Ghost Hunt

Story: The story for Ghost Hunt is a very fun and interesting one. And at least for me, unique. It takes on an unusual way of telling about ghost hunting, giving you a look into the more scientific and realistic ways ghost hunting actually works.(Ar rather would work if it was real) It is also told well, the episodes, or cases, are all full of twists that keep you guessing and wondering what's going to happen next. And it never fails to give you a complete and satisfying ending. Not to mention that each case is very different from the others, so there is a lotof variety in what happens in the end. A 10 on story from me. Art: Some might say the art is rather plain. While I'll not deny this, I must say for me I thought it worked very well with the series. The simpleness of the art in general makes it easy for them to pick something and have it stand out. So it's very effective in a horror story. And I must say, I did very much like the way they did characters. And the shading on the art also caught my attention for being nice and comfortable. A 9 on art from me. Sound/Music: As a suspense/horror anime sound is extremely important. I cannot stress this point enough. Having the proper sound effects and score can make or break a series like this. And I must say I thought that Ghost Hunt had both an excellent soundtrack(I listen to my copy of it often)and did an excellent job with the sound effects. Both were well chosen and put into use wonderfully. A 10 on sound/music from me. Character: I fell in love with almost all the characters in this show for one reason or another. The funny and sweet Bou-san, and proud and somewhat rude Ayako. They all were well used and their was a large variety f personalities in the show. I will say that I wish they had given some more background on some of the characters. But it could also be said that not giving away to much information could be a good thing. Especially in Naru's case. The fact we have so little information about him makes his character more interesting and mysterious. (However more information then in the anime is given in the manga) A 9 on character form me. Enjoyment: I loved this series the first time I watched it. And then I went back and watched it again not to long later, and loved it even more that time. Then a third time I watched and yet again loved it more, to the point of starting the manga. For me, that is the mark of a true masterpiece. Especially considering that this show was a mystery, yet I loved it still more every time I watched it despite knowing the ending. This series is truly the result of genius on the production team's part. A huge 10 on enjoyment from me. Overall: I highly recommend this series to anyone. Any anime viewer, wither they liked mysteries or horror previously or not. This anime is a must see. A 10 overall.

Tl;dr: Any possible potential this show had is ruined by the lack of scary scenes, cliched characters, utter dearth of character development and inconclusive ending. If you’re even remotely the critical thinker type, this will not be an enjoyable experience. 4 out of 10 stars. This show was something that a friend used to really be into circa 2007. I recently remembered it out of nowhere and decided to check it out -- figured a MAL rating of close to 8 couldn’t be that bad, could it. Boy, was I wrong, and HOW. Let’s start off with the horror aspect. There is none. Out of 25 episodesI was scared for a grand total of two minutes in one episode. Even setting aside the facts that the spooks were intended for a younger audience, the stories themselves weren’t creepy or scary or even absorbing. The only reason things could be considered spooky is cheap jump scares, with the exception of the two minutes I mentioned. The music builds up to scary moments, but is let down by the mediocre visuals. The arcs (cases) last for 4-5 episodes, which is something I don’t mind since it prevents binging. This is a typical shoujo anime, which means a romance between the lead pair is inevitable. My issue here is that there is no real indicator that the guy even likes the girl or favours her. She has slight ESP and her subconscious chooses to send messages to her in the form of the guy - but that’s in her head. So to be clear, she falls for the guy (pretty quickly, I might add) for no discernible reason, doesn’t bother to differentiate her idea of the guy from the person himself (again, they have little interaction except when she’s ordered around by him) and thinks that because she is attracted to him, it gives her some kind of claim on him. FYI, it doesn’t. Mutual consent is important, girls. The guy is very pretty and very smart, but I don’t know enough of him beyond that to say anything. He’s seventeen, runs a psychic detective agency, does his own thing, whatever. He’s so unimpressive that I don’t miss his presence at all. It has been hinted at that he is the Quiet Boy with Unfathomable Emotional Depths, but that is never elaborated upon. As for the protagonist herself, I have to say this - she’s just plain dumb. When you’ve been handling paranormal cases for a while now, hearing a child say they’re sad someone is alive is a pretty good indicator that they’re possessed. She’s supposed to be the “heart” of the team (because girls are emotional, of course!) but that’s not the issue - it’s that she feels bad for everything and everyone and refuses to be practical. She leaves people alone when told not to leave them alone. She does things she’s told not to because of her feelings. At the same time, the guy (who’s her boss in a way) refuses to divulge plans with her for no reason and then expects her to not question him, which puts them at odds. So not only is every outburst of hers irritating to watch, it’s also invalidated by the guy in the end, and she ends up apologizing even though it’s partly his fault. I hate their dynamic; can you tell? Leaving aside the protagonists, the side characters are likeable enough but it’s pathetic how they don’t develop through two cours. There’s an older (20s) lady who seems somewhat flirtatious (we know she’s a vamp because she wears lipstick) and there’s a younger girl the protagonists’ age who also helps with their cases. I’m happy to add that the protag and this girl don’t hesitate to help each other even though they’re rivals for the main guy’s lurrve, so that’s nice. The character I most like is the monk (who moonlights as a rock star? But leave that aside) since he acts like a responsible adult and looks out for the protagonist. But none of the characters are elaborated on beyond mentioning things in passing and never returning to them. It’s frustrating and disappointing, because the side cast have decent interactions and are fairly likeable. The worst part of the series, though, is its callous handling of death. The crew don’t seem terribly upset even when the paranormal incidences lead to deaths of their clients; they don’t seem fearful or nervous at the risk to their lives. Along the with open ending of the series (which leads to stuff in the last arc being unexplained), it makes for a very disappointing watch. My chief emotion when it finished was regret at wasting ten hours of my life on this show. That should tell you enough.

Ghost hunt. Pretty attractive name for those looking for some horror anime. Well, you might not completely be in the blood/gore/heart attacks section but you'll definitely regret if you choose to leave it. It is quite a unique anime. The series is not a typical fantasy/thriller horror. It infact, shows 'ghost hunting' by means of technology and modern day equipment and ofcourse, the old purification and chanting ways are included too. The series does not have a main plot. There are small arcs which usually don't last for more than 3-4 episodes thus not dragging the anime and neither taking away the viewer's attention. Every arc isbeautifully executed and more haunting than its predecessor. Ofcourse, most of the time, you'll be hearing the handsome and narcisstic Naru's theories and calculations, but the anime does have its moments. At the begining, you may not be impressed, but then you'll find that you can hardly watch the horror parts with the lights switched off and no one around. I'd started having hallucination when I did that. Every mystery has a back story and side characters and the occasional history of ghost huntings/vampires/curses explained is quite a wonderful addition. Every arc is sure to keep you guessing and hanging at the edge of your seats. The art was a little problematic. The animation was a little choppy, probably due to budget. But nevertheless, you'll be so thoroughly engrossed in the story that you won't notice it much. The characters are designed well though. The sounds department takes all the glory for the goosebumps. Those rantings and bashings and screams and wails, the closing doors, the breaking glass, they never failed to give me a cardiac arrest. Excellent job on the sound effects. I'd have given it a 10 had the opening and closing themes been more than just instrumentals but, nevertheless, they suit the mood perfectly. Characters are another major highlight of the series. There are around 6 main psychics who're on the mystery jobs. Each has their own personality, tastes and fields of profession. The most notable ones being Mai and Naru, you'll love the other characters too. The comical scenes, their interactions with each other and the parts where you go 'wow, they're so cool' are all worth it. Though sometimes you'll wish Mai would just shut up or Naru should stop being an ass. In my opinion, some characters like Lin and Naru as well, should have had a more detailed exploration of their pasts and personalities shown. However, realistic, well designed and extemely likeable characters is a win point for Ghost HUnt. Enjoyment Every moment is worth it. Every funny scene will not fail to make you laugh out loud. Every horror part will instill you with chills and speed up your heart rate. The chemistry between Naru and Mai will keep you wanting more and more. Overall An excellent series which I happened to pick randomly and am very glad I did. The ending could have answered a few more questions and relationships could have progressed further, but it's a job well done. Highly recommended if you adore the horror genre as well as some good and serious fun. Just make sure you don't turn off the lights!

Ghost Hunt's backstory and setups of how the various supernatural forces operate are well done, as well as the actual mysteries they are involved in. However, what distracted its best qualities are the forced relationships and relying on predictable tropes to advance plot elements. My impression is that Ghost Hunter may have been altered to cater to target audiences by dumbing down the plot and dialog at some points, but when the actual investigation storyline calls for complex explanations and logic, the characters inexplicably gains 200 points in IQ to figure everything out. Case in point: after almost a year working for ghost hunter experts, themain protagonist was told they there were two children of the family being investigated were behaving strangely, and when she meets them, they are constantly repeating about they wish how their relatives would die. While it's obvious to the audience they are possessed, the protagonist is completely oblivious to this possibility until the plot conveniently calls for that moment later on for dramatic effect. Better options would have been to make their possessed personalities less black and white or simply not mention these kids beforehand. Throughout the series contain very poorly implemented scenarios of a) main characters become oblivious to obvious clues, b) withholding key information (i.e., the girl has ESP, gets a vision but doesn't tell anyone about it until the 3rd act) c) unconvincing situations forcing characters to become alone or in danger and d) overtly reliant in chibi style comedy to excuse logic gaps. The culmination of these effects ultimately makes the main protagonist Mai a every unpleasant character. She's supposed to be the everyday girl, but is stupid while the story needs other plot elements to take shape, super-talented and powerful when when the story calls for a solution, overdramatic to force tension between her and her friends, and is somehow excused from her ignorance because she's supposed to be 'just like us'. But this is somewhat bearable, since the actual cases they are investigating are truly well fascinating. What made them great was that we cared about the people involved in the cases, we were sympathetic to their plight. Unfortunately, the series gradually moved away into 2-dimensional antagonists and threats in order 'power-up' the main characters. I was interested enough about the case to bypass the faults in order to find out the resolutions. But really, I just wish they were confident enough in their core story to not have to throw in these cliches to appeal to young kids. I wish the main characters were competent, mature, present their relationships with subtlety, so that I don't have scream at my laptop at that the main culprit is the teacher and not the girl while the characters are wasting my time.