History Anime / HellGirl

Such is the premise of HellGirl, a [[GenreBusting genre defying]], {{victim of the week}}, anti-[[MagicalGirl magical girl]], [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped social commentary]] [[WidgetSeries series]] with a [[MindScrew Japanese]] [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel horror]] [[AbsurdlySharpBlade edge]]. Originally broadcast in 2005, followed in 2006 by a second season ''Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori'' (Hell Girl: The Two Prisoners). This was followed two years later by ''Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae'' (Hell Girl: The Cauldron of Three).

* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Ai Enam has this twice: She has black hair with red eyes and her standard costume is a black sailor uniform with a red collar. She also happens to be a VillainProtagonist.

** She'a more of a subversion; she actually has feelings, but after so much time doing her job, she just can't seem to express them anymore. Wanyuudo says he can "hear her heart breaking" in one episode, where a innocent was sent to hell, and although she herself isn't shown crying, her face painted in a wall by one of the persons that made a contract with her starts to shed tears when he is about to die, indicating that she was probably crying at that moment too.

** One episode revolves around a girl that wants to send her unknown tormentor to hell. The unknown tormentor writes horrible things on the girl's desk, hides caterpillars in the girl's pencil box, traps the girl in a locker room that appears to be a sadistic DeathTrap, and pours ''hydrochloric acid'' on the girl's back when they finally meet. And the bully's reasoning? '''It was am experiment.'''

* ContractualImmortality: [[spoiler:Enma]] was dead by the end of season 2 but they wanted a third [[IGotBetter so]]...

The series as a whole is mainly a social commentary, using the Hell Correspondence as a tool to analyze and deconstruct the less appealing aspects of Japanese culture and society (there's even a [[SchoolDays Nice Boat]]-inspired episode in ''Mitsuganae''). While many themes are universal, ValuesDissonance means some storylines (like ''Mitsuganae'''s WhamEpisode) are inevitably lost in translation.

* ShoutOut: Episode 21 of season two. A guy named Makoto coldly rejecting the woman pregnant with his child. [[SchoolDays Sound familliar?]]

* HimeCut: Ai Enma's. Worn asymmetrically from the second season onwards.

** One episode revolves around a girl that wants to send her unknown tormentor to hell. Thks unknown tormentor writes horrible things on the girl's desk, hides caterpillars in the girl's pencil box, traps the girl in a locker room that appears to be a sadistic DeathTrap, and pours ''hydraclouric acid'' on the girl's back when they finally meet. And the bully's reasoning? '''It was am experiment.'''
* FridgeHorror: Occurs when you realize that even the most sympathetic of string pullers just did the mystical equivalent of ''hiring a hitman'' when they seal the deal with Hell Girl.
** Even more so when you realize that those string pullers have at most a few decades before they experience the same horrible suffering as their tormentors ''for eternity.'' After the first century in Hell, chances are they will not think that deal was worth it.

* HoYay: Season 3, episode 4 "Big Brother"

* LesYay: Early in the first episode of Mitsuganae, Ai Enma appears in front of Hone Onna, [[EroticEating licks a moist cherry]] and smiles in a rather seductive manner. The two are probably not gay, but there's a lot of LesYay subtext there.
** Also in the first episode, when Ai Enma makes Yuzuki Mikage susceptible to her DemonicPossession. ''It involved a hug and a kiss, while naked, '''in a bathtub.'''''
*** [[spoiler: And she kisses Yuzuki ''again'' at the end of the season, to show her her past. Seeing as Ai showed her past to both Tsugumi and Hajime before without having to kiss them, one can only imagine why she decide to show it that way...]]
** What about Honne-Onna's [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer diehard fangirls]]? One was ready to send someone to hell because she tought he was dating her! [[spoiler: And another ''actually sent'' the other girl to hell because she thought she got too close to Onna!]]
*** Also, when that student with a crush on Hone Onna is sent to hell, Ai & Co. stage a triathlon with Hone Onna's love as a prize. Though it is just an act, Ai acts as one of the competitors.

** One episode revolves around a girl that wants to send her unknown tormentor to hell. Thks unknown tormentor writes horrible things on the girl's desk, hides caterpillars in the girl's pencil box, traps the girl in a locker room that appears to be a sadistic DeathTrap, and pours ''hydraclouric acod'' on the gorl's back when they finally meet. And the bully's reasoning? '''It was am experiment.'''

->''"O pitiful shadow, lost in the darkness,
->Bringing torment and pain to others.
->O damned soul, wallowing in your sin.
->Perhaps... it is time to die."''

* WhyDidntYouJustSaySo: Invoked by Ren to the victim of #11 of ''Futakomori'', a woman who was angry at her neighbor because she took in her pet cat. [[spoiler:Thing is, said neighbor (1) thought the cat was a stray, because it was always hanging around on the outside, and (2) tried to talk to her, but never got any reply. As such, [[WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis instead of talking things over]], she decides to go and push her neighbor's buttons.]]

* RedAndBlackKeepBack: Ai Enam has this twice: She has black hair with red eyes and her standard costume is a black sailor uniform with a red collar. She also happens to be a VillainProtagonist.

* TwistEnding: Lots. MandatoryTwistEnding if you want to be mean about it, TheUntwist, CruelTwistEnding, TwilightZoneTwist.

->Perhaps... it is time to die."'

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Jigoku_shoujo_2_dvd.png
[[caption-width:232: When one soul is damned, two graves are dug.]]

->''O pitiful shadow, lost in the darkness,

->Perhaps... it is time to die.''

* TwistEnding: Lots. MandatoryTwistEnding if you want to be mean about it, TheUntwist, OuterLimitsTwist, TwilightZoneTwist.

* HeyItsThatGuy (the LiveActionAdaptation features several actors from tokusatsu series in both regular and one-time roles. KazukiKato ([[KamenRiderKabuto Daisuke Kazama aka Kamen Rider Drake]]), AyaSugimoto ([[PrettyGuardianSailorMoon Queen Beryl]]), KanjiTsuda ([[KamenRiderRyuki Daisuke Okubo, the boss of ORE Journal]]), MasayaMatsukaze ([[DenjiSentaiMegaranger Shun Namiki aka Mega Blue]]), KazuhikoNishimura ([[ChoujuuSentaiLiveman Jo Ohara aka Yellow Lion]])... the list goes on.
* HeyItsThatVoice: Other than Ai's voice below, a lot of seiyuus make guest appearances occasionally as either Ai's client, or those who got sent to Hell. Including HoukoKuwashima, KaoriShimizu, RieTanaka, JunFukuyama, to name a few. Lastly, MagicKnightRayearth fans will take note that Hikaru's seiyuu HekiruShiina, after a VERY LONG hiatus, makes a frequent voice work in the third season)
** Not that the main cast other than Ai (see below) doesn't invoke this. MasayaMatsukaze not only does Ren live-action, he does the voicing too. Hone-Onna has the same voice as [[{{Naruto}} Anko Mitarashi]], while Wanyuudo sounds like [[{{Bleach}} Zangetsu]].
** And NanaMizuki, not typecast for once, as Tsugumi in all three seasons. No, she doesn't get to sing.
** [[SatomiSato Yuzuki]] is the drummer of the [[{{K-ON}} Light Music Club?]] We didn't expected it either.
** Noriaki Sugiyama gets dragged to hell in season one, but not before delivering some very [[FateStayNight Shirou-esque]] lines.
** Hey look! [[SoulEater Maka's]] using the Hell Correspondence!

No connection to ''{{Hellboy}}''.

* CrapsackWorld: You can be the nicest guy in the world and someone will still find reason to send you to Hell.
** You can go to Hell for pissing someone off. Even if they are overreacting or are crazy.
** You can be sent to Hell for the slightest reasons, or no reason at all. Someone just has to hate you enough.
*** And that's not restricted to the context of the series. Wanyuudou notes, in episode 5 of ''Futakomori'', that the human world used to be a much better place after running afoul of many rude bystanders (and beating up two guys who supposedly wanted to ''rape Kikuri''. Yep.).
** As Mitsuganae shows, you can be sent to hell before even BEING BORN!

The second season picks up a [[TimeSkip few years]] after the conclusion of the first season, and continues the established formula (minus Hajime and co.), this time telling each story from the side of Ai and her [[{{Nakama}} associates]] as they investigate and influence the circumstances in each case. Though [[YourMileageMayVary arguably]] diluting the simplicity of the concept, this season swaps out the BlackAndWhiteMorality found in most of the first season cases for a BlackAndGreyMorality, in which neither antagonist nor victim is really in the right. Fortunately, the [[SympatheticPOV new angle]] manages to [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy keep the series watchable]] in spite of the overdose of [[TrueArtIsAngsty misery and woe]].

* {{Nakama}}: Ichimoku Ren spent an episode considering how their group is like a family. And in season 3, Ai Enma reiterates their group as such to Yuzuki.

Such is the premise of HellGirl, a [[GenreBusting genre defying]], {{victim of the week}}, anti-[[MagicalGirl magical girl]], [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped social commentary]] series with a Japanese [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel horror]] [[AbsurdlySharpBlade edge]]. Originally broadcast in 2005, followed in 2006 by a second season ''Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori'' (Hell Girl: The Two Prisoners). This was followed two years later by ''Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae'' (Hell Girl: The Cauldron of Three).

The first season introduces Ai Enma, the Hell Correspondence and the series' episodic format. Each episode introduces a victim and an antagonist, and the circumstances surrounding them. As each story unfolds, the antagonists' actions push their victim further into despair, and it's only through the use of the Hell Correspondence that their victim can overcome their circumstances and send their tormentor to hell.

After the formula has been established, the series introduces a complication into the mix: single father and reporter Hajime Shibata notices the increase in the site's popularity and starts a personal investigation. Aided by his young daughter, Tsugumi, who has a mysterious connection to Ai, he tries to convince users of the Hell Correspondence not to complete the contract, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero generally making bad situations worse]] through his meddling.

** The more I watch it, the more I suspect that they are idiots. Honestly, they bandy about sending someone to Hell like it was actually an appropriate retribution. Two examples: One, where a girl in Tsugumi's class comments that she should send a boy, also in their class, so seven years old, to Hell. For what, you ask? For breaking a roughly $5 cellphone charm. Also, in Season two, episode 8, a girl tries to send the "Make-Up Hag" to Hell for telling her to get her hair cut to comply with school policy. It doesn't work, but still.
** Season 2 episode 10. The victim of the week is a bum, but he isn't malicious or knowingly evil. What does he get sent to hell for? [[spoiler: For scratching a guys car. Accidentally spilling coffee on him was just an additional.]] Also, here's a bit of fridge logic: how could he know the guy's name? Yeah, they lack criteria just like that.
*** That can be answered during the second or third episode (I forget which) when the girl just typed in [[spoiler: "the man stalking me"]]. As long as you give a description of your target, like [[spoiler: "the man who scratched my car"]], it's enough.