Deadlines Galore

Since I've been sleeping 2 am at most for the past few days due to a certain deadline, I decided to take my breaks at 10:30 pm (so I could watch the Fairly Odd Parents) and 12:am (to watch Jigoku Shoujo).

I think we all know what happens when watching the Fairly Odd Parents (enter laugh spree here).

At the beginning, I was a bit disappointed with Jigoku Shoujo. I had the impression it was an anime belonging to the Horror Genre, in which I'm a huge fan of, but the storyline turned out to be more of a psychological thriller. I avoided the show months ago and decided to give it a try this month.

I ended up liking it after all.

The girl you see above is the star of the anime, a Rei Ayanami type of character named Ai. Like many tragic figures, she's the epitome of mystery and misery whose sob story will be revealed later on in the series. Being chased by an obsessed writer-zealot, she doesn't seem to be concerned about being exposed. She's there to help some lost sheep get their revenge; she does this after the said person visits her website and requests for vengeance.

The whole anime seems to be playing with the idea of revenge and cowardice, human weaknesses we're supposed to be ashamed of and would cause us to disintegrate in guilt. But we seek to hit fire with fire, give an eye for an eye; it's hard to distinguish who's the real victim, especially in episodes when there appears to be a bitch fight. Watching such episodes could be frustrating, and you'll end up wondering why Ai didn't just give her client a shotgun instead ---- that person will end up in hell anyway. I concluded Ai desired this method to teach the person who requested her bizarre services the valuable lesson of karma.

My friends got intrigued by the concept of the anime, and some even mentioned it would be "nice" to have such a website. They turned to me and asked if I had a grudge on someone. "Who doesn't?"

They got excited. "What would you type in that website if ever?"

"None. I don't like holding on to grudges."

"Come on! That's impossible! You can't have a grudge and not hold on to it," one of them pointed out.

"Absolutely not true." I proceeded to explain that I prefer dealing with the bozo rather than keep the grudge to myself. Just because I don't like holding on to grudges doesn't mean it doesn't occur to me every now and then. I either don't let it bother me or I act on it until I'm satisfied and the grudge goes away.

"What do you do when somebody's making your life miserable and you feel the urge to take revenge?" my friend challenged.

"Either I tell that person how much of a dipshit she/he is or tug some strings here and there. Depends on the situation." I answered without batting an eye. Crossing my arms, I leaned back against my seat. "I'm perfectly capable of delivering my own vengeance. I've got my ways. I don't need a website like that." I chuckled. "Besides, this world's hell enough for me, so the idea of going straight to hell isn't that scary. What's the difference?"

"Well, you have a point." Another friend said thoughtfully. "Maybe it works for you. But I'm not exactly the confrontational type, you know?"

...and this is exactly why Jigoku Shoujo is appealing to some viewers. There was one episode I liked, the one about the veterinarian mistreating a young girl's dog because he prioritized keeping his connection to a politician. I cried my eyes out for the poor dog, and I could relate well with the girl's feelings. I didn't see the tears and drama coming. At first glance, the girl's situation seemed impossible because she's dealing with powerful people and so turning to Ai was her last resort. What she didn't know is she still had another option: when all hope seems lost in animal cruelty cases, she could always turn to PETA. (Although I'm not a PETA supporter, I have to admire their guts.)

Let's see if the doctor won't have a difficult time. The doctor would wish he was sent straight to hell. Haha!

Yesterday I saw the episode wherein this girl named Minami was lulled by her two-faced friend, Shiori, into pulling the red string meant for her in the first place. Shiori got rejected by her new set of friends; the same thing she did with Minami. I understand Minami, because I shared the same naivete when I was in high school. A girl from another class befriended me because she wanted to borrow money from me; like an idiot, I loaned her a huge amount of money. She was using me all that time. She never paid me back. I let her get away with her loans and abandoned her.

Let's call her, Tin.

We met again after a few years, ironically, during a Christian Bible Study. (I'm Catholic but I like interacting with born-agains.) That day, I brought along a friend (let's call her JL). It was the time when I had an MU-like relationship with this Korean guy, Shin, who happened to be in the same organization.

I was shocked when I saw Tin, but I controlled my reflexes and decided to be civil with her. Tin kept on butting in my conversation with JL (who threw her dirty looks).

Tin kept on asking me personal questions. it would have been better if her questions were substantial, but she was like, "Why don't you have a boyfriend until now?" "Why don't you talk to your Dad?" (see previous posts for the long story)

My friend was already gritting her teeth, knowing all too well Tin was purposely being rude. I sent her a reassuring grin, conveying to her I could handle the bitch.

Dinner time came, and upon learning from other member sof the organization I had this special relationship with Shin, she began flirting with him. I think she did it to spite me; but unknown to her, I was enjoying the disgusted look on Shin's face. I never knew his eyes could get any smaller than it already was. His expression said it all.

When Tin realized I wasn't buying her scheme, she started a conversation with JL. I let them be.

Minutes later, I saw Tin coming inside with JL. JL grabbed my hand and dragged me outside.

"Okay. What's your relationship with her?" JL demanded, tapping her foot impatiently on the darkened grass.

"Why? What's the problem," I asked, knowing what's coming.

"Your friend. She's the problem!" she ranted, "I don't like her. I only talked to her because I thought she was your friend!"

"Friend? You've got to be kidding. She's no friend of mine. That girl owes me a lot of money back in high school." I explained. "She also used me so she could extort money from me."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Well, I thought she must've changed through the years." I chuckled and smiled apologetically. "But I guess she didn't."

"Hell she didn't," JL muttered. "Do you know what she did? She was trying to win my trust, showering me with pretentious compliments just because I act & model part-time in ABS-CBN. I could see right through her. She even told me about your violence in high school. As if that's new to me! What does she expect?"

I tried not to laugh. "Poor girl."

"Yeah. She's also a fibber. She didn't know I was moving the conversation around so I could catch her lies." And JL continued her story.

I listened.

"Don't worry, JL. If she tried anything, I'm no longer the gullible person she knew." I told my friend. "You know me."

She sighed. "Yeah. Go show her! You're not called an amazon by our guys for no reason!"

"Hey!"