell’s gate.

The next day, Riho’s computer illiteracy has been revealed. Hone Onna walks away from the office worker she was talking to, unseen by another office worker who walks up. The first office worker wonders just who she was talking to as Ai and her minions leave for the sunset world. Ai looks up at the building where Misato is now staying and seems to think that Misato isn’t so different from Riho. Misato takes Riho's speech about life being a game to heart and reflects that her own damnation is still decades way, resolving to enjoy the time she has. A candle with Misato’s name is lit.


This episode contains examples of:

  • Bad Boss: Riho Kaifu definately classifies as an extreme of this trope.
  • Bald of Evil: The hitman.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Riho Kaifu seems like a nice lady on the surface, but she's incredibly ruthless and manipulative.
  • Blackmail: How Riho got Misato and her father to do things for her.
  • Clark Kenting: Hone Onna and Wanyuudo investigate the company disguised by Hone Onna's usual business suit disguise and a security guard uniform respectively while Ren just wears a different outfit than normal. In Wanyuudo's case, it helped that he already looked a lot like the actual security guard.
  • Color-Coded Characters: The minions are talking to each other in their straw doll forms at the beginning of the episode. Each is a different color which stays consistent throughout the series.
    • Wanyuudo: Black
    • Hone Onna: Red
    • Ichimoku Ren: Blue
  • The Cracker: Misato is skilled at cracking computers, which Riho uses to her advantage. The Hell Correspondence, unfortunately, has supernatural security and can apparently strike back, leaving cracking it off the table.
  • Endless Corridor: Riho runs through an endless version of her old apartment building to escape murderous copies of herself as Ai banishes her to Hell.
  • Gossipy Hens: One of the unnamed coworkers, the one wearing blue, shares gossip about Riho with Hone Onna on more than one occasion.
  • Greed: Riho's motivation.
  • The Hedonist: Riho, who lives by her motto "Life is ultimately just a game, after all. Whoever enjoys themselves the most before the game's over wins." Misato later takes on her philosphy, inheriting the company after Riho's banishment to hell.
  • It Gets Easier: Riho's view on killing. She had hired hitmen on several competitors since she killed her boyfriend.
  • Louis Cypher: Hone Onna calls herself "Onda" while talking to the office workers.
  • Never Be Hurt Again: After the cheating incident, this is probably what motivated Riho as she claims she'll never be a loser in life, even if it meant sacrificing the lives of others.
  • Office Lady: Hone Onna's disguise. According to her, the job sucked.
  • Out-Gambitted: Riho planned for Misato trying to collect evidence on her and knew all along the Misato got caught in order to get close to her.
  • Telepathic Sprinklers: Averted. Misato only sets the sprinklers in the one room off.
  • The Unfair Sex: Averted. Riho murdered her boyfriend for cheating on her, so she seems to think so. The episode still portrays her as being in the wrong.
  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: Wanyuudo, Ichimoku Ren and Hone Onna all disguise themselves as copies of Riho during the Hell Banishment.

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