Plot: What’s it about?
The halls of Saito High School are filled with students, teachers, and of course, all sorts of ghosts & spirits. The Principal wants to reclaim the school and regain the seven jewels, so he forms the Holy Student Council, which will consist of three spiritual warriors. The three students assigned to the council are Haruto, the son of a priest, Kazumi, a Buddhist with the gift of possession, and Mutsuki, a beautiful young woman who loves, well, very young boys. These three must venture into the creepiest sections of the school and locate the seven jewels, which can be used to control the seven spirits of Saito High. The trio soon encounter the first six of the spirits and gather the jewels, but cannot seem to track down the seventh & final one. As it turns out, Principal is the last spirit and since he has all the jewels now, he opens the portal to the spirit world, which he hopes will bring in more attractions for visitors to come see. But of course, some bad spirits manage to sneak through also and time passes, our trio must return to stop them and that won’t be easy, since each seems to always be in some sort of trouble…
This is one odd, but cool anime series and while it is out there, it has memorable characters and is fun to watch. Pioneer has issued all twelve episodes of Haunted Junction in this two disc set, so you can follow all the adventures, from start to finish. I think this is a real value in terms of price, as you get the complete series in one swipe, at a more than affordable rate. I prefer collections to single disc releases, so of course, I was pleased to find all the Haunted Junction episodes in this double disc collection. As for the series itself, it is pretty slapstick & screwball, so if you need complex storylines and things that makes sense, this isn’t the series you’ll want. But if you want outrageous antics, hilarious dialogue, and a selection of humorous characters, then Haunted Junction would make for a wise choice. I love Bones Suzuki and Haru Sato, but the rest of the regulars are also terrific and memorable, from Red Mantle to the irresistible Hanako. As such, this release is more than recommended to fans of comical anime, without any hesitation in the least.
Video: How does it look?
Haunted Junction is presented in a full frame transfer, as intended. No complaints here, as the image looks clean and sharp at all times, terrific work indeed. The subdued color scheme is well preserved and fits the tone of the show, while black levels remain on the mark, with no errors to discuss. The animation looks good here and doesn’t seem to lose much, but this isn’t the most complex animation, by any means. In the end, this is about as good as Haunted Junction can look on DVD, so fans should be most pleased here.
Audio: How does it sound?
The original Japanese soundtrack is used here, presented via a Dolby Digital stereo option and I have no real issues to report. The elements are in fine form and never seem forced, while volume remains stable and never varies much. The music is clean and as rich as stereo allows, while the sound effects have good presence, all things considered. I found the dialogue to be great also, with a clean overall sound and no mishaps to cover here. This disc also includes optional English subtitles, in case you’ll need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This release includes some character files, in which you can learn more about some of the main characters in Haunted Junction.
