The logline: A school girl named Mai joins forces with a rag-tag team of psychic/paranormal researchers that contains the likes of an exorcist, mediums, and intelligent ghost hunters. Throughout the 13 episodes on this disc, the group encounters a possession case and ghosts in a school and park.

As I personally have an interest in the paranormal, I was looking forward to digging into the “Ghost Hunt” anime series as it seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately, ‘Ghost’ is a bit of a letdown. To be quite honest, I would much rather watch a real life paranormal investigation (ala “Ghost Hunters”) instead of watching an animated ghost hunting series that spends more time focusing on romantic love triangles and irritating conversations and whiny comments (mostly from Mai and Ayako). Yes, the ghostly sequences themselves are quite atmospheric and intense, but there aren’t enough of those moments to keep you hooked.

As for the characters, the only remotely interesting character is the mysterious Kazuya Shibuya (AKA Naru). I guess I like the fact that he is serious and cold to others and doesn’t burst out screaming or whining.

The best aspect of ‘Ghost’ is hands down the direction. This is a very stylized and beautifully animated series and it shows in virtually every frame. The darker/creepier scenes are especially quite striking and effective.

The widescreen picture quality is fine. The animation looks crisp and clean throughout.

The English and Japanese Stereo tracks are decent. The dialogue and music are clear, but unspectacular.

Extras:

* Funimation trailers.

* Textless opening.

* “Ghost Hunt” manga pages.

* Character Case Files which are basically text character profiles.

* “Ghost Sightings”- A collection of ghost images from the series.