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Summary:
Tsugumi has another vision; this time, she hears Ai say the name “Sentarou” while seeing the boy that Ai’s been having visions of. Tsugumi is actually in the middle of buying some chestnuts. Today is the anniversary of her mother’s death, and she is going to visit her mother’s grave with her grandparents. Hajime pretends not to know and doesn’t go with her. After she leaves, he finds a book about Japan’s sakura trees, which has a picture of a waterfall similar to the one from Ai’s memories (though he doesn’t know that). He then goes to the local cafe and is surprised when the owner knows about the death anniversary. It turns out that Tsugumi had come to the owner wanting to learn how to make kuri okowa (glutinous rice with chestnuts and red beans), her mother’s favorite dish.
Hajime remembers courting his wife Ayumi and eventually marrying her. But his work constantly took him away, even on their wedding day. Ayumi was always to be alone, even after she gave birth to Tsugumi. Then, on an assignment one day, Hajime caught Ayumi with another man. As he’s remembering all of this, Hajime gets a phone call from Tsugumi. She simply tells him a name and a location and then hangs up. He realizes that it’s another Jigoku Shoujo incident and rushes out, but he arrives at the hotel too late to prevent a man from pulling the red string. The man, whose grudge is on a woman inside the hotel, says that although he loved her, she was using him for money. He says that he can’t forgive her, and that reminds Hajime of the time when he had said the same thing to one of his senpai in reference to Ayumi. The senpai had asked him to think about how essential having both a mother and father are to Tsugumi, but Hajime had already made up his mind. Sometime after, Ayumi had come back begging for them to start over again, but he turned her away and wouldn’t let her see Tsugumi. She drove away after he told her that he didn’t want to see her again. Ayumi died in a car crash that night.
In the end, Hajime tells the man that he’ll only feel empty if he hates someone, which is why he shouldn’t try to get revenge. Tsugumi and her grandparents, meanwhile, arrive at her mother’s grave with an offering of kuri okowa. However, they discover flowers and a box of the same dish already there. Tsugumi is moved to tears because she immediately knows that this was Hajime’s doing.
Another episode of Jigoku Shoujo that I really enjoyed. And this time, it’s not just because they’re straying from the norm. Ayumi’s death and the circumstances around it (Hajime having pushed her away with neglect and then hate) really define why Hajime is now hell-bent (if you’ll pardon the expression) against the Jigoku system. He doesn’t want others to repeat his mistakes. This episode can make you really love and hate him at the same time. It’s his fault for being so absorbed in work that it drives his wife to infidelity and later death, but you have to give him credit for realizing what he did (albeit too late) and trying to make amends in his own ways (fighting the Jigoku system, visiting her grave). The actual grudge and sending the girl to hell part wasn’t all that important this episode. It instead served as a parallel to Hajime’s own past. I do wish that they had spent less time showing the girl going to hell and more time in flashbacks about Ayumi.
It’s also noteworthy that we’re slowly learning more about Ai. In addition to the fact that the boy is named Sentarou, Tsugumi is researching the place that she saw in Ai’s memories. The specific picture that she found in her book was labeled 六道郷. Looking at each character on it’s own, that could mean six road village, which doesn’t say much. However, 六道 could be referring to the six worlds of existence from the wheel of life in various dharmic religions (which includes Buddhism and Hinduism). One of the six worlds is, of course, the world of hell. You can see that the picture depicts the same place as is seen in both Ai’s memories and the red world that she now lives in. Maybe that’s how it’s all connected. That’s just a theory anyway. Read more about the wheel of life.
In other news, the Jigoku Shoujo OST II will be released April 19th.
such a shame when a wife cant be faithfull when the husbands are, same goes for the men
That’s reality, Fury!! I think it happen everyday, everyhour.
Just because it happens doesn’t mean it is right.
Well, too bad. People are doing it and they don’t care if it’s right or wrong they will still do it. For example, even there are people who get girls drunk so they can lay them. IT happens and will continue to happen, doesn’t matter wut u say.
Wait a minute… did Hajime wish his wife into Hell, or did her lover do this…? At least, that’s what some of those screenshots suggest – which make the Hajime/Tsugumi/Ai link WAY more interesting than it might otherwise have been.
No no, there’s nothing about his wife and hell. She just happened to get into a car accident, though you could argue that it’s because she didn’t feel life was worth it anymore.
All the shots of Ai sending someone to hell is of the random guy sending ex-lover to hell because she’s too money-hungry. The grudge-of-the-week (which wasn’t worth talking about in the bullets) is more or less just there to parallel the Hajime’s past relationship.
Now… I wonder if Tsugumi knew the truth about her mother ‘s death or not…
He’s never there for his wife and expects her to stay true to him?
Sad as it is I can’t blame her one bit, if the person you love does not even give you any time to spend together and for something as selfish as a work a holic (god he didn’t even make it to the wedding) then of course she is going to find some one that will spend time with her. Shes human you know, she needs to feel loved and have some one pay atention to her. If anything he should have realised what was driving them apart and changed his habits and made more time for her, yes she was with some one else but its not like it was emidiately, it looks like she sufered a lot before she did that. If anything he is the one at fault since he fails to see the true problem… the only thing that could change this is if she didn’t talk to him about it before she cheated to get him to change, but if he is as bad as he is with work its posible hed just shrug it off.
The fact that she even came back to him begin him to start over with her just shows she still does really love him.
How sad. His ex-wife was really pretty. =(
Shame on you, Hajime! You married a gem and don’t want to spend time admiring it?
-D
I’m saddened. If I even had a wife almost as beautiful as that, and I’m as young as Hajime, I’d definitely bang her everyday. Sometimes we’re blinded by work that we truly forget who we work for, and who we love. I wouldn’t blame the woman if she slept with another man. There is an alienation pervading in her soul and spirit, and if it can be lessened by sexual relations even with another man not her husband, she’s going to try it.
What an idiot of a man. If the guy was loving and caring, then I’d definitely blame the lady. But if it’s like this, Hajime, you definitely need to go to hell, b*tch. And I’m a guy, but I never condone what he did. It’s shameful.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THAT’S LIFE BABY!!! SHORTY SHOULDA TOOK THE BUS HOME!! HA!
i wonder in what would end this serie who knows
Ayumi’s character design — round eyes, big forehead, wavy hair — reminds me of another tragic lover taken for granted, Mana Kuzunoha from Tenjou Tenge.
I guess that look is engineered to evoke sympathy while still looking bangable.
I’m curious of who Sentaro is, how he is related to Ai or Tumugi and where 六道郷 is. So far I havn’t got any clue about Sentaro and have to wait until some more episodes develop. As for 六道郷, the writer of this anime must have got the idea of this place from somewhere. As Random Curiosity says, it may come from the religious notion. There seems to be a place called 六道の辻( a street of 六道) in Kyoto.(http://www.kyoto-gion.jp/barcharu/roku/rokudou.html) The street seems to be a boarder between the world we live and the one the dead live. The street seems to be a famous sight-seeing spot. There is another place I’m interested in. It is called 六道山公園 in Tokyo.(http://www.town.mizuho.tokyo.jp/midokoro/rokudouyama.html) The park seems to be famous for its cherry trees. I don’t know how many more episodes are left but I’m really looking forward to seeing how the writer finish this anime.
What are the windowpanes made of? Why is it so easy for Enma Ai to poke the panes?
You can’t blame Ayumu but you can’t blame Hajime as well, I would throw her out, if he hadn’t discovered her affair, she would probably continue it but after he discovered it she wants to start over? and she even left her child alone so she could go get screwed, she was lonely? how is 3 minutes of sex compensate for her loneliness? lmao, I pity Hajime for marrying such a slut wife. I was so happy she died:)