幽幻怪社: Комедийный аниме-хоррор 1994 года

1994 comedy horror anime

Phantom Quest Corp. (幽幻怪社) is a comedy horror anime produced by Madhouse and Pioneer LDC. It was originally released as a four episode original video animation (OVA) in Japan between August 25, 1994 and February 25, 1995. An English dubbed version was released in North America by Pioneer (now Geneon Universal Entertainment) shortly thereafter. The plot of Phantom Quest Corp. revolves around Ayaka Kisaragi, the proprietor of a Shinjuku, Tokyo company dedicated to helping those in need of paranormal aid. The title is a play on words: Yūgen Gaisha (often written as You Gen Kai Sya) means "limited liability company" in Japanese; but when written with different characters, the word yūgen can also mean "the occult." The kanji 怪 means mysterious, but can also be read as Kai. Kaisha is typically written "会社". This further adds to the pun. In addition to the Phantom Quest Corp. OVA series, two soundtrack albums, a Japanese light novel, and a single issue English manga also exist. Phantom Quest Corp. has been compared to the concurrent manga and anime Ghost Sweeper Mikami. The animation, comedy, and action sequences in Phantom Quest Corp. has been praised by critics. However, these same reviewers felt it lacked plot depth and character development due to its short length.

Ayaka Kisaragi is a beautiful woman descended from a long line of Japanese exorcists. However, bored with their traditions, she started her own business, Phantom Quest Corp. The headquarters of the company is Ayaka's quaint little family home, nestled between the skyscrapers of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Along with the traditional knowledge she possesses, Ayaka also uses very unconventional weapons while attacking ghosts and demons, including a lipstick case that turns into a laser sword and earrings that explode into spiritual energy. Although she is very competent with her skills, Ayaka's own bad habits (overindulgence in sake, karaoke, and shopping binges) often cut into the company's meager earnings and interfere with paying the various experts whose help she usually depends upon. Also, because of her drinking, she often sleeps in bed late, which her partner and business associate Mamoru Shimesu has to find creative ways of waking her up. Along the way, and with a little help from various spiritual specialists, Ayaka can usually be found battling vampires, poltergeists, and cutthroat competitors bent on driving her out of business.

The opening theme, "That's Yūgen Gaisha" (THAT'S 幽幻怪社), and the closing theme, "Mahiru no Tokai" (真昼の都会), are sung by Rica Matsumoto, the Japanese voice actress for the protagonist Ayaka. English versions of the themes, titled "Blue Devil Blues" and "Dancin' with a Demon" respectively, are sung by an uncredited vocalist. A 12 song CD soundtrack for the OVA series was released in Japan by Pioneer LDC on August 25, 1994; it contains the themes, some background music, and a few drama tracks. A separate 11 track album, "Best of Phantom Quest Corp.", was released on March 25, 1997 in North America; it contains both English and Japanese vocal songs and some instrumental tracks.

A Phantom Quest Corp. light novel written by screenwriter Watanabe Mami and illustrated by artists Hitoshi Ueda and Asako Nishida was published in the Fujimi Shobo magazine Fantasia Battle Royal in September 1995. A single issue English manga of Phantom Quest Corp. was released by Pioneer in North America in March 1997. It was written by Jose Calderon and illustrated by Dave Cooper. The plot involves Ayaka and her associates travelling to New York City for the "International Paranormal Investigator Convention", where they take on new case involving a jaded salaryman who has stumbled upon an ancient codex and becomes a powerful sorcerer.

Character Japanese voice actorEnglish voice actorAyaka KisaragiRica MatsumotoWendee Lee (as "Wendee Day")Mamoru ShimesuKazue Ikura (as "Kazu Ikura")Brianne Siddall (as "Jetta E. Bumpy")SuimeiNaoko WatanabeGloria GinesLieutenant Kozo KarinoKōichi YamaderaJames ClayNatsuke OgawaAya HisakawaDebbie DerosaNanami RokugoKotono MitsuishiMelissa Charles

Phantom Quest Corp. has been almost universally compared to Ghost Sweeper Mikami, a franchise with a nearly identical premise that was released slightly earlier. Anime journalist John Oppliger is convinced that Madhouse based Phantom Quest Corp. on the latter series, noting stark similarities between the protagonists of the two works.