Hell Girl

Jigoku Shoujo A.K.A. (Hell Girl) is an anime series currently consisting of three seasons. It also has another live action television drama series with a total of 12 episodes, and a manga series. The live action TV series and the Jigoku Shoujo manga series are thought to be non-canon and are not related to the anime series.

The series revolves around a character named Ai Enma, who is known as the Jigoku Shoujo (Japanese for the words Hell Girl). Somewhere on the vast sea of the Internet, there exists a mysterious website called the "Jigoku Tsūshin" (Hell Correspondence). This website can be accessed only when it is exactly midnight and only when the person accessing the website bears a true hatred and grudge against somebody; otherwise an error message will show up on the screen and the website will be inaccessible. If someone submits the name of the person against whom they bear a grudge in this website, Ai will appear as the Hell Girl before the person sending the grudge (the client). Then she will offer them a straw doll with a red string wound around its neck. If the string is pulled by the client, she will send the target of the client's grudge straightaway to Hell. However, by pulling the string, the client agrees to the contract that, after their grudge object has been sent to hell, the client will go to hell too after their natural life ends.

Ai lives with her equally enigmatic Grandmother in a realm known as the "realm of eternal twilight". She is assisted in her work by her three companions in the first and second season. These three companions can transform into straw dolls at Ai's request, and can then be given to her clients for the fulfillment of their grudge and the contract between Ai and her clients. Otherwise, the three companions of Ai help her find out more about their client before they give the straw doll.

Anime
The Hell Girl anime series is produced by Aniplex and Studio Deen. It is directed by Takahiro Ōmori and written by Hiroshi Watanabe. The first season spanned 26 episodes and premiered across Japan on Animax between October 4, 2005, and April 4, 2006. The series' second season, premiered from October 7, 2006 across Japan on Animax. Animax also later translated and dubbed both the first and second seasons of the series into English for broadcast across its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and also aired the series across its other networks worldwide in various other languages, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Europe and other regions. The first season of the series was also licensed for North American distribution by FUNimation. The U.S. cable/satellite channel IFC announced in September 2007 that it acquired Hell Girl from Funimation, which then premiered on July 9, 2008. Section23 Films announced that Sentai Filmworks has licensed the second season of the series, with the first DVD set shipping on May 25, 2010, and the second set on July 27.

On June 24, 2010, Section23 Films announced that Sentai has also the third season of Hell Girl, under the subtitle Three Vessels. The first set will be released on September 28, 2010.

Manga
The Hell Girl anime series was later adapted into a manga, which featured art by Miyuki Etō (永遠 幸, Etō Miyuki?). It has been serialized in Kodansha's Nakayoshi shōjo manga magazine since October 2005. While the stories are mostly original, chapters 4 and 10 are adapted from their respective anime episodes (in the first season), while chapter 2 is adapted from anime episode 9. Chapter 17 is adapted from episode 8 of the second season.

Due to the difference in media, Ai's modus operandi in the manga is somewhat different from the anime. Ai has been seen attending the same schools as some of her student-clients. Also, the straw figurine with the string was not featured in the first few chapters. Subsequently, its appearance is no longer as ubiquitous as its anime counterpart. Ai's clients need only to accept the contract, and the victims' torture by Ai and her helpers would then begin. In some cases, the torture begins after she has rung her bracelet in front of her victim (and not before as seen in the anime). The appearance of the boat in which Ai uses to ferry her victims to Hell is reduced as well. Notably, although Sentaro Shibata is featured, Tsugumi and Hajime are not. Also, Kikuri has made appearances from volume 4 onwards.

The manga has recently been licensed by Del Rey Manga, and the first volume, titled Hell Girl, was released January 2008. The second volume was released in May 2008.

Video Game
Hell Girl has also been adapted into a video game for the Nintendo DS entitled Jigoku Shōjo Akekazura, which was developed by Compile Heart and released in Japan on September 27, 2007. Compile Heart made a PS2 version entitled "Jigoku Shōjo Mioyosuga" released on September 17, 2009.