[Reaction] Ghost Stories (Dub)

Ok I know this isn't airing right now but whatever, I need to talk about this. 

Actually, I'm actually speechless right now. Not only by the fact that this thing was actually conceived, but also that is was actually able to be pulled off by actual human beings. What am I talking about? Well, the thing that has been consuming the last few hours of my life. You see, I recently learned about this little anime called Ghost Stories. Usually, I wouldn't give it a second thought, it seeming like a completely mediocre show about some kids and their run-ins with various supernatural phenomena. It was realeased over a decade ago in 2000, and was animated by those guys over at Studio Pierrot. Basically, nobody really cares about this anime, and while I haven't seen the original sub version myself, most people seem to agree it was boring, horribly written, and exasperatingly average. "So Quan," you might ask, "why would some cynical pessimistic black-hearted Mekakucityactor-loving twat like yourself go through with watching the first episode of this anime?" Well, as I've established before in previous posts, I'm a complete masochist when it comes to anime; I don't exactly enjoy bad anime, but due to my deep-rooted idealistic belief that every anime should be given a chance to surprise me, I do make myself sit through them just in case I find something amazing among the sea of moe-blob crap and slice-of-life sequels(SNAFU being the prime example of this). But I didn't decide to watch the anime for either of those reasons; in fact, I can explain why I'm watching Ghost Stories right now and absolutely loving it... in two words: The Dub.
     Apparently, the employees at ADV got around a table on the day they were dubbing this anime and said to themselves, "you know, this anime is terrible anyway, so why don't we just make a full on comedy parody of the show with real dub actors, edgy and offensive humor, a Lucky Star amount of western pop-culture references, purposely awkward and stereotypical voices and uncensored cursing?" And apparently at that meeting, the-soon-to-be dub screenwriter Steven Foster raised his hand and said "I've got this." He did. And it was glorious.

I'm not even going to kid here, these first ten episodes of Ghost Story(yeah that's right, I've watched ten in one evening!)have been one of the most absolutely hysterical things I have ever seen in my life. I can't remember the last time I have just laughed my butt off so much at one thing. What caught me off guard is just how far the dub will go with the jokes with no regard for boundaries or respect for the anime or even the company is comes from, as if this isn't one company getting together to create a dub for money, but just a group of guys getting together to make their own abridge series of a really crappy anime with the intent of having a lot of fun. Keep in mind, this isn't exactly under-the-radar voice actors either, these are people like Chris Patton(Another, Kanon 2006), Greg Ayres(Clannad, Shinsekai yori) and Hilary Haag(Angel Beats, Full Metal Panic), people who are rather prominent in the industry, and I realize they may not have been as big when this dub was released several years ago, but still, it's startling. I don't even see how the company was allowed to do this without being sued or something, I don't know, but things like this, essentially taking the original script and characters and throwing them out the window to replace them with something new, almost never happens. I can't even think of another example like it, though I'm sure there is something like this, even if I don't know about it. And again, this isn't just chuckling for 20 minutes comedy. This dub is legitimately one of the most hilarious anime I have ever seen in my life, and I struggle to think of something even outside of the medium of anime that I find funnier. OK, I'll stop hyping it up now, just go watch the dub now. Yeah there's another paragraph left but whatever.

Here's a couple of examples of what you can expect.

But before I go, there is something that needs to be addressed isn't there? Well, yes, even though this dub still keeps the mainframe and plot of each episode intact; you have to remember that this is basically an entirely different show than the Japanese original. The characters will have no development and keep in their archetypes, there will be no kind of emotional attachment with anything in the show, and while the original show may have tried to be a horror, supernatural anime, this dub is nothing of the sort. But you know, I'm OK with that. I don't think I'm really missing anything by not watching the original show, in my view, it's one ecstatic dub vs a mediocre sub. I may get curious and watch the original show someday, but for now, I'm fascinated with this bizarre and daring side-show. And I can't wait to finish this dub. Remember though, if crude humor isn't for you, that's perfectly fine, go watch whatever comedy you enjoy, and I'll stop badgering you about Ghost Stories. 

Goodbye for now guys.

If it's more episode reactions you're looking for, the link the my reaction to the first episode of Sword Art Online II is here. 

Click here for my Top Ten Studio Ghibli Films. 

My anime review of Gatchaman Crowds is here, and my review of Higurashi no naku koro ni is here.