So, to start from the beginning, what is the misconception that people seem to fall for when watching this show? Well, it's a kind of hard one to explain. Mainly, they seem to take this story as an story and not a thesis.
Most people would call it episodic, but, even though the term technically applies here, this series isn't meant to be episodic, it's simply a result of it's nature. And what is this nature? A series of situation-examples to test out a theory, a thesis, on morality.
When someone creates an idea on morality, one of the ways to test it is by challenging that idea through various situations and see their logical outcome. The more you agree with the end result, the more sound your idea is, and the less you do, the chance of it being simply wrong increases.
Jigoku Shoujo presents us with a set up: A person can take revenge and kill other for any perceived, on the victims perspective, damaged the other might have caused. To facilitate things, we can simply ignore laws and physical limitations by making this process supernatural, and thus focus only on it's moral aspects. And, before can test it out, we must address a logical result of it: the inevitable impact on the victim's life. You see, killing someone creates quite the burden in your life, and that burden is represented as the promise of spending eternity in hell. Secondly, another thing must be clarified: we aren't dealing with self defense. All acts thought here must be done as revenge, as answer to an aggression carried out and finished. Thus, for the victim to kill their wrongdoer, there is a three-step system: have the grievance, contact Jigoku Shoujo, and then untie the thread. In short, this isn't a gun you're firing on spot, this is a planned out act.
With this set up, the show starts a series of episodes to test it out in various scenarios. However, the show doesn't give you any answers, that much is up to you and you alone. And here is why most people miss the point of the show. They're expecting an ordinary story, that will answer them, that will shift and head somewhere, but this isn't no ordinary story, it's a thesis about revenge, and you just got invited to watch the testing.
It's only after several episodes that two other characters come and show us two other theories on the same subject, creating a ideological battle among the main cast. And, to differ even more from your common storytelling, the show doesn't give you a conclusion on this battle. The characters, of course, receive their endings and reach their own conclusions, but these are only satisfactory to their own personal point of views. You, as a third party, is left hanging. And that is part of the brilliance of the show, because the author never wanted to give a definitive answer on this matter. They left it up to you. You should draw your own conclusions. After all, if at the very end, the author was to step in and give their own personal views, the whole point of the series would vanish.
Now, of course, there is a story being followed here. An ordinary one. However, this plays as a secondary arc to the show. The story itself is simply a progression to justify what is going on, while making you care about the characters and plot, and not sleep through it all. But, judging the show based on this story is, at least, wrong.
Given it's a 2005 show, the animation has aged quite a lot, but the shot composition and directing are still on spot. The pacing of the show is good for what it wants to achieve, giving you enough time to chew on the information you're given and letting enough room for you to think and rethink your opinions as you watch it.
In the end, Jigoku Shoujo is one of a kind. Definitely not a watch for everyone, but surely interesting, engaging and thought provoking to those who can enjoy such a show.
