All the Right Notes: Ghost Hunt Review

Whenever people see what shows I watch, they usually instantly make assumptions about the genres I like.  Often, this assumption is anime.  That I, in general, am an anime fan.  Often this is a dismissive assumption.  It is not only dismissive, however; it is incorrect.  (I insist on stating that I watch good shows, no matter the genre or style; I may delve more into this topic in another post.)  Now I'll admit that I do have a soft spot for anime styles; my personal tastes find them appealing.  That is no reason to assume, however, that I completely disregard my critical eye when I watch anime.  In fact, because of my "weakness" per se, I am even more suspicious of anime than perhaps any other genre, as it is far to easy too slip into watching mediocre shows of any favored genre without even realizing it.

It might come as a surprise to you that even up to early last year, I was still somewhat staunchly an outspoken disliker of anime.  As a child, I grew up watching normal kid shows on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, but I also grew up on Toonami--Cardcaptors, Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing.  This was before I was even aware of what anime was.  Eventually, probably around the time I entered late middle school, I "grew up."  I became more aware of what I watched, completely threw out what I had indulged in as a child, and turned against anime completely.  (Except Pokemon.  I was always a loyal Pokemon fan, even when I stopped watching the show.)

Up through high school, the only anime that I watched and admitted was actually an excellent show was Trigun.

That, however, was only the beginning of my conversion back into actually accepting shows as I see them instead of foolishly disregarding an entire style.

Right now, we're going to look at one of the "conversion" animes that I was introduced to a little over a year ago by a friend.  There are other animes I could list as well, but of the ones I watched that finally forced me to accept that good and excellent anime do exist, this is one of the lesser-known and underrated ones.

 The main cast of Ghost Hunt, from left to right: Masako, Ayako, Yasu, Naru, Monk, Mai, John (missing: Lin)

Check out the review after the break!

Spoilers and Stories

As you might know, I am currently writing/drawing a graphic novel entitled Everdusk (which can be read here).   Really quick, here is a short summary of ED: "Everdusk is the story of Sol’aar, a country that has been under the whip of slavery by its southern neighbor, Galena, for nearly two centuries. Now, the pieces of revolution are falling into place. In the face of crushing oppression, four god-blessed heroes must come together in and overcome their individual bitterness order to obtain their country’s independence and learn what it truly means to become an everdusk."

Obviously, Everdusk is a fantasy-adventure genre tale.  I've always been a fan of fantasy, magic, medieval things, etc.  And just as obviously, as I work on Everdusk, I draw the cast of ED a LOT.  This includes drawing the magical characters using their magic.

Now I have struggled with one question constantly as I have drawn these pictures.  Should I post them on my deviantART (or the Internet in general, such as here), or not?  Is it spoilers to post some of these characters using magic?

I think there are kind of two circumstances here.  One is that the character already knows he/she is a magic-user.  In that case, I don't think it would be any problem posting pictures of them using magic.

What about characters that are introduced in the comic who are not initially aware of their powers, however?  In one way, it's almost as much as a surprise for the audience as for the characters when their powers are revealed.  To be honest, though, I think we can all admit that it's usually clear when a character is going to have magical ability of some kind.

Let's look at some pictures in question.  Both the following pictures are of Mai, the main character in Everdusk.

The one on the left was a speedpaint I just completed this evening.  The picture on the right is a commission by Hchan on deviantART (QUICK PLUG she is an awesome artist with her own awesome webcomic, dream*scar, and you should totally check it out!).  Both of these pictures show Mai quite clearly using some kind of magic.

At this point, it's silly to pretend otherwise as to Mai having magical ability.  Although Mai learns this fact early on in Everdusk, it still has yet to be officially "revealed."  (I have to add, though, that I have not yet revealed to anyone the nature of magic in Everdusk, so although you see this sparkly fun, I don't think many of you could accurately guess what it exactly is.)

So, is it a spoiler to post art like this about things like graphic novels you're working on?  Should you keep all this kind of art from the public until it's officially been introduced in whatever you're writing/drawing?  Why or why not?  What d'you think?