Turns out that the principal has called in Shibuya Psychic Research to investigate the schoolhouse and expel any spirits there. Mai has a bit of a run-in with these ghost hunters, injuring an assistant in the process. So thus, Naru, the teenaged manager of SPR, shanghais her for help in this case, making her set up his elaborate monitoring systems throughout the school. But Naru isn't alone - the principal wants to make sure the job is done right, and has called in a monk, a priest from Australia, a Shinto priestess, and even a famous TV medium.

Like an occult Voltron, these six combine their skills to figure out how and why a place is haunted. The cases they have to solve might sound a bit clichéd - one episode features a possessed doll, another episode takes place in an ancient mansion on an isolated island. But, they also feel very familiar. It’s as if these scenarios were ripped straight out of a paranormal investigation series from the Sci-Fi channel. But, if you take these things seriously at all, this can make for an oddly effective horror series - it's like what you're watching could really happen.

On a personal note, I'm a skeptic of everything supernatural, so it would take something extra to give me the heebbie-jeebbies. It didn't take a long wait to get there- each arc successfully raises the stakes from the previous, making the final two arcs the best of the series. One features an old mansion that has been building on itself for decades, haphazardly adding rooms, doors and windows until the inside of this pristine house looks like a piece of modern art. That kind of surreal addition manages to make the otherwise bland monster stalking the mansion actually frightening. There's a lot to be said for how a good setting can raise the suspense in horror.

The last arc shows off an extensive amount of research into traditional Japanese monsters, ghosts, and ancient religions. It highlights another strength of the series- it's a very international series where Buddhists chants are on the same footing as Christian exorcism. They just do whatever works, regardless of personal creed or dogma. This approach makes a lot of sense- if ghosts and ghouls were real, why would any religion or approach have a monopoly on effectively dealing with them?  

I wish I had watched this back in October, because it is such a perfect fit for the Halloween season. Many elements come together to make this work. The animation is only average, but used effectively. The writing is solid as well, though that might have more to do with it being based on the work of one of Japan's most respected young adult writers than any talent on JC Staff's side. That said, it gives the characters life where the animation falls short, though I should add that Mai's face has many priceless expressions.

Horror is an art that seems to be kept alive on life support- we rarely see any effective horror movies today, let alone in anime. But Ghost Hunt ends up succeeding in tapping into our primitive fear of the unknown, even if it feels a bit stale when all is said and done. Mai sums it up best: "I hope these ghosts are real. Life would be a lot more boring without them, you know?"

Overall Rating: B
Directed By: Rei Mano
Animation Production: JC Staff
Distributed By: FUNimation
Review By: Bradley Meek