My trip to Youmacon this year was a rewarding one. I got to go the Team Four Star panel, see friends, make new ones and buy some anime and video game related merchandise. Of all my acquisitions from this year, The Ghost Stories anime series is my favorite. Why? If you haven't heard of Ghost Stories, you're missing out. Its a hilariously funny English dub of the original Japanese version. In Japan, the show actually completely bombed due to a bland script and below average production value. To recoup the lost money, the rights were sold to ADV Films and they were given free reign over what to do with the series as long as they could make it sell leading to this gag dub that exists today.

We step into the life of Satsuki Miyanoshita who moves with her family to the hometown of her deceased mother. On the first day of school, Satsuki, her little brother Keiichirou and classmates Hajime Aoyama, Momoko Koigakubo and Leo Kakinoki find out that the building adjacent to their school is haunted. They later find out that Satsuki's mother sealed several ghosts in the school and around the town and due to the urbanization going on around town, they are being released. She has left a journal detailing how to exorcise them once and for all and Satsuki and friends take it upon themselves to deal with the threat. Then the show goes into monster of the week ghost encounters and some of them are actually pretty terrifying such as episode 4: Requiem for the Dead-Elise in which the children deal with a ghost that plays Fur Elise and anyone that hears it four times will die. The dub contains much of the original storyline and characters and ghosts but completely different lines and improvisations to match the lip movements leading to fourth wall breaking, completely random tangents, insane characterization and it is amazing. I've been watching this alongside my brothers and it has busted our guts. My favorite line in the show is "Somewhere in the world, Keanu Reeves is getting nervous." It's a line that makes no sense out of context but even in context its still funny and there are many other great lines.

I strongly suggest finding this series wherever you can and watching it purely for the English dub. It shouldn't be expensive at all and even then you probably find it online for free. There are 20 episodes and each of them are absolutely hilarious in their own right. Get it for the holidays and have a merry old time with your friends.