Ghost Storiesis a series with a hilarious dub that has aged horribly, but I still love it nonetheless. Usually, the ideal way to watch an anime is in Japanese with subtitles to grasp the full context of its story. However, there are times whena series can have a fantastic dubthat’s just as good as, if not better than, the original. Case in point isGhost Stories, a horror comedy series with a fantastic story behind its unique dub.
WhenGhost Storieswas originally set to be dubbed for English-speaking audiences, ADV Films surprisingly gave the artistsenough room to recreate the story any way they saw fit. The only exception was to maintain the basic story structure and character names from the original show. What resulted was a dub that strayed from the original anime’s story with surprising amounts of dark comedy. This has made the series one of the most sought-after dubs for any anime fan. However, while viewers like myself still see the humor in this dub, it’s aged pretty horribly over the years.
Most ofGhost Stories' Humor Is Dated by Today’s Standards
The ADV Films Dub is a Product of Its Time
The biggest issue that many modern audiences may have when watching theGhost Storiesdub for the first time is just how blue the comedy can be.The ADV Filmsdub forGhost Storieswas officially released in the mid-2000s, and it shows.There arenon-stop jokes that can be pretty offensiveto those in the LGBTQ+ and disabled communities. For example, the youngest character of the series, Keiichirou, is often the butt of the show’s humor for being “special needs,” with one of his most notable jokes being signing up for the Special Olympics.
“Artists have moved on from this mean-spirited brand of humor to punch up with their jokes, rather than punch down.”
There’s no remorse whatsoever for making these off-color jokes, similar to many American comedy films that were released during the same time. Artists have moved on from this mean-spirited brand of humor to punch up with their jokes, rather than punch down. Certain sections of society constantly face difficulties with their peers every day for being different, and being made fun of constantly in media can take a toll as others laugh at them for something they can’t control. This is why many comedies nowadays have moved away from these mean-spirited jokes to focus on finding humor in other places.
There’s Still A Lot to Love AboutGhost Stories
When Jokes Hit, They Hit Hard
Despite some of the humor inGhost Storiesbeing pretty dated, there’s still a lot to enjoy throughout the series. One of the things the series does well ispoking fun atcommon anime tropes.Sometimes it’s addressed directly, while other times the tropes can be exaggerated through the show’s characters. The most famous example from the ADV Films dub is undeniably Satsuki. In the original series, she’s partially psychic, opening the door to her being a line of communication to the world of the dead. In the dub, the production team takes this trope further by turning her intoa born-again Christian who references her faith in every single line.
What theGhost Storiesdub also benefits from with its different script is its hilarious observations of pop culture.There are constant jokes flown miles-per-minute referencing TV shows, movies, trends and even real-life people.While this would normally date a series as time goes on, the delivery of these jokes makes it a fascinating time capsule. The series is a dub of an anime that originally premiered in Japan in 2000, so to see what was supposed to be a timeless story featuring kids solving spooky mysteries turn into aFamily Guy-like parody surprisingly works.
TheGhost StoriesDub’s Dark Humor Likely Saved the Anime from Fading into Obscurity
The most interesting thing about the English dub forGhost Storiesis how it prevented the anime itself from becoming lost media. While it did well enough in Japan, the original series is notorious for not being that great with a pretty standard story that blends in withother horror anime.However, when it was officially dubbed in America, the spotlight was instantly turned on the show.
The crass humor made it stand out among other dubs released during the 2000s, especially coming from what was originally a family-friendly show. The jokes hit incredibly well at the time, leading to anime fans recalling their favorite moments today in various supercuts found across YouTube of the funniest moments.
This series will ultimately be recognized forever, though not how it was originally intended upon its release. The dub ultimately paved the way to influence content creators online to create their own “abridged” versions of various anime, with some even surpassing the quality of the original shows, such asSomething Witty Entertainment’sSword Art Online Abridged. By today’s standards,Ghost Storiesmay be horribly dated, but the influence it’s had over the years mixed with a plethora of jokes that do still work has made me love it for years.
