Series Synopsis
As a child, Kayako Kamiyama (voiced by Kotono Mitsuishi) exorcised the many ghosts haunting her school. Since then, twenty years have gone by and sadly Kayako has passed on, leaving behind her two young children, Satsuki (voiced by Tomoko Kawakami) and Keiichirou (voiced by Kurumi Mamiya).
The siblings move to their mother’s hometown to attend the same school she once did. Over the decades, the old schoolhouse that Kayako did battle in has become abandoned, but rumor is it remains exceedingly haunted.
On her first day, Satsuki meets Hajime Aoyama (voiced by Takako Honda), Momoko Koigakubo (voiced by Kumi Sakuma), and Reo Kakinoki (voiced by Makoto Tsumura), and they all get dragged into the eerie building after Keiichirou loses his pet cat Kaya, who he brought along because he felt lonely.
Inside the dark, decrepit walls of the schoolhouse, it turns out that the rumored hauntings are indeed true. Instantly the kids are pursued by the terrifying spirit known as Amanojaku (voiced by Ryusei Nakao). Their plight seems hopeless until Satsuki discovers an old diary containing instructions on how to put the powerful spirit to sleep. The kids successfully stop the raging demon, but with his
ancient seal destroyed, he is forced to possess Keiichirou’s cat, Kaya.
ancient seal destroyed, he is forced to possess Keiichirou’s cat, Kaya.
After a moment to catch her breath, Satsuki discovers that the diary she found was actually written by her late mother when she was a child. Thinking the ordeal is over, Amanojaku gleefully explains that it’s only going to get much worse.
Due to the recent urbanization, the seals Kayako placed have been broken. Now it is up to Satsuki and her friends to fight the many dangerous ghosts before they can hurt anyone.
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| From left to right: Satsuki, Reo, Hajime, Momoko, Keiichirou |
Series Positives
To clear up any confusion, there are actually two versions of this show.
One, which I haven’t seen, is the English dubbing. Based on what I can tell, it appears that the main plot lines and episodes structures remain intact, except that they were rewritten to have a much more comedic edge.
The second, this one, is predominantly a horror anime, and it’s good.
Atmosphere
It got scary, it got really scary.
AtmosphereIt got scary, it got really scary.
The art and character designs, one show their age and two feel like they were pulled straight out of a kid’s show; or at least one that was aimed at a younger audience. It’s bright, colorful, and comforting.
However, just like Higurashi hid its true intentions behind a wall of moe cuteness, Ghost Stories does the same with its welcoming atmosphere.
The show can be silly, goofy, and nothing that screams horror. Then suddenly it's all like “BOO bitch”, and a wave of nerves, fears, and fright washes over you. This series didn’t have an episode where I said something wasn’t creepy.
Ghost Stories does unsettling incredibly well. Whether it be the camera angle, the music, the tone, or more likely a combination of all of the above, everything was working full blast to make any given scene nail biting. But on a few occasion, it would hit that note. That single, perfect note of fear of “that’s f@#$ing scary”.
One episode that really got to me was centered around a small porcelain doll, which is inherently unnerving, to begin with; it’s the way they never stop staring. Satsuki wakes up to answer the phone in the middle of the night, in the absolute pitch darkness. On the other end, she hears “I’m waiting on the trash lid where you left me, let’s play”, hangs up. A moment later, another call, “I’m waiting at the corner next to the convenient store, let’s play.” Then, “I’m right outside your door, let’s play.” Finally, “I’m standing behind you, let’s play.”
Adding to the atmosphere, what made this show extra terrifying, and all the more believable, was the fact people got hurt. Lights didn’t turn off and on, doors didn’t slowly shut, there was no tapping on any windows. There was blood, there was violence, there was a lot of grotesque imagery. People were choked, scratched, cut, possessed, and a few, I am positive, died. No one was ever safe.
Ghost Stories had its fun moments, but when it was time to get serious, it didn’t screw around.
Well Balanced
This show is horror, but it wasn’t all horror.
There were times where I smiled and laughed, as well felt sad and low. This series managed to have all these different emotions coexisting while still delivering on the scares and suspense.
Ghost Stories managed to do this because it knew when it was okay to tell a joke. The characters were allowed to fool around prior to a haunting and after sealing away a ghost and when they were sure that everything was back to the way it was. Any humor never went overboard or felt out of place, especially when someone’s life was on the line.
Whenever there's any momentary lull in the action, that’s not a free excuse to throw in a silly one-liner.
Because Ghost Stories kept its humor in check, it allowed it to have a few touching moments as well. One scene, in particular, was when Satsuki received an old letter from her mother from before she died. There’s nothing scary about this scene, but it’s so well done and it hits hard right in the feels. I got teary eyed because of it and to me that’s a huge accomplishment of the show’s storytelling.
While this is a horror anime first and foremost, it doesn’t limit itself to a single note.
Series Negatives
The ending theme to this show is incredibly stupid. It completely doesn’t fit with what just happened in any given episode. It’s upbeat, catchy, and for some reason, I can't get enough of it. Whenever I hear it from here on out, I am going to think Ghost Stories. However, I’ll be the first one to admit that it's also really dumb.
This is something I felt I needed to mention since it always made me giggle, but never once has a show’s opening or ending song influenced its overall quality and this is no exception.There was one thing though I always found quite frustrating.
Character's Lackluster Reactions to the Supernatural
That’s really specific I know, but that’s what happened.
Without fail, all of the main character’s gut reaction to whenever something strange happened was never a ghost did it. Instead, they would try to rationalize what they saw.
“It must have been your imagination.” “I must be tired.” “I think you’re overreacting.” “There's no way it could have been that.”
Why? Why to any of that? What in God’s name would make you think, even for a second, that an occurrence, unusual disappearance, or some creepy f@#$ ritual has nothing to do with the supernatural?
These character’s see spirits on a near daily basis, they should know better.
“It must have been your imagination.” “I must be tired.” “I think you’re overreacting.” “There's no way it could have been that.” Why? Why to any of that? What in God’s name would make you think, even for a second, that an occurrence, unusual disappearance, or some creepy f@#$ ritual has nothing to do with the supernatural?
These character’s see spirits on a near daily basis, they should know better.
One time that was just absurdly dumb was when Satsuki thought it was an okay thing to take part in a clearly demonic ritual. Like really, what could possibly go wrong here; oh my god I can’t believe this evil entity is trying to kill me.
This brings up the premise of a means to an end. Sure the setup is sometimes beyond unbelievable, but the payoff is almost always pretty damn good. So, in this case, I wasn’t too bothered by it. Also, it made for an occasional laugh.
Final Thoughts
I am always looking for horror anime. I want to find the good ones. And in this instance, I came across a great one.
Ghost Stories is incredibly scary and wonderfully told. Sure the setups from time to time require a little suspension of disbelief, but it's worth it. There are some truly terrifying things in this series. If you’re looking for something for your fright night viewing, this one’s a no-brainer.
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