(L) Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae (Hell Girl 3rd Season)

[bayoab]

Originally Posted by Sylphic

I've been following the third season for a while now... but I seriously wish they would address the issue of why Ai is back from the dead?

Hopefully it will be handled like the first series and the second half will be dedicated to that. Otherwise we are going to end up with another 6 ep arc to explain everything at the end which would just be so boring and bad.

[Anubis91]

Whatever any of us think about Mitsuganae, I think you will all agree with be about the beautifulness (does this word even exist ? I'm french so I'm not exactly sure ^^) of this picture !

[k//eternal]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

It ceased [to be horror] ever since the show started.

more like this

[bayoab]

Newtype summaries suggest we will be getting to the plot finally in the second half.

[serenade_beta]

Uhyaa~, maybe the most interesting episode of this season.

Spoiler for ep11:

It was quite interesting, this episode's hell sending. Where the three victims decided to send the three others to hell all at once. An expected development. I thought someone might not pull the string or it turns out that one of the three actually sends another of the three to hell, but it turned out fine, and those bad three get sent to hell.

But of course, it doesn't end there and the author gets sent to hell by the stupid mother. Whoopee...

The only ones I can really sympathize with this the author and that female interviewe.
That kid/criminal was clearly the biggest idiot ever.
That newspaper boss/whatever was clearly getting what he deserved.
And that co-worker was... Pff, mothercon, huh. Well, I don't think he deserved it, but don't feel bad about what happens to him.
And then that mother. Who the hell are you blaming stuff on?

Preview:

[guest]

Is there a blog for details of the latest ep every week (before the sub comes out)?

[bayoab]

Official OP lyrics (TV Size):
闇と玩(あそ)ぶ星たちへ
愛を唄い焼き尽くして
罰を 灯しひなぎくの
夢に寄り添う爪の痕
唇から 唇へと伝い
その温もりは何処へ?
たどり着く宛は無いのに

貴方でなくちゃ満たせない
私じゃなきゃ許せなかった
だから私はこの脚で
立ち上がれてぞっとしたんだ

飼い殺しなら救われる
でも見事に鍵は外れて
私はまるで
鳥籠を欲している狂った小鳥
嘘を抱いた花

[Nina.Wolken]

Just watched the 11th episode:

Spoiler for episode 11:

Very good episode indeed and I loled hard when Kikuri told the writer who was going to hell that he should have use more furigana, with tears pouring from her eyes... Poor guy, he is claerly already in hell with this brat in the same boat than him

[harukamae]

Wow, one of the best episodes this season!!

Originally Posted by Nina.Wolken

Spoiler for episode 11:

Very good episode indeed and I loled hard when Kikuri told the writer who was going to hell that he should have use more furigana, with tears pouring from her eyes... Poor guy, he is claerly already in hell with this brat in the same boat than him

LOL This part made me crack up.

I do like the twist this season of people getting sent to hell over little things or misunderstandings, but it was getting old for a bit and I found this episode refreshing. But bring on the bigger plot, please!

[Guido]

My Teacher

Episode six has been the second best episode to me for this season, and the one which I have fun the most.

Spoiler:

This episode showcased another scenario which I never thought about when I watched the previous two seasons, although quite several of you who are Jigoku Shoujo fans did speculate about at the time.

"What if the client holds a grudge against any member of the Sanwara?"

That's what happened to Ichimoku Ren and later to Hone-Onna, though it did not have any long-lasting effects. The reply is that Ai denies that request, because three reasons: 1) Except for Hone-Onna, almost all the Sanwara were youkai or spirits in their previous lives; 2) at some point they were in Hell but saved by Ai; 3) as long as they pledge unwavering loyalty and friendship towards Ai, they'll receive her protection or so I would like to speculate about.

And speaking about the Sanwara for episode six we got to see them interacting amongst themselves during their free time, as an odd-ball but loving family.

Spoiler:

The outcome surprised most, because I was expecting Yuna to have become the client to pull the string, but Rika turned out to do that honor.

Both held an obsession towards Hone-Onna, but Rika's was more of a fleeting, whimsical admiration than a true, closet-room infatuation.

She cursed Yuna and got branded with the mark for something little, because we got to see at the end that she had changed her target of admiration towards... Wanyuudou, nonetheless.

On the other hand, Yuna logically filled the obsessive type at resorting to any type of underhanded tactics to break apart the competition and, thus earning the object of her desire: Hone-Onna.

As it was seen when Yuna was put in the batsu contest against Ai and her familiars.

I won't forgive Yuna for the single detail, that she kicked Ai pretty hard on the gut and made her (Ai) tumbling down to oblivion.

Heck, it was funny watching Ai delivering both her damnation and ferry speeches to Yuna, while she still resented the pain on her left rib that caused her to interrupt herself to take care of the pain.

[/SPOILER]

[Noe]

Episode 8 made me qq....so sad.

[FateAnomaly]

The girl in episode 8 is really wtf stupid.

[kk2extreme]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

The girl in episode 8 is really wtf stupid.

agree, at least this time, the whole ep feels more normal

Originally Posted by guest

Is there a blog for details of the latest ep every week (before the sub comes out)?

here it is

[guest]

Originally Posted by kk2extreme

here it is

Thanks.

[Guido]

Liar

I became shocked with a big WTF gesture on my face with the outcome for the seventh episode.

There wasn't any side to feel empathy for; everyone was guilty.

Spoiler for Washizu:

At first I suspect that Washizu was as well one of the two candidates whom Inuo entered the name in the Jigoku Tsusshin, and my jaw dropped, figuratively, once the climax revealed that the target was him.

Once Washizu found out the straw doll by random carelessness from Inuo's part, I believed that he would have emulated Hajime from season 1 and do anything possible to prevent Inuo from pulling out the string.

I was dead wrong. Washizu selfishly cared about proving his point to Inuo about her mother's escapades with other men by dragging the latter to witness it by himself, which was something that Inuo by no means did not want to participate.

Washizu's fault was that he stuck his nose too hard, overlooking that he kept on dealing more wounds to Inuo's already fragile and sensitive heart.

Spoiler for Inuo:

Inuo's not free from blame either. If he did not wish for any help at all, he shouldn't have give in to Washizu's pressure, and opened his big mouth about his mother's abuse.

The kid lacked backbone to stood against his mother, and when he does towards the end his mind broke losing whatever speck of sanity and patience was left in him and would be now his turn to give hell to his mother.

[BBOvenGuy]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

The girl in episode 8 is really wtf stupid.

I couldn't help thinking, "It's the Japanese Paris Hilton!"

One other thing I noticed - the dog's name, Momo, is the same as the main character in Shinigami no Ballad. Momo the shinigami is kind of the anti-Enma Ai, so I thought it was funny to see Ai holding Momo the dog.

[NoSanninWa]

For me, there is one unasked question that is overshadowing all others on this show. I've seen people asking why Ai is back from Hell. I've seen people asking why she is bound to this particular girl, I've seen people asking why Kukuri only exists for comedic effect. However I haven't seen anyone asking the question whose oddness seems to overshadow these details. Every single episode we're shown something that directly contradicts both of the first two seasons and implies that the rules have been seriously upturned.

Back in seasons one and two, Enma Ai was very particular about whose vengeance she would enact. She often sent one of her helpers to spy on people who click the website before making up her mind to answer. I've seen people completely unable to access the site simply because their hatred wasn't strong enough. The people she accepted vengeance about were almost always scumbags who deserved a bad fate. Even though we frequently thought the victim should have called the police instead of damning their soul, at least the victim deserved what he got. Ai was unerringly careful that way.

Now, in season three, that rule is completely overturned nearly every single episode! Often these vengeances are misplaced. Ai always seems to appear the first time people check her site. People have damned others to Hell over stupid misunderstandings without Ai wanting to investigate. (Like the teacher in episode 1.) They've damned others to Hell for someone else's grudge without any hatred of their own. (Episode 9.) They've even sent someone to Hell after clicking the website's go button accidentally because they were startled by a goldfish jumping, without really meaning to do that. (Episode 10.) Nearly every single vengeance up to episode 10 (the last episode I've seen) was a misfire some reason or other. The only case of honest justifiable hatred so far was in episode 9 concerning the woman's pet dog and even that one manages to fail because she only pulled the string by accident!

I don't think this is just carelessness on the part of the creators. I think that this is the intent to show vengeance done wrong and accidently. I think Enma Ai is trying to break the system. After having been thrown aside cruelly at the end of season 2, she's trying to screw with Jigoku Tsushin.

[guest]

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

Even though we frequently thought the victim should have called the police instead of damning their soul, at least the victim deserved what he got. Ai was unerringly careful that way.

Didn't this stop at the second season already? It's more like, for the first season, the victims deserved it. The second season, people who were sent to hell are just as bad as those who curse them, generally speaking. There comes the third season which you just don't know anymore! That's why I think the third season just hit the new low.
As for Ai's conduct, investigation etc, I don't think it has changed much. She investigates before the "clients" pull the string and send them straight to hell when any of them pull the string.
Judging from the previous seasons, they will never address these questions anyway.

[Bathory Area]

While the plot of the EP 10 was not out of the ordinary by itself, it seems to signal a change to the overall story as Yuzuki has finally decided to do something about her visions from Ai. Possibly in order to emphasize the coming change, parts of the episode with Yuzuki were beautifully animated. How will Yuzuki try to take a more active role in future episodes?.
*There are more than 20 episodes in this season so we dont have to rush to "main story".

[PastPrime]

Originally Posted by NoSanninWa

Back in seasons one and two, Enma Ai was very particular about whose vengeance she would enact. She often sent one of her helpers to spy on people who click the website before making up her mind to answer. I've seen people completely unable to access the site simply because their hatred wasn't strong enough. The people she accepted vengeance about were almost always scumbags who deserved a bad fate. Even though we frequently thought the victim should have called the police instead of damning their soul, at least the victim deserved what he got. Ai was unerringly careful that way.

There were always cases of undeserving people going to Hell. Don't forget about the nurse who was close to being a Saint, sent to Hell by a dope addict who overdosed right after he sent her to Hell. Or the two friends who ended up going to Hell together. And the people in that town at the end of season two. The people doing the sending were frequently more deserving than the people being sent.