Hell Girl: Vol 3 - Cherry

Introduction

If you have seen Hell Girl already then you'll be familiar with the formula, but if not:

A website exists than can only be accessed at midnight, on which the user can enter the name of a person who they want to damn to Hell. In a serene setting, an old woman tells her granddaughter Ai that she has a message. Whoever has entered the name then meets Ai in her Hell Girl persona, who presents them with an effigy with a red ribbon tied around its neck. All they have to do is untie it and their grievance shall be avenged, the price being that their soul goes to Hell when they die.

Volume 3 continues where the previous instalment left off with Hajime continuing to investigate the website and Hell Girl, due in no small part to his daughter's personal involvement with the soul snatcher.



This Volume contains episodes 11 to 14:

11. Broken Threads
Hajime visits an old co-worker about an employment opportunity, stumbling without knowledge into Hell Girl's domain. It seems Mr. Chief Editor Inagaki's a dirty journalist, who's willing to create a scandal even where one doesn't exist. Of his recent articles numbers one that ruined not just a man but an entire family, and the son has a taste for revenge. When Hajime realizes what Masaya has in mind, he tries to convince the kid that an expose would do the trick. But when retribution's in order...

Is Masaya willing to get his hands dirtier than ever Inagaki did, to seek revenge?

12. Spilled Bits
A student misunderstood hides alone in her room, cut off from a world that she can no longer stand. Akane's only companions: Cheppo, another student she met online, and her teacher who comes daily, demanding that she return. With Cheppo's encouragement, the young girl contacts Hell Girl to rid Mr.Fukazawa from her life, but a surprising turn of events and a betrayal leave Akane unbalanced, no longer sure of what to do. Decisions made in the shadow of an abandoned house...

Will pity stay Akane's hand, or will pity damn both the girl and Mr. Fukazawa?

13. Purgatory Girl
Accidental witness to Hell Girl's doings, Tsugumi's vision sends Hajime scouring the city for a particular bookstore. There, within pages dated and rare, Hajime finds an account of Ai from the past, tracking down clues laid for him over fifty years before. His goal: An old man named Fukumoto, the story's author. Amidst desolation and ruin, Hajime learns of Ai and her seal, the constant reminder of the damned's fate. But his activities and interference have now brought the reporter to the attention of Ai's companions...

A tale from the past. At the end of life's journey, will Fukumoto regret his vengeance upon Ohkuchi?

14. Beyond the Dead End
Hajime's off again, this time to a town rife with political misdealings. Tracking down the daughter of a man whose suicide had several mysterious circumstances, the freelance reporter offers his services to get to the bottom of things. But the deeper he digs, the less black and white things become. Discovering two sides to the coin, despite the truth, Hajime begs Saki not to enact her vengeance upon Mayor Kusunoki. But when one is no longer interested in the truth...

Whether or not the past still rings false, will Saki seek revenge upon Mayor Kusunoki and damn a city?

Video

Hell Girl is very nicely animated and presented well in an anamorphic 1.78:1 format. The animation is very clear, with sharp edges and particularly impressive fire, mist and water effects. There are a couple of instances where the NTSC to PAL transfer is apparent but not to the detriment of the viewing experience.

Audio

Typically for an anime disc, you have the option of Dolby Digital 5.1 English or a DD 2.0 Stereo Japanese track. I watched it first with the Japanese track, which is clear and works well. The English dub has the edge in terms of the surrounds and the voice acting is perfectly suitable.

The subtitles are good and are translations of the Japanese track rather than 'dubtitles'; the Japanese signs are automatically translated - you don't need to put the subtitles on for this to happen. Interestingly, HellCorrespondence.com is the English name for the website, referred to as 'Hell Link' in the subtitles.

The theme song is suitably syrupy, but amusingly has several lines in English!

Extra Features

Emergency Round Table Meeting - Cast interview with Japanese TV.
Textless Songs - opening and closing songs, but without credits.
Trailers for Peach Girl: Super Pop Love Hurricane and Mushi-Shi: Volume 1.

Conclusion

Hell Girl is my first experience of an Anime series and it gets better with each volume. The background that was lacking in Volume 1 now forms the focus of the series, with Hajime's investigation into Ai Enma/Hell Girl bearing fruit.

Tsugumi, Hajime's daughter, has visions of those who made a deal with Hell Girl and their involvement in the narrative increases the interest in the Hell Girl mythos, especially in episode 13 where an old book is found referring to her as Purgatory Girl. Her assistants continue to get increasingly involved in the stories, spying on Hajime and acting as provocateurs.

This was as good as, if not better than, volume 2 and the next instalment promises to be better yet - I can't wait! I was delighted to hear in the Emergency Round Table Meeting that Hell Girl has been picked up for a second season.