Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Subtitles
Length: 13 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2004
Currently in Print (as of writing): No
Like “Vampire Host (released as Bloodhound)”, this is another strange Japanese TV comedy/drama release from Bandai Entertainment. I’m still really unsure what exactly their aim was in releasing these shows. There never seemed to be any promotion that I recall for the three dramas they released. In the light of the fact this show was created and partly directed by Takashi Shimizu, the man who directed the “Ju-on” movies (later remade by himself in Hollywood as “The Grudge”), it’s even more curious that very little fuss was made about this show. Oh, and despite the cover, there is no animation all in this show. In fact the depictions of the cast on the cover don’t appear in the show at all. However the end credits consist of similar drawings though.
The series revolves around the Imawano family. They have just moved into a new home, a house which the real estate had difficulty trying to sell. The house seems fine to the family except for a trange room downstairs which the doors seems to be permanently locked. However the grandfather, Fuchio Imawano (Shunji Fujimura) knows there is something wrong and gather the family to tell them. Unfortunately he drops dead before he can explain himself. Strange things begin to happen about the house. Twenty something son, Kiyoshi Imawano (Issei Takahashi), wakes one night to find a strange female sprit haunting him and asking if she is pretty enough. He manages to escape and later finds himself inside “the room that cannot be opened”. There he is flabbergasted to find the spirit of his grandfather. His grandfather explains that he now has the power to see and communicate with sprits and it his duty to solve the mystery of why the house seems to be attracting all kinds of ghosts, demons and even aliens. However, soon the entire family gains the same abilities to see sprits, with the ironic exception of paranormal phenomenon obsessed father, Osamu Imawano (Moro Morooka).
Like previously mentioned “Vampire Host”, this show really surprised me. I suppose with the talented Takashi Shimizu being the creator, I shouldn’t be surprised. However the production values are most certainly TV standard (and like “Vampire Host” it was screened in the wee hours of the night), with it being shot on video and some rather cheap (but often rather effective) optical special effects. The key to the show I think is in the writing. It’s almost constantly quite witty and for many of the episodes there is a very dark line of humour running through it. A lot of traditional and not so traditional Japanese horror/folk tales are given a rather inventive and highly original comedic spin. Some of my favourites include the episode where an old hag monster shows up to infiltrate the home under the guise of grandma’s friend, and the cursed gothic lolita who wreaks revenge on the senior high school daughter in the family.
The cast are also pretty damn good and avoid hamming it up too much. The standouts for me were the two grandparents. Shunji Fujimura who plays grandpa Fuchio Imawano grandpa is probably better known to western audiences as the horse (in human form of course) from “Monkey!”, and Watari in the live action “Death Note” movies. He underpays the character really well. Tomiko Ishii who plays Kiwa Imawano, is a scream as the grandma, who seems to have developed some sort of psychic abilities and is always munching on rice crackers. You may have seen her before in “20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End” and “Shall We Dance?” The son, Kiyoshi Imawano, played by Issei Takahashi (“Meatball Machine”, “Swing Girls”, “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” and Seiji Amasawa in “Whisper of the Heart”), does a really good job too in his role. He’s manic but not too over the top. I also like Shoichiro Masumoto as the hapless monk who tries to help the family the ends up as a sprit for the remained of the show, after being run over (he has a tyre mark over his face as a spirit). Nao Oikawa who plays Asami, the spirit of the dead girl who initially haunts then sticks by Kiyoshi. She’s very effective as the rather creepy long haired spirit. That’s quite an achievement, considering her former career as an AV actress (in other words porn star). Despite her past she’s managed to appear in mainsteam fare like the live action drama version of “Negima!: Magister Negi Magi” and “Engine Sentai Go-onger”. Just as a side note, I noticed that cosplay superstar Yunmao Ayakawa appears in a cameo in an episode. While the show was rather funny and well written, at times it was just way too silly. Also the last three episodes (directed by Takashi Shimizu himself) force the show to come to a resolution. At this point I really felt it lost a lot of its humour and was hell bent on having a conclusive, rousing climax. In the end it’s a fun show, but it is let down by too much silliness and an ending which is determined to tie everything together no matter what. 6 out of 10.
Remaining Backlog: 26 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).
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