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Advance Review of Ghost Stories Volume 1 DVD
© Holly Ellingwood
Oct 11, 2005
Combining comedy and horror together isn't something that is often done well; the new anime series Ghost Stories from ADV proves to be the exception. A local town in Japan has some trouble after major construction happens to bulldoze over the resting place of a horde of evil spirits. The newly awakened ghosts and ghouls in need of a new pad to hang out at, choose the local run down high school. There they try to terrorize, devour, drag into Hell, or otherwise possess the students and faculty. They might have gotten away with it too if it weren't for a pesky group of kids and that darned cat. A cat possessed by a demon, that is. Sound a bit like Scooby-Doo meets the Ghostbusters? You'd be half way right, it's the other half that will ghostly tickle your funny bone.
What sets this apart from the regular supernatural Hardy boy and Nancy Drew'ing is the cast. And I'm not just talking about the anime characters themselves. Yes, you have the local jock, the nerdy guy who dreams of acting, the bossy sister with her younger brother, his cat, and a born again Christian babe. But what stands out is the English dubbed language cast. English cast favorites such as the very talented Monica Rial, Chris Patton, and Greg Ayres just to name a few. The tremendously talented producer Stephen Foster who's done such fantastic work on comedic series like Steel Angel Kurumi, outdid himself this time. Although the anime sticks to the original story, the actual dialogue by the English cast is improvised during the anime itself. This means you have a group of the top names in English anime voice talent ad-libbing and we get to hear it! This was a risky move on the part of ADV Films. It's a move that paid off. The anime is filled with riotous moments. My personal favorite is the born again hottie. Sometimes you'll find you might have to pause, rewind and listen twice to catch the zingers the actors throw out or slide in quickly but it will prove well worth the effort. From the beginning of Ghost Stories volume 1 with its catchy and energetic opening song, characters and stories that are charming in the oddest way, filled with fun supernatural action, right down to every moment of adlib that induces mad fits of laughter, this anime is a winner. It rates 8/10 kendo swords.
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The copyright of the article Advance Review of Ghost Stories Volume 1 DVD in Anime is owned by Holly Ellingwood. Permission to republish Advance Review of Ghost Stories Volume 1 DVD in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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