How far would you go for revenge? That's a question that FUNimation's latest series Hell Girl puts out there, front and center. You may have heard of it before if you have kept your finger on the pulse of what's popular in Japan. Known as Jigoku Shoujo in its original form, Hell Girl has gone on to garner a second season, manga, and live action version. That speaks volumes to how well it was received in Japan but how will it fair with the American audience?

With 26 episodes in its first season Hell Girl originally aired between 2005 and 2006. It's unfortunate that it took so long for the show to make its way here to the States but the wait was well worth it in my opinion. Studio Deen did a fantastic job on this show as the first volume showed. The writing was sharp, the sense of drama was a cut above, and throughout it all the creepy atmosphere really made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up at times.

The basic premise follows a mysterious website that people can only access at midnight. Have someone who pissed you off? Did an enemy do you wrong in a major way? Type the person's name in on the site and revenge will be yours. By logging on and doing such a thing you not only guarantee that the person in question will have a bad day but that they'll receive a one way ticket to hell. It's a comforting thought to keep in mind if you feel like really smiting someone; of course this comes at a price. The fine print within this contract is that even though you'll be dooming your tormentor you'll also be dooming yourself. By entering into the agreement you also condemn yourself to an eternity in hell when you die. Revenge doesn't look so great now does it?

Last time around in Hell Girl the series slipped back into its pattern of featuring young girls looking for a way to get back at someone who wronged them. A girl had a misfortune on an island, another was in a circus, and yet another had some problems with dogs. That's a shame really because when Hell Girl explored the more adult material in the past I found it allowed more complexities within the plot. Such as it is the subplot of Hajime and his daughter has slowly emerged to the forefront of this series and has become a major player. As this first season begins to draw to a close Tsugumi's connection with Ai Enma is becoming very interesting.

For the fifth volume four more episodes come into play that keeps the concept of the series alive. There is a defined formula for this show and if you haven't figured it out by now then there's no hope for you. With that being said the four tales of revenge this time around are each unique and some of them even shed further light upon Enma and Hajime as characters.

The first is a tale about a doll maker and an orphanage which actually turns out to be kind of bizarre. Basically this kid is being forced to marry a girl who would essentially be a doll and somehow Hell Girl gets brought into the mix. In my opinion this was a weak episode all around but the next one made things much more interesting. In the second episode a TV psychic stands out to claim that he's basically the counterpart to Hell Girl. This summons Enma for a confrontation that doesn't quite go the way the psychic could have predicted.

The third episode of this volume was probably the most intriguing in my opinion as Hajime is actually able to do something that has proven impossible for him earlier. I don't want to spoil what happens but let's just say his part in the story is more interesting than the tale of revenge involving a farmer. And finally the last episode on this disc is a story about a husband whose wife is cheating on him.

With only one more volume to go before the first season of Hell Girl comes to a close things are kind of heating up. Sure each story is rather capsulated in the sense that the revenge plots are self-contained but Hajime's involvement in Enma's activities is definitely getting interesting. The more adult focus of this volume offset the experience had in the previous one and provided a nice change of atmosphere. Here's looking forward to a stellar finish!

Hell Girl is presented on DVD with a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio and features a marvelous transfer. FUNimation did a fantastic job of bringing this show to DVD and though some of the typical problems like grain and compression appear is little to complain about. Colors in the show appear vibrant though I must admit that some of the gradients looked kind of funny in some scenes. This third volume continues the unique look of Hell Girl and promotes Studio Deen's prowess as far as producing anime is concerned. The art direction is second to none and as subdued as many scenes are the contrast helps to craft a fascinating atmosphere.

Like most current releases from FUNimation Hell Girl comes with Japanese and English 2.0 as well as a 5.1 English track. The dubbing quality for both languages is superb and I can honestly say that I didn't have a preference either way. The English track in particular impressed me with spot on emotion and pitch that matched what I expected it should. Technically speaking the 2.0 selections are competent for stereo inclusions but the 5.1's greater presence definitely impressed me. The directionality on the soundstage for effects was slightly more subdued than I would have liked but the overall quality of the audio was very pleasing.

For the fifth volume of Hell Girl FUNimation included some textless songs and trailers. There is also an eleven minute original Japanese feature entitled "Top Secret Hell Conference" in which someone gets their hands on a top secret tape. It's a rather bizarre feature that doesn't really add anything to the show but if you're looking for original Japanese material then I suppose you'll be pleased enough.

Hell Girl is original, intriguing, and empowering all at the same time. The creepy atmosphere really breathes life into the program and the quality of the writing helps craft interesting stories. At the beginning I had fears that the formulaic structure of the series would become redundant after a while. As it stands the series hasn't broken new ground in some time but this installment does just that in some regards. I can't wait to see what happens in the next installment as the first season of Hell Girl draws to a close.

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