MainEpisode 3
The Filthy Mound |
[Episode Screencaps] |
This episode is the first one to feature a man seeking revenge as well as the first revenge for killing someone. The baseball player who is killed from internal injuries from being hit by a bat is really nice, not even wanting to report the incident because the team could be removed from the tournament. As a viewer, this triggered strong emotions as he dies from his injuries and the person hitting him being very selfish and evil.
It was interesting the presentation of the motive for the man hitting him with a bat. There is speculation at first that he is doing it too relieve stress but by the time the red string is pulled it added that he may have being doing this on purpose to trigger a reaction that would have the tournament canceled so he wouldn't have to play. Weather this was supposed to be the truth or not I am not sure, since it would surely damage his image in the press to be found to have beaten someone with a bat.
Like the previous episodes this one has a real sense of helplessness for the person requesting revenge. His friends, the family of the dead boy and even his own family are blaming him for his death since he covered for the original incident. This helps justify the usage of the Jigoku Shoujo to seek revenge as being almost righteous since he has no other means to achieve justice or perhaps revenge.
During the stalking of the man again the assistants try and have him confess his sins and repent however he shows himself as an evil self-centered egotist. The use of the baseball game with the chanting of murderer was good but didn't have the same sense of disorientation and scariness of the first too episodes; however it was good to see him get what he deserved.
Enma appearance was more direct than in the first two episodes and more typical of her appearance in the rest of the series. It was a nice touch having her reflection surprise the man in the monitor before speaking to him, however in this case the meeting all takes place in his room not taking him to the other world.
When the man has been taken to hell all seems to work out well in the real world. Other students in the school know the killer has beaten him with the bat and just suspect he has went away somewhere. The man requesting revenge is going away somewhere for a while to allow things to calm down and has settled things with his father.
I think everyone would agree that the revenge was justified in this episode of the anime, being a quite clear cut good versus evil. I found this to be a memorable episode because of the story more than anything else.
