Manga Review: Hell Girl, Vol. 1

Hell Girl, Vol. 1

By Miyuki Eto
Del Rey, 208 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

The first impression I had from seeing the cover of the Hell Girl manga was “Wow, that girl’s eyes are big.” I don’t mean normal manga big, I mean big as in “bigger than the girl’s hands” big. I’m making it clear that this was my first impression of the manga because I already had preconceived notions of the series from watching the anime. And not just any anime, but a mediocre and highly repetitive one. Doesn’t that sound like the formula for a terrific manga adaption? Yeah, me neither.

The basic premise of Hell Girl is that a supernatural “death god” girl named Ai Enma attends a local middle school and helps send the local tween girls’ mortal enemies to hell. In exchange, the aforementioned tween girls damn themselves to eternal fire and brimstone. If that isn’t sketchy and predatory, I don’t know what is. And to further hammer in this disturbing theme, many of the chapters, which are each a stand alone short story, feature said little girls sacrificing their souls for really petty reasons. Case in point: one girl sells her soul to deal with bullies and another to save the integrity and livelihood of her friend’s struggling cake business. That’s right–the moral of Hell Girl is: “It’s OK to sell your soul for cake, and even more so if the cake is really good.” I never knew damnation could be so delicious.

It’s not all bad though. The premise itself is intriguing, and at least includes the caveat that you must sacrifice something to get your divine retribution. Indeed in many ways, the series draws many parallels with its far superior seinen counterpart Death Note. The list of comparisons actually borders on ridiculous. Angsty teens write in to supernatural forces to kill their enemies. The users of the Death Note/Hell Correspondence website must pay with their own souls. The possessor of the Death Note/Hell Correspondence website is bound to the death god associated with it once they’ve used it. The difference? Death Note has depth where Hell Girl has topical philosophizing. Death Note has a riveting ongoing plot whereas Hell Girl has only one shot stories. Death Note has jaw-dropping art whereas Hell Girl’s is merely mediocre.

Let’s talk about the art. Mostly it’s pretty standard shoujo fare. In its favor, each chapter has a very nicely drawn title page using pretty outfits and dewy spiderwebs, and I am a fan of the way the mangaka draws hair. On the flipside, what is wrong with the characters’ eyes?! The characters’ eyes are roughly equal in size to their fists. Ai Enma’s anatomy in the cover art is abysmal, too. Her knees are pointing inward at strange and different angles and yet somehow her feet are both pointing forward. And her kneecaps are different heights and shapes.

The bottom line: if you can’t get enough of supernatural tween girls who try to sound deep and meaningful to the extent where it’s ridiculous, Hell Girl is for you. In fact, if nothing titillates you more than vapid stories of twelve year old girls literally selling their souls to avenge their BFF’s stolen cake recipe, then buy this book without delay. If not, please don’t.

Volume one of Hell Girl is available now.