Jigoku Shoujo ep.17

February 10, 2006 | 8 Comments

This is one hell of an impressive episode. A couple of minutes after the story starts, it is easy to see that this one can be a stand-alone horror story without the Jigoku Shoujo association. The series would probably have attracted more viewers if most of its stories are as strong and powerful as this one. The interesting part about this episode is that there is actually no scene involving Hell, a consistent element of the series which actually is not that frightening most of the time. This episode relies purely on the horror of the unknown, of things that can not be seen. As a result, when the truth is revealed and the horror starts to take shape in the form of a monster, the story remains as strong and arresting as it was when viewers have to guess about the direction of the storyline. The addition of a little twist towards the end of the story is also a welcome change for the series.

The episode itself begins with a black and white panning shot of a dilapidated old room. As the camera starts to move its view towards the window, a creepy sound of a girl can be heard asking someone to save her. The camera then moves into the shot of a car speeding along a road. Inside the car, Tsugumi tells her father, Hajime, that she hates fog because it makes her uncertain of what lies ahead. She feels that she can do her best if she can see what's in front of her. Upon saying this, a candy suddenly falls into her lap. Hajime cheerfully tells his daughter that she's just a kid so she should not think that deep. Tsugumi pouts and insists that she's not just a kid, she's more like a guardian for Hajime. She then proves this point by ordering her dad not to drive over the speed limit. All of a sudden, however, the two hear Air in the form of a music box sound. The problem is, neither of them can figure out the origin of the sound.

While Hajime busy looking for the source of the sound, however, Tsugumi notices a dark figure standing on the road so she warns Hajime about it. Hajime immediately stops the car but when he goes to check on Tsugumi, he realises that Tsugumi is now channeling Ai, who asks the two not to go further. Upon getting out of the car, however, Hajime notices that there is a Sanatorium located nearby so he decides to take a look at it. Strangely, there does not seem to be anyone inside the Sanatorium. Hajime and Tsugumi actually hear the giggle of a bunch of girls but when they go to check the source of the sound, they find no one. Tsugumi is creeped out about this but she braves herself because she remembers hearing the same sound in her vision. She also tells Hajime that she heard the sound of a girl asking to be saved. As the two enter another section of the Sanatorium, they start to believe that no one actually lives inside it anymore.

All of a sudden, the music box starts to play again so the two have no choice but to investigate the source of the noise. The two eventually find themselves inside a room containing a music box. Hajime asks Tsugumi if the room is similar to the one she saw in her vision. Tsugumi thinks that the view from the window looks similar but the room itself looks different somehow. Just as the two about to leave the room, however, Hajime realises that a girl with a blonde hair and a set of blue eyes is now standing in front of the room. Later on, as the three sit outside, the girl introduced herself as Nina. In return, Tsugumi introduces herself as well and informs Nina that the man who comes with her is her father. Nina suddenly looks a bit sad and tells Tsugumi that it must be nice to have a father. Tsugumi decides to ask Nina about the other patients in the Sanatorium but Nina claims that she's the only patient here at the moment.

Hajime tells Nina that there does not seem to be any Doctors or Nurses around here. Nina, however, claims that they're around and as soon as she says this, a Nurse appears in the background. Hajime tells the two girls that he wants to greet them and goes after the Nurse. This freaks Tsugumi a little bit especially since Nina then starts asking her reason for being there. Tsugumi lies flat out and tells Nina that her father is an acquintance of the Sanatorium Director and since they passed by the place, they decided to pay a visit. Meanwhile, Hajime is seen back inside the building but it seems he can't find the Nurse. He, however, hears a noise coming from a room and upon checking it, sees a Doctor inside the room. Hajime decides to greet the Doctor but strangely the Doctor does not react to his presence. Hajime then becomes horrified when he realises that the Doctor is in the middle of draining the blood of an insect with a needle.

Outside the building, Tsugumi tells Nina that her eyes and her hair look beautiful. Nina thanks Tsugumi for the compliment and tells her that if she wants to, she can touch her hair. Tsugumi is weirded out by the statement but nevertheless decides to touch Nina's hair and is amazed of its fluffiness. While Tsugumi does this, however, Nina grabs Tsugumi's arm and tells the girl that her body feels warm. In return, Tsugumi wonders why Nina's hand feels cold. While this happens, Ai has been watching over the two from a distance. Not long after this, Hajime comes out of the building. Nina tells Hajime that unfortunately the Director often goes out during the weekend. Hajime does not understand what Nina talks about so Tsugumi gives him a kick on the leg and tells him that she'll tell him later. Nina continues her talk and asks the two to stay overnight. She thinks it won't be a problem because there are a lot of room.

Hajime pretends that they already book a hotel in town. Nina, however, tells them that they won't be able to go back because of the fog. All of a sudden fogs come out of nowhere and starts to cover the area. Because of this, Hajime and Tsugumi have no choice but to remain longer in the place. Hajime asks Tsugumi if Nina is the girl who accessed Jigoku Tsuushin. The thing is, Hajime believes that there is no computer around the place. Moreover, this Sanatorium is strange. Tsugumi is creeped out about this and asks her father to stop. Hajime apologises and tells her daughter that they will leave as soon as the fog clears up. Meanwhile, outside the building, Ai's associates talk to each other about the fact that Hajime has once again appeared in the same place as they do. They finally realise that he must have been informed by Ai. Hone-Onna, however, wonders why Ai would do this and for what purpose.

Wanyuudo theorises that maybe Ai did it on a subconscious level. Hone-Onna admits that she doesn't understand Ai lately. For example, this case seems to involve a direct request from a soul. Meanwhile inside the Sanatorium, Nina gets a visitation from Ai herself who denies Nina's request for revenge before leaving through the wall. Nina is not happy about this and tries to stop Ai and her conversation is overheard by both Hajime and Tsugumi. Hajime asks Nina if she just saw Jigoku Shoujo but Nina is more concerned about calling Ai a liar. She, however, thinks it's okay as she looks at Hajime and Tsugumi and invites the two to have some food. Hajime and Tsugumi are surprised upon returning into the dining room and find a table full of foods. Despite this, Hajime decides to be polite and offers to make some tea for them. Nina makes a comment about how Tsugumi's father is a nice person unlike her father, who left her all alone.

When Tsugumi questions Nina about her mother, Nina claims that she doesn't even anything about her mother. Hajime decides to go ahead and ask Nina if she accessed Jigoku Tsuushin. Nina admits that she accessed the site for the purpose of exacting revenge on her father who left her all alone. She, however, thinks it's all okay now because she has Tsugumi and a new father, referring to Hajime. Hajime and Tsugumi are now spooked and try to tell Nina that they only want to see the Director before leaving the place. Nina, however, tells them there is no Director in this place. She lives all alone here and therefore, she wants Hajime and Tsugumi to be her new family. Tsugumi is creeped out and orders Nina to stay away from her. Nina's attitude immediately change and she tells the two that she won't forgive them. Hajime tries to take Tsugumi back to the car but all of a sudden, he realises that he's actually holding the hand of a tree-branch Monster in the shape of Tsugumi.

Before the monster can choke Hajime with its branch, however, blue-colored flames attack the monster, rendering it dead. It turns out Hone-Onna was the one who saved Hajime. Despite her action, she doesn't understand why Ai asked her to save Hajime. Wanyuudo agrees with her since Hajime is not related to their business. Meanwhile, the real Tsugumi is seen running outside the Sanatorium but realises that she's seperated from her father. All of a sudden a figure appears behind Tsugumi. Tsugumi at first thinks it's Hajime but upon seeing the face, she realises that it's a tree-branch monster. Tsugumi passes out as Nina appears and blames her for everything. Before the monster can pick Tsugumi up, however, Ichimoku Ren appears and takes Tsugumi away to safety. The monster tries to choke Ren with its branch but Ren uses his power to create a large eye which creates a bright light to attack the tree and a whirlwhind which transport him to safety. Hajime eventually finds Tsugumi sleeping inside a room after being left there by Ichimoku Ren.

The two then try to run away with their car but a bunch of vines stop the wheels on their tracks. Nina then appears and chokes Tsugumi while Hajime is overpowered by the vines. Just when things look grim, however, Ai appears and asks Nina to stop. Nina claims that Ai has no business in this and everything is Hajime and Tsugumi's fault for leaving her alone like her father. Ai tells Nina straight out that she's not Nina. The real Nina, which is this girl's Master, has died a long time ago due to her disease. The girl eventually realises this and rain starts to fall. The next morning, Hajime and Tsugumi wake up and find themselves unharmed. They decide to enter the Sanatorium again but this time find the place looking old and dilapidated. When they enter Nina's room, they find a doll with a blonde hair and blue eyes. Tsugumi realises that the doll has been absorbing Nina's sadness and makes Nina's wish a reality. The doll eventually turns into a dust, leaving its blue-eyeballs on the floor.

Impression:

This is definitely one of the few highlights within this series' many episodes. For the first time ever, the writers finally succeed in telling a horror story that is actually scary instead of silly and repetitive. Despite this, Ai still gets to do her job in clearing out a misguided soul's hatred. Although amazingly enough, this time she doesn't have to send anyone to Hell. This episode demonstrates that sometimes a reasonable talk with another person is good enough to clear a person's hate for another person. It's also interesting to see that in this case, a person's anger is so strong that they can bypass the system and direct their request straight to Ai. In the end, however, it's hard not to feel sorry for the real Nina. Despite the fact that her anger ends up causing problems for other people through supernatural means, it's understandable why she felt that way. The last few months prior to her death must be an agonising one.

Being on one's last breath without anyone that you love standing besides you is probably one the worst moments in a person's life. The song that is used to illustrate Nina's sadness is also eerily appropriate. Air on the G string always has that feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and loneliness carried through its melody. It makes one wonders why some people often choose to have this song playing through their wedding. Especially when the song gives off sadness vibe instead of a happiness one. Anyway, this incident unfortunately forces Ai to involve her associates to give a hand in helping Hajime and Tsugumi. As a result, the three now realise that the person who's been feeding information to Tsugumi and Hajime is none other than Ai herself. The question is, what will they do with this information? Will they stay loyal to Ai or will they question her transgression and report her to the grandmother?

© memento 2003