Jigoku Shoujo – 52

Short Synopsis: The end of Emna Ai as Jigoku Shoujo. Good: Beautiful episode, an actually good ending. Bad: Questions left unanswered. Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10 It finally becomes clear where this episode was working towards: forcing Ai to let go of one of her victims. Because of this, the spider immediately abandoned her from her position, and made her body mortal again. This returning her to the real world, in a body that’s 400 years old! The climax itself was beautiful. I loved how she tried to calm down Takuma, who had also finally become tired of his own morals, and decided to burn the house of the ones who made his life miserable. You know, as I’ve been writing this, I’ve been hoping more and more for an actual third season. The ending did suggest that we’ve yet to reach the ending of this show. Still, the fact does remain that Ai’s dead, and she won’t come back. But then again, this show is called “Jigoku Shoujo”, not “Enma Ai”. The Spider remained unharmed through all of this, and the final moment of the episode suggested that he’s just recruited another girl for his plans. It’s also a pity that Hell Boy didn’t come back. And Kikuri. What the hell was her role in this series anyway? I kept thinking that she had some kind of strange contract with Hell boy, but in the end, it looks like she’s connected to the spider, of all possible characters. I still haven’t figured out her exact role, but if I had to guess, then she was employed by the spider, in order to keep an eye out on Ai. I think that at one point, she started caring about Ai, and tried to find a way to relieve her from her tasks. Because of that, she probably stirred with Takuma, in order to bring Ai even closer to the boy. I think that by episode 24, she knew that Takuma would end up in hell in some kind of way. This would be painful for Ai, though in the end, she could rest peacefully. That’s probably why she was so gentle to the cherry near the end of the episode. And regarding her brattiness. That’s just who she is. It’s just her character, nothing more. And we still don’t know much about Ai’s grandmother. Overall, I feared for the first couple of episodes, but overall, Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori has been a real treat. Definitely one of the highlights of the rather mediocre fall-season. I’m really hoping for a third season right now, which will answer all the questions left behind. But for now, I’ll consider this show as finished.]]>