"Come And Play" - Kakurenbo: Hide-and-Seek (anime) - 8/10 Pumpkins

Weather forecast for tonight: dark. ~George Carlin

Genre: Horror/ Psychological/ Supernatural

Review Status: Complete (1 Movie/1 Movie)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art/Animation: While the CG does look a little clunky and the character designs a little odd, this still has enough dark atmosphere and bright colors to make up for it.

Summary: Among the ruins of the city, there is a game only children can play. It is called “Otokoyo”; a game of hide-and-seek. But whenever children play this game, one by one they would disappear into the blinds of the buildings… The story begins when a boy enters the world of Otokoyo, to find his missing sister.

Review: At 25 minutes, this is the shortest movie I’ve ever seen. And yet it manages to be a fairly good one! You follow a boy as he enters the game of “Otokoyo”, a game that you can play once a month, when the lights of the city flicker and begin to go out. The goal? To hide from the demons in the heart of the building for as long as possible. If you reach daylight, you win. Everyone else… disappears. Such was the case for out protagonists’ sister, and now he’s come to find her.

The players discover that the game is more dangerous and sinister than they believed it to be, and our protagonist learns that there’s far more to the game than he could have believed… a secret that is at the heart of the city….

Overall, this is a great short film to watch if you want a case of the shivers!

Recommended: Yes! No blood, no gore, but there are disturbing themes/implications, so ten and up.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Perfect Blue (anime),
Higurashi: When They Cry (anime and manga),
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (manga),
Bizenghast (manga)
Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga)

"Revenge is Best Served Cold" - Hell Girl (anime) - 8/10 Pumpkins

Evil is always devising more corrosive misery through man's restless need to exact revenge out of his hate. ~Ralph Steadman

Genre: Horror/Psychological/Supernatural

Review Status: Complete (26 Episodes / 26 Episodes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art/Animation: The animation is excellent. It’s smooth and never seems lacking. Some of it is recycled, but it’s not a lot (and the shots are shortened in later episodes) so I really didn’t mind. The colors used are vibrant, even though they are usually on the dark side of the palette. Though the show tends to go for the darker tones (pun not intended!) it still is quite appealing, and when they do use bright colors it is used judicially, in order to emphasize differences in moods, circumstances, the past and present. For example, her own little world is rendered in red and gold- somewhat symbolically, due to the death she deals with. As for character designs… Honestly, they aren’t terribly original in and of themselves, but the personalities that fill them make them incredibly memorable all the same. The background music is never intrusive, effectively conveying the mood. The opening and ending songs are very nice, but the opening seems a little out of place with its lightheartedness.

Summary: Hell Girl. For four hundred years, legends about her have been circulating. If you contact her, she will send the person who antagonizes you to Hell. Through the years, the method of contact has changed with the times, but her modus operandi has always been the same- you may only banish them if you truly want them gone from the world. Today, in the age of technology, one merely has to turn on the computer to do so. At midnight, and only for a minute, you may log onto a certain website and type in the name of the person you wish to send to Hell. Hell Girl will then appear, and she will give you a doll with a red string tied around its neck. When you wish to banish the person, you must pull the string. At that moment the contract will be made, and the person will be sent to Hell. But eventually you will have to pay the price….

Review: Dark. Depressing. Hopeless. That was all I could think about this anime during the few first episodes. Time after time you see people, dragged down by their hatred, greed, and fear, making their antagonists disappear. Their stories were told so compellingly that (and I can’t lie about this) if I were in the same situation, I don’t think that I could have resisted pulling the string and sending the person to hell, even if my own soul were at stake. And yet I couldn’t stop watching. What was it about this anime that made me want to keep going? Was it the compelling stories of the people who sought out Hell Girl? Was it my desire to know Hell Girl’s own history, why she did what she did? Was it the need to see someone- anyone- defy the pull of the string and escape eternal damnation?

Even now, I don’t think I can answer that. All I know is that it drew me in like few others have. I may never watch it again, but I will respect it for the powerful piece of storytelling it is. Everything about it screams “Yes! Someone put time and thought and effort into making me!” which, despite the darkness of the show, nonetheless warms my heart.

For me what truly makes this anime is the characters. The people who contact Hell Girl each have their own stories, their own reasons to do so. They tend to be young females, but both genders and varied ages do give their stories a wide range of incidents, so no circumstances seem to be repeated. But the endings to their stories also give this its flavor, as some end up relieved and at peace with their decision, while others see their decisions come to naught. The main cast consists of six people. First, there is Hell Girl, born Enma Ai. Though she first appears disturbingly- if not horrifically- impartial about sending souls to Hell, as the series goes on we discover that not all as it appears to be with her.

The circumstances of her death and the sacrifices she makes to protect her loved ones make it easier to see why she acts the way she does, and that not even she is completely impervious to emotions. Her minions/friends are also interesting, each with their own distinct personality and background story. Of course, this story must also have its protagonists that struggle against fate- Tsugumi and Hajime Shibata, a girl and her father who are direct descendants of the boy Ai loved. Hajime, a journalist, comes across an intriguing story about Hell Girl and drags his daughter down a twisted path to find the truth of it. In the process, his daughter and Ai’s existences become entwined in a way neither can stand.

Overall, I can’t say enough about this. It really is not for everyone, as some people might be bored by how long it takes for the main storyline to start, and those who like their anime light-hearted should stay far, far away.

Recommended: Yes. 16+, though, for disturbing scenes and violence. Several people are punished rather gruesomely, one woman is nearly raped, there is implied murder and attempted murder.

Other titles you might enjoy: Shigofumi (anime),
xxxHolic (anime and manga),
Paranoia Agent (anime),
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (manga),
Bizenghast (manga),
Petshop of Horrors (manga),
Kara no Kyoukai (anime)
Muhyo and Roji's Buraeu of Supernatural Investigation (manga)

"Not Quite Human" - Blood: The Last Vampire (anime) - 8/10 Pumpkins

But other vampire stories? Well, no, I really haven't read too many, and I can't say I'm crazy about romantic vampires anyway - to me the vampire is simply an evil monster. ~Brian Lumley

Genre: Horror/Supernatural/Action

Review Status: Complete (1 Movie/1 Movie)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art/Animation: Very good. Outside of some obvious CG panning shots, the CG is very inobtrusive and blending into the movie. This is done in darker tones, but is very vibrant and rich in those colors. And the art is very nice to look at.

Summary: Teropterids are evil beasts which pose as humans and live only to drink human blood. Fortunately for the human world there are groups dedicated to destroying them. A brooding and mysterious girl named Saya is the best teropterid slayer there is, and now, in 1960's Japan, she is sent to a U. S. army base which may be infested... (ANN.net)

Review: This is a short movie, at less than an hour long. It also doesn’t give much history or exposition as to what’s going on. This is more like a snapshot in time, where what is happening now is what you get. And what’s happening now is that a Korean girl is sent to a U.S. Army base in order to find and destroy the Teropterids- more commonly known as ‘Vampires’, but bear little resemblance to what we think of when we hear that word- that have been preying on the people there.

You see this mostly through the eyes of the school nurse that has been dragged into this by chance. She witnesses a slaying, discovers some of Saya’s past, and is brought along on an adventure that she will never forget, even though she may never make heads or tails of it, and never know the entire story behind it.

Overall, if you aren’t looking for heavy story or plot, then this is a fantastic movie!

Recommended: YES! For those 16+ due to violence and gore- one girl gets sliced in half and others get killed offscreen.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Kara no Kyoukai (anime),
Hellsing (manga) or Hellsing Ultimate (anime)
Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga)
Bizenghast (manga)
Ghost Hunt (anime)
Psychic Detective Yakumo (anime)
Bizenghast (manga)
Shiki (anime)

"It's Dark Out There..." - The Dreaming (manga) - 6/10 Pumpkins

Ours is the century of enforced travel of disappearances. The century of people helplessly seeing others, who were close to them, disappear over the horizon. ~John Berger

Genre: Horror/Mystery

Review Status: Full (3 Volumes/ 3 Volumes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art: Good, solid. Nothing special, but good at conveying a creepy horror vibe.

Summary: Amber and Jeanie, a pair of twin sisters, enroll in an Australian boarding school. But shortly after school begins, the twins uncover a dark, mysterious secret: Students have been known to walk off into the surrounding bushlands, where they have vanished completely, without a trace! (Tokyopop)

Review: A boarding school in the middle of nowhere? A mystery that went unsolved many years ago? Paintings that seem to hold clues to what happened? Sounds like prime fodder for a good mystery! This hearkens back to old Gothic stories, with students that are held at the mercy of a tyrannical principal and mysterious disappearances begin when the students decide to ‘call on the spirits’. “Bleeding” trees and nights as thick as paint add to an atmosphere that’s already full of macabre paintings and Victorian-style furnishings.

The story itself is pretty interesting, with the twins becoming distant as the disappearances become more common. The reveal as to what’s happening is a toss-up as to whether the reader will like it. While did think that it was decent, some will find it and the ending unsatisfying in more than one way.

Overall, this is a pretty good manga. I wish there were more to it, or a slightly different ending, but it’s not too bad.

Recommended: For a quick read, I’d pick it up. 13+ due to some disturbing images (blood, some violence).

Other titles you might enjoy:
Higurashi: When They Cry (anime and manga),
Bizenghast (manga), Red Garden (manga),
Kieli (manga and light novels)

"Don't worry, I used the blunt end of the knife." - Higurashi: When They Cry (manga) - 10/10 Pumpkins

I know not what the future holds, but I know who holds the future. ~Author Unknown

Genre: Horror/Psychological/Drama/Mystery

Review Status: Partial (8 Volumes/? Volumes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art: This is where you see what the anime did with the art- each arc has a different artist, so each time you get different styles. You have some that look fairly realistic, and some that are very cute in style. The anime is an amalgamation of all these different styles.

Summary: After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 7th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios. (MAL.net)

The Higurashi manga is divided into several different arcs- you have the ‘question’ arcs, that present a scenario of what happened, and then you have the ‘answer’ arcs- what really happened. So far the arcs that have been released are (in order): Abducted By Demons Arc, Cotton Drifting Arc, Curse Killing Arc, Time Killing Arc, and the first part of the Beyond Midnight Arc. Some of these are manga-only and didn’t make it into the anime.

Review: Reading the Higurashi manga is an entirely different experience than watching the anime. You get more information on the characters, the colors and art is much cleaner and nicer, and you get more arcs, which is always good. You also get the best of what makes this a murder-mystery- you get good clues and you still get a good amount of gore!

I love how all the arcs present the characters. Each of them has their little quirks and backgrounds, and they’re still very loveable. I love watching them interact, and you get more of that here.

There really isn’t much more to say than what’s in the review of the anime, but I have to say, the manga manages to outdo it because of key information that you get that isn’t present in the anime.

Overall, this is one of the best horror manga out there.

Recommended: Most definitely! 16+ readers, please, for heavy gore and some minor fanservice in some of the arcs.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Future Diary (manga),
Bizenghast (manga),
Elfen Lied (anime and manga),
Shiki (anime),
Denpateki na Kanojo (anime),
Hell Girl (anime),
Perfect Blue (anime),
Kara no Kyoukai (anime),
Monster (anime or manga),
Paranoia Agent (anime)
Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga)

"Everyone, live on." - Higrashi: When They Cry S2 (anime) - 8/10 Pumpkins

The future is called "perhaps," which is the only possible thing to call the future. And the only important thing is not to allow that to scare you. ~Tennessee Williams

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Psychological/Drama

Review Status: Full (24 Episodes/24 Episodes)

Licensed: Unlicensed in the US

Art/Animation: The art and animation is on par with the first season. Colors are still a tad washed-out, but overall decent.

Summary: Continuing from the first series, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai begins to shed some light on the dark mysteries prevalent in the preceding season. The young group of friends in the town of Hinamizawa continue to enter terrible conflicts with one another in their never ending summer of 1983, often ending with the brutal murder of one of their numbers. Furude Rika, with the help of her spiritual friend Hanyuu, tackles challenges over and over, trying her best to keep their lives from coming to a tragic end. With no end to the torture in sight, Rika must call upon the bonds of friendship and trust among her friends to discover the true villain of this eternal June. (MAL.net)

Review: If you wondered what happened to the town of Hinamizawa after all the death had finished, this series starts off with a glimpse into it. You gain a few more clues into the mystery of the town and what happened, and then are shot off into a few more mystery arcs before the true villain of the series is revealed.

This gives you the background of the happenings- why the people died, why the murderers were killing, and why the murderer was so determined to destroy Hinamizawa. And finally, you get the finale of whether the friends manage to stop it all in time to save themselves and their fellow villiagers.

While it does seem a little anti-climactic, it still was nice to see it all come to an end.

Overall, I loved seeing how all the characters came together to solve the mystery and defeat the bad guys. A must-see to complete the series!

Recommended: Yes. But since there is still some blood/gore, I still recommend this for those 16+

Other titles you might enjoy: Higurashi: When They Cry first season (anime),
Higrashi: When They Cry (manga),
Future Diary (manga),
Elfen Lied (anime or manga),
Bizenghast (manga),
Shiki (anime),
Denpateki na Kanojo (anime),
Hell Girl (anime),
Perfect Blue (anime),
Kara no Kyoukai (anime),
Monster (anime or manga),
Paranoia Agent (anime)
Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga)

"To Change The Future..." - Future Diary (manga) - 9/10 Pumpkins

When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened. ~John M. Richardson, Jr.

Genre: Horror/Psychological/Action/Supernatural/Shounen

Review Status: Partial (6 Volumes/? Volumes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art: Good, solid. It may not be anything special, but it isn’t bad by far!

Summary: Middle school 2nd year, Amano Yukiteru, is a boy who has problem making friends. He thinks of himself as a bystander and will always write down everything he sees in a cell phone diary.

Tormented by solitude, Yukiteru began to imagine things like a friend called Deus Ex Machina who is apparently the Lord of Time & Space. Seeing Yukiteru's miserable state, Deus gives him a new ability. His diary will now record events that will happen in the near future. Yukiteru is then forced to participate in a game which the winner will become Deus's successor. (Mangaupdates)

Review: This manga came out to little fanfare a while ago. I picked it up, not quite knowing what I was going to find. It turned out to be a Death Note-esque blend of plots, action, and sheer excitement.

The characters are all very different, with understandable (and sometimes despicable) motivations for participating in the game to become Deus’ successor. Yukiteru, our protagonist, doesn’t want to participate, but soon realizes that unless he wants his existence wiped from the face of the earth he must. Along his way he picks up a motley crew of other players and friends. They help and support him in his battle to keep the others from winning, because if he doesn’t then his family and friends are at risk. Explosions and gunfights abound here as they try to kill eachother of- some in fairly simple ways, others in ways that are pretty out-there but fantastic to watch!

The story develops wonderfully, and quickly. He encounters his first rival within the first volume, discovering that truly anyone could be a fellow player. The players are willing to do anything to win, including threatening those he cares about. There are certain restrictions to the usage of the Future Dairies. Each one has its own restrictions and limitations. There’s a lot of interesting ways to see how different ones work together, and how the loopholes can be exploited.

The only thing I have against this is that around volume six-heck, in volume three there's a big one!- definite moral ambiguities comes into play. Some people would probably put this down to certain moral lines being crossed, though others would likely understand or still want our protagonist to win, hoping that when he does he will set things right as the new Deus. I will continue the story myself to see how it all works out.

Overall, this is a solid psychological series that will leave you at the edge of your seat!

Recommended: Yes. It does have a lot of disturbing deaths and some gore, there is some sexually suggestive stuff (including rape), some partial nudity, so 16+, please!

Other titles you might enjoy: When They Cry (anime and manga),
MPD Psycho (manga),
Elfen Lied (anime and manga),
Perfect Blue (anime),
Doubt (manga),
Deadman Wonderland (manga and anime),
Liar Game (manga),
Future Diary spin-offs (Future Diary: Mosaic, and Future Diary: Paradox)(manga)

"Found you, Keiichi-kun..." - When They Cry (anime) - 9/10 Pumpkins

Destiny is something not be to desired and not to be avoided. a mystery not contrary to reason, for it implies that the world, and the course of human history, have meaning. ~Dag Hammarskjold

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Drama/Psychological

Review Status: Complete (26 Episodes / 26 Episodes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US
Art/Animation: The colors tend to be a little washed-out, and the art isn’t as nice as I’ve seen elsewhere. The good news is that the animation is decent, and overall it does what it sets out to do- tell a muder-mystery that’s happening in a small town!

Summary: After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 7th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios. (MAL.net)

Review: When They Cry, or as it is more famously known, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, is a story about a group of friends that are the victims of horrific happenings. The story is told in arcs- a series of ‘question’ and ‘answer’ arcs, with each arc presenting a different scenario of the events that lead to the death of the protagonists. While at first it seems like nothing but an excuse for a gore fest, as you keep watching you realize that all isn’t as it seems with the murders. As you see first one person’s view of the same events, then another’s, people who at first seem innocent suddenly have deadly motivations, and others who seem like likely suspects turn out to be allies.

The characters are all sympathetic. You can’t help but like each quirky member, from the mischevious but scarred Sakoto to the tortured but gentle Rena. Each member has their own past and history- some good, some not so much. But they all smile with the others- they love their friends.

The only problem that I can really point out is that when transferring mediums from manga to anime, there were some key bits of information about the characters that got left behind or on the cutting room floor. Even without that information, as you get the bits and pieces of what’s going on and start to piece the clues together, you end up with a mystery as fantastic as any.

Overall, if you can get past the gore and violence then you have a great series.

Recommended: Because the violence and gore can be graphic and disturbing, 16+. But yes, this is a great series.

Other titles you might enjoy: Higurashi: When They Cry (manga),
Future Diary (manga),
Bizenghast (manga),
Elfen Lied (anime and manga),
Shiki (anime),
Denpateki na Kanojo (anime),
Hell Girl (anime),
Perfect Blue (anime),
Kara no Kyoukai (anime),
Monster (anime or manga),
Paranoia Agent (anime)
Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga)

"Seriously Wierd" - Bizenghast (manga) - 10/10 Pumpkins

I walk in the realm of the supernatural. ~Benny Hinn

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Drama

Review Status: Incomplete (7 Volumes/ ? Volumes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art: Odd, Gothic-looking, but not unappealing. I would actually say that it works very well for this manga. It would look very odd for anything other than a horror manga! And the level of detail is wonderful. It’s all very effective, and very good.

Summary: When her parents die in a car accident, Dinah Wherever is sent to live with her aunt in an old house that used to be part of a reform school in the run-down, decrepit town of Bizenghast, MA. In the woods surrounding her new home, she discovers a hidden graveyard that is home to a vast array of restless spirits, people whose violent and unhappy deaths have made it impossible for them to find the way to the next world. There she discovers that she has two choices: she can help these lost souls... or she can become one of them. (ANN.net)

Review: While this is an American-made manga, that doesn’t stop it from being a fantastic work of imagination. The mangaka manages to imbue this rundown little seaside town with lots of personality and life… so to speak.

The characters are characters. You have the classic two sides of the same coin couple in Dinah and her best friend Vincent. She is a depressed, anxious girl that suffers from being able to see the spirits, and it’s slowly driving her out of her mind. He is a true gentleman that tries to understand her and what she is going through. The two guardians that they hav met and made friends of (so far), Edaniel and Edrear even more so, with Edaniel being an amazingl off-the-wall boy who spends more time as a cat than cute human, and Edread, his brother, is even more of gentleman than Vincent!

The story is also fantastic- Dinah accidentally is drawn into the world of the dead, needing to help them find their ways to the Great Beyond…. Or the Great Below, as it sometimes is the case. But there’s a bigger mystery going on- some of the dead aren’t resting as peacefully as they should, and even more dark things than even the Guardians of the Mausoleum could have anticipated. Each volume brings you closer to what’s going on, and closer to the fight that Dinah must undertake to save the town and its inhabitants.

Overall, there are disturbing images and death depicted. It’s not graphic, but this is a manga for those 13 and over.

Recommended: For sure! This has enough creepy atmosphere to last you a good while. 13+ due to violence, death, and some gore. There's also dead bodies/dead body parts.

Other titles you might enjoy: Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga),
Mushishi (anime or manga),
Ghost Hunt (anime or manga),
Higurashi: When They Cry(anime or manga),
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (manga),
Mail (manga),
Psychic Detective Yakumo (anime),
Darren Shan (manga),
Nightschool (manga)
Kieli (manga and light novel)

"One Way Or Another" - Ghost Talker's Daydream (manga) - 9/10 Pumpkins

It is required of every man, the ghost returned, "that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and, if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death." ~Charles Dickens

Genre: Horror/Drama/Comedy/Ecchi

Review Status: Incomplete (8 Volumes/10 Volumes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art/Animation: Pretty good. On par with many good manga. The color inserts are vibrant but with an ethereal color and aura to the pictures.

Summary: This story is centered on a main character named Saiki Misaki who has two jobs, neither of which she is particularly happy with. Officially she is a dominatrix in a BDSM club who writes a column for a sex magazine. Additionally she works for a government agency, The Livelihood Preservation Group, as a necromancer. The term necromancer in this story refers to a person who can speak to and see ghosts, and who sometimes can allow the ghosts to speak with their voice to people who cannot see the ghost. Her government job usually entails helping to remove a troublesome ghosts. Misaki considers her government job to be less respectable than her work in the sex industry. (Wiki)

Review: This is one of the few ecchi I will not only review, but will openly admit that I greatly enjoy. Why? Because the stories and storytelling are so great! The dominatrix thing is never really sexual- instead it’s used for fodder for jokes and embarrassing situations, never really going over-the-top and usually with good taste.

That is where this story shines. It effectively mixes good horror with good comedy. The stories are all fairly dark and effective, from the boy who commits suicide due to bullying, the girl who loses her mom and little sister, and more. The people and spirits she interacts with all have feelings and motivations, and she goes above and beyond to try and make sure that they can rest peacefully.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have her fair share of troubles- she has a bit of a stalker… one that may be perpetrating many of the crimes in order to get her to those places. Her job also requires a certain type of dress, which she covers with a coat when she doesn’t have time to change. Doesn’t mean that she’s immune to tripping or a clumsy tug at it… in public! But it never is more than necessary, and doesn’t get in the way of the story.

Overall, 16+, preferably older if you’re going to pick this up. There’s language, parital nudity, somewhat sexual situations (one story actually takes place in her BDSM club!), and some general raunchiness. There’s also some gore and murder. You see dead bodies.

Recommended: Yes, if you can handle the movie Friday the 13th. There’s far less sexual stuff in the entire 10 volumes than there is in that one movie, and the gore seems to be about on-par.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Ghost Hunt (anime),
Zombie-Loan (manga),
Darren Shan (manga),
Kieli (manga),
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (manga)
Shigofumi (anime)
Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga)

"It's A Ghost!" - Ghost Hunt (anime) - 7/10 Pumpkins

I figure I basically am a ghost. I think we all are. ~John Astin

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Supernatural/Shoujo

Review Status: Full (25 Episodes/25 Episodes)

Licensed: Licensed in the US

Art/Animation: Decent. The colors are a tad dull, but the dark palate works for a horror mystery. The character designs are nothing original, though.

Summary: While at school, Tanimaya Mai and her friends like to exchange ghost stories. Apparently, there is an abandoned school building on their campus that is the center of many ghost stories. During the story, they are frighteningly interrupted by a mysterious male figure. The person turns out to be Shibuya Kazuya, a 17 year old who is president of the Shibuya Psychic Research Company. He was called by the principal to investigate the stories surrounding the abandoned school building.

The next day, on the way to school, Mai passes the school building in question. While examining a strange camera she spotted inside, she gets surprised by Kazuya's assistant. Unknowingly interfering with the investigation, Mai breaks the camera and Kazuya's assistant gets injured.

Kazuya forcefully hires Mai in order to pay for the camera and replace his injured assistant. From that point on, Mai begins to learn about the paranormal world and the profession of ghost hunting. (MAL.net)

Review: As far as supernatural shoujo anime goes, this is among the best. You have an interesting cast of characters, interesting supernatural happenings, some genuinely creepy moments, and the hints of a romance between her and the lead.

What this does best is present a girl who’s trying to do her best as the assistant to someone who investigates supernatural occurances. Through her clumsiness she comes into an internship of sorts- one that she’s fairly intuitive at. Often she’s one of the first people to notice something’s amiss, and later discovers that she does have some spiritual ability herself. All the characters do get their day in the sun, with an episode that features their particular skill or ability. They are a rather motley and unusual crew, though- a Catholic priest, a miko, and a Buddhist monk. They all have particular specialties and make for a somewhat interesting group.

The supernatural mysteries that occir are also fairly interesting. Sometimes things are set up to appear like they’re supernatural, and often there are actual supernatural happenings underpinning it all. The great thing is that this does have creepy moments in it. The music and atmosphere combine to make what’s happening deliciously spine-tingling. It just goes to show that it doesn’t take loads of gore or “surprise” moments to make you jumpy! And some of the mysteries are outright creepy- such as the former hospital they investigate. You also have some that are touching, such as the haunted orphanage.

Th thing is that it does start out slow. I'll be honest- I was *merely* intrigued through the first case. The stories get better as you go on. I think that my personal faves, and the ones that tend to be the most popular, are the Doll arc, the Christmas arc, and The Bloodstained Labyrinth. Those are where the stories shine. The great thing is that this show has high re-watch value. I could watch it -and have watched it- multiple times, and haven't been bored by it.

Unfortunately, the story is incomplete. While it does end on a good note, there are several things about the girl’s employer that remain a mystery, and some plot threads that are left unresolved. Too bad this doesn’t have a second season- I’d watch it!

Overall, this is a very decent horror show. No huge scares here, but a fun ride nonetheless!

Recommended: 13+. The scares that are here are definitely for the teen and over set due to some gore.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Psychic Detective Yakumo (anime),
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (manga)
Occult Academy (anime),
Bizenghast (manga),
Ghost Hunt (manga),
Natusme Yuujinchou (manga or anime),
Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror and the spin-off Mononoke (anime),
Zombie-Loan (manga),
Darren Shan (manga),
xxxHolic (anime or manga),
Kieli (manga),
Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (manga)

"A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" - Doubt (manga) - 10/10 Pumpkins

Mystery magnifies danger, as a fog the sun. ~Charles Caleb Colton

Genre: Horror/Mystery/Psychological

Review Status: Full (4 Volumes / 4 Volumes)

Licensed: Unlicensed in the US

Art: Dark, dramatic, and very good.

Summary: There's a game going around Japan called 'Rabbit Doubt'. The premise of the game is that all of the players are rabbits in a colony, and one amongst them is randomly chosen to be a wolf that infiltrated the group of rabbits. Every round, the wolf kills off a rabbit, and every round, the group tries to figure out which of the rabbits is actually a wolf in disguise. Sometimes the kids who play this game decide to meet up in person, and Yuu, Mitsuki, Rei, Hajime, Eiji, and Haruka have done just that. Unfortunately, one of them has decided to take on the mantle of the wolf and has already killed once. Who is the wolf, and can they be stopped before everyone meets a very unpleasant end? (Source: M-U)

Review: With only four volumes, this manga manages to pack a very good, fairly violent mystery into a short amount of pages. The basic premise is simple- a group of people who want to play meet and hang out. Later, they awaken in an abandoned and locked hospital. They have to find their way out…. Before falling victim to the wolf.

The mystery isn’t so simple. With every person that dies the mystery heightens. Who is behind the Rabbit Doubt game? Who could be the killer? What is the purpose behind it all? And does the killer have an ulterior motive?

Overall, this is a great manga to read with Halloween coming up! 16+ due to gore and the aftermath of murder. This is very bloody.

Recommended: Yes! But 16+ please, for gore.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Higurashi: When They Cry (anime and manga),
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (manga),
Perfect Blue (anime),
MPD Psycho (manga),
Deadman Wonderland (manga),
Ghost Hound (anime),
Paranoia Agent (anime)