Jigoku shôjo

This may not be for everyone that wants a consistent plot and character developments. Its like an anthology series with a different case in each episode. The thing that makes this show intriguing to watch is what these characters do in the situation that presents them in.

Especially from the aspect of enjoyment this show is real hell. Every single episode presents an enclosed story where we can ALWAYS see new characters that can be right away fitted into a pigeon-hole of a victim and a villain, and that ALWAYS evolves according to the same pattern. In the end, Enma Ai — Jigoku Shoujo — intervenes like "deus ex machina" to resolve the story saying ALWAYS the same phrase. Since this pattern never changes, it becomes terribly boring after some while, regrettably, we are to suffer it to the very end, because of the absence of any continual story. Moreover, we don't learn anything much about Enma Ai, nor about her partners from the hell ride. The animation itself is very good, as well as music by Takanashi Yasuharu which is well worth listening to. Weaker characters that can be driven crazy by boredom from the monotony are not recommended to watch it.

Overall I enjoyed Hell Girl but the first about 10 episodes are really, really repetitive and... yes... become even kinda boring at some point.

After that rough start the series turns out to be more and more enjoyable though, the animation is beautiful and the grand themes of this Anime were quite interesting:

How far are you willing to go for vengeance? Is vengeance ever the right answer? Do some people rightfully deserve to go to hell for what they have done?

6/10, solid but not a must see in my opinion. I would recommend it half-heartedly to people really interested in the story but as I said don't expect to be blown away right from the beginning.

Each episode of this anime contains a short story of a person, who is going through something or probably being tormented by someone 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 red string on its neck that can send the named antagonist to Hell. When the string is pulled, Ai and her companions then torment the antagonist and eventually ferries them to Hell. Moreover, a price has to pay by the one who pulls the string as well. Once he or she dies, he or she will have to go to the Hell as well. When the episode ends, we hear Ai Enma saying, "When one person is cursed, two graves are dug."

Ai Enma is my favorite character. She is a female kuudere and yet unlike other kuudere characters from the mainstream anime, she doesn't swore loyalty to any other main character. It has been more than a decade and she still remains my most favorite female anime character. The anime has a good storyline for sure but Ai Enma's backstory and a triggered point where she goes against the authority and takes a different decision have been executed really well. Each episode has an interesting yet a depressive case. It will be hard to feel satisfied with the ending yet you yourself wouldn't be able to think of a better ending.

This anime first came out during 2005 and the animation is fine. The character designs are impressive. The theme songs are fabulous as well and really suits the atmosphere of this anime. Overall, a decent watch. Totally recommended.

I'm a latecomer to anime in general, but after thoroughly enjoying titles like Dororo, The Promised Neverland, Boku dake ga inai machi, and Kino's Journey I was off to a really good start. I found Hell Girl on a list of supposedly cerebral anime with dark themes. Unfortunately it's not particularly dark or cerebral, more repetitive and sappy. I lost interest around episode 17. I feel like the whole series is an exercise in waiting for something that never materializes. 5/10.