Review: Ghost Hunt

*excited*

GHOST HUNT 

ゴーストハント 

Gōsuto Hanto 

Originally written by Fuyumi Ono

Anime Number of Episodes: 25 Directed by: Rei Mano Studio: J.C. Staff Run: October 3, 2006 – March 27, 2007 Soundtrack: 35 tracks by Toshio Masuda Rating:

Manga Volumes: 12 (completed) Mangaka: Shiho Inada Publisher: Kodansha (English: Del Rey, Tanoshimi) Run: 1998 -2006 Rating:

I'm falling into a monotony: I'm loving the genre I'm reviewing way too much. Just two more of these and I promise I'll change theme.

That said, I enjoyed Ghost Hunt. So much that instead of just reading the manga, I got hold of the anime. I'm thinking I would have loved reading the light novel series, too. (And would have given a perfect rating.)

The final volume (translated) of the manga was hard for me to find that when I saw an online source (I don't think there's an officially translated one), I decided to just get on with it and finish the story. I'm so happy I did. Finally, I got answers to most of my questions. MOST.

Ghost Hunt starts off with Mai Taniyama, a highschool girl fond of telling ghost stories, stumbling into a psychic investigation by Kazuya Shibuya. She is forced by Shibuya-san, who she then calls Naru for his narcissism, into taking Lin Koujo's, the assistant, work when he gets injured. They are later joined by the other characters. They all start working together on cases under Naru's company, Shibuya Psychic Research, as the series continues.

There are minor differences in the adaptations but the anime doesn't stray from the manga. However, I felt adjustments in the characters that warranted a heart off the anime. Mai, Yasuhara and Monk-san were funnier in the manga. Well, that and because the anime's more intent to go with the creepy atmosphere while the manga has more funny quirks.

(Named the other characters in the very last picture, at the very bottom of the post. Chibi picture, that is.)

Kazuya "Naru" Shibuya, Mai Taniyama

Score cards, up!

Story: 

Anime: 7/10

Manga: 9/10

The difference in scores lies in the fact that the material was more enjoyable on paper. The anime is far from bad but when I watched it, I realized some scenes were dull for animation. For one, it's okay for them to stand or sit around while discussing REALLY LONG facts in the manga. But it gets awkward seeing the group in the same position SEVERAL times in a single episode in the anime.
I feel like I should comment on plot predictability but it wasn't bothersome in the story. The way those elements were delivered were effective and not annoying in both. It's not even that predictable if you're not a fan of the mystery-horror genre. Let's not argue about the cases needing a lot of people to be solved because that's the reason why I didn't give a 10 in the manga.

Art:  Anime: 8/10 Manga: 8/10 Both to my liking, even if Mai was made prettier (but somehow less cute) and Monk-san and Yasuhara (and Akifumi) less hunky in the anime. Heh.

Characters:  Anime: 7/10  Manga: 9/10 Erm. I liked the characters but they were sort of lacking. They stuck to their role and don't do anything unexpected. Unless you read how the manga ended the series, you'd really feel how stagnant they seem.

Music/Sounds: 

Anime: 8/10 

Manga: n/a (if my TV static qualifies, it'd be perfect 10)

With all the chanting and noises needed to satisfy the Tezanne criteria for poltergeists, I'd say I was very pleased. OP is creepy enough but didn't really stick to me. Best thing about the music is none were over the top.

Sentiments, rolling...

Favorite Arc:

Anime: Bloodstained Labyrinth (epi 18-21)

 I loved the balance of humor and suspense in the episodes. Plus, this arc has the best drawn spook.

Manga: The Forgotten Children (volume 10-11)
I loved this because Mai finally did something she can take credit for. The story also is bittersweet.

Favorite Characters: 

Osamu Yasuhara

I hope someday to reach this four-eyed guy's level of awesomeness.

He always has the right comeback and is very confident about everything.

 

Lin Koujo

He sits in front of the computer most of the time and is quiet and socially-awkward. 

Besides Naru, he's the most "powerful" in the group with his onmyou skills.

AND HE HAS SHIKI! 

Favorite Exchange:

This was cheesy. 

But come on, this is the real Naru smile 

and the wind was very cooperative for effects.

Classic Yasuhara-san. He can deliver punchlines in a straight face.

Special Mention:

Silent Christmas arc

This gives-off a sad vibe more than scary. My heart went to the little guy here.

Ghost Hunt made it to my list of all-time fave despite the unsatisfactory ending. Yes, it was the ending in both that cost a huge heart. Even if the anime used an open-ending, there was no resolution to anything that the whole series felt like just a bunch of collected stories in the life of SPR. The manga did resolve a lot of questions employing the same open-ending. Although it was better, it was still rushed and after a relatively short “aww” moment from me, I started asking more questions about the arc. And I'm not even talking about the Naru-Mai relationship. The manga ending was really sweet and hopeful on that.

The series is not complicated to follow and overall, is a light read/watch. If it is anything,it's very informative on the subjects discussed in the cases. Just right for those wanting paranormal but not hardcore screamers. There's also a lot of interesting psychic facts dished by Naru.

Naru, Madoka Mori

Osamu Yasuhara, Masako Hara, Fr. John Brown, Mai Taniyama, Ayako Matsuzaki, Hosho "Monk-san" Takigawa