Ghost Stories (Complete Series Review)

Satsuki Miyansoshita and her little brother, Keichiro, have just moved to their mothers hometown.  Turns out their deceased Mom used to be a pretty big spiritual deal in this town: specializing in exorcising or putting Demons and Ghosts to spiritual sleep.  But construction around the town has woken most of these supernatural threats and they have a bone to pick with Satsuki and Keichiro.  Together with a pervert with a heart of gold, a supernatural fanboy and a born again Christian, Satsuki will have to embrace her destiny as her mothers successor and put these spooks back to sleep for good.

Happy Halloween from the Gundam Anime Corner Everyone!!!!
 
Dubbing Anime is a job not to be taken lightly.  Before it used to be about appealing to the kids market and censoring everything that resulted in a loss of identity for the property in question.  Nowadays, dubbing is mostly treated with reverence and respect (mostly, not every dub is a winner).  Ghost Stories is an interesting case.  From what I’ve learned there were only a few rules for ADV Films taking on the project: no character or monster names were to be changed and it had to stay at least somewhat faithful to the original shows overall feel.  Other than that, ADV was allowed to go nuts with the dialogue and the end result truly is the stuff of legends.  Is it the masterpiece lost to time many have built it up to be?  Or is it a disgrace that deserves an exorcism of it’s own?
 

FIF#269-Another

Koichi Sakakibara has just started school at Yomiyama North Middle School, joining Class 3-3.  What he doesn’t know is that this class has been cursed for over 25 years now after the death of a popular girl named Misaki in 1972. Now, each member of the class is a potential candidate for a horrific death and no one can escape it.  As Koichi delves into this mystery, he teams with the mysterious Mei Misaki, who may hold the key to breaking the curse once and for all…or ensuring Koichi joins his doomed classmates.

 
Since it’s the day before Halloween, figured I’d give todays FIF a bit of a scarier subject to check out.  Another has an interesting relationship with the Anime community.  I vaguely remember it being one of the most talked about titles when it dropped for it’s grizzly violent deaths that would make you think Light Yagami and his Death Note had a hand in them.  Factor in a girl with an eyepatch who everyone thinks is cute and you’d think this would be a title still largely discussed with the same reverence as Perfect Blue.  Whatever it’s current standing, I decided to brave the first episode to see what all the fuss was about with Another.  And…it’s ok, not a bad start at least.
 

T5W#585-Top 5 Most Unexpected Otakon 2026 Cosplays

Well it’s that time again Dear Readers.  With Halloween just around the corner it’s time to jump back in time a few months to highlight some more awesome cosplays from my favorite con of the year.  This year, however, we’re doing something a bit different.  A lot of the cosplays that make my lists come not just from how well they’re crafted but how they stand out, how out of left field the choices are.  Ergo, the more obscure the better.  And this year, the obscure was everywhere.  I didn’t get a photo but when I learned someone was doing a photoshoot as a character from Code Lyoko of all things, I had no idea that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg.  So for this years Cosplay Halloween centric Top 5 Wednesday, I’m looking at the wildest, most eye popping cosplays of characters from things you would never expect to see at a con, much less Otakon.  These are my Top 5 Most Unexpected Otakon 2026 Cosplays.

Street Fighter (2026)

Ryu and Ken Masters.  Once inseparable brothers of the fist, now sent on different paths after the death of their Master.  Those paths have reunited them at the Second World Warrior Tournament, hosted by the maniacal M. Bison.  For some, it’s a matter of honor.  For others, it’s a matter of proving who is the strongest.  For Ken and Ryu, it’s about settling old scores and confronting the past that drove them apart.  Together, they answer the call to see who will be crowned the world champion Street Fighter.

Something about the way the new Street Fighter movie was marketed got me right away.  It didn’t look like a generic but goofy 90s action vehicle for Jean Claude Van Damme or a far too serious to be taken seriously Dark Knight wanna be with a terrible Chun Li.  The trailers looked colorful, humorous and unafraid to embrace the craziness of Capcoms’ legendary fighter.  The end product certainly is all of that and when you switch your brain off, it is a great time.  Putting it up against most recent Video Game adaptations though, you can tell Street Fighters heart and energy is in the right place.  It’s just a shame the script is in desperate need of a few rewrites that keep it from a perfect Round 1.

FIF#268-Lord of Mysteries

Suddenly plucked from his world, young Zhou Mingrui finds himself transported into the body of the recently deceased Klien Moretti, who has been resurrected thanks to Zhou’s arrival.  In this world, those who hold power to rival the Gods are called Beyonders.  As Klien, Zhou discovers he might be one of these all powerful beings and is at the center of a race to prevent the return of forces the Beyonders have been struggling to battle against for ages.  To return home, Zhou must unravel of the mystery of Kleins tragic demise and unlock a power greater than either could ever have imagined.

 
Oh boy. Won’t lie, I picked this one a random with zero knowledge of what it was about.  And it’s rare that I say this but I think coming out of the first episode I now know less than I already did…which was nothing.  What looked like a cool, bloody, horror centric action romp proves to be something almost as intimidating and impenetrable as Fate/Stay Night.  That said, Fate/Stay Night at least can explain the rules of its world and how it works in basic terms that allow viewers to jump in and try to keep up.  Can’t say the same about Lord of Mysteries.  The name of it’s game is in the title and it is not a fun mystery at all.