Short Synopsis: Ichimoku Ren is the last of the dolls to show his past. The case, meanwhile, involves the daughter of someone who had already been in contact with Jigoku Shoujo before.
Good: Finally a great episode again! The changes that people make over 12 years were great to see.
Bad: Can we now finally have some kind of main plot?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10

Finally, I’ve been waiting for another episode to bring a twist to the episodes of Jigoku Shoujo. The past few episodes have been rather disappointing. Episode sixteen showed some good signs again, and with this episode, this show is back on track again. I really like when Jigoku Shoujo deals with past cases, as it really gives some insights about how the characters changed. I would have loved to have seen the case of the mother, earlier in the series, but I guess that 12 years is too early for the start of the anime.

It’s interesting to see how the woman has changed into a workaholic over the years. Because of this, her grandmother probably got enough chances to manipulate her to make her think that her mother is a bad person. It seems that she’s the real reason of tis story. She just couldn’t forget her son’s death, and she had to blame someone for it. I think she’s actually seeing her granddaughter as a substitution for her son.

The mother, meanwhile is too sad. First her husbands abuses her, then she has to send him to hell to protect herself and her daughter. Because of that, she has to work hard to sustain her family. Her mother-in-law meanwhile tries to take her daughter away from her. Her daughter meanwhile thinks of sending her own mother to hell because of this. In order to protect her daughter from going to hell, she decides to take the initiative.

We also see Ichimoku Ren’s history this time. His history also is the bloodiest of all. While Wanyuudo got in an accident, and Hone Onna got murdered as prostitute, he actually was a sword, which had been used by lots of people to kill, cheat, steal and other nasty stuff. That’s probably why he’s the most silent of the three dolls, even though he has the youngest body.

Short Synopsis: The main character this time is very kind-hearted and trusting. Because of this, people start to use her. Hone Onna’s background gets revealed.
Good: Thankfully, a lot better than the previous few episodes. Hone Onna’s history and compassion was a great touch.
Bad: If it wasn’t for Memento, I wouldn’t have understood it.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10

Ah, finally we have an actually good episode again. The first half was decent, though I really liked the way the plot went in the second half. Hone Onna’s compassion with the main character, who was just too nice and ignorant helped a lot. She seemed to work in a brothel when she was still alive, killed by her boss and thrown into the river. This in comparison to Wanyuudo, who got into an accident, rather than having a rather dreadful life. You’d wonder about Ichimoku Ren. His clothes are more modern, so I assume that Ai actually recruited him only ten or twenty years ago.

Anyway, I also liked how the main character actually died. It doesn’t happen often, and when it does, things often go a bit predictable. It’s a nice twist, but I’m still waiting for some kind of thing that will send this series to its climax, like Hajime and Tsugumi did with the first season. It could be, of course, that this thing already appeared, but a bit more subtle this time, in the form of Kikuri. But what can she really add to this series that can trump Hajime and Tsugumi at this point?

Short Synopsis: Sakujun comes to Shuurei to escort her personally to the main house of the Sa-family. When she’s gone, Sa Shunki arrives, and Sa Kokujun meanwhile gets a few dangerous ideas.
Good: Kokujun.
Bad: Too bad that Ryuuki, Kouyuu, Shuuei and Sho Taishi didn’t play a big role.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10

One problem with Saiunkoku Monogatari that I noticed recently is that the first episodes of the arcs don’t impress me anymore. It probably has to do with Shuurei. I hate to say it, but she hasn’t been growing lately. Still, with a bit of luck, we’ll see some changes to this in the next episode.

I’m really liking Kokujun after this episode. In the beginning of this episode, Eiki mentioned how much he resembled his grandfather’s brother, but I never expected that she also included his more malicious side in this. It seems that he got locked up with his father, though apparently the guy never moved at all. At the end of the episode, he’s becoming crazy as well, convincing himself that he has to be the one to kill everyone. This definitely can be interesting, especially after his father woke up after hearing what he said.

Short Synopsis: The aftermath of the huge events of the previous episode. Surprisingly, no Akizuki or Kanna. Instead, the episode is focused at Kakunojou.
Good: The Troupe returns! Great atmosphere; the reunion-scenes were excellent.
Bad: As expected, Akizuki is alive.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10

While Bakumatsu’s story is everything but predictable, the same can’t be said for it’s pacing. Most episodes have been very faithfully following the general pattern of introduction/aftermath - climax - introduction/aftermath - climax - introduction/aftermath - climax - et cetera. It therefore is unexpected that we’re dealing with another aftermath here. Kakunojou collapsed after the end of the previous episode, and she wakes up at the medical area in the ship. While she has been sleeping, Enomoto and his crew managed to reach the northern island of Japan. The winter arrived, which makes sure of a nice change in scenery. (If I’m not mistaken, everyone ended up in a city called Hakodate).

Inside Hakodate, Kakunojou gets moved to the local hospital, where she obviously is quite shocked. she was quite touching to see. This episode also featured a small sub-plot, though I couldn’t quite follow that. Still, the definite best part of the episode was seeing the troupe return. Shiranui has been coming on his own, searching for Taiyuu (what was she doing there, by the way?). The others came by request of Soutetsu. He really likes to manipulate people doesn’t he? Same with Kakunojou? She was about to throw her sword away, which is something he couldn’t have happening so he decided to do something about it. His plan still remains a mystery. He’s obviously using everyone around him, even Enomoto. What could he be after?

I’m not sure about Hijikata’s role in this episode. We see him go from one place to the other, investigating, but exactly what is unknown. We also saw the introduction of another character, who seems to work right next to him: Tetsunosuke. His exact role isn’t clear, but he seems like a young genius who likes to act impulsive. What can a new character such as his add to the anime at this point?