I'm a wee bit lazy, so I'm going to copy out my blog entry, sans screenshots and rating.
I've only seen one episode of this series, but i'm already convinced that I love it. The show seems to be episodic in nature, although a plot may be revealed later. Yet in one episode, my opinions about the characters were strongly forged, even though most of them will never be seen again, and the show's atomosphere completely took be in.
Animation here seems gritty and realistic for the mundane characters, yet the Jigoku Shoujo herself appears in serene yet morbid oriental beauty, and acts with unquestionable grace. There is a delibrate constrast here between our world, drab normality, and the enigmatic and otherworldly nature of Emma Ai's land. Notable is the ending, a beautiful, Gankutsuou-like set of images that focus on Ai.
The music, on the other hand, is generally sparse, but when used to full affect it conjures up a nightmare of creeping strings and diabolical guitars that never fails to raise shivers. The ending theme, on the other hand, starts out as a superb chilling ballad before breaking into more conventional territory - nevertheless, it suits the show perfectly, recalling the gothic granduer of Nick Cave's classic duets.
The episode has a fairly flimsy storyline - girl is bullied horrendously, girl wants revenge, girl calls Emma, and retribution is eventually served in a bout of satisfying vengeance, as Emma Ai and her servants inflict extreme paranoia, the death of others, hopelessness, confusion and finally death on the tormentor. Yet this storyline is perfectly paced, and the episode never drags or glosses on details; very Monster-like in its flowing nature.
The protagonist of this episode, Mayumi, is a perfect portraying of human weakness and human stength at the same time; a model student and all-round popular and kind girl, she falls pray to Aya, a bully who steals her money regularly, forces her to come out on late night excursions, threatens her with photos, takes fundrasing money from her and generally makes her life unbearable. In face of this, Mayumi spinelessly hides it all, until, knowing full well the consequences, finally dooms Aya to damnation while also pledging her own soul to Hell when she dies. In a single episode, the series created a truly memorable and emotionally affecting cast. Aya, in particular, although to a lesser extent her mindlessly following friends (they also suffer eternal punishment, happily) is built up to be one of the most despicable characters I've seen for a while, a truly venomous and cruel beast who faces all she deserves. Human nature is brought into question, not overtly, but it is noticable, as is suffering. The show made me want to discuss it and its themes at length afterwards, it inspires opinions - i'm sure many can emphasize with Mayumi.
It is amazing how in just one episode Hell Girl has managed to reach all my high expectations, and emerge as a Paranoia Agent-like tale with a hint of Boogiepop, an artificial link with Death Note and a subtle pondering of human nature that slightly nods to Haibane Renmei. I'll be waiting for episode two with all the single-minded focus of an eagle focusing on its pray.
