Ghost Sweeper GS Mikami

If there’s something strange, in the neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Close but no buster but that would be Mikami Reiko, one of Japan’s top ghost sweepers. Assisting Mikami is her under-paid teenage lackey, Yokoshima Tadao, and the 300 year old teenage ghost, Okinu. And episode by episode, they take care of business.

With the exception of a small number of 2-parters, the series is episodic and you can jump into any episode with little to no prior familiarity. However, in addition to the main trio, there will be some reoccurring characters such as fellow Ghost Sweepers Meiko and Emi; the alchemist Dr. Chaos and his android assistant Maria; and Mikami’s former teacher and his current discipline, Pete, a half-breed vampire.

Each character has their own function that works in a formulaic sense and do something. Unfortunately, you will need to read the manga if you want any background and development on the characters. The manga expands why Yokoshima has some spiritual prowess and also goes into the details of their back stories. But the anime does a good job of justifying it by demonstrating a lot of tabla rasa to make sort of make you forgive that. Still the series does go beyond fighting ghosts. They fight other super natural beings such as gremilns, sea creatures, and vampires. What also keeps this series from being a bit repetitive is sometimes the ghost isn’t bad, but needs help in other forms in order to move on.

In addition, the series spoofs of 90s pop culture so pop culture buffs may enjoy this. What mostly drives the series is its comedy. Even though Mikami is this sexy lady, I am glad it doesn’t get repeatedly exploited as pointless fan service. She is only used in that way a small number of times and works in the right context. Dr. Chaos being broke is another source of its comedy despite claiming to be this genius. It goes on.

The art is rather simple but still a little distinct. The design works in a way that it is easy to emulate if you want to try some fan art, but still has a sharpness that brings a mature feel.

The grainy contrast brings that urban and ghastly feel, but the bright colors with the clothing brings a convenient “flash” and youth friendly atmosphere. The action is nothing revolutionary like “Dragon Ball Z” during this time but works in its own way. Mikami uses something like a light sabre and Shinto chants to combat the ghosts which brings modern cinema with Japanese traditions. Overall, it is bearable but nothing outstanding.

Some of you may now the voice of Horikawa Ryo and Tsuru Hiromi as the voices of Vegeta and Bulma from Dragon Ball Z, but in this anime, they are the voices of Yokoshima and Mikami. If you’re familiar with Tsuru’s role as Bulma, then you will instantly recognise her voice and it works with her character with being sexy but yet all-business. Horikawa Ryo, as always seems to amaze me. Not only as his performance as Vegeta, but also as Shun from Saint Seiya. As Vegeta, he’s vicious, as Shun he is feminine, and now as Yokoshima, he is this hormone driven teenager and he just manages to pull it off. The man has many talents as a voice actor and probably one of the best. Other notable seiyuus are Chiba Shigeru as Dr. Chaos and Morikawa Toshiyuki as Pete.

The music also works perfectly with the series. The chiming synthesisers in the hook of the opening theme and the sexy jazz in the background music brings the urban feel, the supernatural, and the sex appeal come together as one and for that.

Well, this series is no Yuu Yuu Hakusho, but if you want something short and episodic and doesn’t require much of an attention span, this might be the series for you. If you want an anime to just pass the time.

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This had a fun set up and a great universe but no overall story arc. There were a couple places where things heat up but in the end nothing much changes. Mikami reminds me of Lina Inverse except even when things get serious Mikami is still focused on making money. She never seems to have that total transformation to actually caring. Anything that makes it through is very small.

There are some interesting threads that never get followed up much. For example, Yokoshima seems to have some real spiritual power, but nothing much happens with it. There is also a very slowly developing romantic thing between Yokoshima and Okinu. It would have been great to make more progress on this. The other characters that show up from time to time are interesting as well but I find myself wishing they had more development.

There are some pretty funny moments though. This show makes great use of long pauses for comedy and some pretty crazy distortions of character model for Yokoshima's legendary pervyness. Worth watching when you want some 90s-ish comedy no-commitment fun.

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Ghost Sweeper Mikami is a series with likeable characters & great sense of humor. It is episodic but offers some good quality stories & creativity, especially if you like The Slayers & Hell Teacher Nube.

The series is set in 90's Japan where ghosts & demons are quite common. To get rid of these phantasms "Ghost Sweepers" are hired to exorcise them. One of these Ghost Sweepers is the gold digger Mikami Reiko & her assistants the "thirsty" Yokoshima & the ghost Okinu. Much of the anime focuses on these characters daily life but they are filled with comedy & their encounters with various spirits, however it can get a bit dark at times.

Similar to Hell Teacher Nube, Ghost Sweeper Mikami tends to be episodic with some stories being 2-3 episodes long which can vary from facing ghosts, possessed artifacts, demons, vampires, yokai & even mythical creatures, but the highlight of this series are the characters & the comedy brought from them. As the series continues, more characters are introduced such as other sweepers like Emi, Meiko, Pete, Karasu, Dr. Chaos & the android Maria. There's several other characters but these are the most recurring.

Much of the comedy does come from Yokoshima as he is easily one of the most hilarious, perverted & miserable anime characters. Most of his conflicts often end in misery with Yokoshima getting the short end of the stick & often being "pussywhipped" by his boss Mikami whom he has a mad thirst for. (Who wouldn't?) Similar to Lina Inverse from The Slayers, Mikami is very self centered often choosing money over the safety of her friends, well specifically Yokoshima. Most of the anime's charm comes from these two characters as they often backstab each other for their own selfish gains but at times display some affection only to be shattered by a good gag. Mikami as character is selfish & quite formidable as a ghost sweeper which is a great trait for an independent woman character. If you like her then you should like the anime.

As much as i like the series, I would've preferred if got a bit serious, while there are some episodes which were dramatic & contained some good fight scenes, it would've benefited if more of those drama episodes were featured in the series. Although, what it lacks in story is made up by its heart as the series can get a bit cheerful at times, especially with its xmas & new years episodes.

Being made in the 90's, this is definitely one of Toei Animation's good looking show as its uses a wide assortment of colors due to each characters specific exorcism style & through the various types of ghosts. Along with good animation is the soundtrack as most of it ranges from chilling horror music to a jazz style, however some tracks are episode specific such as episode 26.

Ghost Sweeper Mikami is a great blend of horror & comedy which is made up by its funny cast of characters which offers the same quality as Hell Teacher Nube & The Slayers. While it may not have the most complex plot, it does display much variety & the series doesn't feel repetitive regardless of its episodic scenarios. By 16 episodes, you should know whether you love this series or not. Also, Mikami Reiko is a fine woman. XD

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