Ghost Talker's Daydreamby Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 7 First let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed watching this little four-episode anime series. However, from the cover art I was expecting something much darker (more fitting in the horror genre) with much more BDSM. Misaki, the main character, is a dominatrix and a spiritual medium who can "talk" to ghosts. She works as a special consultant for the city when supernatural cases come up but her "day job" is really her night job and we only get a couple of brief glimpses into that world. The cover art (front and back) has more bondage action than anything in the anime iself which is a bit disappointing. Ok, so we do get some nice shots of her in her bondage gear since she likes to work both jobs in it, but the dominatrix aspect is played more for laughs than turn-ons.In the first episode, Misaki helps a girl whose mother and sister were killed. After solving this case, the girl can now see spirits as well (the first being her mother and sister) and decides to invite herself along on Misaki's cases. In a subsequent episode, she tries to solve her own ghost case against Misaki's orders and ends up needing to be rescued by Misaki. The big case at the end involves the ghosts of several children and the mad serial killer who tortured them all to death. This of course happens while Misaki tries to take a vacation (and visits a natural spring that's supposed to cause hair growth — injecting humor into the episode as Misaki is naturally hairless in her pubic region and wants a nice bush). Accompanying her (almost) everywhere is her driver/secretary, and he is devoted to her as the dominatrix she is (catching glimpses when he can, and protecting her with his fighting skills), but he does cower at the mere mention of the word ghost. There's also the teen-age photographer who stalks her trying to sate his horny desires but also helping out in his own way on each case. The near-rape scene in the first episode, the brief glimpse into Misaki's night job, Misaki's outfits, and the constant references to her dominatrix skills are enough to entice you and provide a bit of levity, but they leave you wanting more ... more episodes and more of the risque stuff. The ghosts and Misaki's interactions with them are quite interesting (each episode definitely kept my attention), but were far from scary. Overall, Ghost Talker's Daydream had a nice blend of mild horror, humor, and sexuality but it was a bit on the bland side. They could easily have developed the series more and added episodes — Misaki was definitely an interesting enough character (sporting the typical gray hair/red eyes look many supernatural characters have). The animation is excellent, with some good techniques being used to depict the ghosts, and the voice acting is wonderful. I highly recommend watching the dub for this one! This mini-series is definitely worth a look, I just wish there was more to it. Written: February 17, 2006
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