Throwback Thursday| Ghost Hunt — BAYOG Spoop Fest #2

Hello, hello BAYOG fam!~ A month went by so fast that I almost didn’t realize it was my turn for a Throwback Thursday post… Seeing as it’s the Spoopy Season and I’m doing the BAYOG Spoop Fest posts, I thought my TBT should be spoopy themed too!~ First off, y’all know I love horror. I’m hella into urban myths/legends and folklore too. I also really love supernatural, mystery, and detective stuffs. I kind of mulled over what I wanted to do this post on. I wanted something that was fun, but also had some creepy scares too. In the end I decided on a good ol’ series called Ghost Hunt!~

Ghost Hunt (ゴーストハント) was originally a series of light novels. It was originally titled 悪霊シリーズ (Akuryo Series). 悪霊シリーズ (Akuryo Series) was originally by Fuyumi Ono, and it’s 8 volumes were published by Kodansha between 1989-1992. It was continued as Ghost Hunt Series with 2 volumes being published between March 1994- April 1994.

A 12 volume manga adaptation by Shiho Inada was published by Kodansha from July 1998- September 2010. The 25 episode anime adaptation was released between October 2006 – March 2007. A 3 volume sequel of the manga was published between 2012-2016. It was titled  悪夢の棲む家: ゴーストハント (Akumu no Sumu Ie: Ghost Hunt), or The House In Which Nightmares Dwell: Ghost Hunt. The Anime is available for online viewing from Funimation [LINK]. The first 4 episodes are free to watch, and the rest of the series is available to subscribers. There was also an announcement of plans to make a live action movie in 2013. However, it seems to the movie was most likely axed.

PLOT
Taniyama Mai is a seemingly normal 16 year old high student. She suddenly meets a mysterious and handsome 17 year old boy named Shibuya Kazuya; Whom she calls Naru-chan due to his narcissistic attitude. He’s the manager and researcher of Shibuya Psychic Research. Along with his assistant Lin Koujo, they investigate and research paranormal cases. After a case at Mai’s school, Naru hires her to work as an assistant at the SPC. Thus begins Mai’s involvement with the SPC and paranormal cases. The SPC’s roster also includes a Buddhist monk named Takigawa Houshou, a Shinto shrine maiden named Matsuzaki Ayako, celebrity teen psychic Hara Masako, and a young Australian Catholic priest named John Brown. 

I remember reading and enjoying the manga alot, as well as the anime. The thing I enjoyed the most is the usage of all sorts of lore and things in the series. I’ve always been fascinated with lore and supernatural stuffs. Those close to me also know I’m a big fan of the Supernatural series too. It’s interesting to see how different lore and rituals are used. I mean you have usages things from Buddhism, Shinto, and Catholicism.

It’s also not like blood curdling scary. However, it does a fantastic job at setting up a creepy atmosphere and story. The series deals mostly with ghosts and spirits. However,  they’ve dealt with other things as well. You also have creepy dolls and some horrifying moments as well.

The scariest case for me would be the damn Bloodstained Labyrinth case. Years later, and I still can’t forget it. It also probably doesn’t help that I watched those episodes at like 3-4am by myself in the dark…

I also really enjoy the characters and their relationships. They’re all very different and from different walks of life. They’re actually pretty funny and care for one another. Of course, they’re also pretty serious about their work. There are also some other mysteries here and there as well.

CHARACTERS

Taniyama Mai. She’s a seemingly normal 16 year old high school student. She ends up temporarily helping Naru out before he offers her a part time job at the Shibuya Psychic Research. She’s rather kind and empathetic. She often feels for the spirits and wants to help bring them comfort. It’s later seen that she has some latent psychic ability. She usually seems to connect with spirits in her dreams. She’s also shown having feelings for Naru.

Shibuya Kazuya. A handsome and seemingly cold 17 year old. He’s the manager and researcher at the Shibuya Psychic Research. He’s often cold, critical, and incredibly narcissistic. Mai calls him “Naru-chan” due to his narcissistic attitude. The rest of the SPR started calling him “Naru” as well.

Koujo Lin. He’s Naru’s assistant. He’s rather quiet and cold. He’s especially cold towards Mai at first. He seems to be an onmyoji. He usually works throughout the night and tends to do the more unpleasant jobs. Mai caused him to get injured in an accident when they first met. This led to Mai helping Naru until Lin got better.

Takigawa Hosho. He’s a 25 year old Buddhist monk. He’s usually just called, “Monk”. He left his position at the Buddhist temple on Mt. Koya. He certainly doesn’t fit the look of a monk. He has long hair, pierced ears, and plays bass in a band.

Matsuzaki Ayako. She’s a 23 year old Shinto shrine maiden. She tends to be confident of her abilities, but her attempts usually seem to fall short.

John Brown. The 19 year old is an Australian Catholic priest. He speaks Japanese with a Kansai accent. John performs exorcisms. He’s relied on when people are possessed because his exorcisms don’t cause physical harm on living creatures.

Hara Masako. She’s a 16 year old celebrity spirit medium. She’s famous due to her TV appearances. She wears a kimono and has a bob, making her look like a Japanese doll. She also seems to have a thing for Naru.

Yasuhara Osamu. He’s a third year high school student, as well as the student council president at his school. He’s initially a client, but proves to be pretty helpful. He has no psychic powers, but he’s a useful and smart cookie. He usually helps Naru with offsite research.

 

 

I really do love this series. While it does have it’s very dark, heavy, and serious moments, the series has alot of laughs too. Still, it did a fantastic job of building suspense and a scary and thrilling atmosphere as well. I enjoyed the various characters, their clashing personalities, and their relationship dynamics. Yes, the beginning is a bit slow and not overly exciting at first. However, it does build up and there are other mysteries that unfold. I actually liked the pacing. For me, I loved the usage of different lore, history, and rituals. My only disappointment is that I wished that there would’ve been another season. I also wished that the live action movie did happen. I would’ve liked to see how they would execute that~