"Ghost Hound" (2007) TV series 2007-????

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Ryutaro Nakamura

Writer:

Chiaki Konaka (writer)

Release Date:

18 October 2007 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Horror | Mystery

Plot:

The experiences of three boys who have had traumatic experiences in childhood from which they have learned to transfer their souls to a parallel world known as the "Unseen World".

Cast

Jun Fukuyama	...	Masayuki Nakajima
Soichiro Hoshi	...	Makoto Ogami
Kensho Ono	...	Tarō Komori
Akiko Yajima	...	Miyako Komagusu

Runtime:

25 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Company:

Production I.G.

Deserves more recognition

Ghost Hound is about three teen boys: Taro, Makoto, and Masayuki, who, after becoming friends, discover that while unconscious they can spiritually disembody themselves and enter what is known as the 'Unseen World'. Insight into Taro's somewhat blurry childhood memories are also an important component of the plot. Ghost Hound is comprised of mystery, suspense, psychology(lots of it), sci-fi, and on occasion, some slight horror. Ghost Hound is also a character study and much of the plot lies on characters' relationships with one another, their backgrounds, and the changes in their lives that are brought about as a result of their newly discovered ability. Beneath its surface, it is also about overcoming the past and accepting others for who they really are.

I was surprised with Ghost Hound as it did not turn out to be the run-of-the-mill ghost story I've come to expect. I did have my doubts due to the slowness, repetition, and oddities in the first few episodes but I'm glad I decided to trust my instincts and stick with the series.

Ghost Hound is definitely not a series to be judged at first glance. The quirky way in which the plot progresses is likely to throw off many viewers, especially those who are not willing or patient enough to pay close attention to it. When I say the plot is unique, I mean it. I haven't seen another series, anime or not, that was anything like this one.

Despite the clever writing resulting in an eerie and suspense-building plot, I wouldn't be surprised if most viewers found the series' overpowering psychological foreground to grow increasingly more tiresome. At times it seems like overkill with all of the obscure terms which most people aren't likely to quickly comprehend. On the other hand, it works very well into the plot and is educational for open-minded viewers who are interested as well.

At first, I was disappointed by the character designs as I generally prefer more expressive animated characters, but after having finished the series I think the low-key style is perfect for its tone. The voice acting is above average and I have only one complaint. Although many of the voices fit the characters, I felt that Taro's voice actor lacked the necessary range for his character. The audio quality is good enough that I had to comment on it. At one point I believed there was a fly buzzing around me when it was actually just in the anime.

Unfortunately, even Ghost Hound falls under the category of anime series which have at least one female character with abnormally large breasts. (I had to point that out because it was annoyingly distracting as well as anatomically awkward looking since the woman is pretty thin).

My review probably sounds a little more negative than I intended for it to. In the end, I'd definitely recommend this show to anyone who is appreciative of slow building mysteries which are not of the usual mold.

Don't be fooled by the few IMDb votes as this is not just another anime series.