As far as supernatural shoujo anime goes, this is among the best. You have an interesting cast of characters, interesting supernatural happenings, some genuinely creepy moments, and the hints of a romance between her and the lead.

What this does best is present a girl who’s trying to do her best as the assistant to someone who investigates supernatural occurances. Through her clumsiness she comes into an internship of sorts- one that she’s fairly intuitive at. Often she’s one of the first people to notice something’s amiss, and later discovers that she does have some spiritual ability herself. All the characters do get their day in the sun, with an episode that features their particular skill or ability. They are a rather motley and unusual crew, though- a Catholic priest, a miko, and a Buddhist monk. They all have particular specialties and make for a somewhat interesting group.

The supernatural mysteries that occir are also fairly interesting. Sometimes things are set up to appear like they’re supernatural, and often there are actual supernatural happenings underpinning it all. The great thing is that this does have creepy moments in it. The music and atmosphere combine to make what’s happening deliciously spine-tingling. It just goes to show that it doesn’t take loads of gore or “surprise” moments to make you jumpy! And some of the mysteries are outright creepy- such as the former hospital they investigate. You also have some that are touching, such as the haunted orphanage.

Th thing is that it does start out slow. I’ll be honest- I was *merely* intrigued through the first case. The stories get better as you go on. I think that my personal faves, and the ones that tend to be the most popular, are the Doll arc, the Christmas arc, and The Bloodstained Labyrinth. Those are where the stories shine. The great thing is that this show has high re-watch value. I could watch it -and have watched it- multiple times, and haven’t been bored by it.

Unfortunately, the story is incomplete. While it does end on a good note, there are several things about the girl’s employer that remain a mystery, and some plot threads that are left unresolved. Too bad this doesn’t have a second season- I’d watch it!

Violence/Gore- Well, all the ghosts are from dead people. There is the implication of severe violence in one arc, where a man is said to Spoiler: have lived because he bathed in blood. In another arc, a boy Spoiler: apparently froze to death, and in another, the spirit is said to have Spoiler: killed children through illness, and nearly drags Mai away

Nudity/Sexual Content- I don't recall any

Theological Themes- There are ghosts. Some are more like demons. The people who try to exorcize range from a Catholic priest, to a Shinto priestess, to a Buddhist monk. Mai learns a Buddhist chant that she uses to exorcize the spirit from someone, and is told she has great spiritual power. One character has ESP.

Other Themes- There is some mild swearing, the worst is one instance of the word for illegitimate child.

Violence: There isn't much in the way of violence. The worst I can recall is invisible knives tearing clothing and causing some mild injury. In a case called "The Bloodstained Labyrinth" expect quite a bit of bloody imagery. There are lots of discussions of death and suicide. Failed suicide attempts are recounted, and a possessed character jumps off a cliff into the ocean and kills himself. The scene wasn't graphic.

Sex and Nudity: Nothing worth noting.

Theological Themes: Well, in our cast of ghost hunters, we have a medium, a Shinto priestess, a Buddhist monk, a Catholic priest, and some specialized psychics. All of them are shown to be effective with their powers in some way. Messing with spirits is shown to be a bad idea. Summoning them is portrayed as negative, as our crew deals with evil spirits who actively cause harm to others. Psychic powers are somewhat common in the show.

Problematic Themes: Exactly three instances of swearing; two uses of the d-word and one use of the word for illegitimate child.

Overall: Reviews of Ghost Hunt tend to be very polarized. People either love it or hate it. I lean towards the former. It gave off strong Buzzfeed Unsolved vibes, as it seemed to be more of a horror mystery series than straight up horror. This is because our crew can't get rid of the spirits until they find out what's going on.

This show is really re-watchable, too. It's a lot of fun and difficult to get bored of.

Our cast isn't particularly well-developed, though they are all likable and have their own distinct personalities. They have nice banter. It's a really good group dynamic. Mai is a great protagonist, and I really liked her. Naru, on the other hand, at times was a bit too talented for his own good. I did like his narcissistic side, though. It made him much more rounded out as a character.

This is from the creator of The Twelve Kingdoms, Fuyumi Ono. While, I liked The Twelve Kingdoms better, Ghost Hunt has a lot going for it. The art is better than Twelve Kingdoms, for one thing. The music is great, too. It's very spooky and mysterious, which fits the vibe.

I recommend this to teens and up, for frightening imagery and discussion of suicide.