Jigoku Shoujo ep.11

December 14, 2005 | 4 Comments

I'm sorry that this comes rather late but I've been kind of busy with work this week. Thursday will be especially bad since there will be end of the year office party. So, some reviews are going to come late this week. Anyway, this episode is a good news for those who want to see more appearance from Hajime and Tsugumi. In fact, the main focus of this episode is actually Hajime and his background/motivation. I think this is part of the reason why I enjoy the episode a bit more than usual. It's a shame that the grudge-wisher of the week is a bit lame though. The same thing can be said about the punishment that is given to the villain of the week. Oh well, as long as the writers keep advancing the main plot involving Hajime and Tsugumi, I think this series will remain interesting and better.

The episode begins with a guy called Kataoka Masaya being left behind by his friend, Yuuji, after trying to ask him to borrow some money. Cut to a scene of Kataoka entering a name into Jigoku Shoujo's website but the name is not Yuuji's name but rather another person called Inagaki Takashi. Soon, Masaya receives a phone called from Ai and is transported into the sunset world. After Ai gives him the doll and the drill, she returns Masaya back to the street. Masaya, knowing what's at stake, now hesitates to pull the string. Meanwhile, not far from where Masaya is standing, Ichimoku Ren and Hone-Onna are seen observing the guy. Ren thinks that it will be three days before Masaya pulls the string. Hone-Onna is not happy to hear this and tells her colleague that this is not a game. Ren snarkily replies back that Hone-Onna can't take a joke but quickly shut his trap before she becomes even more pissed off.

Meanwhile, Hajime is seen visiting a graveyard but is surprised when he sees some offering already in place near the altar. He, however, quickly guessed that it was his daughter, Tsugumi, who put the offering on the altar. Hajime then proceeds to pray in front of the grave and manages to briefly say 'Ayumi...' before his cell phone interrupted him. Hajime at first tries to ignore the phone but eventually relents and decides to answer it. At the same time, Tsugumi is seen standing in front of train tracks remembering the time she first saw Ai standing on the other side of the track. Not long after this, Hajime is seen talking to a tabloid Chief Editor called Inagaki. Inagaki's latest feature article features an accusation on a politician who happens to be Masaya's father. Upon letting Hajime reading the article, Inagaki tells Hajime that he needs Hajime to dig the dirt on a national party member.

Inagaki gives Hajime a one-week deadline and tells him that if he can't come up with anything, he's free to make things up. Hajime is angry upon hearing this and tells Inagaki that he won't produce false report. Upon hearing this Inagaki asks him if Hajime hasn't been taking pictures and blackmailing people with it. Ouch. The truth hurts. While the conversation happens, Ichimoku Ren's humongous eye can be seen appearing on the ceiling. Eventually, Hajime gets out of the room in anger and this motivates Ren to comment that Hajime will not get any promotion if he keeps this up. Hone-Onna, however, doesn't give a rat ass about Hajime and wants Ren to concentrate on Inagaki. As Hajime exits the building, he hears commotion happening behind him. It seems Masaya wants to see Inagaki but has been stopped by the security guard. Masaya is about to punch the security guard when Hajime steps in and stops in.

Eventually the two sit in a park so Hajime can listen to Masaya's problem. Masaya tells Hajime that his last name is Kataoka, reminding Hajime to the article that he read in Inagaki's room. Masaya tells Hajime that on top of the article that Inagaki has written about his father, Inagaki has also accused him of taking drugs. Masaya in his anger tells Hajime that he won't forgive Inagaki, prompting Hajime to ask Masaya if he's going to kill Inagaki. He advises Hajime to move on from this instead of ruining himself by trying to exact a vengeance. Masaya, however, refuses to listen and tells Hajime that he knows nothing. Later on that night, Tsugumi is seen trying to make dinner accompanied by someone who looks like the bartender from episode 8. In the middle of tasting/stirring, however, Tsugumi gets a vision of a city landscape. At the same time, Hajime is seen doing surveillance on Inagaki who's just come out of a brothel.

All of a sudden, Hajime gets a phone call from Tsugumi who tells him that she sees a vision of a place called 'Blue Sapphire'. Upon hearing this, Hajime realises that Tsugumi is talking about a place close to where Hajime is standing at the moment. Meanwhile, Inagaki and the two prostitutes walking with him are confronted by Masaya, who threatens them with a broken wine glass. He tells Inagaki that it's Inagaki's fault that his family is ruined. In his anger, Masaya tries to stab Inagaki with the glass bottle. Unfortunately, Inagaki seems to know a bit of self-defence and actually uses the skill to beat up Masaya. Hajime arrives late as usual and find Masaya all bruised. Masaya at first refuses Hajime's help but is shocked when he hears Hajime talking about Jigoku Shoujo. On the rooftop, Ichimoku Ren and Hone-Onna are unhappy to see this latest development. The two make a comment how Hajime is in their way.

Later on, Hajime tries to find out the identity and whereabouts of Jigoku Shoujo but unfortunately Masaya doesn't know the answer. Masaya, however, manages to divulge the secret to using the doll. Upon finding out about this, Hajime persuades Masaya not to pull the string and promises him that he'll write an article that will expose Inagaki before leaving to find Inagaki himself. Unfortunately, Hajime is too late to find Inagaki because the prostitutes tell him that Inagaki has left with a hotter girl (aka. Hone-Onna). Inagaki is taken by Hone-Onna to what supposed to be a club but when he tries to reach the doorknob, it suddenly turns into a hand that pulls Inagaki inside. Inagaki is then tormented before being sent to hell. The episode ends with Masaya revealing his mark to Hajime and telling the guy that there's nothing that can repair his family. He thinks Hajime should understand it since he has a family as well.

Impression:

Wow, that was quite something. Not so much about the plot of the week but rather the continuous plot involving Hajime and Tsugumi. We know now that Hajime's wife has passed away. I'm probably wrong about this but I think his wife is related to Ai somehow. It was also interesting to see the attitude of Ren and Hone-Onna in regards to Hajime's investigation. They clearly don't appreciate his interference even if that interference may prevent someone from going to hell for a stupid reason. And I really dislike the part where Masaya tells Hajime that Hajime should understand his reason since Hajime has a family as well. It feels forebodding somehow. I hope the series won't end with Hajime deciding to pull the string in order to save Tsugumi. Because that will destroy whatever story building attempt the writers are trying to do right now. If that happens, Hajime and Tsugumi will simply end up as another user of the site. The only difference is that their story is stretched out over the course of the season.

© memento 2003