angelsreviews

This is one of those shows that is really hard to talk about, especially when I talk about the dub. I normally like when the dub is at least close to the original storyline and anyone who has heard of this show would know that it isn’t the case here. There are three different versions as I have heard about this show; the Sub of course, and then two different dubs even if I have only been able to see one. The dub that I’m going to be talking about is the ADV version and not the rumored Animax version. Most of the character personalities and such will be from the dub as well.

So starting out with the characters, there is really only One way to explain them, archetypes (Well, and stereotypical but I use that word way to often so trying to stop using it for the most part). We start out with are rather basic main character Satsuki who had just moved into a new town with her father and little brother Keiichirou. The town is special as her parents had met and grew up in that town before. On her and her brother’s first day, their cat runs into the old abandoned school and they run in after, meeting a couple other people along the way. When they do, she finds her mother’s old Ghost Journal and their adventure begins. I have no idea why the creators of this show thought it would be a good idea to make Satsuki wear short dresses for pretty much all of the shows as it never fails that her panties will be seen. You got to remember, these are young elementary students, not even high schoolers and yet they still pull perverted cracks about what color her panties are. Again, overall she is pretty basic.

Her brother Keiichirou is a little bit of a crybaby but I don’t really blame him. He is pretty much the baby of the group as he is just a first grader. He is the typical little boy who is shy and pretty new. In the dub they make it so that he is a bit special as there are times where you can only hear this incomprehensible babble coming from his mouth. Again, there really isn’t much to say on him.

The next character we should talk about it Hajime Aoyama and he is more over a perverted kid about the same age as Satsuki. He lives next door to Satsuki and the first thing we ever see him talk about is her panties after she by accident flashes him without knowing it. I actually do think he and her would make a cute couple if this was more of a slice of life instead of a supernatural show as the two just seem to work really well together.

Reo… or Leo as they pronounce it in the dub is a really big believer in the paranormal. He is always talking about he is a respected Paranormal researcher and yet you can tell he is just full of himself. A running gag in the dub is that he is Jewish which I can understand why they decided to make him that for a crazy dub as this. He has rather large glasses and the odd lips that seem to be over exaggerated.

Then there is Momoko, who is pretty much a strange mix. I tried really hard to love her character in how she isn’t normally scared by even the most dangerous of situations but I really can’t. Just something about the dub in the fact they made her a devout Christian gets on my nerves. It’s not me being sensitive to the stereotype they put for her, It’s just me being really annoyed. I grew up Lutheran in a Christian town but I’m Wiccan now. I normally wear a Pentagram around my neck and have never taken it off since I first got it about 2 years ago but because of this, there have been times I have been called a satanic being that needs to be saved or just in general called out because of it. There was even a time in which I was working as a cashier and a lady ran out of the store yelling ‘NOPE! EVIL!’ when I was trying to check her out. I am not making this up, it’s really true so when they have a character in a show who’s whole purpose in it is to be a girl that sort of forces the religion down your throat, I tend to want to punch the screen.

The Animation is pretty sub par. I do like how the 3D blends in so much with the drawn aspect but that’s the only thing that really stands out. It’s kind of cute when it wants to be, but then can go down hill pretty fast, especially during the movement. I can say that the ghosts look haunting though, and I think most of them were created based on the Japanese ghost stories most grew up with. I can see a couple of them from other games and anime that are based in the supernatural so I know the designs are not really that creative. In fact the characters are not really all that creative too.

The voices of the dub actually are very close to the Japanese voices even if the script is no where near the actual translation. There are a lot of great voice actors on this project like Monica Rial, Chris Patton, and Greg Ayres to name a few and they do a amazing job in doing the characters. You can tell how much fun they were having with the show. When I did this review before, I hated that they changed the story so much but now that I am older and better at reviewing, I can understand why they did so and it doesn’t bother me all that much anymore. I still do want to see a ‘normal’ dub of this show at some point though. There were times within this dub that made me laugh but then the rest seemed like they were trying to cram as much comedy in as they could no matter where it was going to go. Monica Rial did do an amazing job of Momoko even if I don’t like the religious talk.

The series was also translated into English by Animax and I hear that it stay’s true to the original story. It was sent out under the name Ghosts at School. If anyone has any idea where I can see this version, please let me know.

To be fair to this show, it’s not as bad as what I thought it was and the comedy may not be for everyone but it can be a little enjoyable if this is your comedy. Big warning that if you do watch this, it has a lot of swear words, sexual jokes, racist remarks, and the like.