Jigoku Shoujo ep.25

March 29, 2006 | 15 Comments

This is a fantastic episode that explains a lot about Ai and Sentarou's background. It's a rather tragic story which I think was inevitable due to the close relationship that Ai and Sentarou had with one another. The story in the episode unfolds in a similar manner to those Japanese horror movies like Ringu. The director had also done a great in framing the shots of the characters. As a result, some of the scenes featuring Ai in this episode look effectively creepy. It's unfortunate that the writers spent at least half of the series focusing on revenge of the week stories. I think instead of doing this, they could have fleshed out the background story of Ai's associatess. Oh well, maybe this will be addressed in the final episode which will be aired next week.

Continuing from last week's episode, Ai suddenly disappears after she destroyed the Sakura tree. Her associates are concerned about this and as a result, do not realise that the creepy spider can now be seen crawling on a tree. At the same time, Tsugumi is telling Hajime that she is in pain as the two of them sink into the lake. Just when things look bleak, however, Hajime sees a bright light coming from the bottom of the lake. The scene then dissolves into a flashback, showing Sentarou opening his eyes. Sentarou immediately noticed several newly-created Waraji (straw sandals) inside the house. After guessing that his father had made it for the sake of other villagers, Sentarou complained that his father should charge for them a bit. Sentarou's father, however, refused to do this and told his son it's okay because he felt that his body is weak and therefore have had to rely on the village when it comes to doing field/farm work.

Upon hearing this, Sentarou offered to help his father but his father told him that he should go out and play with Ai. Ai then appeared on the door crying because a bunch of kids had bullied her. Sentarou became angry when he heard this and proceeded to find these kids. He managed to beat one of them but is immediately restrained by the others. They told him that Ai is a Mononoke (evil spirit) and pointed out the fact that yesterday she managed to bring an already dead butterfly back to life. The kids also told Sentarou that it'll be better if Ai disappeared from the village before beating him up. Later on, Sentarou is seen sitting together with Ai near the waterfall while making that little tower of rocks that was shown in last week's episode. Upon seeing Sentarou's swolen face, Ai cried and apologised for indirectly causing this to Sentarou. Much to her surprise, however, Sentarou told her that to him, Ai is just Ai and not an evil spirit. Ai blushed upon hearing this.

One day, however, the elders came to Ai's house to let her know that she's been selected as the seven year old who will be delivered to the mountain God. Upon hearing this, Sentarou railed off and told the elders that they just did this because they think Ai is an evil spirit and want to get rid of her from the village. The elders became angry and threatened to take Sentarou instead. They told Sentarou that this is for the sake of the village. After the elders left, however, Ai's parents told Sentarou that there is something that they want to ask from him. On Ai's procession ceremony, Sentarou remembered how Ai's parents had asked him to protect Ai. After the ceremony, the villagers wondered why their offering don't bear any good result. Unknown to them, Sentarou has been sheltering Ai, giving her foods from her parents. Six years later, the harvests started to die, causing great misery in the village. Sentarou, however, remains oblivious and simply enjoy his time with Ai.

They often sang the Sakura no Hana song together under the moon light then Ai took a swim in the river. One night, Ai told Sentarou that she wishes things could continue like this forever, making the boy blushed. Upon hearing this, Sentarou wondered if Ai would like to leave the village together with him. Ai, however, couldn't hear Sentarou's words so he pretended that he didn't say anything and just laughed it off. Unfortunately not long after this, the lovebirds were busted by the villagers, including Sentarou's father. Sentarou told Ai to run but unfortunately the other boys from the village managed to capture her while Sentarou was being restrained by his own father. In the present time, Ai's helpers are worried that she's been sent to hell. It seems they feel indebted to her. In the flashback, Sentarou became a witness as the villagers hit Ai and her parents with shovel before throwing the bodies into a grave. By doing this, the villagers hope that they can please the mountain God.

Inside the grave, Ai regained her consciousness and called after Sentarou. Much to Ai's disappointment, Sentarou caved in under the pressure of the village and ended up shoveling dirts onto her. Ai cried and told Sentarou that she had always believed that Sentarou will protect her, stopping Sentarou from doing what he intended to do. However, other villagers took the shovel from him and started burying Ai alive. As the grave closing in on Ai, she sweared revenge on everyone in the village. That night or possibly a few nights later, a hand emerged from the grave while Sentarou awoken from his sleep. Sentarou decided to leave the village but before he can go too far, he saw Ai casting fire all over the village. Sentarou managed to escape from the village and became the only survivor from Ai's massacre. In the present day, Tsugumi is seen crying in front of the temple. Tsugumi feels as if she can't understand Sentarou but Hajime tells her that he can understand Sentarou quite well. In the background the spider with eyes on its body are seen observing the two.

Impression:

It's hard to see how the tragedy could have been prevented. If Sentarou didn't interfere, Ai would have hated him. However, because of his intervention, the village's harvests were ruined and Ai ended up hating him even more. And from Ai's perspective, it's hard not to be filled with anger after what happened to her. I think she really did love Sentarou but in her final moment, she was overcame with anger and was unable to remember the sacrifice that he's made for her all of those years. It's interesting to know that just like Hell Boy, Ai also posessed supernatural power and this power caused fear among the villagers. It was also interesting to know that the 'Butterfly' reference that has been mentioned in the opening is actually used to a good effect in this episode. It was this butterfly that became the catalyst for everything. After Ai revived the butterfly, the villagers became afraid of her and tried to get rid of her.

It is interesting to note that Ai's original power could have been used to do good things. In the end, however, she ended up using her power to kill those who wronged her. Having said that, I'm still not sure if the one that burned down the village was her angry spirit or if it was really her using her own supernatural power. Either way, it would appeared that Ai's Sunset World is some kind of purgatory for her. She lost her memory and was assigned the job of Jigoku Shoujo to probably repent for her mistake. That is assuming that the grandma spider is actually not evil, of course. But if the she turns out to be evil, then why did she saved Hajime and Tsugumi? I don't see who else could possibly have the power to save the two from the lake. At any rate, I hope both Hajime and Tsugumi will make it alive towards the end of the series. I am a bit concerned though especially since the preview shows Tsugumi holding a straw doll.

Preview:

On the final episode, Karinui: Ai gives the usual Jigoku Shoujo drill to none other than Tsugumi while flashes of big spider is seen in the preview. The preview ends with Ai telling Tsugumi that what happens next is left to Tsugumi's decision as the camera zooms in on Tsugumi's terrified and sad face.

© memento 2003