I had a feeling they will use the same background music. It won't be Jigoku Shoujo without it. It's disappointing about Sugimoto Aya. At least she looks perfect for the role. Thanks for blogging, can't wait. :eyespin:

I can't wait for the entry in your blog either hehehe

And about the special effects; the "ippen shinde miru" scene is well done?

Yeah, I thought the "ippen shinde miru" was well done. It was artistic, and the flowers flying from her kimono was quite beautiful. One thing that must of been hard for the actress is when they shine light directly into her eyes to show the red pupils...

Episode 01 Screencaps

Here's my summary and screenshots of the show. I'll flesh it out a bit more later.

Wow
some kind soul shared it
thanks to whoever he/she is

Besides the, somehow, weak acting of the japanese actors/actresses it was a pretty good episode for me. Basically the same plotline of season 1 ep 1.

The same amazing soundtrack (I noticed some remastering here and there) and even the same baa-chan voice.

Enma Ai voice was as good as Noto Mamiko's to me. Ichimoku Ren and Honne Onna were kind of strange and Wanyuudo would be better if he was bald, but that's ok. The visual effect were good enough.

The ending song was just ok. The anime ending songs are better.

The live-action Jigoku Shoujo performs with many high production values, though the actors and actresses need to tapped on their potential at its fullest.

There weren't many frightening scenes, but I got goosebumps when the heads of the two girls literally fell of. Now that was nasty.

But more nasty was that disgusting girl Rina, who in her arrogance and spite gave her a hell (no pun intended) to Yuu.

The live-action version to near perfect showcases the abominable effects of the ijime phenomenon that it's the daily norm in Japan. The angst and depression that the victim suffers everyday from his or her tormentors.

It's good to see that Enma Ai and her familiars have become flesh and bone characters to deliver the wrongdoers to Hell.

I have to commend Iwata Sayuri performance. It was near perfect; her voice is beautiful, and her looks are the suitable match for Enma Ai in flesh and bone.

My complain for Iwata-san and advice is that she should practice with a more natural ambience the Ippen Shinde Miru line.

That's Enma Ai's staple and climaxes the grudge. When Iwata-san pronounces the phrase, it did not sound as jittery as it does in the anime version.

For the rest, I praise that some scores from the anime soundtrack carried over to the live-action TV version. I do think bad of the remastered and remix version of some of the scores.

Even the seiyuu who voices the Grandma in the anime was casted for the same role in the live-action TV series. That was a treat.

I believe that both NTV and Aniplex TV stations have very close ties with each other or made a joint venture regarding the Jigoku Shoujo franchise.
They most likely sorting out the copyright issues to make use of the soundtrack scores to utilized as well in the live-action TV format.

This looks awesome from the screencaps. Can't wait to watch it! :) I hope the next episode will be something original though. Something new, never before seen yet.

Ai seems FAT...

I think it's because of the hair. Sugimoto Aya acts too evil as Hone Onna, I think that's her problem. :heh: I see a familiar face in the preview, I think I saw him before in other dramas. I am anticipating what other famous actors they'd be able to pull in in the future.

But someone please tell me why Ai smiles at the end of the credits. I don't think Ai ever smiled...

hmm... my thoughts of the show if I can remember them from when it aired.

I actually quite liked this, however as a fan of jigoku shoujo anime series and stuff I expected to. The music, as everyone has said was the typical jigoku shoujo music, which I was glad. Because I like music for this show.

Unlike most people I have talked to, I was generally really creeped out with the episode. But I jump and scream at everything so .... *cough*

I will carry on watching this, but see how the rest of acting goes.

*as something creepy and random I just realised I have exactly the same hair cut as enma ai... *

I was thinking exactly the same thing. :twitch:

yes yes AI dose look fat and she look old ???

This is interesting. But I think the live-Ai is a little too chubby at the face(maybe it's the angle). Anyways, I liked the shape of the crest. It's nice, and does anyone think that Sugimoto Aya looks kinda like Michelle Yeoh in Memoirs of the Geisha?

The camera may add 10 lbs but her face is just large and she looks way too old. The story line felt directly recycled out of the anime as I had this case of dejavu at a large number of the non-canon scenes. That said, the acting was typical for j-drama: poor. I died laughing when the girl screamed at the thought that she was going to hell. The voices are good but they stand there like they are reading a teleprompter for the most part. Also, the digital backgrounds trying to replace the anime's feel looked horrible against the actors. The actors looked like they were standing infront of a bluescreen. I doubt this will get fixed since it's stock footage now.

just an announce

J4V released it subbed

This show is just terrible.

The actress playing Enma is just ... not right. She's mediocre looking at best, she's far too old, and her face is chubby!!:frustrated: There is no way this woman can symbolize the natural beauty of death, liberation from suffering, the wheel of life, etcetera, etcetera.

The other actors are pretty bad as well, even by J-Drama standards, and it doesn't cover any new ground -- essentially an uglier retelling of the first season.

SHE SMILED IN THE ENDING CREDITS.

That's like, so not Ai!

Her kimono flowers should be constantly moving (ok, I know that would be extremely hard to do in real-life, but it's what makes Ai feel so much more supernatural)

Wannyudo's too fat and not old enough.

That said, I can't wait for Saaya Irie!

Ok, that makes me sound like a perv.

Saaya Irie is in this show? :twitch:

She plays Tsugumi. :heh: