Hell Girl is a very formulaic and episodic series. It adopts a monster of the week format. The concept here is that a website, wrapped in mystery and gossip, becomes online for a single minute at exactly midnight. A connection to hell where you might enter a request for revenge or assistance to be fulfilled.
While every episode appears to follow this general format. I think each individual story, while usually twisted in their own way, is interesting. More than that, there is continuous development given to Ai Enma herself as things appear to be a bit deeper than they initially let on, with her as the Hell Girl at times expressing discontent with the role she is forced to play and the suffering involved.
This series is definitely not going to be for everyone. But if you can stomach the slow burn and episodic nature of its first half, Hell Girl is an unforgettable experience.
Table of Contents
1. Hell Girl (2005)
| Title | Jigoku Shoujo |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Aired | Fall 2005 |
Somewhere in the vast sea of the Internet, there’s a website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Known as the Jigoku Tsushin, rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, the Jigoku Shoujo will appear and drag whoever torments you into the inferno.
Very little is known about the girl – all we know for sure is that she lives with her equally enigmatic grandmother, that three magical straw dolls accompany and serve her, and that whenever a posting on the Jigoku Tsushin moves her, she becomes the Jigoku Shoujo.
2. Hell Girl: Two Mirrors (2006)
| Title | Jigoku Shoujo: Futakomori |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Aired | Fall 2006 |
Ai Enma once again returns as the Jigoku Shoujo, who uses Jigoku Tsuushin (Hell Hotline) to allow people to post their grudges on their tormentors, sending them straight to Hell.
In exchange, the users of the website will end up in Hell after they die. Meanwhile, a mysterious girl with blue eyes called Kikuri appears and seems to have strange intentions towards Ai and Jigoku Tsuushin’s operation.
3. Hell Girl: Three Vessels (2008)
| Title | Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Aired | Fall 2008 |
After the events of the 2nd season, Ai’s three helpers, Ichimoku Ren, Wanyuudou and Hone-Onna live out their lives in relative peace.
This is suddenly shattered when Kikuri returns to recruit them. Meanwhile, Ai mysteriously reappears from the dead and uses the body of a young schoolgirl, Yuzuki Mikage, to continue the Jigoku Tsūshin operation. Yuzuki is aware of Ai’s presence however, when she can see what Ai sees.
4. Hell Girl: Fourth Twilight (2017)
| Title | Jigoku Shoujo: Yoi no Togi |
| Episodes | 12 |
| Aired | Summer 2017 |
Hell Girl Enma Ai and her group return for another series to continue their task of transporting cursed people to hell. New questions arise when a previously unseen girl dressed in green appears before them.
As her appearances grow more frequent the mystery behind her purpose is gradually revealed even as the task of carrying people to Hell continues.
Episodes 7-12 are rebroadcast episodes from previous seasons with minor edits. Episode count does vary for home video and streaming releases.
Learn more about another series with Animonster’s watch order guides.
