Ghost Hunt (Review)

Ghost Hunt Finds What It’s Looking For.

For a long time, I was sorely disappointed by the lack of decent horror anime out there. Luckily, I stumbled upon Ghost Hunt recently, a series that follows a group of paranormal investigators who look into strange happenings in Japan. What struck me most about the series is that there was absolutely no reason for it to be an anime. There are no epic battle sequences, no unimaginable monsters (that couldn’t be easily translated into live action), and no characters with neon hair and strange clothing. Instead, it’s an incredibly grounded series that still manages to offer up plenty of paranormal themes that will satisfy those looking for a spooky series to satisfy their horror cravings.

Ghost Hunt is based on the light novels by Fuyumi Ono and the subsequent manga by Shiho Inada. From the get-go, it’s clear that the series is geared towards a female audience, but it doesn’t fall into the tropes and cliches that usually come with gender oriented anime. The protagonist is a high school girl named Mai Taniyama (Cherami Leigh) who finds herself suddenly involved with the Shibuya Psychic Research, a group of investigators that look into supernatural and paranormal incidents that occur through out the country. Over the course of the series, she experiences a number of investigations that become more and more disturbing. Luckily, the group consists of some pretty impressive members that can handle anything thrown at them.

What I enjoyed the most about Ghost Hunt is that it takes it’s time to tell it’s stories. The anime contains a number of arcs that take place over several episodes (usually 3 to 4). That means that the series has plenty of time to build mystery and suspense as the characters encounter and investigate new cases. While a lot of the horror elements of the series might seem a bit subdued and Ghost Hunt definitely doesn’t believe in using gore or deeply disturbing imagery, the tales that it weaves behind the hauntings they investigate are incredibly creepy. These range from a tale similar to the Winchester Mansion in America to haunted dolls to even some demons. There are a lot of different horror elements at work in the anime and it manages to make the absolute most of all of them. Though, because it is based more in “reality” that means that things can drag a bit at times.

While Ghost Hunt is definitely a horror series, it’s one that even the timidest anime fans can enjoy. Like I said earlier, the series doesn’t rely on gore or a lot of jump scares for the horror aspects. Instead, it really focuses on the storytelling to get under the audience’s skin and lets the creepier elements simmer in the back of the viewer’s mind as it digs in and takes its time with each story. However, that doesn’t mean that Ghost Hunt is self-indulgent at all. It doesn’t draw out its stories just to hear itself talk. Sure, it does get slow a few times, but it never gets a point where you start checking your watch. Instead, it’s almost about as slow as some of those ghost hunting shows that people are so obsessed with. Fortunately, all the investigations in Ghost Hunt pay off a lot better than reality tv ever does.

Ghost Hunt’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. While this anime is one that seems firmly rooted in reality, at least outside of the magical elements the heroes often encounter and use to dispell evil spirits. That means that a lot of it is left to the hero of the series, Kazuya Shibuya (Todd Haberkorn) to explain rather than for the series to show. This means there are more than a few scenes where he rules out possibilities thanks to his high tech equipment. Unfortunately, he has a habit of monologuing which can take a bit of the fun out of the scarier scenes. There are also several stories in the series that he magically appears with a solution after doing “research.” It can come off as a bit too convenient at times, but it doesn’t happen enough to ruin the series, but enough to make you roll your eyes once or twice.

I will say, that while Ghost Hunt is brilliant, it’s not the most exciting anime I’ve seen over the past few years. As I mentioned, it’s a series that doesn’t need to be told as an anime. It very much could have been (and still could be) an incredible live action series. However, it’s not a series that lets your interest wane. Instead, it focuses on telling the stories it has in the most haunting ways possible. It might not be the scariest anime I’ve ever seen, but it’s definitely one of the most chilling and creepiest I’ve come across in a long time.