Kashimashi 07.…. ahhhh yes… the beach episode. They also seemed to have combined in the curry cooking episode into this as well. I have to say…. bikini’s + aprons = t3h WIN! Asuta’s on the short end of the stick here again, but I’m happy that at least he did get more screentime than in the manga. Seriously, he’s one guy I’d like to see being stuck in a harem situation. He could really sue Hazumu for unintentional *sekuhara* :P. Next one seems to be the *kimodameshi* episode, and I’m looking forward to see Hazumu in *chou-moé* form ;).

As for Jigoku Shoujo 20…. it deserves honourable mention for the WTF-ness factor. The string-puller this episode is really over the top and Mr.Hellboy is like… sooo lame. Ai-chan wins for gothloli outfit and for throwing Hellboy to hell. I’m really worried at how they’re going to end this series though :P.

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Sakasama no Chou out, courtesy of the guys over at Nipponsei. Get it while it’s hot, it’s release flood today \0/. I’m still waiting for Jigoku Shoujo’s and Shana’s OST to come out.

**EDIT**: Shana OST GET! I love the way they named the tracks in French. Great OST. Jigoku Shoujo OST next.

**EDIT2**: Jigoku Shoujo OST GET! Yeah, I just love this, all the creepy BGM’s rock.

Sakasama no Chou Torrent
Shana OST
Jigoku Shoujo OST Torrent

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

A pretty sad episode. Finally, after a long while, Jigoku Shoujo manages to introduce characters that I like.

This episode is about Saki, whose father died in an apparent suicide, but she knows otherwise because the night that he died, Saki saw some incriminating evidence involving the mayor of the city, leading her to suspect that her father’s death was caused by the mayor, Kusunoki. Thanks to Tsugumi, Hajime is informed of this and tries to stop Saki from using Ai’s services by researching what had happened.

It turns out that Kusunoki was only trying to keep an old folks home intact and he had to resort to unconventional measures to do it. He didn’t really kill Saki’s father but he can’t prove it. Enlightened by dishearted by the lack of evidence, Hajime stil tries to reconcile the two, but Saki has already decided thanks to the interference of Kusunoki’s son. In the end, Kusunoki is brought to hell by Ai, minus the usual torture, while the old folks home get’s closed down.

Basically, this episode’s grudge is a big misunderstanding, and I’m really sad to see that two innocent people have to go to hell because of that and not only that, some poor old folks get displaced too.

Both Saki and Kusunoki are really not at fault here for the misunderstanding. I suspect the true culprit was the mayor’s son but he didn’t admit to it. However, as Hajime says it, both of their feelings are equally pure, one in sadness and one in honesty. For once, I really like the characters as I can connect to them therefore, I really felt sad when they both had to go to hell.

It’s really at this stories where you can really feel the cold-heartedness of the Jigoku Tsuushin crew as they perform their jobs flawlessly, even if they know otherwise. Ai’s sadness is much more implied with this episode, as she must’ve had her share of doing jobs like this which are just a result of misunderstandings.

For the next episode, it seems to be a recap episode, but I’m quite interested in how they’re going to pull this off, considering the fact that up till now, all the episodes have been quite standalone. Well, maybe they might pull a shocker on us and end the show suddenly or something drastic/dramatic happens. In any case, I hope it will be good.

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I haven’t been blogging Jigoku Shoujo mostly due to lack of motivation, but episode 13 is a poignant episode, one of the best done in a while. I won’t do summaries as better ones have been done.

The focus on Ai this episode reveals some tantalizing titbits like the fact that she has been doing this for at least 500 years, give or take, and also how she has been adapting her methods throughout the ages, from newspapers to internet sites. She also seems to be getting jaded over the episodes, in seeing all the dark sides of human nature.

It is safe to say that her workload would have been increased tremendously in recent times,with the advent of the internet, compared to her past method. I feel she’s getting more and more disappointed with the decline in human morals, especially in this modern age, when the tiniest things can spark great grudges. I think she’s getting more and more reluctant to do her job.

I also would like to praise the production crew for the quality of this episode, where Ai’s presence is highly felt throughtout the episode but she doesn’t even appear until the end for the one and only line she says this show, “jigoku mo…. kekko hiroi kara…”, which to me, feels very poignant and meaningful. Once again, I am reminded of why I am soo attracted to Noto Mamiko. Also, is a mere coincidence that the production crew chose episode 13 to tell all this? I think not ^_-.

However…. it seems the next episode reverts back to the usual revenge-seeking story. I won’t keep my hopes up for it, but I’ll probably won’t be covering it in detail, unless something happens.

Also, I have random thought that maybe Ai’s looking for a replacement and probably chose Tsugumi as one. But until anything concrete is revealed, I won’t say much :).

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

*(late post due to blogger’s block :P)*

Admittedly…. one of the better episodes in all of the seven out now but still… for some reason, I don’t really like it that much mostly for what I’ve mentioned in my Mushishi 04 post, is that their characters are just too shallow and boring most of the time.

Seriously Ayaka was such a sucky and stereotypical character, I just don’t even feel like watching her. I was just sooo hoping for Ai-chan to drag her to hell down ASAP. She totally sucks at acting, my God. I do wonder if her mom was half blind when she chose her for her … errm.. “acting skills”. For god’s sake, I can act much more better than her.

But anyways, the upside was the revelation on Jigoku Tsuushin system, which confirms some of my thoughts that anyone can use it, wheather they really need it or not or they deserve it themselves. Also the devious nature of the Jigoku Tsuushin group is revealed here, as whatever it is, they’re not going to interfere in anyways and just act as watchers, seeing how they let Kaoruko lose her voice and then finally letting her become the contractor in the end. I have a faint feeling that Kaoruko didn’t went through the website, and Ai-chan directly approached her, but still it’s a theory. This episode firmly establishes what Ai-chan said in Episode 06 about her role.

Besides that, we also get to see Ai-chan in something else other than her kimono and joushikousei outfit, which was personally my best part of the episode ^_^. But the art is still kinda funny , meh.

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Pretty good episode this time with a more a mature setting at hand as we see some “Desperate Housewives” worthy action with backstabbing, raping , revenge, suicide and much more… all in a normal housing estate setting.

Basically, housewife A spots housewife B screwing around with delivery boys but, unfortunately for A, B is quite powerful and she launches a bullying and blackmail offensive on A involving name-calling and raping. A is driven to madness and tries to commit suicide. A’s daughter, also caught in the offensive, is totally pissed off and uses Jigoku Tsuushin to kill off B. End.

Well, pretty much basic but that’s the story of this episode. Ai is featured a bit more this episode and also the customary Wet Ai-chan™ is also in this show. I did find the addition of that “launch sequence” music when Ai takes off the coach a bit stupid IMO. At least keep the stock footages constant if you can’t change it :p.

A bit more of Ai’s power is revealed here too, with her showing flashbacks. Well, not exactly a special power as all shounen genre characters can do that at a whim. She also says something really cool this episode, with her “I don’t help people. I can only avenge.” Pretty much cool and evil at the same time.

In the end, another showcase of how human nature is evil and pathetic is revealed when A takes over B’s position as head gossiper and harrasses B’s daughter after B’s death. I really pity A’s duaghter for it just seems so unjustified to her.

As for the punishment, although lacking in the “shock” factor of previous ones, was still one quite fitting in the setting shown this episode. Unlike Western women, generally Eastern culture women are much much more dependent on their husbands for their lives. B’s adultery, if exposed, basically will ruin her entire life, much more if her husband is a powerful figure, of which I think he is. By “punishing” her through exposing her adultery to her social world, she would probably lose “face”, an important asset in Eastern cultures, and will be shunned forever. In fact, the more “correct” punishment for B would be just that. Death is considered a much more easier way out for her :(.

For the ending note…..

WHEN IS SAKASAMA NO CHOU COMING OUT?!!!

(for more screencaps and better summary visit Omni’s post)

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Ok, just joking XD. This was surprisingly a refeshing episode than the last few ones. Starting off with spam from some audacious bitch who wants to get Enma & Co. over to her side to a surprisingly complex plot requiring some investigation by Enma & Co. , cosplaying around the human world, to some divine punishment on the bitch. SPAMMERS BEWARE!!!! MUAHAHAHAHA. Well for more accurate summaries, check out Omni’s and Garten’s blog

Well, even with the different approach, the fundamental flaw of not developing Enma & Co. still remain, apart from discovering they don’t like spammers (someone give me Enma’s email, so I can give her a Gmail invite XD), but at least the story this episode was interesting, though offering not much interesting screencaps for which I can quote out of context put up as highlights. But I *did* discover that Firefox is the official browser of this show, as evidenced through this and this :).

But still, it was a joy to listen to Ayako Kawasumi as Misato. Though, IMO the scares this episode weren’t enough :(. Also fun to see that Misato abuses the fact that she’s going to hell anyways and takes on Riho’s “style” of living life :). I’d *might* do that if I were in the same position. But I do wonder, what happens if someone uses the Jigoku Tsuushin to someone who’s already got the mark?

Anyways, to make up for the lack of pictures, here’s some nekomimi Ai-chan 4TW (^_^).

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

1. Wet Ai-chan ^_^.

2. Ambulance from Hell.

3. Team Medical Hell.

4. Now… where shall I test this on….

5. I would gladly write my own name in Jigoku Tsuushin to get Ai to do this to me.

6. Smothered to death by neko’s. Too bad, it wasn’t nekomimi meido’s…

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Summary

Poor girl, Kyoko(voiced by Ai Shimizu! Moé +5), is being harassed by a pervert. She tries the Jigoku Tsuushin out of desperation and the pervert is nicely dealt with by Enma and her associates.

Opinion

Well, I guess I’m lacking a bit in the energy dept. so the summary was short. Anyways, Jigoku Shojo will be following the same formula so, it’s expected.

First off, Kyoko DID NOT DESERVE TO GO TO HELL!!! And Enma didn’t torture that damned perverted stalker bastard enough! He needs more punishment. Well, I guess that Ai Shimizu playing the victim added to the sentiment much.

I guess this shows the seriousness that Enma conducts her ‘business’. No choice left when you really wish ppl to go to hell. Ahh… the darkness of people’s hearts.

In any case, there’s much more involvement of Enma’s associates this time around, as nicely referenced in Random’s post but nothing too specific. Enma also lives with a yet-to-be seen grandma, the previous Jigoku Shoujo maybe?

Also, the animators must really not like Microsoft. The browser of choice seems to be Firefox while Enma uses an old Macintosh PC. But still, it was really funny to see the Mac in Enma’s place.

Sakasama no Chou also sounds really good. Somehow the tune really fits with the series. Even the Engrish was done nicely, haha. Can’t wait for the appearance of the singles. Damn, all the anime this season could’ve sucked but I’d still be darned satisfied with the music only.

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Watch Status : Raw

Warning: The author has an illogical bias for Noto Mamiko. Do not expect views to be balanced for the general public.

Summary

The show starts off with some explanations that I don’t get, so wait for the subs. Anyways, we get thrown into a generic high school situation. Some money has been collected and, Hashimoto Mayumi, the class representative is assigned to keep it. But the money suddenly disappears and suddenly one of her classmates appears to help her out.

The classmate(didn’t get her name, but from now on I’ll call her the bitch) uses it as an excuse to bully Mayumi around. She overhears about the Jigoku Tsuushin which apparently appears at 12 midnight. Back home she decides to try it out, but freaks out at the last moment.

Later, after the bullying gets worse, she finally does it and submits the bitch’s name. She receives a message afterwards from the Jigoku Shoujo. But after that, nothing happens.

Then, one day, the bitch forces Mayumi to pick up guys for money but she can’t do it. The bitch then threatens her with a photo, causing Mayumi to commit suicide but she meets the Jigoku Shoujo instead. She introduces herself as Enma Ai and gives Mayumi a doll with a red string tied on it and explains that if she really wants to kill the person, she can remove the red string but her soul will be brought down to Hell once she dies. That done, Mayumi comes back to the real world.

Next day, the bitch sends the photo to the school, causing trouble for Mayumi. She decides to remove the string. Enma springs into action. The bitch is invited to school at night and she is brought around to experience horrible things, and finally, she witnesses a reenactment of her crime. Enma then proceeds to bring her to Hell :).

Finally, Mayumi has returned to her normal self after the death of the bitch. But a mark on her chest appears, signifying that her soul will be brought down to Hell once she dies. End.

ED Sequence

Opinion

A not too bad introduction to the series. It seems that the following episodes will follow the same trend of having some extra character victimized and Enma will bring them to Hell.

There wasn’t any introduction to the other main players, apart from Jigoku Shoujo, herself. She seems to have 3 other subordinates but they aren’t introduced in this episode. Hopefully the next episode will.

Apart from that, the focus of the episode was more on Mayumi. Noto Mamiko didn’t really speak much as Enma, but her voice acting is still top notch. Her voice is, undoubtedly, perfect for such roles.

Overall, might not be interesting to majority, but still, it’s a good change from the current pace of animes out this year.How rare is it to see occult/horror anime nowadays from the h-game and moe anime trends? Besides, the art is nicely done and Noto Mamiko is in it :).

©2012 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.