Hell Girl Volume 6: Pinwheel /2008 Funimation / 100 Minutes / http://www.funimation.com/hellgirl /
I just love the fact that the turnaround from the original airing of an anime in Japan and the bringing over of that show to American shores has decreased significantly in the last few years. Hell Girl began in October of 2005, and Funimation has already released six volumes of the show. These episodes (4) conclude the first season of Hell Girl, and originally aired in March and April of 2006. For those individuals that have not familiarized themselves with Hell Girl, the original concept for the show came from Hiroshi Watanabe (Video Girl Ai, Oh My Goddess!), and it deals with a web site – Hell Correspondence – and an actor (Ai Enma, Hell Girl) that is associated with the web site. Individuals that wish to get revenge against those that have tortured them can access this web site, and submit the name of that tormentor.
The Hell Girl comes to the individual and gives them a doll with a red string around its neck – should the individual pull it, the person they were suffered by will go to hell. However, by doing that, they will go to hell as well. The collection starts off with “The Light of the Hospital Wardâ€, where Kanako Sakuragi (an innocent nurse) was sent to hell by an unknown drug addict. The story gets more complex considering the individual that is thought to be guilty is completely computer illiterate. “Home in the Twilight†and “Hell Girl†constitute the climax of the season, as the Shibatas ultimately find out that Ai Enma is the Hell Girl, and that Ai Enma was buried by her cousin and solitary friend, Sentarou Shibata. “The Ephemeral†ends the collection (and first season), providing dramatic tension through Ai Enma’s exhortations to have Tsugumi Shibata send her father Hajime to hell.
The episodes are animated sharply, placing a little bit of realism to the otherwise otherworldly content of the series.  The few extras – trailers for the show, songs without subtitles, and “Office Kitchenette of Hellâ€, which provides individuals a way into the minds of workers on the show – further round out this collection. A further 26 episodes have been released of the show since “The Ephemeral†originally aired, so it seems likely that Funaimation will release subsequent volumes of the series in the months and year/years to come. The conclusion of this season is one of the strongest in recent memory, and it should get viewers mobilized for the next season of the show.
Rating: 8.0/10
