wrex's anime whirls: Jigoku Shoujo Ep. 10

Episode title: "Friends" (Tomodachi)

Minami is going through hell because the only girl who befriended her is suddenly hanging out with other girls and is ignoring her. She also gets a reputation of being a stalker and the rest of the school ostracizes her as well. She calls up the Jigoku Shoujo, and wants to pull the string right away, even after Enma Ai tells her she'll go to hell as well. But she changes her mind and thinks it'll be more satisfying to pull the string in front of Shiori so that she can see her horrified face.

In school, she's stares at Shiori with happy malice, and Shiori is spooked out. But Shiori catches a glimpse of the hell doll that Shiori had in her desk. At gym class, Shiori is distracted again by Minami's intense glare and injures her hand while playing basketball. She gets treated at the health room and she goes off to the classroom and looks in Minami's desk. There she finds the hell doll and thinks it's a curse doll (the "wara-ningyou" (straw doll) is from a Japanese tradition/belief that you can curse someone by nailing the doll to a tree (but there are some other rituals involved)). She's freaked by it, but takes the doll. Minami, meanwhile, is frantic after discovering the doll is gone.

That night, Hajime (Tsugumi is not in this episode, btw) is doing a business dealing at a diner, and he catches a glimpse of Ai going by outside (wow, he can see Ai now). He runs after her and also catches a glimpse of Shiori, who has the hell-doll in her hand. He loses her as a big truck passes by. Shiori takes the doll and says that she'll reverse the curse on Minami and nails the doll to a tree at a shrine then leaves. Ichimoku Ren, Hone Onna, and Enma Ai show up and comment on how kids these days have no manners. The straw doll is actually Wanyuudo, and Hone Onna says she feels sorry for him so she'll pull out the nail. Ai tells her to wait. "Ehhhhhh?" laments Wanyuudo.

The next day, Minami is in front of the computer, trying to contact Ai (little does she know that Ai's sitting on her bed behind her) with no success. She's distressed over losing the doll and tells herself that this might be a sign from God to stop the grudge against Shiori.

At school, Shiori sees that Minami hasn't come to school. She thinks that maybe the curse doll has worked on her. The teacher announces that the upcoming school excursion requires the students to group in threes. Shiori goes to her friends, but there are already 3 of them, and they tell her that she can't be with them. Shiori is dismayed and feels betrayed herself. Soon after, she sends Minami a cell phone email saying that she wants to see her.

Minami feels happy to receive the email and runs up to the shrine where Shiori is waiting. Ai, Hone Onna, and Ichimoku Ren watch from above. Shiori says that the others betrayed her, that Minami is her only true friend and asks if she'll be her friend again. Minami says "yes" and the two hug each other (even after Minami sees that Shiori has the hell-doll). Ai has seen enough and walks away. "Maybe she doesn't like happy endings," comments Hone Onna.

Then Shiori says that they should use the curse doll against their classmates. Minami says that it's not a curse doll but a hell-doll and that instead of nailing it to a tree, one must pull the string. "In that case," Shiori says, and makes a motion to pull the string. Minami says that only she can pull the string. "Then pull it," says, Shiori. She keeps telling her to pull it, but Minami resists. She tries to explain about going to hell. Then Shiori changes tactics: "You're my friend right," she says, "If you're my friend, you'll pull it for me, right?" and so on. Still, Minami resists, but Shiori makes her grasp the string, then she pulls the doll away, and the string unravels. Minami hears Shiori's fading scream as she calls out her name. Minami collapses to the ground, distraught. "It's not my fault!" she cries. "Yes, it is," says Ai, appearing behind her. "This is the result of your world of hatred," says Ai before fading away. Hajime, meanwhile, had seen the two girls and the hell doll from below and had been making a mad dash up the stairs. But when he reaches the top, he only sees Minami. "Where's the other girl," he asks. "Hell, probably," answers Minami. "At least I'll have a friend waiting for me there." Hajime sees that she has a Jigoku logo on the left side of her chest (not below the neck as usual).

Pics (click to enlarge):

Ai blows up a ball to play with before getting a request. "Another one," says the grandma. "It seems the amount of requests have gone up lately. Don't people have people they can talk to about their problems? Don't they have friends?"