History Anime / PhantomQuestCorp

%% * AssholeVictim: {{Subverted}}, since Nagasuki doesn't actually die (see the DaylightHorror entry).

* DaylightHorror: Narita saves his girlfriend near the end of the third Incident File, by suddenly appearing in the highway; causing Nagasuki to swerve off the road and slam into the guardrail. The impact renders Natsuki unconscious, so Narita deposits her safely along the side of the road. Then turns his full fury on Nagasuki by making him [[YourMindMakesItReal envision being stranded in the desert]] [[NightmareFuel with the undead rising from the sands to claim him.]] Which causes Nagasuki to have a full-blown panic attack, 'til he finally foams at the mouth and faints.

* DemonSlaying: [[MoneyDearBoy It's their business.]] It's right there in the company name.

* StalkerWithACrush: A rare instance where it's {{justified}}. Though Bosco is love with Makiko, he wasn't stalking her. It turned out that he was [[DeclarationOfProtection protecting her]] from Dracula, who had recently reincarnated and was repeatedly victimizing her.

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Played with over the course of the series. It almost happens, at the end of the final episode... Then Karino mucks it up. See the MaybeEverAfter entry above.

The series has often been compared to ''Anime/GhostSweeperMikami'', due to the similarities in its premise and having been released at roughly the same time (for the record, ''Ghost Sweeper Mikami'' debuted a year earlier in April of '93). So if you've seen either one and enjoyed it, you may wanna give the other a try.

** Ayaka realizes [[ChristmasCake she isn't getting any younger]] and wants to find that 'special someone'. She's aware of Karino's feelings for her and flirts with him on occasion. But she still [[PlayingHardToGet plays hard to get]] by feigning disinterest. Though she nearly confesses her feelings for him at the end of the final episode.

* ChristmasCake: Ayaka sometimes asks Madam Sumei if there's any hope for her love life only to be told her chances of finding happiness are zero. Doesn't help that she gets called an "old lady" by a cafe full of young teen/twenty-something females either. Ironically, she is fully aware of [[DoggedNiceGuy Karino]]'s affections for her, but even as desperate as she is, she still enjoys PlayingHardToGet too much to simply get together with him.

* MsFanservice: Ayaka's a redhead, has a stunning figure [[ChristmasCake for a woman her age]], routinely sleeps in the nude, and will often show up for breakfast, in her panties, with her top open. Oh, and she's got legs.

* ShipTease: Ayaka with Karino, gets [[ShipSinking deep-sixed]] in the end though. [[MaybeEverAfter Or was it...?]]

* MsFanservice: Ayaka's a redhead, has a stunning figure [[ChristmasCake for a woman her age]], routinely sleeps in the nude, and will often show up for breakfast, in her panties, with her top open. Oh, and [[ShesGotLegs she's got legs.]]

* IllGirl: Make that Ill "Vampire". Because he's trying to reform, Bosco only allows himself to feed 4 times a year, at only 200cc's per quarter. Which has left him anemic and severely weakened. In his brief tussle with Ayaka, he was only able to hold her off for a few seconds, before fainting from exerting himself.

* OurGhostsAreDifferent: [[{{megane}} Narita]] was part of an archeological team that was sent on a desert expedition to find ruins of a fabled Egyptian kingdom. The rest of the team eventually gave up, leaving him to continue the search on his own. Narita died mere moments after finally discovering the ruins, so his spirit lingered. His girlfriend, Natsuki Ogawa, was working on the exhibit for it, since it'd been their joint project[[note]]It had been their college project, which is how they met and fell in love. They were planning to get married after successfully opening the exhibit together[[/note]]. So he helps her set it up, while keeping her safe from Mr. Nagasuki's advances. Once the exhibit finally opens for public viewing, and he'd made certain Natsuki was no longer in danger, [[ButNowIMustGo he departs for the afterlife.]]

* LadyInRed: Each episode opens with Ayaka wearing the red dress seen in the page image, which has [[SexyBacklessOutfit a low-cut back]] and a split seam to [[ShowSomeLeg show off her legs]], along with a matching pair of high-heels. It invokes the look of a lounge singer[[note]]her VA actually performs the song used in the show's opening, and [[KaraokeBox karaoke]] happens to be one of Ayaka's hobbies[[/note]], and Ayaka certainly has [[HelloNurse the look, the figure]], and [[TheTease the attitude]] to pull it off -- but, she's a detective.

%% * SoLongSuckers: Ayaka does this to Madam Sumei, when it comes time to pay for her services.

%% * BaldOfEvil: [[spoiler:The Hadja]], a monk group who challenges Phantom Quest in the fourth episode; their leader, [[spoiler:Mukyo]], in particular.
%% * BarrierWarrior: Rokkon, Phantom Quest's staff exorcist.

* LadyInRed: Each episode opens with Ayaka wearing the red dress seen in the page image, which has [[SexyBack a low-cut back]] and a split seam to [[ShowSomeLeg show off her legs]], along with a matching pair of high-heels. It invokes the look of a lounge singer[[note]]her VA actually performs the song used in the show's opening, and [[KaraokeBox karaoke]] happens to be one of Ayaka's hobbies[[/note]], and Ayaka certainly has [[HelloNurse the look, the figure]], and [[TheTease the attitude]] to pull it off -- but, she's a detective.

* AssholeVictim: {{Subverted}}, since Nagasuki doesn't actually die (see the DaylightHorror entry).

* BaldOfEvil: [[spoiler:The Hadja]], a monk group who challenges Phantom Quest in the fourth episode; their leader, [[spoiler:Mukyo]], in particular.
* BarrierWarrior: Rokkon, Phantom Quest's staff exorcist.

* BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts: Narita

** Bosco and Narita toward Makiko and Natsuki respectively.

* DestructiveSaviour: Ayaka, and she has the bills to show for it too (like the time she wrecked the observation room of TokyoTower).
* DistressedDude: Karino fills this slot during the fourth episode, "Lover Come Back to Me".

* HeavySleeper: Ayaka Kisaragi

* HerHeartWillGoOn: Natsuki by the end of Incident file 03: "Love Me Tender".

* InterspeciesRomance: Makiko and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Bosco]], by the end of the first episode.

* ISeeDeadPeople: Just about everybody in the series, though it's mainly Phantom Quest. It's all part of the job.

* NotAMorningPerson: Ayaka Kisaragi. See the HardDrinkingPartyGirl entry above.

* OccultDetective:
** U Division's Detective Karino, who commisions jobs to Phantom Quest.
** Ayaka and Madam Sumei count as well.

* PlayingWithFire: Nanami's special ability. Too bad [[PowerIncontinence she has trouble controlling it]], especially when she's frightened.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: If you see flames ignite in Nanami's irises, [[OhCrap RUN.]]

* SoLongSuckers: Ayaka does this to Madam Sumei, when it comes time to pay for her services.

* UnresolvedSexualTension: Between Ayaka and Detective Karino, with shades of BelligerentSexualTension.

The series follows the exploits of Phantom Quest, an organization lead by Ayaka Kisaragi. They specialize in tracking down and taking out the supernatural -- from ghosts, vampires, and every other manner of evil spirit across Tokyo. Their cases are often commissioned to them by U Division's [[OccultDetective Detective Karino]], both to lighten his workload and as a personal favor to Ayaka.

Rather than an overarching narrative, it's more of a {{sitcom}} with each episode being its own self-contained adventure which follows [[MonsterOfTheWeek a case-by-case format.]] Though some of the spooks they meet aren't bad, such as [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire an anemic vampire who runs a tea shop]], or a ghost who helps out with his girlfriend's museum exhibit.

But the baddies best beware: Phantom Quest is certainly capable and [[WhoYouGonnaCall will readily accept any job offer]] so long as it pays well. In fact, the only opposition that the company faces is [[PerpetualPoverty the constant onset of debt]], thanks to [[DestructiveSaviour their]] [[MsRedInk president.]]

* ActionGirl: Ayaka. She hunts down spooks and demons, then takes 'em out. Or she has Rokkon excorcise them.

* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Mamoru is completely unfazed by Ayaka's habit of sleeping in the nude, and shows neither interest or embarrassment when he enters her room to wake her up each morning; nor is he bothered by how she shows up for breakfast.

* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: Literally. Bosco runs a tea shop for cute teens and 20-somethings that specifically caters to all-female clientele[[note]]which is implied to be how he met Makiko, who's 19[[/note]]. He has trained his body to get used to sunlight and is on a "diet" aka managed to get used to only having a few gulps of blood a month, and even those are only from those willing to give to him. Plus, he's been following Makiko at night to protect her from another vampire who'd recently reincarnated.

* HeroicBSOD: Nanami has one near the climax of the final case file, when she, Rokkon, and Karino find themselves surrounded and vastly outnumbered by ghosts. She becomes so frightened that her mind goes blank, complete with [[WingDingEyes spiral eyes]]; making it a rare [[PlayedForLaughs comedic version]] of the trope.

* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: Literally. Bosco runs a tea shop for cute teens and 20-somethings that specifically caters to all-female clientele[[note]]which is implied to be how he met Makiko, who's 19[[/note]]. Plus, he's been following Makiko at night to protect her from another vampire who'd recently reincarnated.

* ChristmasCake: Ayaka sometimes asks Madam Sumei if there's any hope for her love life only to be told her chances of finding happiness are zero. Doesn't help that she gets called an "old lady" by a cafe full of young teen/twenty-something females either.

* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Rokkon who, in the fourth incident file, leaps from the third floor of the Hadja's temple, while carrying Karino and Nanami and lands, without injury.

* RedHeadedHeroine: Ayaka, as seen in the page image.

* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Mukyo]] attempts this, after his defeat, by grabbing Ayaka's leg then pitching himself off the roof with his dying breath. He ends up in a tree. Ayaka, however, ends up [[ShipTease in Karino's arms]] when he breaks her fall by catching her.
* TrenchcoatBrigade: Karino is rarely seen without his trenchcoat and always sports a few chin hairs. Plus, he has a habit of smoking during stakeouts, or when he's thinking. But he isn't the hard-boiled type (see below).
* UnluckyEverydude: What's a guy to do, when he's swamped with work at a department with only three people? Easy: Karino commissions some of it to Phantom Quest, as a personal favor [[LoveInterest to Ayaka]], to help with her company. While also trying to win her over by proving how reliable he can be.

* WhoYouGonnaCall: As previously mentioned, Phantom Quest will take any case involving paranormal activity, or the supernatural (so long as it pays well). Incidentally, the show's intro doubles as their ad and is even sung by Ayaka's VA!
* WillfullyWeak: Bosco is anemic, due to [[spoiler:only allowing himself to feed four times a year]], which has also deprived him of the strength he'd possess as a vampire. And he's perfectly fine with that, [[Heartwarming/PhantomQuestCorp since he'd much rather have Makiko.]]
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Played with over the course of the series. It almost happens at the end of the final episode... then Karino mucks it up. See the MaybeEverAfter entry above.