Signed, Impz

Naru, Mai, Masako, dream!Naru … the Ghost Hunt anime ended without answering some major questions, didn’t it? It’s possible that Ghost Hunt may get a second season to explain the answers. It’s possible that Ghost Hunt may get an OVA release to explain the answers. However, nothing’s been announced yet. Impz has invited me to share some of what I know about the puzzle pieces left out of the jigsaw puzzle that is known as Ghost Hunt.

My information is based on the Ghost Hunt novels. I have not read the novels. I have collected this information from people scattered across the Internet who have read the novels. I confess that I no longer know from whom I got what information. I know that I owe a large debt of gratitude to the members of the LiveJournal community shibuya_pr and especially to Shadow Dreams who generously answered many of my questions. I do not guarantee that this information is 100% correct. I have tried my best though. All mistakes are my own. I apologize for them.

If you hope that Ghost Hunt will have a second season to answer the outstanding questions and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read this. If you hope that Ghost Hunt will receive the OVA treatment to answer the outstanding questions and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read this. If you hope that someday the manga will answer the outstanding questions and do not wish to be spoiled, do not read this.

About the novels, the manga, and the anime >>

There are ten Ghost Hunt novels. The first 8 books are collectively known as the Evil Spirits series. They are called this because the phrase “Evil Spirits” appear in each title. The 8 books cover 7 major SPR investigations. The last investigation spans 2 books but is a single case. These 8 books are told from Mai’s perspective and are written in the first person. These books are no longer in print in Japan.

Books 9 and 10 of the Ghost Hunt novels are sometimes called the White Heart series. This refers to the publisher’s catalogue listing and has little relation to the books themselves. Like books 7 and 8, books 9 and 10 cover a single investigation. Unlike the Evil Spirits series, which is written in the first person narrative, the White Heart series is written in the more common third person narrative. Books 9 and 10 are still in print in Japan; however, they are increasingly hard to find.

The manga covers the Evil Spirits series novels 1 through 6. To date, 9 volumes of the manga have been released in Japan, 6 in the USA. (Volume 7 will be released in the US in late March, early April.) A tenth manga volume was recently announced for Japanese publication, but that announcement was retracted. The manga has yet to cover the last case in the Evil Spirits series. This is significant because it is during this last case (novels seven and eight) that most of the questions regarding Naru and the vision of Naru appearing Mai’s dreams (”dream!Naru”) are answered.

The anime has stopped where the manga has stopped at novel #6.

There are also 4 CD dramas. The CDs changed some events and used information from more than one novel in some cases. Occasionally, the CDs invented scenes that were never in the novels. This is particularly true of CD drama #4. This summary uses information from the novels, not the CD dramas.

If you would like to see the covers of the novels, Wiki’s Japanese page for Ghost Hunt has the cover art embedded in its entry. Here is a Google-translated link to the page.

Before the series started >>

Naru is Japanese by ethnic heritage. He learned to speak Japanese at an early age from his mother. However, he wasn’t born, raised, or educated in Japan. Naru and his older brother were born in the USA. They were orphaned when they were young and placed in an American orphanage. Little information is known about their birth parents. The boys lived in the USA until Naru was 8 years old. At some point during this time, Martin and Luella Davis, a British couple, adopted the brothers. When Naru was 8, the family moved to England. Martin Davis is a psychic researcher with the British SPR organization. Luella Davis learned Japanese in order to understand what her sons were whispering to each other. It is not known if the boys’ given birth names were different from their given adopted names. After their adoption, the older brother’s name was Eugene J. A. Davis. Naru’s adopted name was Oliver E. C. Davis. At an early age, the brothers started calling each other by the traditional nicknames for Eugene and Oliver: Gene and Noll. Family and friends picked up the habit as well. Naru is the heavily accented Japanese pronunciation of Noll.

The anime removed all direct references to Eugene. However Bou-san and John do discuss him and his psychic abilities in the manga in addition to discussing Oliver Davis’. Everything that Bou-san and John said about Eugene’s and Oliver’s abilities is true. Here is recap of what has been said about the brothers in the manga as of volume 6. Eugene is a perfect medium. This means that when he channels a dead spirit, he speaks in the native language of the dead person whether he can speak the language himself. For example, if Eugene channeled the spirit of a German, he would speak in German. If he channeled the spirit of a Greek, he would speak in Greek.

Oliver is one of the few persons known to have both ESP and psychokinesis abilities. He is a psychometrist (the psychic ability to read both the past and the future) and a powerful PK-ST user (PK-ST: psychokinesis on stationary objects). He once demonstrated his PK-ST abilities in a lab under scientific testing where he smashed a 50-kilogram aluminum block into a wall. This demonstration was videotaped.

He once found the kidnapped son of an American millionaire. The boy had been buried alive. With Oliver’s help, he was rescued. Oliver’s doctorate degree was not earned through the traditional education system. Instead he was given the degree in recognition of his research accomplishments. There are some things about Gene and Noll that John and Bou-san either don’t know or haven’t mentioned in volumes 1 through 6. Their Japanese heritage and their adoption by the Davises are two things obviously. In addition, the following things have not been mentioned.

Oliver intended to earn a university degree through traditional means in addition to his honorary degree. He was accepted as a student to Cambridge Trinity College in England at age 15 but had not yet studied any course work. Gene is capable of performing exorcisms in addition to acting as a medium. Gene and Noll have a special telepathic connection. They are able to send each other psychic power.

Gene helps Noll control his PK powers. If Noll were to use a large amount of PK power generated from within himself alone, the power would be overwhelming for his body. To prevent that, Noll generates a seed of PK power that he transmits to Gene. Gene amplifies it and sends it back to Noll who amplifies it even more and sends to Gene again. The brothers continue bouncing and amplifying the PK energy back and forth until it reaches the sufficient energy level that Noll needs in order to accomplish what he wants to do. Then Noll unleashes the PK energy on the object he wants to move. Exactly how close to each other the brothers have to be in order for this PK bouncing to work is not known definitively. The White Heart novel series implies that they could bounce the PK energy to each other over distances.

Noll’s psychometric power can occasionally have a harmful effect on his body. However, the potential harm is different from when he uses his PK ability. If Noll synchronizes strongly with the person in his psychometric visions – in other words, if he experiences the vision as if he were actually involved – he might develop bruises or possibly go numb where the original person experienced injury. Fortunately, Noll has learned to control his visions such that he can stop them if they become too dangerous for him to witness.

The novels imply that the brothers have other psychic powers as well. However, these are not elaborated. Their mother strongly disapproves of the boys being used as psychic test subjects. Furthermore, the brothers aren’t interested in exploring those areas. Apparently those additional powers only work between the brothers and can not be used elsewhere.

Two more facts about the brothers have not been revealed. Gene and Noll are identical twins. Gene is dead.

Gene had been invited to Japan to perform an exorcism. While in Japan, he planned to visit some of the Japanese mediums in order to learn about their methods. During his trip, Gene was killed. Back in England, Noll decided to borrow some of Gene’s clothes. He experienced a pyschometric vision of Gene and eventually saw his death. (Whether he saw Gene’s death real time or shortly after it occurred is unclear. However, it’s likely that he saw it real time.) Noll sees the scene shortly before Gene’s death. He experiences Gene’s accident and eventual death. (The vision turns green. Prior experience taught Noll that when a vision turns green, that’s an indication of a vision of a dead person.)

Noll witnesses Gene being run over by a car. At this point, Gene is injured but still alive. A woman gets out of the car, sees what she has done, and panics. She gets back into her car and runs over Gene a second time killing him. After watching Gene’s death, Noll sees Gene’s body taken to a garage, wrapped in silver sheeting, and then thrown in a lake from a boat. The Japanese police were contacted. However, they could not find Gene’s body or his killer.

After the police had no results in finding Gene, Noll got the idea that perhaps he could find his twin’s body. Instead of attending university as he had planned, Noll asked his parents for permission to go to Japan to look. They agreed; however, they insist that someone accompany Noll since he is still a minor. Since Noll would be using SPR funds and backing, it made sense that someone from SPR accompany him. Madoka, the head of SPR fieldwork, gathered those people in SPR who could speak Japanese. Lin was asked to accompany Noll. Lin had known the brothers since they were children. He taught Noll how to use his PK. Gene was the one who told Lin that he didn’t want Lin to hate him because he was Japanese or an orphan.

Together Noll and Lin traveled to Japan and established the Japanese branch of SPR. They gave it the fake name Shibuya Psychic Research. (Mai’s paychecks are marked SPR, but she never thought about the implication of the letters rather than the supposed company name until it comes out in a discussion.) Noll adopted the name Kazuya Shibuya and shunned any publicity. Noll has a natural dislike of publicity. On top of that, Gene’s killer is still at large. The fact that Noll looks so much like Gene could possibly put him at risk as well. The twins look and sound exactly alike as long as both are expressionless.

Noll’s overriding focus in Japan is finding his brother’s body. To that end, he spends most of his time researching locations that his brother might have visited. (In the manga, Mai mentions that Naru is always studying maps. She says he goes off on “vacations” but doesn’t bring back any souvenirs.) Solving psychic mysteries is his secondary task. But a few months after arriving in Japan, one of those secondary tasks brings Noll into contact with Mai Taniyama.

During the series >>>

Here are a few random comments about events in the series that are not fully explained in the series.

** When “Kazuya Shibuya” tells Mai about his work as a psychic researcher and a ghost hunter in the hallway the day they first met, he comments that Mai has terrible pronunciation when she echoes the English words back to him. The anime removed this comment. However, Mai’s questionable English skills may have contributed to Oliver mistakenly believing that Mail called him “Noll” when she accidentally said “Naru-chan” aloud the first time.

** When Masako first met Naru, she thought he looked familiar and asked if they had met before. Naru said that they had not. He told the truth. They had never met. Later Masako realized why Naru looked familiar. Prior to the series start, she attended a conference of the American SPR branch. During the conference, ASPR showed the videotape of Oliver Davis’ PK demonstration. After meeting Naru in person, she remembered why he looked familiar and realized that Naru was in fact Oliver Davis. Masako told Naru that she knew who he really was. He asked her not to reveal his identity as a favor to him. This favor is the hold that Masako has over Naru.

** Naru did not need to use a large amount of PK energy to bend and break the spoon in the spoon-bending arc. However, when he and Mai fell into the sewer, they were in danger of landing on a large pile of broken rubble. During the fall, Naru used his PK to move the pile away from their landing spot. This lead to his collapse afterwards at the base.

** In the Forbidden Game arc, when Naru investigates the classroom with the horrible smell, he discretely uses his psychometric power. As he goes from the back of the classroom to the front, he touches several desks along the way. Then he suddenly asks if the students have been doing anything unusual in the classroom such as conducting a summoning. Naru asks the question because his psychometric visions have shown him scenes of students performing a kokkuri-san summoning.

** After Mai was found passed out from the fumes in the biology lab during the Forbidden Game arc, Lin carried her to the nurse’s office. Mai saw her rescue because she was having an out-of-body experience at the time. (Only after she realized that she was witnessing the event from outside her body did it occur to her that seeing the event from outside her body might not be a good thing.) Mai was disappointed that it was Lin who carried her to the clinic and not Naru although she did confess to herself that Naru might not have been able to carry her weight.

** In episode 23 during the scene outside the family shrine, Bou-san’s conversation with Mai implies that she told everyone that she dreamt of Naru talking about the sacred ground of the cave.

Masako: I once went to a place sacred to Native Americans, and this has a very similar feel. That was a holy place protected by spirits…
Mai: A place where souls go through?
Bou-san: Eh? Did Naru also say that in your dream?

Mai: Yeah. He said it in the cave — that it seemed like a place that souls got blown to.
{Episode 23, Shadows Dreams sub release.}

The direct reference to Naru is an anime addition. At this point, Mai is still unwilling to mention that Naru’s appearances in her dreams to the group as a whole.

** While Noll has been looking for Gene’s body, Gene has been trying to get in touch with Noll from the afterlife. Unfortunately, most of his time in afterlife is spent in a dream-like state. Gene feels as if he’s been chasing after Noll and is rarely lucid. On those occasions when he does “wake up” and gains some control of his thoughts, it’s always during one of Noll’s investigations. Gene can’t reach Noll telepathically like he could when he was alive. It’s as if Gene’s psychic antenna bent when he died or perhaps his psychic wavelength change. However, Gene finds that on those rare occasions when he’s awake, he is able contact a girl who is working with Noll, Mai Taniyama, who mistakes him for his brother.

Moving on to beyond the anime timeline >>>

The next investigation follows almost immediately after the last one in the anime. After Naru is released from the hospital, the gang begins their journey home. In transit, they pass by a site that resembles the lake area Naru saw in his psychometric vision of Gene’s death. Naru stops the journey home and hires divers to search the lake.

While they are waiting for the search results, they accept a case involving an old school house that was closed down. I do not know the specifics of the case. During the investigation, the fact that Naru is searching for his brother’s body is revealed. After the school house case is solved, the fact that Naru is Oliver Davis is revealed. Most of the men in the SPR gang suspected that Naru was Oliver Davis by now. Although there was some surprise at the revelation, everyone was more satisfied at finally knowing the answers because they were concerned that Naru might leave for England with his brother’s corpse without revealing the truth about himself. (Bou-san was teased about his idolizing Dr. Davis and about how he could easily ask for the doctor’s autograph now. Bou-san tried not to think about the whole situation.)

By this time, Mai has decided that dream!Naru is either a result of her subconscious or of Naru slipping out of his body. She does not suspect that it has been Gene visiting her. After his body is found, Gene visits her again. They meet in a forest area. He tells her that he was hoping he would be able to see her one last time. They talk some about Noll returning to England. Mai says that she can’t imagine what Naru’s life is like in England. Gene says that he’s just an idiot scientist. Mai is surprised at the comment because she believes that Naru is talking about himself. At the end of their conversation, Gene says that he had something he wanted to say to her, but he decides against saying it. Mai waits a bit and when she turns to tell him to just say it, she hears someone walking towards her. It’s Naru. When Mai looks back for dream!Naru (Gene), he’s gone. This is the last time that Mai sees Gene in the Evil Spirits series.

Although she isn’t sure if dream!Naru is a result of her subconscious or of Naru’s own powers, Mai never intended to tell him that she ever dreamed of him. She accidentally lets it slip during a later conversation though. Naru says that he cannot spirit travel and that he wasn’t visiting her dreams. Mai decides that the image of Naru in her dreams must have been a result of how she feels for Naru. However, Naru realizes that it was Gene visiting Mai’s dreams. True to his personality, Naru’s reaction to the realization is that his brother was being idiotic for wandering around in spirit form rather than moving on.

It is after this that Masako learns that it wasn’t Naru who visited her when she was Urado’s prisoner, it was Gene. Until Mai told her that Gene is the spectral dream!Naru, Masako believed it was Naru who came to her. Masako knew before the others that Gene was dead and that Naru was searching for his body. However, she did not know that the brothers were identical twins until Mai told her nor did she realize that the boy who came to her when she was held captive was Gene. Why Masako, the psychic medium, did not recognize Gene’s ghostly presence is unclear. The most likely explanation is that because she’s so stressed out, she wasn’t thinking clearly. (Gene never visited Masako’s dreams prior to that time and never visited them afterwards either.)

As Noll prepares to leave for England, Mai tells Naru that he should be more honest with himself and cry at the pain and sorrow Gene’s death. However, he says that everyone dies eventually and that in one hundred years, no one will be around. Mai finally confesses her feelings for him to him. Naru smiles slightly and asks her if she loves him or his brother. Mai starts crying. She’s realized that she never thought about why Naru often smiled in her dreams but rarely in real life. She never tried to see the real Naru. When she finally stops crying, she is surprised to see that Naru is still there. He tells her that she will see Gene again whether she wanted to or not. Mai asks if he means in 100 years like he said earlier. Naru answers that she might have 200 years to live.

At his farewell party before leaving for England, Naru gives Mai a photograph that his mother Luella had accidentally left behind during a visit to Japan. It’s a picture of Gene and him together. In the photograph, Naru is not wearing black.

This is where the Evil Spirits novel series ends. It’s my belief that the novelist intended the story to be finished at this point. I have no evidence of this. It’s just my opinion. I think the publishers pushed her into writing the next story due to the series’ popularity among the fans.

The next story starts about two months after Gene’s funeral. Naru and Lin have returned to Japan. The reason given is that Naru is interested in the supernatural and for some reason Japan has a lot of supernatural activity. Although Gene has been buried, Naru is still wearing black. Yasuhara has been hired as a part-time office worker. Mai is now a part-time investigator.

SPR accepts the case of a family that’s bothered by a haunted house. Unbeknownst to them, a Japanese police detective is working undercover as a member of the family. He is investigating Naru. The detective does not believe in the supernatural or the paranormal. He believes that since Naru knew where Gene’s body was located, Naru must have more knowledge about the murder than he has revealed. Naru might have been a part of the murder itself.

During the investigation, all of the usual SPR helpmates are eventually called in. (Bou-san, Ayako, Masako, John.) Mai begins to have her strange visions again. She has not had one since Naru left for England. Gene wakes up from his dream-like state and returns to Mai’s dreams. When dream!Naru returns, Mai asks if he is Gene. He confirms that he is. This upsets Mai because she thought that Gene would have moved on. (Everyone expected that to happen after Gene’s body was found.) Gene says that he doesn’t understand why he hasn’t moved on either but for some reason he’s stuck there.

In addition to visiting Mai’s dreams again, Gene has figured out a way to contact Noll as well. Actually, he had figured out a new way to contact Noll earlier; however, if Noll is not directing his attention to Gene, Noll won’t hear him. As the investigation reaches its conclusion, the twins make other discoveries about Gene’s altered abilities by relying on their instincts like they did as children. If Gene enters a mirror, he can see some of the real world through it. If Noll touches the mirror with Gene in it, they can toss Noll’s PK seed back and forth amplifying the PK power like they did when Gene was alive. With the case solved, the twins’ reunion comes to an end. Gene says that he’s getting sleepy again and fades from contact.

Still unresolved >>>

The novel series has left several questions still unanswered. Who was the woman who killed Gene? Is she ever found and brought to justice? Is Gene sleeping forever? Why didn’t Gene ever tell Mai who he really was or provide information that would help Noll find his body?

Does Mai ever really get over her love for Gene? Does Mai ever fall in love with someone else? Do her powers continue to grow? Or have they reached their full potential?

Does Naru become romantically involved with anyone? Does he remain in Japan now that he’s returned or return to England?

The last novel was published in the mid-1990s. It seemed as if the novel series is on permanent hiatus. Recently though, rumors surface that she may be working on the series again. These rumors are based on a comment she made during a question and answer interview published by Tokyopop. When asked what she was currently working on, she said that she was reworking an old girls’ horror series that she had written. Hopefully that old series is Ghost Hunt and she will give us more information about Mai, Naru, and company some day.

Naru suddenly went into Super Saiyan’s mode and started to build his powers. He then summons the great ball of fire from within, getting the power of the people as they raised their hands to give him the essence of life. Does this ring a bell?

Don’t even talk about Dragonball when you are watching Ghost Hunt with your wifey.

Note: Due to tons of detail, this summary post can be pretty long.

Episode summary

The ghost hunters were having difficulties repelling the zombies until Bou-san used one of his religious daggers to build up a barrier. John was protecting the family and guiding them to a safe place. However, Tazuki’s voice screamed out in fear, as white lights surrounded John as he repelled them with some difficulty. Just when John warned Mai not to let the white lights touch her, one of them went right through her stomach and she started to bleed. However, after feeling the pain, there was no wound and it was similar with Bou-san as the spirit went through his ankle. Bou-san then tried to repel the spirits, but they emitted a dark red aura as they escaped to the base.

It was at least over for now as Masako asked Bou-san to take a rest. However, Bou-san said that the barrier might fall off if he slept and hence it was better to wait til the morning before they did anything. The tide would go down slightly. As Lin said that his shikis were back, Masako realized that all the spirits in the house were in fact used by the same way, in which all their anger and resentment were abused by some being to do the things that they are involuntarily forced to do. The next day, Bou-san explained how the culprits were the monks who manipulated the other spirits and brought John along to exorcise. However, Ayako stopped them but Bou-san refuted her, saying that she was incapable of it. Ayako simply smiled confidently and said that she had a trick up her sleeve.

As they reached the grave of the three monks, Ayako said how this place was great since there were benevolent spirits near the shrine. She talked about a huge tree when she was young. It often talked to her, even on news that patients would die. However, her parents would scold her when she said so. Still, she admitted that she might not have that much power but still a miko nevertheless, with Mai saying that she sounded quite cool. As Ayako started the ritual, there was a very different feel to it as the trees started to sway. Spirits started to appear from the trees, and then the zombie spirits, followed by the monks were repelled by the ring of the bell as the bell acted as an invitation to pass on.

Ayako explained afterwards that there were no trees since she was borrowing the tree spirits to help her, but without trees, the mere presence of the spirit in the shrine would be effective to cleanse the spirits. She further explained that she was unable to repel the spirit within a human body (Ejiro) but only on mere spirits. Mai continued to ask why Ayako did not bring Ejiro over but Ayako said that it was not good to do it to waste the power of the tree. The power of the tree is not infinite and one usage would mean six more months for the trees to regenerate the power. It was better to keep it for something important. However, when Bou-san assumed that all spirits were gone, Ayako said that there was a power beyond the spirits that was not called into her ritual and it was a very dangerous force. Mai remembered how the word “monster” was said and Bou-san said the only thing that had that power was Ebisu.

Returning back to base, Naru was awake and he did not thank Ayako for saving him, as well as calling them stupid for not knowing it was the Ebisu (Ayako got rid of all spirits and rid Naru of the possession). Naru explained that there was a small passage from the shrine to lead to a small cave worshiping the ebisu. If the ebisu resided a very weak god, it would not require that much construction but it was a very powerful god. As people worshiped the ebisu, it prevented floods and natural disasters but it changed to a malicious spirit when offerings were not given. The land that was used to worship the ebisu had disappeared due to selling of land as well as separation. However, the ebisu felt that the people staying there should have worshiped it and they did not, which was why it caused trouble.

Naru said that it was time to exorcise, even though Bou-san added that it was Naru himself then who said monsters cannot be repelled. Naru said he had a debt to pay to him for suffering so much that his pride was hurt. As Bou-san started the ritual while the others looked, Mai could sense that the cave had a heartbeat and then deep breathing as though the whole cave was alive. The entrance also closed as the spirits appeared, with everyone trying to repel it with their own abilities but the spirits continued to grow. It was a losing battle but Bou-san then charged forward with his religious dagger as he plunged the dagger on the ebisu only to be repelled by the sheer power of the god.

John and Yasuhara then tried to get close to cause yet another stab at the ebisu but it was repelled effectively. Naru said sarcastically that their powers were only so much, only to earn a rebuttal from Mai. Mai said that everyone was working so hard to protect him and he was simply trying to use other people to fulfill his own pride in things. Mai said he should just do it himself if he wanted to revive his pride. Mai dragged Bou-san and was about to leave, but Naru moved forward. As Mai wondered what he was doing, she tried to touch him, only to feel a very strong membrane barrier around him. The energy started to rise from him as he released a huge force of power at the ebisu, destroying it as he looked nonchalant and left. Everyone was left speechless at the power that they had seen and Masako said that the place had became normal, with no residue of spirits.

As they went out of the cave, Naru collapsed as Lin rushed forward. The next scene was Naru in the ICU, as Lin explained to Mai that Naru had a very strong power since young, even the abilities to control poltergeist-like powers. Hence, as his body was unable to handle the power, Lin taught some of his techniques but still the release would hurt him. Mai realized that her provocation was the cause of him releasing and endangering his own life but Lin said that if Naru had stayed calm as he usually did, he would not be provoked that easily. It was perhaps his great pride that caused it and he would not be feeling too good. A few days later, Naru recovered and continued his arrogant and narcissistic ways. He also asked Mai to get him tea, earning the wrath of Masako as she wanted to help Naru as well and be asked by him.

Thoughts

It’s over. Ghost hunt is over with this arc, and I have to say that the ending for this arc is pretty complex than what I expected. I mean, it’s a very good plot to twist it back to the ebisu because I have been thinking for a long time what the ebisu is about and in fact, I have also suspected that it’s perhaps the mastermind of all the trouble in the vicinity. However, what I did not expect is the well construction of the ending to fit everything in. I also apologize for my lack of comments recently as I am a bit too addicted to talking to my wifey, so do not flame me for these few days. I am enjoying her company too much.

I must say for a start that I am very fricking impressed by Ayako. Readers here know how much I despise Ayako for her inability to do anything about exorcising and repelling spirits on the whole. When Bou-san said that she was not powerful enough to do it, her strange confidence made my heart stutter for a moment. My head was thinking “God, she actually has something on her sleeve and her smile is very different”. When she eventually started it, I knew that there was something special. What I did not expect is how fricking cool she is.

Honestly, just take a look at the series even without the subs, it’s good enough to see that she is able to use the spirits of the tree as a source of channeling power to dispel all the spirits at one go. It is like those powers that require a certain pre-requisite but when it does fulfill the requirements, it will be a very powerful force. That is why I am amazed at Ayako’s maturity and respect for nature not to use her powers until necessary. So, even though it was just one instance, I do have to apologize on my imprudence at Ayako’s ability and admit that my disgust of her has all but dissipated.

As said by many of the Animesuki forumers, I do agree as well that this episode’s special person is Ayako, even though Naru did show some incredible strength. Let me explain a little. We have always expected Naru to be mysterious and we are waiting for him to release his power. Hence, when he did release that oh my god crazy power of his, it is perhaps not that surprising even though the sheer power of it is totally insane. Ayako, on the other hand, has been shown to be useless and hence the surprise and the crazy ultimate power she held makes it totally impressive. I am sure most will agree with me.

I am in fact right if you remember some of my speculations about the ebisu being the final control. It’s disturbing how spirits without offerings turned into vicious spirits and manipulated spirits with resentment such as those that were killed around as a form of shiki, unable to control themselves and become slaves of something they did not wish. I always hate such things, no matter whether they were alive. I will apologize ahead of time for Naru’s fans, but I felt that Naru was way too impulsive this time. Yes, we did see him solve the problem but it seemed more like a personal grudge for his pride to be hurt and it was wrong for him to abuse others for it. I did not agree with his actions and I feel that Mai scolded him correctly.

I also would not blame Mai for forcing Naru to do such a thing that would endanger him. The fact is that she does not know, and you can see how much she is repentant about causing danger. I swear Mai will never do it if she knew, but well, she’s just too kind a person. I do not like the ending scene by the way because Masako and Naru are meant to be together. That said, Masako in a normal dress is just so cute that it’s sinful. I think wifey nearly died from my swooning, and I nearly died hearing her swoon about Lin. In fact, I am forced by coercion to just put a screenshot of Lin in the third set of pictures, because if not, she will impose her ability as her wifey very strictly. Sigh.

On the side issues, I am enjoying the fact that John was fighting away the white spirits, which makes him look pretty cool. Bou-san, as usual, is the consistent guy that is fending off all the spirits. It’s amazing and I am glad for him. Yasuhara is pretty useless but still cute!

To end off, I must say that I am a bit disappointed that we still know nothing much about Naru, that reeks so much of a “I need a second season”. Honestly, if there is something I am concerned about, it’s the lack of novel material for this, and even if there is a second series, it will take a while before it arrives. So, we are probably stuck on both ends. Thanks everyone for visiting T.H.A.T Anime Blog for the 25 episodes of Ghost Hunt. I started off just writing for fun and I am glad that many of you have provided insightful comments and very interesting findings that have helped me along in this. Cheers and I hope that many will come back for my coverage of other series.

Cheers!

Ok, Ayako finally did something useful, even though it is a tad futile in this situation. Still, you have to admit that she actually looks real and powerful in this screenshot. This episode carries over from the previous episode where Nanao was slowly covered by a dark shadow as the mystery of the possessions continued without a single clue.

Why is Ayako fighting and what is she fighting?

Episode summary

We continued from last week where Yoko rushed in blaming the ghost hunters. Bou-san attempted to pass her a charm to fend off the spirit, but it burned immediately in Yoko’s hands as she said it was useless. Ayako and John then took turns to bind and evoking the holy spirit of Jesus to exorcise the spirit respectively inside Yoko, as she finally regained consciousness. However, she could not remember anything and did not even recognize the ghost hunters, which meant that she had been possessed even before they arrived to the scene. It might be possible that the other members were already possessed by the spirits.

Mai started to wonder why Naru did not escape when the spirit came into him. Akifumi came in to say that Nanao was missing and she did not have the charm with her. As Lin alerted Bou-san to something on the screen, Bou-san immediately asked John to follow him as the dead body of Nanao was found below the cliff in the tunnel. Mai started to ask why Naru was not around to prevent it. Masako then went on a ritual to be possessed by the deceased Nanao, as they realized that she was pushed down by someone while admiring the wind. As they pressed on about who actually pushed her off, she seemed resistant saying that she did not know and did not want to know. Suddenly, she started screaming, saying that something was pulling her and it was a monster as the spirit left Masako’s body.

Mai was in a dream stage as she saw Nanao floating in the air with the other spirits, but she appeared once again from the tunnel behind Mai, as though she was forced to be in a cycle of reincarnation forever. She also realized that the altar was slanted still. Dream Naru said that the tunnel was a symbolization of reincarnation, and that was Nanao’s wish to be reincarnated. He also warned Mai not to get too close because she was currently at the spirit state and might be attracted. Dream Naru started to hold Mai’s hands as she started to blush red, before she was woken up by Masako. Masako then dissed her, saying that she had probably woken Mai up from a virtual date and mistook Masako for someone else.

Masako reaffirmed Dream Naru’s words that the tunnel is like the womb of a woman and it was like a passage to rebirth. Yasuhara then appeared after being asked by Bou-san to come and research for some background information. However, the talk was interrupted by a fire in the main house, as Lin, Mai and the others rushed over to the site. As they reached the area, they realized that Naru was completely defenseless as Lin and Mai rushed back to Naru, only to see a possessed Kazuya slashing a sword wildly at the wall where Naru was being binded. Lin asked if Mai could do the nine word repulsion but she was worried to hurt Kazuya as she could not do it. Eventually, when the wall finally broke after the slashing, Lin’s spirit helper’s hand came out to slash on Kazuya and Mai cast the repulsion. Kazuya was hurt but he managed to escape past Mai and went through the window.

The scene changed as we see a hurt Lin at the cliff, with Kazuya behind the barrier with his body very close to the cliff edge. Lin warned them against coming close as Mai suddenly had a revelation and realized that it was Kazuya who shoved Nanao down. Mai shouted out why he had to do all the things but a cold male voice said nothing but that everyone should die as he jumped off. Kazuya was dead. Back at the base, Yasuhara made some research as he told them that there were a few families living in this place and that it was not the family lineage that was the problem (please correct me, i got a bit lost here)

Yasuhara also talked about the strange man killings rumored in this town. These strange people were often outsiders who have special powers that came to the town as their pilgrimage or simply to pray for a good harvest. Some of these mystic men came to the town to exorcise spirits, as well as solving spiritual issues. Bou-san added that the three deaths of the spiritual beings thirty two years might also be their fate too as he pressed on. Yasuhara told about the tale of a group of three mystic men that came to expel a mischievous spirit in order to change the guardian in the altar to a real golden Buddha. However, the village head was greedy and killed the monks at the beach in order to steal the Buddha. However, the Buddha reverted back to the wood in present day.

Since then, it seemed that the head of the family was often cursed and they rumored it was the malicious spirit of the band of mystic man. Bou-san said that it was a group of three mystic men of the “sixth group”. The “sixth group” was a pilgrimage of sixty six spiritual sites that these men travel around to and those people were known to be part of the “sixth group”. That was why the description of three-sixth was logical. Another incident was 1862, where there was a violent rebellion in the town. The tribe people, in fear of themselves, lynched the five masterminds of it and surrounded them, just like in the dream. The five masterminds were killed near the “sixth group”. Since then, there were incident of hauntings, strange incidents or epidemics, rumors said it was them behind it.

Hence, only after a rich burying of the dead to appease the spirits and setting up a shrine stopped these strange occurrences. Ayako then realized that they were at the exact area of the shrine. Yet another rumor was that if anyone did not pay good respects to the graves, their neck would grow something strange, with their head looped off, similar to the phenomena on Hazuki and the strange old lady’s warning. Bou-san asked who the real culprit was, but Yasuhara said there were not enough clues. Suddenly, the power went down and the temperature fell as a dinosaur sound came on. However, on closer inspection, it was the chant of the matras as the glass was broken by numerous spirits. Ayako and Lin fought hard to repel them, and Mai realized that their target was Naru. As the attacks came with slashes all over Mai, Mai realized that they were unable to fend the zombies off. She then thought in her head, wishing Naru would quickly save them…

Thoughts

First of all, I do apologize for being late with this entry due to certain new personal issues that are happily occupying my life. Hence, it is just a tad hard for me to concentrate. Let’s hope that my writing is not that affected too. I wonder though.

To be truthful, even though this episode is scary, I found that the answer or perhaps the final piece of the puzzle was revealed way too easily. The reason why I considered this arc to be slightly inferior is because even though the horror pieces are pretty good, the answer is a bit too easy after everything is thrown down. I am hoping that the story will throw more red herrings but it seems that it is going to be obvious who the culprit is. To be honest, I am a tad disappointed that they did not stretch it out by one more episode, which I feel will help this arc as it can confuse the audience more with many plot holes and theories.

I am not dissing it too badly, since the background information of the whole incident is really detailed and really reveals the possible masterminds behind this. The words spoken to Bou-san is absolutely classic. No one knows who the real mastermind behind this haunting incident is. On Tazuki, it seems that the spirit is perhaps one that has been killed somewhat by the curse caused by the five masterminds who headed the rebellion since the old lady said about the severing of heads.

Then, the other possession, the one from Kazuya, seems to be the one of the five masterminds since he is much more malicious and I am assuming perhaps a bit prudently that there are no females in the rebellion since in 1862, females are considered more reticule in Japanese culture. Hence, it is perhaps a leap but not that much of a knowledge leap to actually assume such a thing. However, it still comes with the problem. So who is actually the one who are behind this?

If you ask me, I will think that the three monks that are slain due to the gold Buddha is behind this event. In my opinion, the tale in which the five spirits are appeased after a rich burial and the creation of the shrine cemented the fact that the five masterminds no longer are in full control of themselves. They have either passed on or perhaps held by the very mantras of the Buddha spirits. If you remember the tunnel symbolized the process of reincarnation, Nanao is prevented from moving forward.

In the possession of Masako in the ritual, it is also noted that Nanao mentioned that she is pulled by a monster, one that forces her to move on. The dream of Mai, as well as the mantra chant at the end all adds up that the monks are in fact controlling all the spirits that have died and willfully used such means to control the whole family that stayed here. The spirits, being unable to move on, are controlled fully by able monks in the spiritual realm who have continuously given the spirits that wanted a rest the torment of their lives. Spirits, being unable to move forward, are bind to their fate and grew resentment.

Possible speculation? Nothing in my opinion has pointed that the five masterminds of the rebellion are really actively in the role of the possession, and I will love for someone to point to me the distinct possibilities of it occurring. On the light side, I enjoyed the part where Mai and Naru started holding hands because my wife was squeaking like a fanboy. I also found that this episode will fully satisfy Lin-sama fans with his many actions of coolness, even though I cannot never understand that at all.

Of course, Masako’s constant appearance just makes it all good and they should have more Masako x Naru scenes. GO MASAKO X NARU!!!

P/S: Hah, once again, I apologize for the late entry.

I admit, this episode is a completely Mai-powered episode. The screenshot above just makes it hard for any supporter to rationally say that she’s not cute. Sigh, if she continues on those two bun hair style, even a strong Masako fan like me will have to support the both of them.

Is my heart wavering? I fear it to be so.

Episode summary

Masako and John arrived to see Naru completely held down. Mai asked what kind of spirit had possessed Naru, but Masako said that the spirit was detectable, yet she could not put a form onto the spirit as though something was hindering her from detecting it. The spirit had no emotions, yet had a strong sense of presence. Mai knew she was angry at Masako sometimes, but she could understand how Masako was feeling now. As they checked the cameras yesterday, there were a lot of ghost lights around the house, just like what Mai had dreamed. Akifumi then came in with coffee, while Mai questioned him on the existence of a shrine, a cave and stony path down to the cave. Akifumi was surprised she knew anything about it and said that the stairs down to the cave was dangerous, telling them that it was close to crumbling.

Akifumi then brought the ghost hunters to where the stone stairs went down, but he said they had to walk across to the other side of the cliff in order to see the cave. At the other side, Akifumi warned everyone that the barriers had fallen and it was a bit dangerous at the edges. There were five stones right at that cliff and they were in fact tombs a long time ago. At the sea ahead, there were two boulders with a rope tied together, and he said the big boulder symbolized man while the small one symbolized a woman who jumped down the cliff. He then told a deal about a princess in this mansion who fell in love with a fisherman. However, a rich man stood between the two and tried to force the princess to marry him. The fisherman and princess decided to elope, but the rich man intercepted the mail exchange for the plan to elope as the princess wondered why it took so long for him to come. As she finally reached the place where the young man waited, the fisherman had killed the rich man.

Even though the mutual mistake of betrayal was realized, they had no one to run as they were lynched by the family of the rich man as they jumped down the cliff. Mai asked whether there was a shrine and Akifumi brought them over, saying that it was simply a shrine that the little children cleaned up without a real god. Mai asked whether Ayako did the cleaning of shrines when she was young since she was in a family of a shrine, but surprisingly, Ayako said her father was a doctor and owned a community hospital, and since their family was well off, she had never done any form of housework. Mai started to question why Ayako became a miko. There were also three stones (tombs) here and was called three-six, but there were only five tombs on the cliff.

Akifumi said that one of the tombs might have fallen into the sea by accident and Ayako started speculating that it was in fact the fox spirit trying to take revenge over the family after someone accidentally dropped the tomb. Bou-san told her not to jump the gun, sounding just like Naru. Bou-san asked Masako about her thoughts and she first said that spirits liked to trick humans and took forms of animals. Bou-san added that the fox spirit was just a pretense. She could also feel that there was both a good feeling and a bad feeling, just like the field of spirits in a task in the United States, just as what Dream Naru had told Mai. Mai told them then that the gathering of spirits was at the altar, as Akifumi brought them there. The shore often brought in items from the sea and it was there his dogs’ corpses were found. Inside the altar, there was a piece of wood that resembled the posture of the hand of the Buddha. Bou-san said it was an Ebisu.

Mai then asked what Ebisu was, and it was said that in ancient times, people believed that there was a island that had eternal life and that anything special that drifted onto the shore was a blessing from the sea. Hence, hands like the one in the shrine or jewels were ebisu and they believed that such items had special powers. Mai realized that Dream Naru had told her all that in order to understand that those were the things she had to take note of to solve the puzzle. As she bathed, she continued to think until she remembered the part where Ejiro cleaved her into half, scaring her wits off. As she came out, Akifumi was rushing out as Yasou lied down bloodied with his wrists being cut as he was sent immediately to the hospital.

Outside the room, Tazuki and Takako asked Mai whether Yasou died. When Mai said that he did not, they look disappointed and ran off. Yasou, in the hospital, related to Akifumi that he heard voices that told him that they ordered him to kill his family. With the taunts getting increasingly prominent, he decided to suicide first since he was going to die anyway. Bou-san apologized to Akifumi for not doing their job well but Akifumi said that he was also at fault for causing Naru to collapse this way. Bou-san then asked Lin about the spirit protectors, and he said that it would prevent spirits from coming in but also prevent the spirit in Naru to come out. Hence, it also meant that there were more than one spirit lingering around and started to investigate the other family members.

Masako first examined Hazuki as she felt this empty spirit around her without any emotions but there was still a possibility of being possessed by something dirty. As Bou-san told John to try exorcising the spirit, the mother of Hazumi said it was cruel and left. Bou-san asked Akifumi to join him to the shrine, as he collected some talismans for the family members. Yoko refused to hold the talisman, saying that it was inconvenient when she goes to the bath. Tazuki and Takako also refused it, but Mai found a way by tricking them with the news that Yasou had died as well as Akifumi. As Mai approached, she held their hands before Tazuki scrambled free from her grip.

Tazuki told them to release Takako and said that if he threw himself into the sea, they would be troubled. It was clear to Mai now that Tazuki was possessed. It was not the empty spirit like what Masako detected but one filled with hatred Mai questioned who the person speaking was, as an old lady’s voice appeared, saying that they would all die and it was a blessing to die from drowning, unlike having their necks broken and lynched. She continued that the child was useless once they die as Tazuki ran toward the gate to the sea. Faced with the dilemma posed by Bou-san about thrusting energy onto a living object, she decided to still do the chant as the two children collapsed into tears. Bou-san scolded her for the recklessness and told her that even though she had talent in it, it would be better to make sure no such situation appeared again. Yoko then rushed in, screaming at them as she demanded them to get rid of the talismans. The question was not solved and yet another family member was about to be killed…

Thoughts

Ok, this episode smacked my speculation that it is the foreboding of the future so hard that it is not pretty. I am still wincing from the hard slap caused by the episode. Oh well. However, we do get a few clues that the recent hauntings has to do with the lynching by the rich man’s family, the death of the couple who attempted to elope, the cave with the ebisu, the fallen tomb and of course the shrine. It is a very complicated puzzle but my belief is that it is not as simple as a single spirit. As noted in the discussion of Bou-san with Lin, we realized that the spirit that had possessed Naru is not able to escape, which means that the ones that have possessed Yasou to do an act of suicide is a different spirit. Hence, there are more than one spirit at work here and the spirits are all working toward a common goal: to kill everyone in the household.

That leads to the thought that the family members might be individually possessed by the spirits, who are in a rich field of spirits in the whole proximity. All this makes sense until we go behind one step and start thinking about the part on the rich field of spirits. From the tale, we can only deduce that there are three casualties from the tale. It will be the fisherman, the princess and the rich man. Seems like the rich man is likely to be the one vengeful.

Yet, when the old woman’s voice started to talk, she was talking about killing everyone that has caused her to die such an awful death. It is a spirit with deep resentment and I wonder if the field of spirits came about after the part where Ejiro “cursed” the family to suffer great deaths. I have a feeling that the rich man’s family had in anger killed the whole clan of the fisherman after the rich man had been killed by the fisherman, hence causing great anger in the after life for the fisherman’s family. Being lynched for your fellow clansman’s folly would not probably be the best way to die.

That will probably explain the bit about the strong field of spirits, as it was not exactly a good thing or bad thing, yet the death of some spirits have caused them to be vengeful, hence they would still stalk the living until today. Then another question arises, why now, why today, why this time? Why must there be a death of the elderly before this curse starts? Now, that is a question that I cannot answer as well and I wonder if anyone else has any idea on it. The boulder might also possibly be the boulder of the rich man that has been thrown down. How this relates to the ebisu puzzles me too and I am still collecting my thoughts on it to be honest.

On the episode itself, I personally thought that Ayako’s background is amusing to say the very least. First, I did not expect her to be in a family of doctors, in a rich family that owned a community hospital. If she is so spoiled when she was young, why did she choose the occupation of a miko in the first place? That made absolutely no sense and I have a feeling that she has only recently picked up this job and is hence inadequate in repelling the spirits. I was happily amused about Mai’s face when Ayako proudly said that she had never done any housework. Ayako’s insistence of the fox spirit was struck down by the lovely and great Masako too.

Mai was also treated rather harshly toward Bou-san on her attack on the two kids. Yes, I know the classic example given by Bou-san that if she does it wrongly, the curse might be dispelled but the apparatus might also break. She is risking the life of Tazuki. However, look more carefully. I mean, what other alternative does she have? Watch the darn kid go down? She is only a normal high school student without the giant intellect and wit of Naru. I mean, I do not really see any way that she could have effectively escaped the situation. She is chasing the two kids to give them the talisman and with them being the lead, it’s impossible to do anything. I cannot believe I am defending Mai but Bou-san just went off the line there in my opinion. Bad Bou-san!

Also, someone alerted me on the sign at the forehead of Naru while he is sleeping. I do wonder what it is and my wild guess is that it is one of the ways to bind the spirit on Naru. I have no clue and the episode gives no explanation on it. I will gladly hear it from others.

The end came with one of the family members with a brooding shadow in front of her. Is she going to die first?

Ok, this is definitely a Mai x Naru moment. I knew the directors are jealous of Masako and refuse to let her in for any part of this last arc. Why? Why? I want my Masako like now, now and now.

This arc is the file of the haunted house, and even though the build up is not as scary as the previous arc, it does open up to some really disturbing scenes. I am going to probably start panicking in the later stages of this arc and refuse to blog on it until my fear has subsided.

Note: I made use of honeysempai’s proposed names that are probably close to the actual names. Thanks to her!

Episode summary

Akufumi, the requestor, brought his niece to the SPR, as she had neck bruises and bruises that spelled out the word for people who were going to hell. The words, as explained by Bou-san, was “a message that the girl will be going down to hell soon” and Bou-san said that it was done by someone very malicious. The host of the family, Taizo and his wife, Hiroe greeted the Ghost Hunters and told them about the history of their lineage. Thirty two years ago when their great grandfather died, eight family members died while when their grandfather died, their grandmother and five other siblings of their grandparents died subsequently very soon. Then, when the host’s father died, Hazuki started having the mark on her back.

Mai started to remember the family members and found that everyone was quiet. Suddenly, Ejiro, the husband of the oldest daughter, screamed out and asked why they brought the ghost hunters in. He added that the host should have clarified and that it was not only the eight people that died. Hiroe then explained that three other guests died as well and they had spiritual power. He would not blame them if they left right now. The Ghost Hunters went to their rest room as Akufumi apologized for the behavior of Ejiro and said he was usually quite jovial. It seemed that after Taizo’s father died, everyone was having a short fuse and losing their temper after the burial. Akufumi’s three dogs also died, and they were found at the shore within three days of the burial. and the kids were the strangest.

The two other kids (Tazuki and Takako) in the house were inseparable suddenly and often whispered and mumbled things between each other. When asked when they were discussing, they simply glared and left. Mai was setting up the camera in a room and walked in the dark hallway. A young voice started calling her but she saw no one. A hand suddenly reached out, scaring Mai until she realized it was the two kids. The two kids asked Mai about how many people were here and Mai answered five. The two kids started mumbling toward each other and Mai asked why they questioned about the people count. The two kids told her not to worry as they walked away, with Mai realizing that Akufumi’s strange description of behavior was apparent and even though she could not pinpoint out the strange behavior, it just felt wrong.

A scream then rang out, as everyone rushed over to see the family members trying to hold Ejiro, who had bloodshot eyes and was holding a knife manically. Lin came forward and struck the man down. Naru asked about why Ejiro was feeling awful but they said that he was feeling good until very recently, and there was no particular reason. Naru continued to question the ghost hunters on who could try exorcising as he said it would be better to wait for John. Still, he asked Ayako whether she had confidence, and Ayako asked if Bou-san could do it. Bou-san said he had no confidence and the last time he tried on an urn, he was able to exorcise the spirit but the urn also broke. He added that one of the logics was that spiritual energy should never enter a living body. Lin was unable to do anything to exorcise the spirit if he did not know the true identity of the particular spirit. Naru asked Ayako to try it out, as Ayako said she could not promise what would happen.

Ayako started her ritual against the tied up Heijiro and it seemed that it was not working. Suddenly, a purple fox-like spirit emerged from the body and flew right pass her and through Naru’s body, as it escaped into the wall. Naru immediately slumped down, and Heijiro seemed to go back to normal. When they went back to HQ, none of the equipment captured the scenes as Lin said that the spirit had interfered and stopped all transmission. Naru clearly looked uncomfortable, and Ayako brought him back to his room for a rest. Mai regretted the chance to be close to Naru. As the two left the room, Bou-san questioned the authencity of Ayako’s powers as a Miko and wondered if she had ever successfully exorcised anything.

It was clear that she had some training before but the attempt to exorcise was a complete failure. Bou-san wondered if the miko name was self-styled. As they viewed on screen, it seemed that Ayako and Naru were hugging but Bou-san suddenly realized something was amiss as Naru was in fact strangling Ayako. Lin rushed out and struck Naru unconscious. Naru was possessed by the purple fox-like spirit rather than the spirit escaping. Lin told Ayako that she was lucky because the spirit had not known how to fully control Naru. If the spirit could control Naru properly, Ayako would have died earlier on. Lin told them that Naru was now a very dangerous character, completely out of expectations. Bou-san asked if Lin was good at fighting and whether he could beat Naru. In terms of resilience, Lin said Naru was possibly better.

Bou-san said that it left no choice but to try exorcising the spirit somehow, and try to identity the spirit so that Lin could do something. Lin said he would live his five spirits to guard and protect Naru, but that would leave him with zero. Bou-san asked Mai and Ayako about their plans, as there was no Naru to direct them. He told them that either to trust fate in their plans or to escape with Naru. Mai said they could not leave everyone this way and Ayako said no matter the bickering they had, they could not leave their compatriot behind. Mai was suddenly seen to be running in a “dream” and we see Naru with a stained knife and a fallen body. Naru had killed the person. Naru said that Mai had betrayed him, as only Mai would know about him meeting at this place. Mai said that there was a switch in the letters and she waited at a different place. Naru replied that he had to surrender since he killed someone but he would also be lynched if he surrendered. Mai told him that if they were to die, she would die together with Naru.

Naru brought Mai along to run, as they ran toward a shrine with the Yoshimi family giving chase. Mai wondered why they did not run toward the beach and everyone was there. The whole ghost hunter group was there as they had no place of escape. They were surrounded by the Yoshimi family as the swords came down. Mai woke up, only to see ghost lights around. It seemed that it was a dream within a dream, and she saw Dream Naru waving to her to come down. Mai asked if Dream Naru made the dream, but Dream Naru said that he simply guided Mai to it. Mai said she never noticed of such a path as they walked down into the cave and found the gathering of spirits and an altar that was slanted. Dream Naru told her that this place had gathered spirits who died in this place. Even though there was nothing malicious as yet, it was not a good place as it could be considered a spirit burial ground. Mai asked what Dream Naru meant when he said that he was guiding the dream but Dream Naru simply smiled as the lights faded off.

Thoughts

I apologize ahead for not going to say anything trivial at the start because I have a pressing concern. My first qualm about this episode is the dream within the dream. I do wonder what the significance of the dream, as most of you will have wondered right now. It definitely is not a dream about an experience like the past, compared to what has happened in the arc. It seems to be some form of foreboding, guided by Dream Naru. However, there are some points in the dream that does not make logical sense.

Something in the dream does not correspond to me in which I do not see John in the picture. If he is going to be around, the dream should have him around in my opinion. The fact that Naru will kill someone makes no sense to me too, since Naru is calm enough to think of such things before anything happen. The letter that he sends to Mai only is an interesting thing nevertheless, and I am curious what this symbolism actually means for the future. What exactly is supposed to be true in the dream within the dream, if the dream was a direction pointed out by Dream Naru for Mai.

If you are confused, it’s ok. I am too.

To add on, the fact that everyone is acting queerly and the altar seems to be related. Here comes my speculation time! I know it sounds obvious but I speculate that it must be the job of the spirit that resides in the house. I remember watching and reading Japanese folklore that believes that every house has a spirit living in it. In general, such spirits are benevolent, as long as suitable offerings are given (think a bit of food). I believe that somewhere down the line, the grand great father might have caused something that might be extremely offensive to the spirit in the altar.

When spirits are displeased, they can probably land a curse on the house that they reside in and turn their back against the very people living in it. When the spirit has lived for a long time and consumed the other spirits that have gathered in the vicinity, it will result in the curse being totally awful. This logic will actually work with the fact that Dream Naru said the place itself around the altar isn’t evil, yet isn’t good. The spirit itself is not evil in that sense, but it does lay a curse on the family residing in it.

The two kids does disturb me since their eyes looked totally vacant when they talked to Mai. The purple fox spirit seems to be powerful enough to possess even Naru, one who has probably at least some form of resistance. I cannot remember where I said this in the summary, but Bou-san did say that the more spiritual a person is, it will be harder to get the spirit out from the body. This will spell a lot of trouble, since Naru will become exceptionally dangerous. Ejiro is but a common man, yet has so much power that a few men had to tie him down. Imagine what happens when you have someone as resilient as Naru and martial arts not exactly too inferior to Lin possessed by this spirit. It’s like total carnage and I wonder what happens when Naru awakens.

The Dream Naru and Naru relationship really puzzles me, and I am slanting toward the twin speculation, since Naru is no longer under his own control, which means his sub-conscious is unlikely to have strength to pass the message to Mai, and extend his message. Ayako also disappointed me and I agree with Bou-san’s statements that she is probably trained before in some exorcism arts but definitely not a real miko by any sense.

And yes, to end off. WHERE’S MY MASAKO?

p/s: Rdrake is having his birthday! His birthday thread is here.

What did Madoka tell Mai in the end that causes her to blush so badly?

I like to mislead people. For most of this episode, the mood is hardly jovial. It is just bloody and I mean it in a very literal term. Bloody.

Episode summary

Naru told everyone that Urado cannot be exorcised since he did not have any grievances like a spirit but instead simply wanted to continue living. Those things were demons or ghosts, things that no one in the room could destroy at all. Mai questioned his integrity and said that he was running away and not saving the two assistants. Naru said that they had already died. Naru did add that Urado could not kill anyone outside the mansion and a good way would be to burn the house down.

The mission given by Madoka in fact was to debunk the fake Dr Davis going around that was tricking others. Naru said he had to trick everyone about the real purpose since someone in the group could not lie which was Mai. Naru ordered everyone to pack up as Masako did not want Mai to talk to her so kindly. Masako was jealous that Naru addressed Mai specially by Mai’s name, while Ayako and Masako were called by surname. Mai saw that Masako was jealous and explained that it was her silliness that caused Naru to call her and instead said that Masako had Naru’s weakness. Masako said that Naru had great pride and hence hated her for discovering his weakness, as she went out to the corridor to get some breath and told Mai not to follow.

She ended by saying that she still hated Masako. When Ayako came out, Mai remembered Naru’s warning about Urado wanting young people, only to find Masako missing. Naru and everyone gathered together as Naru questioned why Mai allowed Masako to move alone. As they spent half the day trying to find Masako in that empty space, nothing was found as Mai felt horrible for not being assertive enough. Ayako came over and told Mai to take a rest. As she slept, she woke up to see Dream Naru, as Naru told Mai where Masako was. As she followed his directions, Mai found Masako squatting in the same room (torture room) as Masako said that Naru also came with a very warm smile and told her not to worry.

Masako said that she might already be dead without knowing, but Mai told her not to say such things and passed her a key. It was the key of her former house and told her that it was not a dream, as long as she believed that she was not dead. Mai promised to save her. Mai woke up, telling everyone that Masako was still alive as they followed Mai’s directions according to the dream where she was dragged away. They eventually found a separate house. Naru realized that the height of the modified floor was to hide this place as Mai remembered more of the dream. She then rushed out to the second storey, slipping slightly on the wet surface of the table in the room with Masako.

As Masako addressed her, she said “blood” as Mai turned around, only to see blood everywhere on the table as well as the bathtub filled with blood.A body came out saying that he did not want to die. It was Urado as Mai tried to repel him with the chant taught by Bou-san. It seemed that he was repelled as they took the chance to escape, only for a force to hold Mai back. As she was held by the spirits of the servants, bloody footsteps appeared on the ground and the bloody body of Urado came face to face with Mai.

She screamed in fear as she tried to escape with no avail. Just when Urado was about to strike, Lin came in just in time to summon some form of spirit to scare off Urado. Naru ordered everyone to escape, as Bou-san kicked through the window. Bou-san scolded Mai for being reckless again but her recklessness allowed them to find the missing people. In an adjacent room, all the bones of the victims were displayed nicely, as the blood was first drawn from their body before burning it up to be bones. The son probably built up the extra rooms to hide it.

Masako passed Mai the key in the “dream”, as Bou-san said that it was very impressive since Mai was able to get her spirit out of her body to pass Masako the key. Lin’s ability was a way to use a spirit to tangle and capture spirits when Lin explained. Masako found her comb dropping on the floor, with Mai questioning why Naru had the comb. He did not answer, as everyone teased Naru saying how worried he was for Masako. Yasuhara eventually explained to the owner about the situation and adviced him to burn the house down.

A few days later, a small news article talked about the house burning. Mai took the opportunity to ask about Naru’s parents in the office when Madoka came, since Lin and Naru were not around. Madoka said his father was a ghost hunter too, but Naru would have told her if he asked since it was nothing important but that he had something to do. Madoka then told Mai to come over, revealing that Naru and Lin were eloping causing Mai to blush. Madoka then said it would be fun if that happened as it was a joke from Madoka. Mai questioned why Naru had Masako’s comb and Madoka said that Naru was probably worried about his comrades since he was not a cold blooded man.

Probably (the probably is emphasized).

Thoughts

I think everyone will definitely agree that this arc is one of the most compelling arcs since it starts off with a very bloody and disturbing theme and maintains the tension of the arc throughout the four episodes. This is clearly the best arc in Ghost Hunt by a mile and I will like to see someone challenge this point that it is not. I also feel that this episode is good because it shows the inadequancy of the ghost hunters for the first time. If you notice, all the exorcism had been done rather successfully without any really big complexities.

This is perhaps the first case in which they did not have a true solution to solve it other than burning the house down to get rid of the spirits in the house. It has already been established that the power of Urado is only existent within the perimeter of the house within but I guess the fact that Naru admitted to having no ability to solve the situation does bring in some realism.

I actually see Mai’s point of view that she is probably shocked still that they cannot do anything but Naru and everyone else are experts at “soothing spirits”, not eliminating a demon like Urado who is only looking to extend his life by sacrificing lives. He is not one that wishes to move on, but simply wanting and yearning for eternal life, the life of a person seeking Utopia in a bloodied ritual.

I am also amazed at Mai’s growing strength. The ability to travel her soul beyond her body in the form of a “dream-like” situation and passing items such as a key to Masako in that state is just crazy. I mean, the ability to foresee the ghost fires in this episode is already crazy but to be able to travel beyond the physical boundaries of her body and passing the key. That is insane totally. To add on, it is amazing that Dream-Naru also visited Masako earlier, telling her that it was going to be fine. If someone can give me a good explanation to why Dream-Naru will also appear to Masako, I will give you a virtual cookie.

The only conclusion that I can derive from this situation is that Dream-Naru cannot be supported by the logic of Mai’s power and must be a power only from a foreign source, most likely Naru or a spirit source. I say this because Mai generally does not really conjure Dream-Naru but instead, he appeared to her mostly. I do not believe that Mai’s ability can extend to that effect and I feel that Dream Naru feels more like a manifestation of Naru’s subconscious power or something. On the other hand, if Mai does have the ability to project images and bodies to people, she is going to be crazily powerful.

I also thought about the fact of Naru’s father being a ghost hunter. It still does not eliminate the logic of Dr Davis being Naru. If you notice, Dr Davis is also considered to be one of the greatest ghost hunters. Nothing is said about her mother though and I am slightly disappointed at the lack of information.

Now on the comedy parts, Naru is evil for laughing at Mai for being incapable of lying (which is good). Masako’s blushing and jealousy of Mai is also classic but the best is still the two Masako x Naru moments, one being the sweet Naru comforting Masako and telling her that it is all right, and the second part about Naru keeping Masako’s comb and not saying anything.

See, the show proved that there is IN FACT SOMETHING with Masako and Naru. This is love totally! I also laughed crazily with Madoka’s antics about Naru x Lin eloping, as well as the “probably” at the suggestion of Naru doing it simply due to the concern of a comrade. Yami and Honeysempai, this does not give you the right to go all Yaoi-fangirl like. It’s just a joke by Madoka. A JOKE!

*turns all maniac fanboy-like with the TRUE REVELATION OF THIS EPISODE*

An excellently executed episode. I cannot wait for the last file, the cursed house!

P/s I didn’t know I rambled that much…

A bit of face distortion and I can label Ghost Hunt as the third season of Higurashi, after Manabi Straight.

As expected, Mai is not dead as yet. We also realize a very important clue to who Naru actually is and his purpose to come to Japan. Lin’s purpose with Naru is also addressed (well, hinted) too. There are tons of surprises in this episode and that itself is a major understatement!

Episode summary

Mai woke up screaming in terror until she was slapped by Ayako. As she woke up, she felt total fear as everyone came in to comfort her. Bou-san rushed in and asked her about the dream as Mai re-accounted it. Bou-san apologized for forcing her to remember it. Naru came in to give some red tea to Mai as she calmed down. The next day, Yasuhara proposed that it might be the spirit of Suzuki and the other assistant sending her a message of their impending death. In other words, it was telepathy. John mentioned whether the spirit liked young people, as all the caretakers who came one week ago were safe and were of middle-aged. The two missing people were young.

Naru then asked Ayako how much he could trust her and she replied first in annoyance about the lack of faith but corrected to say that she was confident of repelling spirits. He told Ayako to stay with Masako, John and Bou-san to protect Yasuhara, Mai protected by Lin while Naru has no defense. Lin immediately objected to it and tried to make other arrangements but it was all rejected by Naru as it was too dangerous. Lin continued to lecture Naru, saying how he would answer to the professor if anyone happened to him and told Naru not to make his parents worry. Naru told him that Lin could leave if he was not happy but Lin reminded him that he was here to supervise him, leaving Mai shocked. Yasuhara offered to leave in order to settle the situation.

Lin explained that the blueprint of the room seemed to be centered on a space in the middle of the house. Lin proposed that the rooms and walls were building out of this space, as Naru wondered what this unknown space that they could not reach was. Naru proposed that the space was not a hidden room but in fact a basement in order to hide something from others. Madoka and Yasuhara came over to give information once again through the window. Naru said that it was dangerous but Madoka said the surroundings were places where kids played and there were no missing children. They first informed that there were 12 chimneys when they viewed the house from outside when there were only 11 indoors. They also talked about the owner of the house being weak, having two servants.

The servants often complained that the room was extremely smelly and the name “浦户” (name on the note) was in fact his nickname. Mai was starting to freak out with the information, with Masako stepping in. She simply tapped on the shoulders of Mai, telling the spirit to move along as Mai returned to her senses. It seemed that it was the residue of memories by the maid in the dream. A loud sound emitted that was completely different as the lights went down. When it returned, a lot of words written in blood appeared everywhere and Naru asked Masako whether she was confident about suppressing the spirit in her.

Masako said she did but Mai stopped her, saying that Naru did not understand the feeling of death and that feeling in which you were carried off to die. Naru’s look at her seemed to imply that she said something really awful but Naru asked Lin to do a less reliable method which was to get the spirit out in the open through a ritual. As the ritual started, Suzuki appeared and it seemed that she had not realized that she had died. Naru asked whether the name “浦户” had anything to do with her disappearance as she seemed stressed. Naru asked the last question on where she was when prompted by Lin, as she pointed at the wall.

Bou-san realized that “浦户” (Urado) was in fact Vlad or Dracula. Mai started to freak out with vampires, but Naru told her that there was no living person who would suck blood. His Romanian surname Drăculea (transliterated as “Dracula” in foreign languages of the historical documents where his name is mentioned) is a diminutive derived from his father’s title Dracul and means “Son of the Dragon” but also could mean “demon”. He was an all conquering warlord who was sadistic to impale his victims and enemies onto stakes, leaving them to die. The master of this house, being a well traveled man, would have read the novel before.

The novel Dracula was often related to Countess Erzebet Báthory, who believed that by soaking herself into the virgin blood of women, she would retain her beauty. Urado probably admired those of good health and wanted such sacrifices to extend his life instead. The note that said “everyone who came in died” was perhaps a message for others who were about to come. It also seemed that people from the hospital, people of his clan were not spared for his aim to stay healthy even if it was a futile attempt. It was proposed by Bou-san and Ayako then that the son of the master realized the atrocities of his father and tried to seal the place by making a whole maze around that area. Naru added that the man was probably still somewhere around, trying to grab people to extend his life in the spiritual form.

The next day, they went to check out the blank space in the map where the thickest chimney was, and it seemed that there was a hidden path behind the wall where a dead body of the missing person two months ago was found. A conference was set up, as Naru broke the news to Igarashi as she tried to disbelieve it. However, Naru proved beyond doubt that the body found was behind thick walls and it was nearly impossible for the body to be there. Igarashi tried to ask Davis for help but it seemed that Dr Davis was a fake and he was asked by Minami to help. Eventually, they rushed out. Naru then told everyone to pack up as this place would not be possible to exorcise.

Thoughts

To start off, there are a few parts that I am unable to translate effectively, but 90% of the summary should be close to spot on. I think my Chinese is getting a little rusty with all the complex words used. Ha Ha.

One thing I liked about Ghost Hunt is definitely the fact about referencing real people who have links with the paranormal. This episode is no different as they stated about the common Vlad III the Impaler as well as a lesser known Countess Erzebet Báthory. That point is not lost to me, which I think is a very strong point of Ghost hunt. I also like the idea how the ghost hunters explored the possibility that the people died due to being envious of health.

First and most importantly, we learn a lot of new things about Naru, even revealing a lot of this mysterious man. First, Lin addressed his father as professor, which I speculate to hint at Dr Davis. It will make sense since Naru has been looking at the man with the “HAH, I know you are fake” look most of the time when Naru is seen after an introduction of Davis in the previous two episodes. It does point to the fact that Naru is in fact the son of Dr Davis.

However, that is not all. It’s also hinted in Lin’s lines that he is in fact here for a mission and that is in fact to test his abilities in Japan. This will also explain why Naru is in fact not well versed in Japanese due to the fact that he has been overseas for a while. This, by the way, assumes that the professor is in fact Dr Davis, but I presume it is for now. With that assumption set in place, that will also mean that Naru’s mom HAS TO BE JAPANESE. I do not know what the implications of this is, but I think that it does open out a whole lot of mysteries on his parentage.

Warning: I might have misinterpreted the two since they did not exactly state that his parents is a professor but the information went on two different lines.

Lin is in fact one of the caretakers of Naru to supervise and monitor his progress as a ghost hunter. My next question will hence be an interesting one. Does Madoka know Dr Davis? The obvious answer is yes and I believe that she is also someone who is closely related to his parents and perhaps the person who teaches Naru about Japanese culture.

Back on the speculations, it is obvious now the motivation of where the missing people have gone. However, I do wonder how they will close this case since it is totally impossible for them to really leave the scene. I mean, they have one whole episode to conclude this series and to me, it will be vehement if they do not resolve such a wonderful arc. I believe that the conclusion will have something to do with the whole demolition of the house, or perhaps that “empty space” that they noted. It is still curious on why Naru said they cannot get rid of the spirits in this case.

This episode also deals with a rather philosophical situation. It is perhaps the quest of eternal life, the promise of utopia corrupting the minds of man. It is a very sad tale as you think of how desperate this man got while attempting to find a way to improve his health. He even killed his own family, the people from the hospital in order to survive. Is it really that worthwhile to have eternal life at the expense of all? What is it all for since everyone will die? Isn’t it ironic that he has gained eternal life of sorts but he cannot even rest after dying?

I do have many other thoughts but I prefer to leave others to explore them for themselves. Very good arc, definitely the best arc cemented by this episode. I want the conclusion soon!

This screenshot cements the fact that this arc is perhaps the most scary arc for ghost hunt because it kept me once again on the edge of my seat. Smartly, I have learned my lesson and watched this episode in the early evening, hence not scaring the wits out of myself.

The truth will lie from within. Mai is dead.

Or is she?

Episode summary

The assistant had reported that her hands were moving by her own and she would run away if she let go of the pen. With that, Naru reviewed the tape and found that the red words “I don’t want to die” was suddenly on the piece of the paper as it fell. Masako felt bad as she returned to the room. Naru instructed Ayako to join them as it was clear that Naru was being overly cautious. Back in the room, Masako asked Mai whether she felt anything but Mai said she did not. When Ayako came out of the bathroom and found them talking, Masako denied that they were on good terms and said that she could not have SUCH a person to be her friend. After that, Masako started to diss Mai, saying that she disliked her and told her she should know why.

The next day, it seemed that Lin was quite cold and Suzuki disappeared when Igarashi found her missing when she woke up at 7 am. It was already 10 am, but a check found that she had not left the mansion. Igarashi said Suzuki would not leave anywhere without her contacts since she was badly near-sighted. As Minami and Dr Davis came in, Igarashi asked him to help as Davis was known to be able to find people but Minami said that he was unable to do it as Davis could only detect things that was on the victim during the disappearance. It made no sense but Minami added that Suzuki might be scared and left for home after yesterday’s incident. However, she did not return.

While resting, Ayako said both Mai and Masako were important since they were the mediums. Ayako added that she was busy with finding and exorcising the spirits, while Masako replied that she was tired of listening to her grumbling anyway. Later at night, they searched for clues and Bou-san said he had never seen a spirit that asked for help. The room they were checking was slanted and they found a trapdoor. Inside the trapdoor, they found an old note with strange writing that seemed incomprehensible, as well as a towel from the old hospital.

Naru ordered everyone to remember not going around alone as Mai was grouped with Lin. It was then realized that Lin reminded Mai about the atrocities caused by the Japanese and he hated them a lot. Mai said that it was all right if she was hated but it was unfair to hate her simply because she was Japanese. Lin started to laugh and simply said that someone said the same thing. Mai asked if it was not Naru but Lin said Naru would simply say something like “so idiotic”. He then apologized for his actions and said that it was in him to do that due to the history even though he never disliked Mai.

The others returned, only for an apparition to appear in the window, only that it was Madoka. Naru lectured her that it was dangerous but she simply said that Naru would save her. Mai noted that Naru accepted defeat. She then repeated some information about the two missing people, one being a drunkard who disappeared after a party and one of the rescuers who came to find them. The previous owner had a cleaning fetish and many people rumored that there was once that he fired someone embezzled funds from the hospital while firing every other family member of the accused who worked under him in other roles.

More history came when Madoka reported that the son of this owner said that the reason for him to change the house was to prevent the spirits to come out in the house. Naru then asked her to check out about the hospital as she went out through the window again. As they went back to their room, the other assistant told the gals to be careful as Mai wondered why such a good assistant was working under Minami. A dream came as Mai dreamed of the other assistant walking toward the darkness. Minami then woke her up, only to find out that the assistant also disappeared like Mai’s dream. Even as Igarashi pressed Dr Davis and doubted him, Minami simply made up a total fuss and left, saying that they would not help them since they were doubted.

The next day, they were exploring the house when they found another hidden door in the staircase as they found a portrait. The name of the portrait triggered Naru’s memory as he deciphered the note. The note stated “the people who are here are mostly dead, with the second line being a remainder of note for someone. John proposed that there was someone who was cursing the owner, yet he was way too cowardly to ask for help and hence chased everyone away.

Masako said the answer was already revealed by the spirit who died here. Late at night, two men dragged Mai as she could not shrug them off or shout. As they moved her around to the surgery room, she was suddenly in a kimono as she was tied on the table. The knife called as she looked for help and hoped that it was a dream. The knife was a short distance away from her neck…

Thoughts

Ok, just when I thought that the first episode of this arc was fabulous, I forget about one thing. THE SECOND EPISODE OF ANY ARC IS ALWAYS BETTER. Hell, it is better and the ending of this episode is so much on a cliffhanger that I am begging JC Staff to release episode 19 as soon as possible because the wait will kill me wondering if Mai will actually suffer any mental damage. I know it’s practically impossible for Ghost Hunt to kill the main character but I do want to know how they are going to get Mai out of this trouble.

I do hope that Mai escapes with a good logical explaination in hand which will not be too surprising for the likes of Ghost Hunt since it has always used a logical and sensible plot on it. Let’s hope that it will be as good as it has held up. Yes, you can tell that I am starting to ramble a little because I was shocked at the way they realistically portrayed how Mai has dragged and eventually placed on the surgery table.

Creepy stuff there.

On a totally different topic, I wonder if Davis is really the real Davis now, considering that he hardly speaks (did he even speak) and his exit reeks of someone who is trying to escape after something out of his scope appeared. I think this episode nailed it to say that this Davis that has appeared is highly likely to be fake. I do not know but I think that there is some background conspiracy about getting the organs of the victims in the hospital, what if the two people who dragged Mai, as well as the other two assistants into the table.

On a lighter note, Masako rocks in this episode, with her countless disses at Mai for almost everything. I thought the first salvo was great because she said how beautiful and popular she is compared to Mai (of course you are). Masako also went on to say how such a person like Mai could be her friend, which is true since Masako is just about the greatest. Jokes and fanboying aside, the little spats of Masako does show that Mai is becoming a threat not only in the pursuit of Naru’s heart but also her growing ability as a medium.

To be acknowledged by Masako, it means that someone who is an accomplished medium had believed that Mai does have special power. We might see more fledgling abilities by Mai soon. For now, I am wondering about how they are going to play this since this arc should be 4 episodes if I am not mistaken. I do think that Naru will somehow find a way to save Mai, but I am clueless on this since I am pretty drained out.

I am also a bit surprised that Igarashi is practically useless compared to most of the other ghost Hunters. Why in the world did they hire such lousy experts if what they can do is panic and do absolutely nothing. Even Ayako is cooler than that old woman. Also, Madoka is definitely an instant win because she can control Naru by the back of her fingers. Her wonderful line of “Naru, you will come and save me” is a phrase that causes Naru to admit defeat. Just excellent work by the rather interesting Madoka. I do wonder if Naru has a strong moral ground to “respect his elders”.

Strange how Madoka had so much power over him, right?

This particular screenshot scared the living lights out of me when I watched the episode for the first time, causing me to partially close my eyes for the remaining few minutes of this episode. That is how scared I was.

Yes, I know Ghost Hunt isn’t really too insane on the scary/horror portion for the most part, but I have a feeling that this arc will be rather disturbing for my mind. Before I ramble on about how scary this episode is, I will go on with the summary!

Episode summary

In a tortured cell, a knife is seen with splatters of fresh blood on the wall and a room with a surgery/torture bed. A female voice cried out “Please save me” before a disturbing low male voice said, “I don’t want to die…”. Back to reality, Yasuhara was addressed as Naru the leader of the Ghost Hunters. Yasuhara introduced the rest of the ghost hunters as his assistance, with Naru being called Narumi. It seemed that the situation came up with the contact person, Ohashi, asking him to do this job. It was a case about a mansion involving the former prime minister and the prime minister wanted to keep it as low-profile as he could. He said he initally did not want to pick the case up since it was going to involve a lot of publicity and decided to ask Yasuhara for help. Yasuhara was glad to help, even though he thought he was asked over to celebrate him passing his exams.

Naru said it would be hard to work with the other ghost hunters working on this case since he knew of some as obnoxious. Bou-san said that he was giving an unpleasant work to Yasuhara because he hated it, while Naru replied that he could withdraw if he was not happy. The door then slammed open, with a woman apologizing for Naru’s rudeness and criticized his lack of tact and politeness in asking for favors. Naru was completely pressed down, with everyone wondering who this person who could make Naru completely quiet was. She introduced herself as Madoka, Naru’s teacher in teaching him the arts of ghost hunting, and she was the one who asked for Naru to complete this task.

At the mansion, Mai was walking to the meeting room when she felt this unpleasant feeling of blood far beyond the corridor. As she shrugged it off, Ohashi talked about the history of the house, saying that it was formerly a hospital where the kids came to play but one of them went missing. This was not a solo incident, as there were rumors about the place being haunted and people missing during the construction too. Everyone was then introduced as the first group were from the National Defense Academy, Professor Chie Igarashi and her assistant, Naoko Suzuki. Dr. Oliver Davis of the British Society for Psychic Research was also here. Mai, Ayako, and especially Monk-san are shocked as Dr. Davis of SPR was a legend among those who possess PK and ESP with the cases he had solved using those powers, including a missing child of a wealthy man.

As they were talking about Davis, Naru was carrying the equipment in as Mai immediately realized that her work was replaced by Naru. Naru said he could not let a lady do the heavy work with a really big smile (”like you are going to suffer for this” smile). Ohashi then came in talking to Yasuhara as Yasuhara delegated the questioning to Narumi (Naru). The building seemed to be renovated every year, with the previous design completely gone from the change of the interior. The owner was a philanthropist, with a lot of industries around the area but left in the midst of social turmoil.

One of the former owners also said that his will was to leave the mansion to rot forever without maintaining it. As Lin asked for the house blueprint, Ohashi said none existed and asked whether Lin was Chinese. Lin said he was from Hong Kong, giving the rest a shock. Naru then instructed Ayako to make charms in everyone’s room, as it was a situation without a room blueprint, with the mansion being abandoned for a while. It was better to be on the safe side. Yasuhara, Mai and Bou-san were finding the whole place to be a maze, with Yasuhara remarking how he did not want to find any corpses. Just when Bou-san opened a window, he gasped with the truth being a room within that window, while Mai checked the temperature and recording it at 4 degree celsius.

Bou-san remarked how this place was like a rpg, similar to an event in Winchester, where the design of the house was changed countless times when someone cursed the family living in that mansion as the mistress of the house felt that once the mansion was completed, there would be misfortune. Minami then came in, trying to laugh at the young age of Naru (Yasuhara), only to be rebutted by Yasuhara as he described himself as 49 and talking in an old man manner, irritating the hell out of Minami as he left in a puff.

As they returned back to base, Naru de-briefed and reminded them again not to go around alone. Mai asked whether Lin was doing the house blueprint but no one replied, with Mai looking a bit worried. Bou-san asked Mai if she needed to call her parents but she happily said that both her parents were dead early and she was helped both by scholarships and a charitable teacher to support her studies and her daily expenses. It was relaxing to live in her own pace. Ayako then said that was like how she always slept at work, with her agreeing it. Yasuhara then made a good impersonation of Naru as he said “baka”. Bou-san hugged her, telling her that she could ask for help Mai then called Bou-san a pervert for hugging her as she hoped that these happy days with the ghost hunters would continue forever.

At night, Mai woke up to hear a sound of running water. As she entered the bathroom, the tap was shut but the sound emitted from the bathtub as she opened to see a gruesome bloody sight. Mai woke up, only to realize that it was a nightmare. The next day, Chie asked for help in the evening for conjuring the spirit, as they went over. In the room, they gathered together, as Minami showed his ignorance using a flash video camera. Spirits were disturbed by lights, which was why only night vision cameras were used as Mai was shocked at the lack of knowledge. As they started to summon the spirit, her assistant Naoko started to write furiously. The room started to shake, as Mai sensed someone was there only for Bou-san to get rid of them using his chant. Minami was clearly creep out with many of the words stating “Save me”. However, one of the papers was written in red ink saying “I don’t want to die”. The scene faded, only to remain with two white glowing eyes.

Thoughts

I am pretty surprised that Davis is so young. If he is a famous person, wouldn’t he be like someone really old? Maybe I am over suspicious as usual, but this is considering that he has an assistant that does not even know the basics of spirits. Dr Davis has not talked as well, but I do wonder if he’s the true Davis with that lingering disturbance in my head. He just feels a bit too young, considering how famous he is as a legendary person. I generally think of such people requiring at least 20 odd years for them to be famous. I mean it’s the Britain SPR, not some tom, dick and harry research company.

Yes, all you manga readers can start laughing at my silliness as always and speculating such a ridiculous thing when even Bou-san admits his admiration of Davis when he sees the real person. I am just curious since a man in such a famous role will be roughly around 50-60 considering his fame, but this Davis hardly looks 30 odd. I guess it is just the anime making people look younger than they are. Just a silly rant there.

The last episode comments about Mai reacting to death is probably answered in this episode. Mai lost both her parents early in her life and even though she seems to be handling it well and totally strong about it, the impact is definitely strong. Remember, this happens when she is young, and it is imaginable her reaction toward death can be so strong. I am just thinking how good this current description of Mai is, as we see how strong she is actually, rather than just a juvenile that is clueless about everything. She probably knows quite a bit about the harshness of life and has worked hard on her own.

It is good that the anime did not play up the emo-kid in Mai in this episode, but makes it in a subtle way. In a way, that makes you feel less likely to pity her but simply admire her courage in her life views. On a totally different aspect. a check on wikipedia described about the Winchester curse. Quoting from Wikipedia, it wrote.

“Although this is disputed, many believe the Boston Medium told her she needed to leave her home in New Haven and travel West, where she must “build a home for yourself and for the spirits who have fallen from this terrible weapon, too. You can never stop building the house. If you continue building, you will live. Stop and you will die.” Whether this tale is true or not, Winchester did move west, settling in California. Some believe Winchester followed the medium’s directions to distract the spirits she believed were hunting her, and commenced construction on her new home. She was reported to have slept in a different room each night for some time.”

Interesting fact to say the very least. I am also curious what exactly happened in this mansion and this is time for Impz’s wild guess time for this episode. I speculate that one of the previous masters actually abused this faculty for the hospital as a form of torture for illegal organ transplants, with the person asking for help one of the victims of this gruesome trade. I believe that using the context of the hospital, that seems to be the case since it feels to me with missing people as a sign of the “trade” still going on in the spirit world to grab missing living people away.

Not sure if I make sense but I just have that feeling when they mentioned about this mansion being a hospital. Anyway, next week is the continuation of this arc and it might probably shed some light on the whole situation.

P/S: I hope that the white glowing eyes do not appear too often. I am still a bit spooked.

Yes, I admit defeat. think they can be a decent pair, comparable to Masako and Naru. That’s all I can say. The expression of Mai, as well as the smile on Naru, just makes it work. This episode is the concluding arc for the curse of the school.

Will everyone die?

Episode summary

We had the disciplinary master (DM, because I refuse to call that bastard’s name) dissing them and asking them to leave, only for Naru to tell him that he was the one that the Kokkuri was attempting to kill. He reacted with shock, as Lin explained how his name was written in an ancient language and the age of the DM (53) was written in Kanji. Lin actually asked if Naru understood it but Naru said he did not really know Kanji well, with Naru explaining that such a charm could only be created by someone who knew what he was doing.

The DM immediately accused Sakuachi to be the victim as he asked why he would be cursed. Yasuhara said that it was because the teacher symbolized what the school was all about: treating students like dogs and punishing those that did not conform to their ideals. We then saw a flashback of DM tearing apart Sakuachi’s occult book, telling him to read his textbooks since those occult books were a waste of time.

Naru said that the person who cursed DM would not be able to reverse it as Naru asked Lin if there was any solution. Lin said the only way would be to return the curse onto the people who had cursed him. If they were to allow the spirits to consume each other, the only fate waiting for DM would be a totally gruesome death as Naru said that he could not watch a man die without doing anything. The DM started laughing cynically, saying that he should not need to die. Naru then added that the person who set the curse was dead but it was not him but the unknowing student population who actually made the curse.

Hence, by attempting to reverse back the curse, the whole student population might be sacrificed but Naru proposed in theory that with the curse spread among the whole student population, the damage would be much less. Mai immediately was enraged, saying that the students did not know that they were cursing with it but Naru said it did not remove the fact that they were the ones to do it. Mai said she hated Naru but Naru remained non-committal, simply asking Lin to be prepared. Mai rushed out of the room, as she knew that Naru was right but it was still too painful since the students were not the ones who did it knowingly. She wanted to stop them but Lin’s car had left the building.

At night, Mai tried to get rid of the spirits herself but nearly got herself killed by the swarms of spirits appearing. In the nick of time, Bou-san rescued her out as he screamed at her for her reckless action as she was nearly killed if he had not been on time. She apologized as she regretted making everyone worry because of her. The next day, Masako could not sense anyone at all in the school as they saw all the students gathering at the hall.

Lin was preparing his ritual for transferring the energies as Mai once again tried to stop Lin. Naru told her to stop, saying that it would distract Lin and saying all the stupid things. Mai continued her tirade, saying that all the students were in the hall, not knowing what would become of them but Naru dragged her out, leaving Lin alone.

As they got out, Mai said what would be achieved if all the students were killed, calling Naru a murderer. She continued that Naru did not care who died as long as he solved the issue while Bou-san dragged her away under Naru’s orders as Naru re-entered the room where Lin was preparing. As they went to a staircase to wait, Bou-san told Mai that Naru had never failed them in any situation and then told her to trust him that he would do everything possible to protect the students. Bou-san then assured Mai that he was also worried for Yasuhara, as a teary Mai accepted it.

The ritual was over as Naru and the rest came out, with Mai rushing over to the hall where the students were. We only saw a huge amount of voodoo dolls that were broken with the names of all the students in the school. Naru instructed everyone to check for the dolls that were broken and give a phone call to the people with unbroken dolls to make sure that they had never played Kokkuri. Mai came out, seeing Naru as she asked why he could not do a doll just for DM. Naru said 600 dolls would be able to sustain the curse compared to a single doll, and he did not want to tell them because Lin was not sure if he could succeed.

Naru apologized to Mai for all the horrible things he said, as he acknowledged that Mai was a very caring person who always thought of others. Mai started to blush, saying that Naru always stole the good stuff since she was intending to apologize first. Without saying anything, Naru simply smiled, leaving her in deep shock. At the end, Mai thought whether Sakuachi was glad or disappointed that the curse did not transpire but hoped that it was the former. They met up with Yasuhara, with Bou-san asking if he was scared. Yasuhara was not worried that he would die since he trusted himself and he was way too young and good to die, leaving Mai and Bou-san in a stoned mode. They then laughed happily, with the arc ending with a good conclusion.

Thoughts

Now, the first big issue was like the lack of trust between Mai and Naru. I am personally not surprised at Mai’s reaction, even though Naru had proven himself to be a person that often chose the best option he had. A normal person, with the impending statement that Naru and Lin were about to transfer the curse to the students, would have taught that he was risking the damage on the students themselves. That is why I think that Mai had the perfect right to be angry with Naru, even though she is the only person who has voiced it out.

The others probably trusted Naru’s judgment in this issue, due to their professional approach to him after working so long together. However, Mai does not have that clear conviction of Naru’s skills unlike the others. The fact that this alternative does exist and not told by Lin or Naru makes it easy to misunderstand. I mean, even if you are not sure whether it will succeed or not, it will not kill to tell them that it was a difficult process and it might not work. Seriously, Naru do need to learn a pretty simple thing known as “explaining what you are going to do before doing it to clear misunderstandings”.

Sigh, Naru. I know you are a man of many mysteries, but try not to make us think that you are a cold-blooded murderer at the middle of this episode. It’s really bad.

Back to the start of the episode, I found this fact very interesting. Naru said he was not good with Kanji, which I thought should be a standard language for Japanese students. Correct me if I am wrong, but the indications seem to show that Naru is perhaps not educated in a Japanese school, since the communication mode is predominately Japanese (once again, I am speculating) and it will make no sense for a Japanese student to not even know basic numbers and how to read “age”. Does that mean that Naru only recently came to Japan and that he was not local?

What makes of his name then, which is distinctively Japanese and his prior knowledge of Masako in one of the earlier episodes? It really makes Naru even more interesting than he is, and Naru does not seem to have technically lied in all situations. When the DM asked Naru about his school, he did not answer it but avoided it of sorts, as though he did not want to answer it. He could jolly well say something but he kept quiet. Maybe I am inferring way too much here but it is really intriguing.

The next thing is the Mai and Naru moment as captured above in the first screenshot. I thought that the smile is a really good answer to Mai, and I bet Mai’s heart stopped for just that moment when Naru simply smiled while the gentle wind blew through his hair. What a way to attract our heroine’s attention.

To add off, this is a question that I am always curious about. What are the facts that we know about Naru? We have some discussions pertaining to the manga in animesuki but how about the anime only data?

Here’s a few to start off.

1. Naru might have PK powers.
2. He does not study in Japan.

I cannot think of any more for now so provide me with the information. Cheers! and this episode is great.

On an unconfirmed report brought to you by Impz in T.H.A.T anime blog, we have received insider news from J.C Staff that many viewers have complained about the lack of funny Mai faces in the past two to three episodes. As viewers are reportedly annoyed at the generally normal mode of the main heroine, J.C. Staff decided to provide the first ever “Face fanservice” to the viewers who have painstakingly petitioned for their goal.

The result is the above screenshot which satisfied the angry mob of Mai fanboys and fangirls.

Episode summary

We had Mai in a dream sequence, seeing the purple ghost fire consuming the spirits. As she observed the gruesome cannabilsing, a bright light brought her to a normal room, with interesting books that Naru would love. She then picked up an expired bus card, only to realize that it was Sakuachi’s room. Mai started to tear as she was unable to save his spirit from being engulfed. The voice of Naru then came as she woke up, feeling all dizzy as everyone was gathered at the sick bay. Mai was questioned why she was traveling alone at night, as she re-accounted grabbing the tape from the biology classroom.

They also talked about the child spirits and Masako said she could not detect them. Bou-san then said how his teachings of the mantra should have came into play but Mai was too nervous to do that. With that, Naru ordered everyone to go to work as Ayako stayed to accompany Mai as she went into yet the realm of the spirit dream. She then noticed firstly the shrine for the fox spirit, and “dream Naru” appearing once again, as he pointed out the purple embroyo that was starting to wake up after consuming enough souls. Mai then noticed that John and Yasuhara were going toward the purple ghost as she rushed off to warn them in the real world.

Mai then warned Ayako as Ayako left to inform the two of their danger. Before Ayako left, she taught Mai the second step of the chant told by Bou-san. As Ayako left, an apparition appeared at the second bed (remember previous episode) as Mai started on her chant told by Bou-san and Ayako.. However, the blue apparition shoved her aside as the room started to get cold and the ground totally collapsed, leaving Mai trapped. She then heard the sound of rats running around but she knew that it was the footsteps of the children. Naru then appeared as he attempted to save Mai but the whole roof collapsed, as we went into another dream-like sequence.

The voice of Ayako woke Mai up as she formed Naru on top of her, blocking her from the collapsed roof. As they were treated for their minor injuries, Mai talked about the purple embryo that she had seen and that it was starting to develop, as both Naru and Mai said it was soon when no one would be able to deal with it anymore. The next day, they received information that the principal told them to stop and that they were the ones who triggered the escalation. Mai tried to persuade Naru and said about the engulfing of spirits and leaving just the strongest behind.

Naru’s face turned pale as he realized about a very traditional China way of cursing someone. It used to be a method where they buried a whole bunch of worms in a barrel and after a few months, they opened the barrel with the strongest worm remaining. They will then use that worm to curse and bring fortune in return for human to a cursed recipient. The host had to continue to supply lives on a constant rate for the worm. However, if the worm did not have the chance to consume lives, even the host will be killed eventually. The fortunes would be thrown in the streets in wait for another victim.

Mai then said that it was similar to what was happening in the school, where the spirits were consuming each other. Bou-san then talked about the last spirit trying to bind up and consuming a person in the school, just like how this curse was conducted. Naru said about how all the hosts of this curse were the students and he could not do anything, leaving Mai in shock. However. Naru continued as he asked Lin if he could. Lin said he never seen it before, but it was similar like any other curse, with two ways to avoid it, either to transfer the master to someone else or to care for it.

As Naru went over to discuss with the principal, the others were thinking how to fix the situation. Bou-san and Ayako were doing their arguments while Mai talked that the Kokkuri in the school was strange because they had a man in the center instead of a shrine and there was a circle of ghost/demon around it. Lin interjected, asking Mai to repeat what she said as he confirmed the verse used in the Kokkuri. Yasuhara also said that he seen it once and they had to bury it in a shrine once the summon paper was used. Mai remembered about the dream and asked if there was a fox spirit statue there and Yasuhara was surprised Mai knew.

They then rushed over to the shrine, only to see two girls about to bury the paper. Lin then examined it, saying that it was in fact a curse to kill someone. Back at the headquarters, he explained that the curse charm when placed in a crossroad will cause someone to go crazy and when buried, to kill. It was a good thing that it was only amateurs doing it because Lin could kill someone just with that paper. As he elaborated, he said that when the inter-consumption of the spirits ended with the strongest left, the person who would die was the name in the man drawn in the middle: The disciplinary master.

Thoughts

I got tricked. There was little Masako except for the little face that Masako had when she was treating Naru. No fun.

SOMEONE LIED TO ME!

To start off with yet another rant, this post is actually the second post I have done for this episode as the first post happily deleted somehow after a really unfortunate incident, where I have actually written close to the start of thoughts. That also meant that the summary happily disappeared for me just when I am about to post my thoughts. Needless to say, I went bonkers with it. If I was not that happy and patient today, I will have given up immediately.

Ok, onwards to the actual plot itself, I found the object of curse to be highly intelligent. Only one with a high intelligent will use the curiosity of the students as a way to exploit and kill the disciplinary master. Honestly, I disliked the disciplinary master quite a bit, but to die for that dislike is a bit too much. Whoever tried to kill the master is also selfishly putting all his other classmates in danger of being consumed when the spirit requires more sacrifices.

I was actually shocked this time because Mai actually caused the spirit in the sick bay to diffuse and counteract her actions. It is clear that she is not at all an experienced user in the demon arts to get rid of spirits, but you can tell that there is some spiritual energy in the strokes when she does what Ayako told her to. I think even the spirit sensed her powers, which is why it tried to attack her before anything else. That said, I cannot wait to see Mai in a powerful manner to get rid of some spirits and show how great she is, not only as a person with latent ESP, but someone who can kick serious ass!

Talking about Ayako, other than the common cat fight between her and Bou-san on the discussion of getting away the spirits at the closing of this episode, I actually have a better impression of her when she is the first one to be around for Mai. She also stayed back, taking care of Mai very well, very unlike the vixen that she often is. I mean, the only impression I have of Ayako is a witch that does absolutely nothing, is one that always has a stinky mouth and can do absolutely nothing, aka a total bum. However, I do like to see more of that soft side of her showing, because it does make her look much better.

Lin is impressive. I can really tell that he’s a very capable person and it starts to dawn on me once again about Naru. I have said this before and I will repeat it again. Naru does not seem to have much spiritual powers compared to any of our ghost hunters, and the fact that he seems more like a knowledgeable person makes him a very mysterious person. I personally think now that the Naru in the dream is the manifestation of Mai’s power subconsciously to see what she wanted to see in a dream for knowledge, rather than Naru projecting the dream to her. It is actually logical since Mai does not have the control yet of her ESP and we do know who she likes, hence it is logical for someone who she likes (and in the way she likes him to be) to give advice in that form as the manifestation.

So, it’s back to the question. Who is the one who actually started all this? I think that the episode is veering us to the summation of the solution but I honestly am still interested who introduced it. If it is merely a game that did not target anyone in particular, it is of no consequence. The fact that the disciplinary master is targeted meant that someone has a deep hatred of him. Who can that person be?

Yasuhara as a wild guess?

Yet, I have no evidence to say it is him. What says you?

Yasuhara professed his love to Bou-san and said that he liked the smart-looking Naru as well. Bou-san said that he did not mind and was fine that Naru would join them together. With that, they went on a happy three-way wedding after both Naru and Bou-san accepted Yasuhara’s proposal. The two ghost hunters forsake their duties as well as their adoration of Mai as they eloped happily.

*Silence followed by the sound of cannons getting readied at me*

Ok, I take that as a clear indication of something vicious happening to me. Fine, I will stop with all the darn yaoi jokes and go right to the summary.

Episode summary

Masako arrived to school, saying that she could not see the spirits but could sense them nearby, as thought they were hiding somewhere in the school. She said that it was like a television that was not tuned, with the spirits unrecognizable. The witch said that Masako was being useless again, only to be refuted the same thing. Masako said that she could feel a very strong spirit around the same age as him, as Mai remembered the dream about Sakuachi smiling at him. Lin then reported that there were dips in temperature in 2-4, 3-1 and LL classroom, while there were noises in 2-4, the Arts room and the gym storage room.

Naru then ordered everyone to do their respective tasks, while telling Mai not to fall asleep. Mai was trying to keep awake (and slapping herself too hard) but suddenly found herself standing in the corridor. She was in a spirit state again as Naru told her to get away as soon as possible, with a purple spirit starting to consume another white spirit in order to grow in strength. The spirit Naru also told Mai to find someone to teach her on spirit exorcising techniques in order to stay and help, and not to go close to the place where the purple spirit fire was near.

Mai was then woken up by Yasuhara, who told her that she would be scolded by Naru if she loafed off. Yasuhara also told her about the trend of Orikiri and told her about the procedure of this fancy spirit item. He then mentioned that the students tended to follow trends a lot and they needed to find the source of the popularity to find out the true answer. Mai said Yasuhara was very calm but Yasuhara laughed at himself, saying that people often called him an old man. Yasuhara then added that there would be a fire at the changing room but Mai mumbled it might not be the case.

Bou-san and John came in, teasing Yasuhara about him with Mai. Yasuhara then turned bishie mode on with the sparkles as he said that they were speaking very happily. Bou-san then asked if Yasuhara liked Mai and he said yes, as John hurt his head in the process. Yasuhara added that he liked Naru and he loved Bou-san the most. Bou-san asked whether he was kidding and Yasuhara said that he was of course. Bou-san also taught Mai a mantra stance and Yasuhara talked about the muttering that Mai did on the burning in the studio rather than the changing room. Mai said that it was just a dream but Bou-san tried to offer a pillow, in order to force Mai to sleep. Eventually, Yasuhara said to wait whether the occurrence did happen before any decision would be made. However, at 4.32 am, the burning did occur.

They reached there, with Mai saying that she was happy that she helped since she was always looked down upon but the fire seemed to burn much worse, with the walls completely scorched. Naru then asked whether she felt the spirit fire in her dream, as she said the printing room, LL classroom and the sick bay but she was not sure. Naru said he never expected much of Mai, with Mai being annoyed. Bou-san remarked that the camera was spoilt but Naru added that he bought insurance. It then finally occurred to Mai that he had already paid off the camera she broke in the first episode with the insurance and he simply wanted some help. Naru said that she was finally getting clever, as Mai was annoyed she got tricked.

Mai then met up with the disciplinary teacher, with him insulting her and saying that they were here simply to cheat money. He then said that they would turn out to be like Sakauchi, who thought of himself as a ghost hunter and was still probably regretting it in his grave. Mai retorted that the teacher did not seem sad that Sakauchi died but it was broken up by a huge banging noise in the classroom. The huge purple dog had became bigger than the previous time as it injured some people before disappearing. Naru also told the shocked disciplinary teacher to call the hospital.

Masako then moved forward to check, only to turn pale as Mai reached forward. As she did, she went into a spiritual stance, seeing Sakauchi being consumed by the huge purple spirit fire. She finally regained her consciousness as Masako saw the same vision as her, that all the spirits were eating and consuming each other. John then implied that the spirits which consumed the others would become stronger. Naru remarked that they had to stop the spirit hunting since it was definitely not helping matters and the spirit might escape.

Yasuhara then reported that the source of the popularity came from a first year student and the Arts club. He was surprised because Sakauchi was parts of the Arts club but there was no conclusive evidence to say that it was him who spread it. Naru said that it was still a hint and was worth investigating. Naru continued that it was strange that even if there was a huge use of spirit summoning, it was still by people who had no idea how to do it, hence it made no sense that so many spirits were conjured. Later at night, Mai was asked to retrieve the tape from the biology class, with her light and torch going off and the door being locked. As the room started to shake and the glass exhibits started to break, Formalin was smelled by Mai as she started to faint…

Thoughts

Formalin, if anyone is not clear with the chemical, is used as a disinfectant as it kills most bacteria from specimens and the likes. However, in huge quantities in the air (assuming that all the glass exhibits have been broken, highly likely that it’s dangerous), it can be highly toxic and cause difficulty in breathing as well as a headache. That is why Mai succumbed to the ground after smelling this toxic substance.

Well, it is starting to look unlikely that Yasuhara is the culprit in all this. This episode clearly shows that he is simply interested to help them, but I still cannot understand why someone can be so overly helpful when it comes to this issue. I cannot pinpoint him to any faults as yet, but I am still highly suspicious of this man. He’s too nice, it’s just not right to be so nice. I also have to add that he’s clearly extremely smart, which also makes him a very desirable ghost hunt. I can see him of sorts to be involved in the Ghost Hunt campaign soon enough, with his intelligence and calm behavior being his strengths to support Naru.

He will also add a bit of romantic tension for Mai, since he seems to be a really fun character. However, he will also be one of the most interesting culprits even though I do not have any idea what is the true source of evilness in this school. Someone or something must have tried to conjure this huge purple dog (or possibly that huge purple spirit fire) in the school. Naru also said that it’s impossible that someone without the expertise to conjure spirits would have problems with summoning so many spirits.

I also find it interesting with the yaoi implications between Sakauchi and Bou-san, which is fricking hilarious, as well as Mai trying to attack Naru because he had tricked her into helping him into SPR. My guess is that Naru already knew that Mai was quite a special person at the start, which is why he tried to trick her into it in order to find help. I mean, even though Mai is often ridiculed by Naru, Naru does listen a lot to Mai. Lastly, I will go on with Impz’s crazy deduction.

Here’s my strange proposition once again: Sakauchi did not suicide.

There is no actual news or anyone who had seen Sakauchi suicide. If I have missed out any point here, please correct me. Sakauchi is perhaps the person who had started on this little trend but has mistakenly cast something evil in the air. With that, it facilitated everyone to cast little spirits in the school. Knowing his mistake, I personally think that he must be trying to curb the situation with the school, as he attempted to tell everyone about the problems of summoning spirits. The teachers, being nonsupporting of his actions, tried to stop him but he continued as he felt his passion as a ghost hunter.

Eventually, he did build up resentment as he did everything with the teachers trying to stop him. I presumed that he had tried very hard to prevent himself from getting hurt while saving the others, but somewhat got killed by the very spirits. He hence had a strong lingering in the school, hoping to somehow direct the school and the spirits away, yet having a strong resentment to the authority nevertheless.

There is definitely some loophole with my theory but my brain is fried from the illness. However, with the tons of sleep I have gotten, it is at least good enough for me to do some write up.

What do you think of my guess? Do you have any good guesses to how this situation of spirits arises?

A nice womanly fight, anyone?

Someone should remind me not to eat potato chips, eat my fruit cocktail and drink nice lime juice while reading the episode. What resulted was a serious case of distraction to the extent that I have to re-watch the episode in order to look the summary. That said, thanks to LKK for the manga summary, I had problems with some names in this episode and happily stolen them.

Episode summary

A very short scene of a room was shown with a male voice saying that “he was not a dog”. Mai was held up as she arrived late to SPR due to the news broadcasting on Ryokuryou High School that she had to watch on television. She said that the news this time was about the students being bitten by a dog and the teachers denied seeing it. We see Osamu Yasuhara, the president of the student council of the school with Naru. Mai said that Naru had rejected the offer by the school once but after some persuading of the issue by Yasuhara, Naru said that he was in fact interested and decided to take on the job.

The next day, they entered the school, it seemed that the guards and teachers seemed to be annoyed at the presence of the ghost hunters. Mai remarked that it was the monk who was too strange, with the monk asking where Lin was .Mai said that Lin was getting ready with carrying the equipment over.

As they met up with the principle, it was clear that he did not believe in ghosts and considered it to be a waste of money as he rushed Naru to get rid of the case fast because it was hard to explain the waste of money to the directors of the school. We also realized that Yasuhara was a third year senior and had reduced classes, hence he was free enough to help in this. The principle also added that Yasuhara was smart enough to handle all this by himself. As they moved to the meeting room, the disciplinary teacher also talked to Naru in a very disrespecting manner, mocking Naru’s age as well as insulting Naru that he was probably from some infamous lousy school due to his mannerisms, eliciting a strong and annoyed reaction from Mai from the stuck up attitude.

As they went to the meeting area, Naru asked for the disciplinary teacher to leave as he wanted all students who had experienced supernatural occurences to have some privacy. He refused to, saying that children did not need such privacy and he wanted to see how these proclaimed ghost hunters were able to do anything.Naru coolly retorted that if he wanted, he could ask the principle since it was the principle who asked them to help and the teacher could not order them at all as the teacher left in a huff.

Mai then tried to scold the teacher but made a bad mistake on the phrase. The monk wanted to see the sarcasm of Naru but Naru said there was no need to waste energy on the teacher as Yasuhara said it was an excellent deduction. Naru then asked Yasuhara to gather all the students but a loud commotion occurred as a girl was crying and sitting in a frightened. A spiritual black dog appeared and charged at them before disappearing in thin ash, as the teachers cannot deny not seeing them anymore.

Later that day, Yasuhara gathered some students who stopped coming to school due to the hauntings, as they described about an incident in LL classroom. They were listening to some audio when one of the girls heard the creepy sound of a child before a spirit child appeared to touch her thighs. All the students in the class showed it but the teacher denied any appearances of it. The other girls also described other occurrences such as a locker that cannot be opened, dismembered body parts, funny noises from the music room, an uncle appearing from rubbish bins, the bed in the resting room having someone sleeping on it and many others.

The girls added that the occurrences seemed to happen after the suicide of a first year student last September and he was reputed to be named “I am not a dog”. The monk then explained that the school was way too strict and he could understand why the boy had such a hatred of the school due to the various pressures by the faculty.

Yasuhara also appeared, stating about a situation where there was a strong smell in the morning today as everyone wanted to vomit. Many fell ill as a boy rushed out, about to vomit and even Yasuhara suffered from it. Mai remarked that the situation was much worse than expected. As they entered class 3-1, both Mai and the monk were suffocating from the smell as they quickly opened the windows. Naru then asked if anything was done here, and two gals were whispering about Orikiri-sama, which was in fact a piece of paper to summon spirits. It was extremely popular in school and everyone was doing it as the monk said that it was very dangerous. The girl said that it was harmless since the fox spirit summoned God but the monk said that even an untrained person could summon spirits but only a trained person could get rid of them as he teared the paper.

It seemed that there was indeed many people who played with this as they collected a lot of these papers. Naru was however unconvinced that it was the work of Orikiri-sama. The monk then wanted to ask Yasuhara to help them do the exorcism as Mai stared angrily at the monk. Naru said that many schools had played with Orikiri-sama but even if they were able to summon any spirits, the amount of spirits was way out of proportion.

Mai then asked if the fox spirit was really able to summon spirits and the monk replied that a trained user could. Mai remembered that she actually played it in junior high and was told that it could predict the future too. Naru subjected her to a little experiment where she placed her finger on the table as she noticed the finger started to shake. Naru explained with many fingers on the table, the little vibrations would cause the coin to move.

Naru remarked that he had to wait for the rest to arrive before he could do anything. The witch appeared, stating that there was no hotel and she was stuck with the cold Lin for three whole hours. Mai then said that when Masako arrived, they would be sharing a room with three people but the four guys had to share one small room. Naru said that the amount of occurrences was too much for the equipment to handle as he asked the witch to check for spirits, the others to try and get rid of the spirits while Mai would correspond in the HQ as she had latent ESP. The witch mocked Mai that she could occasionally do something while Mai said that the witch could DO SOMETHING for a change.

Yasuhara then asked to stay and help but Naru said that it was dangerous. However, Yasuhara said that if he was hindering, he would leave as Naru agreed to let him help. Mai and Yasuhara were about to set up the equipment where cat cries were heard in the gymnasium when Yasuhara remarked that the boy who suicided actually wrote that his ambition was to be a ghost hunter. Yasuhara also amusingly called Mai a teacher and a head, as well as calling Naru the great head, with Mai tickled. The backdrop of a spirit boy was seen.

As they walked together Mai then found herself suddenly alone in a dark place as she saw a light surrounding a boy who was laughing. She then saw spirits flowing all around the school, as she started to wonder who the creepily laughing boy was and asked whether he knew what he was seeing. He said he knew and that was why he was happy as Mai realized that the boy was the boy who suicided as a close shot of his eyes went right through and a lighted embryo was seen.

Thoughts

Still here? I hope I did not kill you guys with the detailed summary. Above are some of the new screenshots for the OP.

Excellent start-up episode, other than the fact that the graphical quality at some points of this episode is a bit lacking and I was shocked at the glaring lazy graphics shown at some parts. It is generally not too apparent but I hope that this is an one-off situation because if Impz can notice it, it does mean that the graphics are lowering enough for me to actually notice and remark about it. However, other than the graphics, I want to start off about speculating who the real mastermind is.

If you ask me right now, it is so darn obvious to say that Sakauchi is the root of all this happening. I am sure that he is in fact the spirit that is causing some of the problems right now. However, I believe that Sakauchi, or the boy who suicided is simply a pawn for someone who is acting in the backstage. Hence, Impz will make a very wild guess which is that Yasuhara is in fact the mastermind of all that has happened and that the boy who suicided was simply a spirit that Yasuhara was able to summon.

Why did I say so?

I have a few wild allegations and reasons to say so. First up is the fact that he is probably the person that is under the most pressure compared to most other students in the school. This is clearly an elite school and the amount of pressure to do well is great. Moreover, Yasuhara is the top student of the school, giving him additional pressure from the faculty as well as being the envy and jealousy of the school.

Added to the fact that he is somehow strangely involved as the president of the student council makes it something interesting to juggle about. I am sure that someone with that form of intelligence will smartly insist to help the ghost hunters to indirectly let them presume that they have found something, get rid of it and yet still closely investigate what they are doing as to defend oneself from getting caught. It is an excellent strategy, to be seen as a helper to the ghost hunters, yet closely noting what they are doing. Any normal person who is the thief will try to be as close to his hunters to allay suspicion.

For now, I will let all the manga readers laugh at my silly allegations since I highly doubt that it’s true but if Yasuhara does have the ability to summon, I think put in the shoes of Yasuhara, that will be exactly what I will do to prevent myself from being exposed. The most dangerous place is also the safest place. Back to the comedic situations, I was laughing my head when Mai went about trying to “seppuku” the teachers who were giving Naru an extremely bad time. Mai is always so easily agitated and it’s always funny to have the different Mai expressions all the time. It is almost a “what expression will Mai have this week” feature.

The monk’s denial of his age was also extremely funny when he refused Mai’s guess on his age, which was probably going to be a very old prediction. I am surprised how the monk is in fact concerned so much about his age though I do wonder. How old is he?

Lastly, Naru’s smile at Yasuhara reeks of yaoi. Lin will be jealous.

Ok, I did not say that.

Laters!

Do you see any big difference between the possessed child Mai and the normal Mai other than the closed eyes? No, there is no other change, I assure you. I hence conclude with a 90% confidence level that Mai is a small child-like character no matter she is possessed or not. Yes, it is the greatest discovery of Ghost Hunt ever, exposed by the extremely deep Impz. (Yea, right). Well, no more idle randomness, it’s time for the episode summary and thoughts!

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Episode summary

*note*: I use Mai all the way for this summary but do remember that Mai is possessed by Kenji until close to the end of the episode.

We see Mai fawning all over Lin as Kenji immediately as Naru sent John and the monk outside to ask about the situation. It seemed that it was the first time that there was spirit noise and that it possessed someone so fast. Naru asked about any other special occurences and John mentioned that the duration of the possession was increasing. Naru then asked John what he felt would happen if he was to try exorcizing again and John said that it might make Kenji more angry, which was not a good thing. The talk was then interrupted by Lin piggybacking Mai around, with Lin getting very annoyed at it. The monk could not resist making a laugh out of it. Naru then told Lin to take care of Mai as they searched around.

As they investigated the area, the monk jumped over the barrier where the whistle was found. He then speculated that with the logs around during the construction period, Kenji probably used it to lift himself above the barrier and fell down the drain. Naru then said he was going to find the remains of Kenji while the others went to bake cakes along with Masako and the witch. The ghost hunters then had a light moment where they attempted to wrap the freshly baked cakes as presents, with John getting taught by the kids and Lin having a fun moment with Mai with the present. We then knew that Kenji had always been waiting for his father outside the church and he always wanted to spend time with his father.

The rest then said it was probably logical why Mai was so sticky toward the father but Lin suddenly lost his temper, saying that he was not the father and asked why he had to keep up with this act. He then rejected the hand of Mai, with Mai running off. We then hear the sound of the stick again, with it growing louder. Everyone tried to find him with no avail. Naru then explained to Lin that the occurence was especially special with increased resistance by Kenji, due to the fact that the “father” was around. That increased his yearning. The reason that all the kids who were possessed previously appeared on their own was the reason why Naru assigned Lin to be around Mai all the time, so that he could find more information.

We then had the backstory that there was news after Kenji went missing that his father had died. Naru then questioned why Kenji hid himself, allowing himself to be discovered with the rapid hitting of the stick. That would mean that his aim was not to disappear but to be found. Lin then said it was to go back to the church so that the father would be back there to fetch him. It was hence a game for someone else to find him so that it could end. Naru then proposed that they had to recruit the help of the kids to find Mai, while they would find the place that the kids did not cover. They were also worried for Mai, since she went out in the cold winter with only a shirt on. All the kids then went around finding Mai, as they observed how the kids were moving. The monk then observed that all the kids were searching where their eye sight was, and remarked that all the high places were not investigated by others. They then rushed out to find around the trees, finally finding Mai.

Mai was then touched by the gesture of the monk, as she was close to tears. The rest then arrived, with Mai rushing over to Lin. Naru then told Kenji that Lin was not his father and said that his father was waiting for him in heaven. Naru then added that the game was over and asked Kenji where he was hiding. He then looked up, with Naru seeing a skull near the statue. Kenji then said thank you. We then saw a flashback of Kenji feeling completely cold as he hid above the statues. He was hoping that the priest would be able to find him as he climbed up to the high area with the construction base.

With that, we saw the normal Mai waking up, seeing the nice dream as she told Lin that Kenji finally made it in time for Christmas. As they left the place, everyone was talking about a Christmas party. Mai then smiled, only to look at Naru, who said with a bit of annoyance to do what they want. The last shot was Lin looking toward the distance of the church, in the peaceful white snow.

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Thoughts

From this series, we can conclude a few things about Lin.

1. He’s not a lolicon.
2. He doesn’t like to piggyback ladies.
3. He hates cute gals like Mai fawning all over him.
4. He’s gay for Naru.

Ok, ok, before I go into a totally clueness thought entry, here is the serious bit. I do not really understand why Lin had to do that. It was not only dumb, but totally impulsive. Someone who is capable to think of using voodoo dolls in the doll arc should be able to think why Naru wanted him to take care of him. Even if he knows perfectly well that he is not the father of Kenji, he should have stayed calm in order to buy some time for Naru to find out more about the background of Kenji. In a way, I am a bit surprised at the outburst of Lin, which is quite uncharacteristic of a man that seemed to be the epitome of calmness. Hence, I am pretty appalled when Lin shoved Mai away, which is not only stupid since he is warned quite a few times by the monk and Naru, but ridiculous since he should know the aim is to buy time to find a solution.

Yes, you can tell that I am pretty irritated by Lin’s insensitive and ridiculously stupid actions.

I am also a tad disappointed that we do not see much of Naru’s expression. No jealousy or anything from the man who has a poker face. It is just my wishful thinking but I wanted to see more of Masako’s evilness but I guess it is not really appropriate in this arc. That said, I find the initial red herring of Kenji supposedly falling down the drain interesting. However, I think the dropping of the whistle is probably something that he missed out while trying to find the perfect hiding place.

It is also a tad sad that no one bothered to look up, even though he was maintaining the game just like a child. I am personally surprised why Kenji did not shout out to the priest. Even a kid at his age knows that he will be insanely freezing and probably die if he does not seek help. Why did he not shout out and simply hide. It sounds like an irrational act for a kid, EVEN if he’s trying to maintain his hide and seek game. That, to me, does not make too much sense.

However, on the whole, when Kenji in Mai’s body said thank you to Naru, I found the scenario to be rather heartwarming, as he has finally found the release after 30 years. It is one of the best touching scenes in Ghost Hunt, even if it is only for a very short moment in this episode. I also find the compelling story of Kenji doing this simply wanting and yearning to be found so that his father can pick him up to be really touching too. I think Kenji really loved his father a lot, which is why he is so resistant to leaving Lin. He finally thought out of it though, and he finally was released.

Good story, and the next episode seemed to be the banned game. No idea whatsoever it is but let’s wait for the next exciting arc!

Mai is so cute when she smiles so innocently. Isn’t she?

Accordingly with the festive season, Ghost Hunt brings you the best of Christmas ghosts, where they have assorted Christmas ghost of the past, present and future….Just joking. This is a new case, with a case of spirit possession in a church with a lot of children. What will await our ghost hunters in which to find out what is the true case.

Is it really possession or simply a prank by the children?

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Episode summary

We started with a kid in black and white, sitting down alone as the darkness surrounded him. He then asked if anyone would find him. It’s December 24th, with Christmas arriving as Mai was preparing some decorations. We see Mai fixing up a Christmas tree but Naru asked her to put it down. The others sans John came over and Naru sarcastically said that if they wanted to celebrate Christmas, they should go to a church. However, John came in, saying that he had a task for them. They then went to the church, with Mai saying how nice it was but Naru said that if they were here to have fun, they could go home. The monk and the others also added how fun it was to be coming to the church for Christmas, with the monk saying that they should help clear this case so that they could have a company.

As John introduced Naru to the priest of the church, they realized that the place was also the home of many children whose parents were working overseas or did not have the time to take care of them. A few of the kids then recognized Masako, asking her to conjure up spirits as she was troubled. Eventually, Naru suggested that they should take care of the kids as the monk was in great spirits. The kids then pestered Masako to conjure spirits, calling the witch an auntie, the monk playing with the swing while Mai playing soccer with them. In the house, we realized that there were cases of child possession, even though nothing dangerous was done. We then saw Mai, who was trying to pick up a ball that she kicked into the forest as she showed a strange boy who was sitting down with a stick.

Mai then tried to chase it, as we were told by the priest’s voice over that the possession came when a child held a stick and a stick hitting sound would appear, as though they were playing this hide and seek game. One of the kids in the church had been missing since the morning, and Mai eventually found the kid that was in hiding. Naru and the rest also rushed to the scene when they heard the knocking sound, as the child suddenly rushed over to Lin, exclaiming that Lin was his father.

We then see all the children playing indoors, with Lin getting closely attached by the kid who was possessed. It seemed that Lin looked like Kenji’s father. Kenji was the boy that was missing 30 years ago, and that was when possessions started to occur. It seemed that Kenji was abandoned by his father (my guess) and that he would be picked up after next Christmas. The boy, Kenji was unable to speak and the stick was used as a form of communication with the kids when they played hide and seek. As the place was under construction, it was an excellent place to play the game, as he would hit the stick once to indicate that he was still searching for a place and many times that he was ready. Kenji was one of the best in this game.

However, as Christmas was approaching, Kenji was given a whistle to use instead of the stick. However, they then realized at night after one of the hide and seek games that Kenji was missing as they tried to search for him. They still could not find him, with a huge rubble in front of the church. As they cleared the rubble, Kenji was also not there. The next day, as they continued on their search, they found a whistle that was behind the church, near the warehouse. Behind the church, there was a huge drain (which was not covered by the fence last time) and they suspected that Kenji drowned. However, they could not find the body as they followed the path of the drain.

It seemed that due to the fact that the whistle was lost, the possessed kid used a stick to communicate. They had asked John to exorcise the spirit but it seemed that they could get rid of the possession, only for the spirit to posses again. Also, the frequency of the possession had been increasing, which was why they asked Naru for help. Mai then said that if Kenji did not do anything, it was fine to leave it as it was. However, the monk said that when a spirit emerged, it no longer had the conscience that it had after a period of time, with the surrounding affecting it. Hence, there was no way to judge when Kenji would change to a malicious spirit, even if he was a kind boy when he was alive.

Eventually, the boy was still playing with Lin, as John carried out the exorcism effectively. As the boy fainted from the ritual, Mai was suddenly inflicted with something as she looked down, with the monk worried that Mai was feeling a bit bad (since Mai had been quite affected by the child being separated from his “dad”). Mai seemed to be possessed instead by the spirit as she creep up to Lin, smiling happily.

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Thoughts

For a start, I have to say thanks for some of the guys in the animesuki forums for reading Ghost Hunt and spreading the good word about this series. I am almost distraught at times when I feel that no one is reading the summaries or think that Ghost Hunt is good because to me, it really has a good decent premise and I was a little sad that no one was watching it. Now, it seemed that more people are slowly picking this up, which is always a good thing!

Bad digression, and let me go on with the thoughts of this episode proper.

I am pretty surprised that Kenji only started to increase his frequency after 30 years of the incident happening. I personally do not understand why this certain period is the cause of it. I can fully understand if the possession started during this period, since spirits do stay on more frequently during their period of death. However, why now? Why wait 30 years later until the frequency of possession started to increase. My presumption on this case is what the monk said, that the constant interaction of the surroundings have slowly changed Kenji, which took a long while for him to change to this.

I personally feel that Lin’s appearance might also be a catalyst, as Kenji is in fact waiting for his father to arrive. In that notion, even though the child had disappeared in the morning, it is still possible that the spirit had already sensed that Lin is coming from afar, hence the increased frequency. The awakening is probably resulting from the promise that his father is going to be back, hence he wants to get the attention of everyone.

He is probably excited and not yet malicious for now. However, the fact that he possessed Mai meant a change to me. That is also where the fun part comes, since I really want to see the cute Mai fawning all over Lin. Hoohohohoh~ Fun fun~ Another fun thing was the interaction in the office, where Naru was saying how he hated the Christmas ambiance and asked them to go to a church if they wanted it. Oh man, he is really a boring man.

That’s it for the thoughts and I cannot wait for the possession of Mai to be played out. It sounds totally fun!