History Main / TheRealSpoofbusters

[[caption-width-right:350:''Who you gonna call?'']]

* The ''VideoGame/YokaiWatchBlasters'' spin-off of the ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'' video game series is a beat 'em up game with heavy references to the ''Ghostbusters'' series. So heavy, it had to actually be modified in the Western release to tone them down for UsefulNotes/{{copyright}} reasons. The original Japanese name was ''Yo-kai Watch Busters'', Jibanyan and Komasan had Ghostbuster-like jumpsuits in their Blaster forms, and Whismellowman, named Whisped Cream in the dub and looking more kaiju-like, was originally a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man parody.
* The UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''VideoGame/{{Tumblepop}}'' is all about this: Two partners travel together all over the world chasing ghosts and monsters with their vacuums.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Filet of Soul", has Dexter and [=DeeDee=] trying the to hunt down the ghost of their pet fish, with Dexter having his own proton pack-like device and quoting the "Who ya gonna call?" CatchPhrase.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', this is how the title characters became friends, with Billy donning a proton pack and brown jumpsuit and catching Grim in a muon trap.

This state of affairs lasted until 1984, when a HorrorComedy film called ''[[Film/Ghostbusters1984 Ghostbusters]]'' showed its heroes using MadScience to deal with ghosts. Not only was the movie a smash hit, it created [[Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}} a franchise]] that has endured for decades. And when a franchise is that popular for that long, many other works will [[StockShoutOuts reference it]] with [[AffectionateParody affectionate humor]], allowing it to enter the hallowed realm of StockParodies.

* They often wear jumpsuits, signifying that their profession is just that; a profession, similar to an electrician or a plumber.
* While for the longest time combating supernatural phenomena used either magical (enchanted swords, chicken's feet, talismans) or religion implements (holy water, crucifix, sacred rites), the Spoofbuster instead forgoes older superstitions favor of the knowledge and skill of a ScienceHero. Geiger-counters that react to ectoplasm, chemical isotopes that make demons violently ill, and of course a bootleg proton-pack; a (probably unlicensed) nuclear accelerator strapped to their backs similar to a backpack. They can come in many settings; they can [[WeaponsThatSuck suck up the ghosts like a vacuum]], spray out anti-ectoplasmic solutions, shoot streams of energy that can explode every molecule in your body at the speed of light should they be crossed and a dozen other contrived doo-dads and what-have-you's to get the job done.

* In the cooperative card game ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'', in [[VillainTeamUp team villain]] mode, the mutant [[RatMen rat man]] Plague Rat is put on an ExplosiveLeash by EvilInc company [=RevoCorp=]. Rather than EvilMinions of his own, his deck consists of various [=RevoCorp=] handlers... who inevitably lose control of him and get eaten.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tmnt2012_ghostbusters.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Who you gonna call?'']]

Note that it's not necessary for ghosts to be the target of a Real Spoofbuster, as this trope is about the "busting" part of the equation. Still, it often crosses over with DemonSlaying, HunterOfMonsters, {{Occult Detective}}s and other fields of ParanormalInvestigation.

* A scene example appears in ''LightNovel/{{Shimoneta}}'', in which [[spoiler:after becoming a {{nymphomania}}c]], Anna Nishikinomiya starts to chase [[LoveInterest Tanukichi Okuma]] wanting his [[spoiler:[[DoubleEntendre male member]]]] with diverse objects, one of them a vacuum cleaner that uses as backpack trying to "absorb" Tanukichi's stuff (while he clings to a pipe outside the building).

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'' episode "[[Recap/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012S5E4EndTimes End Times]]", Donatello builds the team a set of ghost-fighting equipment similar to the proton pack in order to combat Kavaxas and his hoard of evil spirits spilling out from the Netherworld.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode "Hold That Schmoe", Johnny is kicked out of his own attic, when he tries taking a rare comic in there, by a ghost haunting it. When he gets Carl's help, they dress in uniforms Carl made from his mom's dress that he claims are designed for ghost-hunting, being equipped with strap-on particle beams. [[ExpyCoexistence Johnny comments how they don't exactly look like the same guys in the movie.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies1984'' episode, "Bug-Busting Babies", Gonzo leads the babies into a team called the Bug Busters to catch the bug messing up Scooter's computer program. The episode also spoofs the Ray Parker Jr song from [[Film/Ghostbusters1984 the 1984 movie]], and features Bug Busters and a car similar to the Ghostbusters and their Ecto-1.
* The ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' Halloween special "[[WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventuresNightGhoulery Tiny Toons' Night Ghoulery]]" has Furrball dress up in full Ghostbusters gear to take on the ghost of Sneezer. [[ShownTheirWork It's surprisingly accurate for a ten-second gag, right down to the barrel that pops out of the wand]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpooktacularNewAdventuresOfCasper'' has a pair of faux Ghostbusters to do the "Who you gonna call? ...someone else" bit from the movie.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Histeria}}'' had a SongParody of the Ghostbusters theme called "Trust Buster", the nickname [[UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt Teddy Roosevelt]] earned for breaking up big business at the turn of the 20th Century. The kids wear jumpsuits; Teddy wears a proton pack and blasts {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s with green lasers.

* The brown jumpsuit-clad ''Ghost Harassers'', a parody of ''Series/GhostHunters'', appear as a still image in a brief TV ad on ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''.
* The 1987 ''WesternAnimation/BeverlyHillsTeens'' episode "Ghost Story" is an early example of this trope, as several characters use [[HomemadeInventions homemade ghostbusting equipment]] to deal with an alleged haunting at the Teen Club Castle.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse: The New Adventures'' had a segment titled "Don't Touch That Dial!" that featured several parodies of other cartoons. Among them "[[WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters The Real Gagbusters]]", who were choppily-animated generic anime characters (probably a reference to the fact that RGB was animated by Japanese companies) with proton packs and futuristic jumpsuits with a parody of the "no ghost" logo on them. As their name implied, they were stoic and humorless, and tried to bust with their weapons the funny cartoon characters including Mighty Mouse himself.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bonkers}}'': "When the Spirit Moves You" had Bonkers and the gang try to chase the WesternAnimation/LonesomeGhosts; Prof. Ludwig von Drake put together a proton pack to help catch them. They even donned similar costumes to the 'Busters.
* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' had "Ghost Catchers," a pair of MAD agents who would send out tangible holograms as "ghosts" to haunt people, and then ''they'' would show up and dispel the ghosts with guns that fired rancid cooking oil (!) and charge money.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' episode "Filet of Soul", has Dexter and [=DeeDee=] trying the to hunt down the ghost of their pet fish, with Dexter having his own proton pack-like device and quoting the "Who ya gonna call?" CatchPhrase.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' has a VillainOfTheWeek named Kwamibuster, armed with a proton pack that can suck the [[FairyCompanion kwamis]] out of the heroes and capture them. She also says "Back off, I'm a scientist" at one point. In the English dub, [[BigBad Hawk Moth]] even says "I'm ready to believe you" while [[VillainPossessedBystander akumatizing]] her.

* The ''WesternAnimation/BunsenIsABeast'' episode "Beast Busters" has Amanda Killman menaced by sneeze beasts, tiny globs of sentient snot that came from Bunsen sneezing. Bunsen and Mikey come to her rescue while armed with proton pack-like equipment. They even ride scooters emblazoned with the image of a sneeze beast behind a prohibited symbol.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' has ''Series/MythBusters''[='=] Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage investigate the myth of whether or not [[ADateWithRosiePalms masturbation]] causes blindness by driving to a kid's house in Ecto-1 and catching him like a ghost.

* In the cooperative card game ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'', in [[VillainTeamUp team villain]] mode, the mutant RatMen Plague Rat is put on an ExplosiveLeash by EvilInc company [=RevoCorp=]. Rather than EvilMinions of his own, his deck consists of various [=RevoCorp=] handlers... who inevitably lose control of him and get eaten.

* In the live-action "Slime Busters" segment of the ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'' has Creator/ErnieHudson shows up AsHimself being a Slime Buster who has to stop a Slime ghost that haunts the brothers' workshop.

* A comic in ''[[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet Magazine]]'' had Kermit, Fozzie and Gonzo as a high-tech garbage removal team called the Grossbusters, Miss Piggy as their client, who wanted her fridge cleared out, and a BlobMonster made of the [[ItCameFromTheFridge stuff in Piggy's fridge]] as the Marshmallow Man. Unusually, the {{Parody Name}}s were based on the ''actors'', rather than the characters

* In the cooperative card game ''TabletopGame/SentinelsOfTheMultiverse'', in [[VillainTeamUp team villain]] mode, the mutant RatMan Plague Rat is put on an ExplosiveLeash by EvilInc company [=RevoCorp=]. Rather than EvilMinions of his own, his deck consists of various [=RevoCorp=] handlers... who inevitably lose control of him and get eaten.