Review of Ghost Stories

The ADV English Dub of Ghost Stories exists as an interesting experiment: an official abridged version that has transformed an otherwise pretty poor kid's show into an amusing series for adults. With that said, there's some issues that prevent Ghost Stories from reaching comedic glory. For one, there's often no getting away from the original's badness. By the end of the series, a few of the episodes blur together either by being pretty forgettable, similar to each other, or just downright confusing. The dub often points this out and while it can hit the nail on the head, here's the other issue and it's apretty key one: the dub just isn't always great.

It's a shame really because you can tell the cast is having fun (most of the time) with ripping the material a new one but certain things could have been revised. Oftentimes the actors will just speak phrases in random languages or spout plain nonsense. There's plenty of fourth-wall breaking and tons of Western references too. At times, especially early on in the series, these work wonderfully and will no doubt tickle the viewer. Same with some of the blunt lines with characters insulting each other or casually confessing dirty secrets. As the show progresses all of this can get very repetitive and tiresome, feeling as if the dub studio were running out of ideas and just wanted to get through it. And I guess that's part of the joke; hell, they even outright say it at certain points. But if that was the case then perhaps they should have only dubbed half of the episodes. Perhaps it just isn't the kind of material that anyone can successfully rip off of for a full 20 episode run (and yes, contrary to MAL's info, there are 20 episodes).

Still, with all of that said the series was pretty enjoyable overall. Certain episodes had fun little plots with some hilarious lines; the newly added characters (like Momoko's born-again preachy Christian with a history of drug addiction) are oddly endearing and props in particular to Rob Mungle for the voice of Amanojaku who is at once funny, charming, and awesome, capturing a sleek 'I'm cooler than you' attitude whilst still having you want to pat him on the head.

So, should you watch Ghost Stories? Yes definitely. English Dub. Admittedly, some episodes are completely forgettable whilst others are frustrating. A full marathon is not advised as the recurring material will become more obvious and quickly tire you. However, in bitesize chunks I wholly recommend getting through this series. The first ten or so episodes in particular are very funny and the kind of entertainment you can gather even non-anime fans around to watch for a fun night-in. The studio may have missed their mark at times but it's clear they tried their damnedest with some poor material and may Amanojaku bless them for it.