Hellgirl, Volume One

What would you give to be avenged of a horrible wrong done to you or yours? Would you spend vast amounts of money and pay someone to right it? Would you spend your days and nights dedicated to revenge? Or would you make it simple and give, say, your soul to someone who makes a business of vengeance?

Hellgirl is a for-hire avatar of vengeance and ambassador of Hell, who trucks in “a dish best served cold” in exchange for souls. But what offense can possibly be horrible enough to damn a soul to eternal damnation?

plot summary

At midnight, online, if a link is clicked right as the hour strikes twelve, a website will appear which will hear your grievance and mete out punishment to the perpetrators. The website is Jigoku Tsūshin- Hell Link- and the web-mistress cum executioner is Ai Enma, aka, Jigoku Shoujo- Hellgirl.

This slight, dark-haired child with red eyes, has the power to command Hell in order for retribution to be made to an injured party by way of damning the injurer to Hell forever. However, if vengeance is agreed upon, the person who signs the execution order must in turn be damned to Hell upon their own death.

Hellgirl tirelessly reads the many messages she receives on her wesbite and journeys to the mortal realm to explain the terms of Damnation to would be Damn-ers. The person seeking retribution is then given a straw doll and told to untie the red string if they agree to the contract. After the pact has been made, Ai doles out the appropriate punishment.

Hellgirl is not alone on her missions of vengeance: Ichimoku Ren, a young man in casual clothes, WanyÅ«dō, an older man in dated clothing, and Hone Onna, a woman who dresses like a prostitute, also assist Ai in the retributions. Together, these four create punishments which fit the antagonists crimes. The one who has wronged another is then given a chance to acknowledge their guilt before they’re dragged down into eternal damnation.

Who can be so desperate as to consign their own soul to Hell in order to do so to another?

review

On the surface, the concept for Hellgirl is intriguing: Creepy young girl with monotone voice condemns souls to Hell for victims in exchange for said person’s soul. The first episode, “From Beyond the Twilight“, was appropriately depressing and introduces the audience to the hellish conditions which would be the deciding factor in paying the ultimate price for peace of mind and retribution.

School girls are some of the most spiteful, evil creatures ever spawned and can drive an innocent to tears with their constant bullying and back-handed trickery. In the first case, it’s easy to understand the motivation for invoking Hellgirl. However, the punishment for the antagonist wasn’t nearly ironic enough, or severe enough, for the high price of a soul. It seemed like the protagonist of that episode got short-shrifted.

The following episodes were a mixed lot of varying degrees of suffering on the part of the victims. Some cases that Ai picked up were trivial and didn’t seem to warrant the punishment due to either the victim or the perpetrator. One which really stood out as imbalanced was the episode, “Silent Cries“. Granted I love my pet very, very much, but I wouldn’t condemn either myself or another to Hell forever if something bad were to happen to her. Ironically, the ironic punishment meted out in that episode was absolutely the best and most apropos for the entire volume.

Each episode has what I call a “Charge-up Sequence“. A Charge-up Sequence, CS for short, is when a character or characters charge-up their mechs or themselves before a battle sequence, or a magical-girl transforms into her powerful alter-ego, or is any repeated scene which routinely builds up to a finale or fight scene. In this case, it’s Ai bathing in the river, dressing in her kimono, and riding in a flaming palanquin to the mortal realm. After the punishment is administered by her assistants, Ai says a phrase damning the particular soul to Hell. Hellgirl then consigns the soul to Hell by delivering it there on a boat which she ferries.

It’s the same scenes every episode, give or take a few details. These charge-up scenes eat into time which could be better spent developing Ai or her assistants’ backgrounds or better spent developing more creative and suitable punishments.

Character Development

As of yet, there’s no character development for Ai or her companions. It feels as though character development will unfold later in the series. The victims in the individual cases are, for the most part, sympathetic. I could connect with two out of the five protagonists and felt actual loathing and disgust for the same number of antagonists. The other three episodes were, although not shallow, still not as profound as the other two cases.

Character Design

Hellgirl, the anime, has some beautiful character designs and color usage. The everyday world of the human realm is just that; everyday, yet still sparkles with its own beauty. However, the twilight world which Ai calls home is stunning in its shadowy glory. The beautiful landscapes and shimmery ambiance is creepy in the unchanging evening light; an appropriate home for a debt collector for Hell.

Actual character designs are one-up from average anime in the way the eyes and clothes are designed. Hellgirl’s expressionless red eyes look dead, while the eyes of the victims are filled with pain and emotion. The clothing is also exceptional: Ai’s ceremonial kimono is simply gorgeous with its rich black background and colorful, condemning poppies- symbolism anyone?

Animation

Studio Deen animated Hellgirl and did a superb job of it. The characters movements are smooth: hair flows naturally, clothes drape realistically, and eyes fill with tears convincingly. Many details in the episodes also increase the beauty of the series. It all adds up to a gorgeous anime.

Music

The OP, NightmaRe, is decent but would have been good without the one or two English lines interjected randomly into the song. Aizome, the ED, is haunting and sad. The beautiful animation which accompanies it is a perfect match and is just as emotive as the song. The soundtrack for the episodes is well written and matches the themes for each scene.

Voice Acting

Both the English and Japanese voice casts are fairly strong. The Japanese voice cast, however, was more appropriate for the subject matter.

Production

The DVD for Volume One is as beautiful as the animation: Gold detailing and rich colors make the DVD jacket a work of art in itself. Details aren’t limited to the outside of the DVD, however. Inside the DVD jacket is illustrated as well as the DVD itself. Included with the volume are two sumptuous, frame-worthy postcards featuring Ai.

Hellgirl, Volume One explores who’s willing to pay the ultimate price for satisfaction in the here and now. It also speaks about where people place their priorities; which can be eye-opening and sad at the same time. However, I would like to see more time spent on the development of Ai and her companions and less time being wasted on Ai’s Charge-up Scenes. If Hellgirl devotes more time on the Girl and less on the Hell, Jigoku Shoujo will be damned good.

Rating

Hellgirl, Volume One gets 2.5 outta 4 Hammies!