Blood Money

Hilarious Parody Dub Invigorates D-List Title
A bit before Ghost Stories vol 1 first hit store shelf, ADV caused an angry explosion among snotty anime purists. They revealed that they were taking this D-List title that no one had ever heard of before and had skipped on producing a faithful English adaptation. Instead, they produced a biting and very funny parody dub while leaving an accurate subtitled version intact for those fans who just have to watch it in Japanese. Thank goodness for that! In its original form, Ghost Stories is an utterly mediocre series that culls its plot-lines from well-known urban legends, ghost stories, and even horror movies. It focuses on horror elements, but by trying to remain a family-friendly show, never manages to be scary. It's faux-horror, sort of like Scooby-Doo. It's not unwatchable, but its just so average why would you want to?

This hilarious parody dub is the real selling point. Pithy, biting, self-aware, and extremely funny, the basic story-line of the original is intact, but...

Can't wait for the next volume! ....
I'm new to anime. Though like most people, I've seen CN's offerings (ie., Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, etc.). Really just the anime popular enough to cross over to an American audience. It wasn't until I finally sat down and watched the Anime Network's On-Demand programming that I really got hooked (Fumoffu!, Gantz, Demon Lord Dante, what's not to love?).

I actually first spotted "Ghost Stories" while watching Dvd Dojo, and I was immediately interested in the premise for the series ... Old Japanese folklore mixed with an off the wall sense of humor. I then spent the next two weeks trying to track down a copy, which I finally found at a local Best Buy a few days ago.

Basically, a group of kids (and their cat) find themselves exploring an old, abandoned, school house (repeatedly ;)which happens to be right next door to the the school they actually attend.

I don't want to ruin any episodes for anyone, so I will only say, that this show is hillarious! And,...

Obviously Not Meant to Scare
Ghost Stories caught me off guard. I was expecting an anime aimed at children with a few morals sprinkled in between the moments that bring easy chills (graphically drawn monsters, characters in paril). Yet it really had nothing to do with either of the above. Firstly, it's obviously not meant for scares. Secondly, I wouldn't let any child below the teenage years watch this, as the children in this anime curse (not graphic), talk about lesbianism, and have a few religiously based jokes.

What do I mean by it's not meant for scares? Well, that's easy. This anime is hilarious. It has plenty of funny one-liners (it has a Family Guy quote) and an odd collection of characters. The two main characters lost their mother and now have to put up with an over-protective father, and they just so happen to have a possessed cat. There's the everyday playboy with his nerdy ghost-expert friend. And finally, and probably the most hilarious of all the characters, there's the born-again...

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