Hell Girl (Japanese: 地獄少女, Hepburn: Jigoku Shōjo), also known as Jigoku Shōjo: Girl from Hell, is a Japanese anime series conceptualized by Hiroshi Watanabe and produced by SKY Perfect Well Think, Tokyo MX, Wakasa Seikatsu, Fujishoji, Aniplex and Studio Deen.
It is directed by Watanabe and Takahiro Omori, with Kenichi Kanemaki handling series composition, Mariko Oka designing the characters and Yasuharu Takanashi, Hiromi Mizutani and Kenji Fujisawa composing the music.
It was broadcast across Japan on numerous television stations, including Animax, Tokyo MX, MBS and others, between October 2005 and April 2006.
In the fourth season, the story introduces a new character named Michiru, whom Ai helps realize her fate as a successor to the Hell Girl title.
Initially clients would write the names of whom they hated on an ema, which later changed to sending a letter to the address appearing in a three-column newspaper advertisement only visible to those with enough hatred.
Should someone submit the name of someone against whom they bear a grudge or immense hatred, and their request is accepted, Ai Enma will take them to a realm of perpetual twilight where she offers them a straw doll, which is one of her companions, with a red string wound around its neck and describe to the client the details of their contract.
Should the client pull the string tied around the doll's neck, Ai Enma will ferry the target of the revenge straightaway to Hell.
The second season, Hell Girl: Two Mirrors (地獄少女 二籠, Jigoku Shōjo Futakomori), also spanned 26 episodes and aired from October 7, 2006, to April 6, 2007, across Japan on Animax.
The third season, Hell Girl: Three Vessels (地獄少女 三鼎, Jigoku Shōjo Mitsuganae), spanning 26 episodes aired from October 4, 2008,[4] to April 4, 2009, on Animax, MBS and Tokyo MX.
Funimation later dropped the series from internet streaming and home media distribution after reaching the end of the license term in early 2013.
The second manga, titled Shin Jigoku Shōjo (新・地獄少女, "New Hell Girl"), released a total of three volumes from March 19, 2009, to November 6, 2009.
[20][21] The third, titled Jigoku Shōjo R (地獄少女R, "Hell Girl R"), released a total of eleven volumes from March 19, 2010, to July 15, 2013.
Hell Girl has been adapted into a video game for the Nintendo DS entitled Jigoku Shōjo Akekazura (地獄少女 朱蘰), which was developed by Compile Heart and released in Japan on September 27, 2007.
[27][28] Compile Heart made a PlayStation 2 version entitled Jigoku Shōjo Mioyosuga (地獄少女 澪縁) released on September 17, 2009.