Customer Reviews

Hell Girl Starter Set

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just finished the 1st disk of Hell Girl... I gotta tell you... f@#$&*g awesome! The animation is from the same company who did Gunslinger Girls and Burst Angel "funimation". Its a dark story that makes you go "woah" every few seconds once hell girl strikes by psychologically messing with people who have made another's life painful to endure. Each episode involves a new cast with the hell girl and her acquaintances being the only reoccurring characters. The music is dark and suspenseful that matches up with this fully engrossing story line.I cant find anything to compare it to in regards to the story line. Completely original- at least to me it was.
The only down fall was after seeing 5 episodes you notice the formula. But each psychotic revenge exacted by the hell girl on behalf of the victim is completely different.

REGARDING THE REST OF THE SERIES

In volume 2 or 3 we get intorduced to a writter and his daughter. His daughter seems to have a mental connection to hell girl. The father and daughter try to peice together the puzzle of the next victom of hell girl. The proceed to locate those who suffer enough to summon hell girl and try to convince them its not worth it. Great series all the way through. The episodes just flow into eachother as the story about where hell girl came from becomes apparent by the end.

On the internet, there is said to be a website that will help the tormented get revenge on those who have caused them to suffer. For those who can find the website at the stroke of midnight, they can enter the name of those they have a grudge against.

Enma Ai, Hell Girl (Jigoku Shojo) will appear and offer them a final choice. A doll with a red string around it's neck. If they truly wish to seek revenge they can untie the red string and Jigoku Shojo will carry out their revenge and take the recipient to Hell.

But the service comes with a price, the soul of the requester upon their death, will also be sent to hell.

The first few episodes shows the stories of several individuals who's torment gets so extreme they request the help of Jigoku Shojo.

So we get introduced mainly to Jigoku Shojo and her three assistants: Ichimoku a handsome young man; Hone-Onna, a woman who wears a kimono and Wanyudo, and old man wearing a hat. They help Jigoku Shojo investigate the clients and also help carry out the revenge.

Later on the series, in the next few dvds, we'll also be introduced to recurring characters, one of which is an investigator trying to find out about Jigoku Shojo and his daughter who has visions of what Jigoku Shojo sees.

There is also a second season which focuses around a boy, Takuma Kurebayashi who is blamed for disappearances in his town, when it's in fact, due to other townsfolk who used the Hell Website.

Overall a great Dark Anime series.

I admit it. I fell victim, not to Hell Girl, but to her Masterful Marketers and Artists who deserve no less than Heaven for making Hell look so beautiful. The packaging of the Starter Set was what reeled me in. And believe me...I tried to walking away from "Hell". Many times. One part of me is glad I forked over my few pesos for this Starter Set since it also includes collector cards that are of a quality so high that they warrant framing.

But the other part of me wishes I had passed. The Hell Girl stories don't quite live up to the art and imagery found on the packaging or in the animation itself. The stories are just plain trite, and lack any ambition with development. The "evil" characters are just a little too evil to be convincing, and the scenarios are so obvious that the road to hell is apparently a straight line, instead of one with a few curves and turns. A few character twists would have been more interesting. The concept for this series is brilliant, and so it's too bad that most of the characters and their dialouge don't have as much depth as the visuals. Only one story, of a girl being stalked, has the kind of arc and complexity that I was hoping the other stories would have. The set-up for whose going to Hell and who has Hell to pay is pretty much flat and static for four of the five stories.

Having said that, I wouldn't write this off completely. I'm only offering my view on the Starter Set, and as the big empty, beautiful box suggests, there are about four or five more discs to come. Hopefully, this is an example of a long story-arc that will make the characters more rich in future installments. Otherwise it's just really good eye-candy. I'm curious enough to finish the remainder of this series through Netflix, but not devoted enough to commit anymore money to it.

I wish I'd noticed that this "starter set" consists of a box for several discs- but only one disc. The price made me assume it was several discs (which I must now buy severally).
The series is wonderful. I love both the theme (that vengeance is costly) and artistic presentation. I will buy more discs, just wish I didn't have to.

hell girl is an amazing anime, if your a fan of serious anime you dont want to miss this