Hell Girl is a Japanese anime series produced by Studio Deen in three seasons between 2005 and 2009, with a fourth season airing in 2017. The plot follows a girl named Ai Enma, also known as the Jigoku Shōjo or Hell Girl, and her group of followers as they carry out her duty of striking contracts that involve ferrying hated souls to Hell.
The first season, titled, was directed by Takahiro Ōmori and written by Hiroshi Watanabe. This season revolves around investigations by Hajime Shibatao and Tsugumi Shibata into Ai Enma's secrets. It premiered across Japan on Animax on October 4, 2005, and episode 26 aired on April 4, 2006. The second season, titled, was also directed by Takahiro Ōmori and written by Hiroshi Watanabe. This season details the past of each of Ai's followers and the story of a boy named Takuma Kurebayashi. It aired across Japan from October 7, 2006 to April 7, 2007 on Animax and spanned 26 episodes. The third season, titled, was directed by Hiroshi Watanabe and written by Ken'ichi Kanemaki. The third season revolved around Ai's possession of a middle school student, named Yuzuki Mikage and Yuzuki's past. It aired across Japan from October 10, 2008 to April 4, 2009 on Tokyo MX spanning 26 episodes.[1]
Animax later translated and dubbed the first season of the series into English for broadcast across its English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Animax also aired the series worldwide across its other networks in various other languages, including in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Europe and other regions. The first season of the series was licensed for North American distribution by Funimation Entertainment. The series began broadcasting on the United States cable/satellite channel IFC in July 2008. The next 52 episodes have been licensed by Sentai Filmworks under the title Hell Girl: Series 2.[2]