GS Mikami

In a world plagued with malicious ghosts, how is it possible to combat the existence of such evil spirits? The answer is to hire a "Ghost Sweeper"—a professional exorcist, whose duty is to exterminate any unwanted ghoul or poltergeist.

When it comes to Ghost Sweepers, Reiko Mikami is considered to be a cut above the rest. After receiving an offer to examine a haunting near Jinkotsu Hot Spring, she sets off to put her skills to work. Accompanied by her assistants, the underpaid and perverted high school student Tadao Yokoshima and the friendly teenage ghost Kinu Himuro, GS Mikami details the wacky exploits and adventures of these three as they go about investigating paranormal activities.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Mikami, Reiko Main

Tsuru, Hiromi Japanese

Yokoshima, Tadao Main

Horikawa, Ryo Japanese

Himuro, Kinu Main

Kouda, Mariko Japanese

Maria Supporting

Yamazaki, Wakana Japanese

Namiko Supporting

Kawamura, Maria Japanese

Ogasawara, Emi Supporting

Tomizawa, Michie Japanese

Teresa Supporting

Kawamura, Maria Japanese

Ryugaki, Reika Supporting

Yamamoto, Yuriko Japanese

Yakuchin Supporting

Chafurin Japanese

Karasu, Kazuhiro Supporting

Sogabe, Kazuyuki Japanese

Seki, Hiromi Producer

Umezawa, Atsutoshi Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Shimizu, Junji Episode Director, Storyboard

Yabe, Akinori Episode Director, Storyboard

Reviews

Feb 15, 2014

jmoriarty84

Recommended

If there’s something strange, in the neighbourhood, who you gonna call? Close but no buster but that would be Mikami Reiko, one of Japan’s top ghost sweepers. Assisting Mikami is her under-paid teenage lackey, Yokoshima Tadao, and the 300 year old teenage ghost, Okinu. And episode by episode, they take care of business.

With the exception of a small number of 2-parters, the series is episodic and you can jump into any episode with little to no prior familiarity. However, in addition to the main trio, there will be some reoccurring characters such as fellow Ghost Sweepers Meiko and Emi; the alchemist Dr. Chaos and his ... android assistant Maria; and Mikami’s former teacher and his current discipline, Pete, a half-breed vampire.

Each character has their own function that works in a formulaic sense and do something. Unfortunately, you will need to read the manga if you want any background and development on the characters. The manga expands why Yokoshima has some spiritual prowess and also goes into the details of their back stories. But the anime does a good job of justifying it by demonstrating a lot of tabla rasa to make sort of make you forgive that. Still the series does go beyond fighting ghosts. They fight other super natural beings such as gremilns, sea creatures, and vampires. What also keeps this series from being a bit repetitive is sometimes the ghost isn’t bad, but needs help in other forms in order to move on.

In addition, the series spoofs of 90s pop culture so pop culture buffs may enjoy this. What mostly drives the series is its comedy. Even though Mikami is this sexy lady, I am glad it doesn’t get repeatedly exploited as pointless fan service. She is only used in that way a small number of times and works in the right context. Dr. Chaos being broke is another source of its comedy despite claiming to be this genius. It goes on.

The art is rather simple but still a little distinct. The design works in a way that it is easy to emulate if you want to try some fan art, but still has a sharpness that brings a mature feel.

The grainy contrast brings that urban and ghastly feel, but the bright colors with the clothing brings a convenient “flash” and youth friendly atmosphere. The action is nothing revolutionary like “Dragon Ball Z” during this time but works in its own way. Mikami uses something like a light sabre and Shinto chants to combat the ghosts which brings modern cinema with Japanese traditions. Overall, it is bearable but nothing outstanding.

Some of you may now the voice of Horikawa Ryo and Tsuru Hiromi as the voices of Vegeta and Bulma from Dragon Ball Z, but in this anime, they are the voices of Yokoshima and Mikami. If you’re familiar with Tsuru’s role as Bulma, then you will instantly recognise her voice and it works with her character with being sexy but yet all-business. Horikawa Ryo, as always seems to amaze me. Not only as his performance as Vegeta, but also as Shun from Saint Seiya. As Vegeta, he’s vicious, as Shun he is feminine, and now as Yokoshima, he is this hormone driven teenager and he just manages to pull it off. The man has many talents as a voice actor and probably one of the best. Other notable seiyuus are Chiba Shigeru as Dr. Chaos and Morikawa Toshiyuki as Pete.

The music also works perfectly with the series. The chiming synthesisers in the hook of the opening theme and the sexy jazz in the background music brings the urban feel, the supernatural, and the sex appeal come together as one and for that.

Well, this series is no Yuu Yuu Hakusho, but if you want something short and episodic and doesn’t require much of an attention span, this might be the series for you. If you want an anime to just pass the time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 10, 2014

THEAnimeHERO

Recommended

Ghost Sweeper Mikami is a series with likeable characters & great sense of humor. It is episodic but offers some good quality stories & creativity, especially if you like The Slayers & Hell Teacher Nube.

The series is set in 90's Japan where ghosts & demons are quite common. To get rid of these phantasms "Ghost Sweepers" are hired to exorcise them. One of these Ghost Sweepers is the gold digger Mikami Reiko & her assistants the "thirsty" Yokoshima & the ghost Okinu. Much of the anime focuses on these characters daily life but they are filled with comedy & their encounters with various spirits, however ... it can get a bit dark at times.

Similar to Hell Teacher Nube, Ghost Sweeper Mikami tends to be episodic with some stories being 2-3 episodes long which can vary from facing ghosts, possessed artifacts, demons, vampires, yokai & even mythical creatures, but the highlight of this series are the characters & the comedy brought from them. As the series continues, more characters are introduced such as other sweepers like Emi, Meiko, Pete, Karasu, Dr. Chaos & the android Maria. There's several other characters but these are the most recurring.

Much of the comedy does come from Yokoshima as he is easily one of the most hilarious, perverted & miserable anime characters. Most of his conflicts often end in misery with Yokoshima getting the short end of the stick & often being "pussywhipped" by his boss Mikami whom he has a mad thirst for. (Who wouldn't?) Similar to Lina Inverse from The Slayers, Mikami is very self centered often choosing money over the safety of her friends, well specifically Yokoshima. Most of the anime's charm comes from these two characters as they often backstab each other for their own selfish gains but at times display some affection only to be shattered by a good gag. Mikami as character is selfish & quite formidable as a ghost sweeper which is a great trait for an independent woman character. If you like her then you should like the anime.

As much as i like the series, I would've preferred if got a bit serious, while there are some episodes which were dramatic & contained some good fight scenes, it would've benefited if more of those drama episodes were featured in the series. Although, what it lacks in story is made up by its heart as the series can get a bit cheerful at times, especially with its xmas & new years episodes.

Being made in the 90's, this is definitely one of Toei Animation's good looking show as its uses a wide assortment of colors due to each characters specific exorcism style & through the various types of ghosts. Along with good animation is the soundtrack as most of it ranges from chilling horror music to a jazz style, however some tracks are episode specific such as episode 26.

Ghost Sweeper Mikami is a great blend of horror & comedy which is made up by its funny cast of characters which offers the same quality as Hell Teacher Nube & The Slayers. While it may not have the most complex plot, it does display much variety & the series doesn't feel repetitive regardless of its episodic scenarios. By 16 episodes, you should know whether you love this series or not. Also, Mikami Reiko is a fine woman. XD

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jan 4, 2025

Bidoof_PMD-EOS

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (21/45 eps)

I haven't finished the series, but due to it's episodic nature, and having met all the characters, I feel fine with writing a review now. I'll just have to change it if it doesn't hold up at the end. (I have finished the show) Nothing really changed, so I'll keep this as-is.
First off. This show's characters are not likeable, but are endearing. Also, while the first episode is good, I think the second one is better. If you're interested (which you most likely are if you're reading this review), then I suggest trying 2 episodes if the first one was fine but not more.
I wanted ... to offer a "Mixed feelings" review, since although I like this series, there is one element I really dislike, and it's a main character. That is to say, the male MC, Yokoshima, who's pretty much Happosai from Ranma or Master Roshi from Dragon ball in that he's incredibly perverted, and that's his whole character (in this case, along with being broke). At least, here, it's balanced out by him not actually able to do those perverted things, since he's one of the weakest characters in the show, but it is a major part of a lot of episodes, so be prepared for that.
Then you have the third main character, the ghost Okinu. She's pretty much a (moderately) ditzy out of touch girl who stands up for Yokoshima later on in the show. Not to be confused with the incredibly ditzy and out of touch girl, who's one of the recurring supporting characters. She is important, but also doesn't do much.
And for the main female character, you have Mikami Reikou, the titular character even. Pretty much, she's stingy (Mr. Krabs from Spongebob level) and is rude to her assistant Yokoshima. She's also good at her job. I do not find her to be a better person than Yokoshima, but because Yokoshima subjects himself to the work willingly (he does complain a lot, but it's more whining than anything, since he sticks around anyways), it doesn't come off as mean spirited the same way Yokoshima does. It can be a no for some people, though.

Now for the plot. It's mostly episodic, with a few 2 episode arcs. The goal of the episodes themselves is comedy, so while there is tension, it never tries to get and stay serious. Mostly, they involve finding and beating a ghost, but could also be about hijinks with the supporting cast (which is used more sparingly than in other shows, such as Ranma). It being episodic is fine for what it tries to accomplish, though; they do vary locations, usually do include an interesting character or two that play off the characters involved, and are quite creative in what happens. (slight spoiler for the next sentence) For instance, there's one part where one of the MCs becomes a child, another where one of the MC sympathises with the vilain of the week so much that they need to knock him out, and another where they have to beat this one ghost by playing it in doubles (2v1) tennis.

As the show is episodic in nature, and it's a comedy show, the characters do not progress much past their initial introductions.

For the comedy. A lot is about the extremes that the main characters are ready to go to regarding the ecchi and money stuff, and a lot of the humour is also tied to the faces the characters make. It does change the way they make the jokes from time to time, and do deliver different ones for the different characters, including the episodic one-offs. I'd say that other than the hyperfixation on the one joke, it reminds me a fair bit of Slayers, which I did enjoy the comedy of.

And for the setting. It's "modern" Japan, but spiritual stuff exists (and can be noticed by anyone), and there are vampires and an android. So, modern Japan with a few liberties.
For the music. Don't ask me; I wouldn't know.
MAL is asking me for a score. FYI, I'm not sure how I would rate this type of show, so I'll give it a 6, but I could see myself giving it anywhere between 5 and 7, and that's not going to be decided by the remaining episodes.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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