Line #18 YMMV/GhostStories


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2	* AdaptationDisplacement: Not many people outside of Japan are aware that the anime is based on a series of horror films, nor that said films are based on ''Franchise/GakkouNoKaidan'', a series of children's horror anthology novels.
3	* AnimationAgeGhetto: Ignored completely in the ADV dub. Ironically, the original Japanese version itself ''was'' for kids.
4	* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
5	** "Grow Up", the opening theme of the series.
6	** It might be unfitting for a series about elementary school students fighting ghosts, but the ending theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA3-eUekq5k "Sexy Sexy"]], is an undeniably awesome song.
7	* BrokenBase: Some love the ADV dub for its irreverent humor and excellent voice acting, while others despise it for its utter disregard of the original script, humor that’s vulgar and offensive rather than funny, and the misconception that led to its existence.
8	** Is the dub responsible for the current controversy about English dubs of anime that take too many liberties? Some people say it didn't have any effect because the circumstances behind its existence are unique and have nothing to do with what's currently happening, while others argue that it paved the way for localizers to change whatever they want on dub scripts, using the good reception of the Ghost Stories dub as an argument.
9	* ClicheStorm: ''Every'' horror cliché gets used at some point in this series, which is naturally lampshaded in the ADV dub. Ironically, this overlaps with OnceOriginalNowCommon, as the original ''Gakkou no Kaidan'' books the anime is based on were very influential in Japanese horror, [[TropeMakers originating]] a lot of common Japanese horror tropes (such as the OldSchoolBuilding being haunted, the [[EerieAnatomyModel moving anatomy model]], and [[ToiletHorror Toilet Hanako]]) that are now considered clichés.
10	* CommonKnowledge: It's generally accepted in the anime community that the original run in Japan was a failure, hence why the ADV dub was allowed to do whatever it wanted script wise. Despite this being accepted, and even stated by the ADV higher-ups, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVkYediuSuw series actually performed well in Japan]] as it garnered an average rating [[https://twitter.com/MercuryFalcon/status/1406837089472331781 that put it in the top 10]] for most popular anime at the time of its original airing, which also shows that the series is remembered fondly. As such, it has had multiple reruns over the years. [[https://www.slashfilm.com/703353/ This article]] further examines and debunks the myth.
11	* CrossesTheLineTwice: The ADV dub, especially the things [[TheFundamentalist Momoko]] says.
12	* CultClassic: In the West, the ADV dub reached memetic status, sometimes even getting credited as "the original [[TheAbridgedSeries abridged series]]" or as an "official abridged series" due to its crass humor.
13	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Mio Imai with her ridiculous plotline about wanting to fuck a rabbit.
14	* FountainOfMemes: The entire ADV dub is one thanks to its crass humor and characterizations.
15	* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: [[Funny/GhostStories Has its own page]].
16	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff:
17	** The series is a cult hit in North America thanks to the ADV dub.
18	** Thanks to faithful local dubs, the original version is apparently very popular in Latin America.
19	* GrowingTheBeard: The ADV dub is okay early on, as it actually stays fairly close to the original script for the first two episodes. While it becomes a bit looser in Episodes 3 and 4, Episode 5 is where they really start to improvise and where the dub hits its stride.
20	* HarsherInHindsight:
21	** The scene in Episode 7 where Satsuki asks her compact mirror who's the prettiest girl around and Amanojaku answers with Creator/LindsayLohan. Today, this response would be considered incredibly ironic; it wasn't back in 2005.
22	** The joke with Reiichirou and the Merry Mary doll becomes a lot less funny when you learn that his English voice actor, Creator/IllichGuardiola, was arrested in 2014 for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old student of his.[[note]]The case is fairly messy. The arrest occurred after the two illegally crossed state lines to get married, as the age of consent differs across the United States. The girl insisted the relationship was consensual, her parents supported it, and they all refused to cooperate with the police, forcing the prosecutors to drop the charges.[[/note]]
23	** Lots of jokes are made at Creator/VicMignogna's expense:
24	*** The episode where Da Vinci abducts Momoko and paints her in a noose like one of his victims can be rather uncomfortable to watch for some fans due to the allegations that Vic Mignogna, Da Vinci's English voice actor, sexually harassed Creator/MonicaRial, Momoko's English voice actress.
25	*** Episode 15 makes references to Vic Mignogna and becoming "Mrs. Mignogna". Again, this became even more unfortunate given his sexual harassment allegations.
26	** After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Momoko's joke about the president stacking the Supreme Court to ban abortion no longer seems funny.
27	** In episode 12, Satsuki says to Keiichirou, "Drag queens won't bother you. Worry about priests." This line became more eerie when at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, there were furors over drag queens performing in front of kids, as more and more priests, pastors, and evangelists got exposed for their sexual misconducts against children.
28	* HilariousInHindsight:
29	** Episode 2 features a ghost haunting the school bathrooms and sucks people in through the very toilets they use never to be seen again. [[Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt Sound familiar]]?
30	** The ADV dub turns Amanojaku into an expy of Salem when he possesses Kaya's body, who has mismatched eyes. ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaSecretsOfATeenageWitch'' would later feature Salem having the same mismatched eyes.
31	** The ADV dub's RunningGag about Christian Slater's career becomes this after his CareerResurrection in ''Series/MrRobot''.
32	** In Episode 19 of the ADV dub, one of the lines is "Please stay tuned for probably ''the'' hottest homosexual newscaster on the planet... my friend, Anderson Cooper." This was six years before Cooper publicly came out as gay.
33	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Among those who have seen it, the Animax dub is this; it's TruerToTheText than the ADV dub, but most fans prefer the GagDub over the Japanese original, and the Animax dub is [[SoOkayItsAverage unremarkable in comparison]] due to sticking closer to the original.
34	* MemeticMolester: Babasare. Seriously what is the reason of her appearing ''only'' to children?
35	* MemeticMutation:
36	** '''[[ScaryBlackMan "THINK OF A BIG BLACK MAN CHASING YOU!"]]'''[[labelnote:Explanation]] In the ADV dub, Hajime says this to Keiichirou in order to motivate him for the sports festival. When Keiichirou becomes exhausted, Hajime follows this up by saying, "Well he's not racist."[[/labelnote]]
37	** '''Hehehehe.''' [[ItMakesSenseInContext Touch me.]] [[AC:[[https://youtu.be/RINHjxsPOEg Touch me harder.]]]][[labelnote:Explanation]]In the ADV dub, while Mio is reminiscing about her time with Shirotabi, the latter says this to the former.[[/labelnote]]
38	** "Not because you're a rabbit, but because you're ''black''."[[labelnote:Explanation]]In the ADV dub, just before his spirit is put to rest, a distraught Mio says this to a resurrected Shirotabi when she explains why their relationship "could never be."[[/labelnote]]
39	** "RUN! She's a ghost ''and'' a bitch!"[[labelnote:Explanation]]In Episode 15 of the ADV dub, Amonojaku wonders if the person who tried to have Satsuki erase herself from existence is a ghost or a bitch. When he finds out Yamime is posing as Shinobu, he says this.[[/labelnote]]
40	* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: Momoko in the ADV dub is a close-minded [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalist]] Christian caricature, but more than a few Christian viewers have admitted to finding her portrayal more hilarious than an insult to them due to how over-the-top she is.
41	* {{Moe}}:
42	** Keiichirou thanks to him being the youngest member of the group.
43	** Satsuki is this in her more cheerful moments.
44	* {{Narm}}:
45	** Episode 2 is about people ''getting sucked into the spirit world through a toilet''. Obviously, the ADV dub thought it was just as unintentionally funny.
46	** One episode has Satsuki haunted by Für Elise. Eventually, she ends up being stalked by a piano that appears around corners like a stereotypical horror slasher. Even without the dub, it's absolutely hilarious to watch her run around town being hunted down by a baby grand piano.
47	** Satsuki's father at one point holds the Merry Mary doll, only for there to be a close-up of him holding it ''face first to his crotch''. Of course, the ADV dub makes fun of it.
48	* ParanoiaFuel: Not even the ADV dub was able to mitigate the fear of Für Elise being played no matter where you went.
49	* OneSceneWonder: The (jackass) construction foreman and his poor (noun)-(verb)er subordinate, for their amusing dynamic.
50	* PresumedFlop: The story goes that the ADV dub was the result of the Japanese rights holders telling them that they could do whatever they want with the script as long as they kept the basic plot, as they were desperate for the series to be a success since it performed poorly in Japan. While it's true the dubbers were told they could go nuts with the script, the series actually performed well enough to be in the top 10 for most popular anime at the time of its original airing.
51	* SoOkayItsAverage: This is the general consensus concerning the original version of the series in the West as many feel that it's okay on its own merits.
52	* SpecialEffectFailure: In Episode 7, Satsuki and Hajime are animated to run down the hall, except the hall is not moving, so they are literally running in place. [[LampshadeHanging Naturally, the ADV dub makes fun of it]].
53	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: The Merry Mary doll, as she's called in the dub, seriously seems like she should've had a much larger role in the series as she's one of the most powerful spirits (to the point where she isn't actually beaten, and just leaves on her own) and is clearly acquainted with Amanojaku as shown by their interaction at the end of her episode, but is never seen again afterwards.
54	* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The recording of the ADV dub can be pinpointed rather precisely to mid-to-late-Summer 2005 thanks to its pop culture and political references. For instance, in Episode 8, Leo sees Peter Jennings and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in the queue to cross the Sanzu River – Jennings and Rehnquist died in August and September of that year, respectively.

Context YMMV / GhostStories