Ghost Hunt MAL Review

I enjoyed Ghost Hunt WAY more than I thought I would. Originally discovered after someone recommended 'similar anime' to Beautiful Bones (Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru) on MAL, I can see the similarities of mystery/horror genre. Sakurako is more psychological/crime drama, while Ghost Hunt is for people who enjoy supernatural/occult/Japanese folklore themes. 

Entertaining as it was (10/10, seriously), I hesitate to give it more than an 8/10 overall, because of a couple points:

- The story pacing is too slow, especially in the first case. They drag out a mystery 'case' that could have been solved in 1 - 2 episodes.

- They introduced too many characters at once. 

Don't get me wrong. I LOVED the supporting characters, and each had decent character depth (not to mention good looks). But, because there's typically 5 - 10+ characters on any one 'case,' it felt overwhelming to watch in the first half of the series, and I was wondering why the same people kept coming back onto the scene.

Shibuya Kazuya enlists the help of these supporting characters, but we don't get much of an explanation of what they actually do for work, if they truly want to be there, etc. it felt a bit weak, storywise, like the writers just wanted it to be a 'supernatural group,' but failed to really explain the premise. Very half-hearted writing there, and of course, not everyone got equal screentime. 

- Because of the point above, it episode 'format' does get quite predictable and repetitive 

I would still watch several seasons of this series, but the predictable format of each episode (discovery, data collection, testing, solution, conclusion) could've been distributed better. 

- Fun as the adventures and mystery cases are, we know next to nothing about the protagonist's love interest, i.e. Shibuya Kazuya until the end - and it's critical information that could've changed the entire series. I won't mention spoilers, but the way they revealed info about him was way too abrupt, and completely unacceptable unless there was a Season 2. 

- Personal gripe: For all the tension and chemistry between Mai and Kazuya, there isn't a happy ending; only neutral. On one hand, it's great that the anime stuck to the mystery/horror genre and didn't become a full blown shoujo anime. Felt like the content, overall, stayed close to its roots. On the other hand, I'm generally an optimistic person who likes to see characters happy and together with the ones they love, so, this was disappointing. Just didn't feel satisfied, you know? 

I will add that I absolutely fell in love with the monk character, Takigawa, towards the second half of the show. I don't think I would've enjoyed the series as much as I did without him - he provides excellent comedic humor and timing, is real, sincere, and really cares about Mai too. If she doesn't end up with Kazuya, I definitely hope she ends up with the monk or the student, Yasuhara. 


The original review on MAL: View here

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