Customer Reviews

Ghost Talker's Daydream, Vol. 1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this fancifully-titled anime miniseries, Misaki Saiki is a woman who is able to see and channel spirits, and acts as a medium investigating supernatural phenomena. She also happens to moonlight as a dominatrix at an S&M club (to put food on the table.) But it's really the first aspect of her lifestyle that is the focus of the show.

In episode one, Misaki investigates the site of a murder-suicide and finds the case is not as closed as the authorities had thought, and makes the acquaintance of a teenaged girl named Ai who was connected to the victims.

In the next episode, Ai wants to join Misaki's ghost busting crew, and falls prey to a vengeful spirit herself. We also get some insight into Misaki's childhood.

The third and fourth episodes comprise a two-part story. Misaki is hoping to get a vacation (and look into some, ah, restoration therapy) but instead gets involved in a twelve year-old murder case concerning several children whose ghosts are still haunting a construction site.

I didn't quite understand why they decided to throw the S&M angle into the story. It only turns up in one scene, and it's mainly an excuse for the heroine to show up for her spiritualist job in a sexy leather outfit. Not that I minded that or the large amount of nudity, but it didn't gel with the main plot and seemed oddly tacked on. Some people might be disappointed if they pick up this DVD for the cover art. Still, it is an enjoyable, interesting and funny show. I particularly liked the character design on Misaki. She has a unique look - attractive, but not too cute.

The complete four episodes are available in Japanese 5.1, English 5.1, or English 5.1 DTS. I watched a bit of the show in English and while Misaki's English voice actress is wonderful, most of the others are average with Ai's English voice downright irritating - one of those fake little girl voices that makes your teeth hurt. Extras include creditless openings for each episode (which is a bit silly since there is no real title sequence; it just goes straight into the episode) and trailers for this and other Geneon releases. You can also put the disc in your computer to access poster art and desktop wallpaper.

GHOST TALKER'S DAYDREAM contains sexual content - though not terribly explicit - and is recommended for teens and up.

Like Elfen Lied this is a show (its really a complete four episode OVA to be exact) that strangely melds together comedy/fan service and hardcore violence. While not quite as gory as Elfen Lied the show has its moments. At first you probably won't be sure what to think of this show. The opening begins with its fare share of perversion and more or less unecessary nudity depending on your taste, but once it gets going and you've been introduced to the characters it becomes very involving and in some cases surprisingly touching. The main character of the story, Saiki Misaki, a spiritual medium/dominatrix is more interesting than she should be and the show in my mind was very reminiscent of something like Satoshi Kon's animated feature Perfect Blue. Word to the wise...Don't even bother with the english dub on this disc though. Absolutely horrid. The japanese is very well done. The animation is also pretty solid for what was clearly a low budget release by Geneon. I have to say I am kind of shocked they are not planning on doing more episodes/volumes of this series. They really could stretch it out even further. I appreciate the fact that it is a standalone disc though as far as the price tag is concerned. I wish there were more animes sold that way. And thats why I feel comfortable giving it the high 5 star rating.

Going into this, I wasn't sure what to expect. The series was always going to be one of two types: a supernatural thriller that delves into the dark side of human nature, using S&M as a way of highlighting the depraved minds of humans, or a silly ghost story that attempts to be dark but isn't able to do so thanks to an endless stream of perverse jokes and fan service. Disappointingly, Ghost Talker's Daydream turned out to be a series that matches up with the latter.

Right at the start you're greeted with the sight of Misaki, the main character and spiritual medium of the story, sitting naked in a bathhouse. The 'camera' moves around the room, showing another woman's breast, and the scene then finally ends. In the next scene, another main character is introduced, a male government worker (even after only just watching, I don't remember his name) who has to beg Misaki to help his organization solve crimes relating to spirits. But, of course, with this series seemingly needing to have more fan service and silliness than is good, it isn't long before the annoying government person slips, pulling down Misaki's dress in public. The two then have a very brief conversation about who the annoying government person works for and they go off to investigate a crime.

The 'plot' doesn't improve beyond that. Misaki helps the government, working at a S&M place to earn extra money, and she has to deal with the annoying government guy whenever there's work that needs doing - that's it. It's simplistic and won't hold the interest of anyone who goes into it expecting it to be deep, thrilling and/or scary.

As for character development, Misaki's past isn't really gone into at all. All you learn about her is that she saw started seeing ghosts when she was very young and had problems making friends at school as a result. There's no character development at all, and she even seems to enjoy her work since there are no tears over how she earns her money. It's a shame that the S&M side seemed to only be there as an excuse to get Misaki into kinky leather outfits... A good (and fairly unique) story could've been made out of a character earning the money to survive by entering into the (sometimes) disturbing world of sexual pleasure.

The rest of the cast are equally weak. A school girl called Ai is introduced in the first episode, showing her about to be raped (with the 'camera' focused on her panties and arse for a long time), and she then sticks around for the rest of the series once her story is resolved, the weak reason given being that she started to see spirits after the events of the first episode. The annoying government guy was there only to accidentally see panties/get involved in perverted comedy sequences and inform Misaki about unnatural crimes. And I have no idea what the forth and final main character, Mitsuru, was supposed to be doing - all he, a high school student, did for the entire series was follow around Misaki (he calls her 'Queen Misaki') with a camera, sometimes taking perverted photos...for no apparent reason.

So, the 'plot' is best described as paper-thin, the character development is non-existent and the series is generally just unimpressive where it matters. But the problems don't end there since an explanation wasn't provided for some fairly important elements, such as Misaki being able to use a supernatural whip-like weapon, which happens to come from between her legs and makes her blush and moan. Like with the reasoning behind Mitsuru stalking 'Queen Misaki' with a camera, maybe that's best just left unexplained?

The other aspects of the series - art, animation and sound - were also disappointing. The animation looked more like the average for a 26 episode TV series that came out in 2004 and not OVA quality, complete with all the usual panning/zooming and very little in the way of flashy animation. The art wasn't exactly awe inspiring, either - it looked good but, for example, not even the nipples of the huge breasted females were that well drawn. And as for the music, well...it sounded almost like the sort of poor soundtrack I expect to hear when playing low-budget PS1-PS2 RPGs and, rather than pulling me in, it simply distracted me.

Ghost Talker's Daydream is summed up by the last few minutes of the final episode. Instead of ending on a meaningful note, it ended with Misaki receiving a text from a female police officer she'd spoken to for only a few minutes (naked, with the 'camera' zooming in on both of their breasts), the text informing Misaki that the police officer had shaven her 'jungle' following their discussion. For those interested how this all came about, Misaki had gone vacation in order to grow a 'jungle' of her own in episode 3, praying at an altar and washing herself down there at a spring famous for hair regeneration.

I'm probably being a bit too generous but, since it was only 4 episodes long and it was least watchable, I'll give it 6/10. If the series had been longer then it's safe to say my score would've been far, far more harsh.

Rating: 6/10

I expected mostly a soft porno with the focus on the female body, lots of "SM" and "bondage". I got half of that, the first half. The focus of the three stories (the last is a two-parter) is really on the medium spirit not on the dominatrix. The characters seemed to develop a bit in the course of four episodes and that was good. I just wish it had more SM and bondage.....

Ghost Talker's Daydream is a strange OVA indeed. It's about a dominatrix (you never see her actually at the job except for once in the 2nd episode) who can channel spirits and help them find peace in the afterlife. Her own personal weapon against these creatures is a whip-like ethereal projection she can send out at will, but only when she's in full dominatrix uniform.

While the OVA has a few disturbing moments, which is the wont of horror anime, it's mostly a fan-service OVA. There's a lot of up-skirts, nudity, and blatant sex humor. Beyond that, however, is great animation. The style is a bit quirky and never overly serious, despite the content of the episodes. The characters, while not overly unique, are separate in idiosyncratic ways. The stories, with the exception of the last two episodes (a two-part-er) are quick and to the point, and never leaves you questioning what exactly happened. Overall, it's a decent OVA.

One problem, though, is the age range. It recommends 16+ but I'd rate it higher. The main character is naked perhaps 25% of the time, and she talks mostly of, without getting too graphic, hair growth. While there's no actual sex in any of the episodes, there are clear connotations as well as a near-rape. 17+ at least.

I'd recommend Ghost Talker's Daydream to those who enjoy cheap thrills or are into S&M. I'd also recommend it because of its value and the fact that there is no extra commitment involved, as it's isn't a series but an OVA. Anime fans may find some enjoyment here as well because of the unique style of animation, which is what sold it to me.

I actually read this manga. Way back in the 90's, through "Diamond Distributing" I used to eagerly order those phone book sized comics, both for practicing imitating the art style and trying to figure out the Japanese. Fairly successful at the former, not so good on the latter...

So, I was amazed to see this as an Anime. And it was one of those things I really wished would make it to Anime, despite just assuming it would be forgotten and obscure, even in it's own land. Lucked out with "Eden's Bowy" too!

So, this DVD was great, but just wish there are more episodes coming. The main character's dark nature and underground lifestyle makes her perfect to deal with the supernatural, especially around the death/dying parts of it.

Going out on a limb here, but I really like the second episode the best. It shows a girl from ep 1 (and the manga) wanting to be a sidekick, but the main character warning her away. "Don't talk to them, don't notice them!" And it's because in a situation dealing with people who've died but remained as ghosts, something is horribly wrong. A much more realistic approach to take, and good that the animation showed it this way, versus a light hearted fanciful take.

This anime is a new take on the supernatural genre. Instead of a full time parapsychologist, the main character is a Dominatrix. Misaki Saiki is a somewhat likeable character but has quite a few rough edges. Don't expect typical endings.

The main character in this four episodes series is a brash, busty, loud mouthed young woman with a bad attitude and unusual employment----dominatrix by day, and spirit medium for the government on the side. Saiki Misaki is an anti-heroine, squared. Yet, if you look behind the air she puts on, you'll see a much softer side---a caring person who puts her life on the line to help the lingering spirit move on to the afterlife. The dominatrix angle is a curveball, a hook used to catch your eye, and distinguish this anime show from all the other stuff out there involving ghost stories/horror genre. Yet, the BDSM material, along with the perfunctory frontal nudity thrown in here and there, prevents a younger viewer from getting parental permission to watch this highly interesting show. And this is unfortunate because the ghost stories are original and well developed, particularly the two part series in episodes three and four. This two parter is heart breaking, but very reality-based and involves something that pops up on the news every so often.

Thus, let the line be drawn. An underaged person (i.e. under 18) should NOT be allowed to view this dvd, unless the parents or guardians are prepared to discuss bondage and other erotica. For an adult who enjoys horror genre or ghost stories, this series is HIGHLY recommended.